The alarm went off. It was 8am. The sunlight blinded me between the curtains that I forgot to shut the night before. I stumbled out of bed and washed up, listening to the blaring of the morning news on the TV downstairs. The big topic was the same as it had been these last few weeks, and I only had to hear the one name to confirm it.
But today was different. The reporter had a different tone as he spoke. I couldn't hear what he said, but sounded more urgent, more concerned. As I shut off the water and dabbed my face with a towel, I realized why when I heard him say what we all had been dreading to hear.
"The mayor of this city has ordered a full city lockdown."
That was when I heard a loud noise downstairs. I ran down the steps as quickly as I could.
I must have imagined the loud sound. When I arrived in the living room, I saw Iori on the couch sitting in silence. The only sound was coming from the news report on the TV, and Upamon bouncing on the couch.
"Whee! Lockdown!" Upamon squeaked cheerfully.
"I can't believe we're actually stuck here for a while," I said.
"It seemed like we were on our way to it, anyway," Iori replied, with Upamon still jumping on the cushion beside him.
Upamon stopped when I went over to him to scratch behind his ear. He didn't seem worried at all, and neither did Iori. Knowing this put my own mind at ease.
"At least I have a ton of books to read," I added.
"I did see some books on your shelf that caught my eye. I'd like to borrow a few, if you don't mind."
"Go for it."
Before I knew it, Iori and I were on either end of the couch, each of us with our books in hand and cups of tea in front of us. Upamon sat on Iori's lap, staring wide-eyed at the pages of text in front of him.
I enjoyed this peace and quiet, consumed in my own form of entertainment… except when Iori's phone suddenly began to buzz like crazy.
"Sorry, I forgot to put the ringer on mute," he said, grabbing his phone to silence it. "Miyako and Daisuke are spamming the group chat. They're complaining about being bored."
"I'll never be bored as long as I'm with you, Iori!" said Upamon.
With good company and the comfort of silence, neither will I.
