Icebreakers
Jaric Sarmiento
me? uh
I guess, like, maybe
a water boiler for tea
or a
rice cooker
because it’s also a hot pot or a crock pot or a steamer
or like
good knives, maybe,
because there’s nothing worse than dull knives.
maybe.
oh. um. maybe
teleportation.
sorry. is that
cliche?
well, because like
sometimes I need to get away,
you know?
and i miss my friends. a lot.
is that enough?
okay. yeah.
no problem.
i guess like
see the northern lights.
or like
something like that.
yeah. it’s cliche i guess.
well it’s just
she wouldn’t shut up about it,
you know? my ex.
he never got to see them.
um. this uh
cut
on my forearm.
i guess. yeah.
it’s self-inflicted. but
not like that.
I was just trying
to prove a point.
because he uh.
wouldn’t stop. with the
um.
forget about it.
my laugh?
i don’t know.
like a three i guess.
out of ten.
it’s a little too high
pitched.
no. no.
there’s a lot of dead skin around
my toenails.
it’s ugly.
no it’s ugly. i really
hate it.
you don’t get it. no.
i can’t. do anything. about it.
this piece of shit skin.
you don’t get it. not won’t.
can’t.
mm. i have to think for a second.
childhood memory?
well like. there was this boy i guess.
in the park near my house. uhhh. well no. like no, like. look, it’s like
listen.
he would always be by the mechanical horses and he liked to stack rocks on top of one another to build castles and i played with branches and pitted spiders against each other and one day he just walked up to me and he asked if he could give me a kiss and i didn’t know what to say and i said yes and he kissed me and he asked if i wanted to be best friends and i couldn’t answer and a few days later it was dark and he pressed a flashlight on his palm and said look you can see my blood glow can i see yours and i couldn’t answer and we spent our adolescence together in hiding and he drooled on the cover of my math textbook while he went on about david bowie in labyrinth as he was half-falling asleep and he told me he loved me and i didn’t want to but i did but it didn’t matter and when we met he asked me to introduce myself and i couldn’t answer well i could but i didn’t want to but i did but it didn’t matter and i never tried the flashlight thing
well uh.
sorry.
oh yeah
i guess paprika?
is my favorite seasoning
is that the last of it?
yeah.
yeah.
that’s me i guess.
I guess, like, maybe
a water boiler for tea
or a
rice cooker
because it’s also a hot pot or a crock pot or a steamer
or like
good knives, maybe,
because there’s nothing worse than dull knives.
maybe.
oh. um. maybe
teleportation.
sorry. is that
cliche?
well, because like
sometimes I need to get away,
you know?
and i miss my friends. a lot.
is that enough?
okay. yeah.
no problem.
i guess like
see the northern lights.
or like
something like that.
yeah. it’s cliche i guess.
well it’s just
she wouldn’t shut up about it,
you know? my ex.
he never got to see them.
um. this uh
cut
on my forearm.
i guess. yeah.
it’s self-inflicted. but
not like that.
I was just trying
to prove a point.
because he uh.
wouldn’t stop. with the
um.
forget about it.
my laugh?
i don’t know.
like a three i guess.
out of ten.
it’s a little too high
pitched.
no. no.
there’s a lot of dead skin around
my toenails.
it’s ugly.
no it’s ugly. i really
hate it.
you don’t get it. no.
i can’t. do anything. about it.
this piece of shit skin.
you don’t get it. not won’t.
can’t.
mm. i have to think for a second.
childhood memory?
well like. there was this boy i guess.
in the park near my house. uhhh. well no. like no, like. look, it’s like
listen.
he would always be by the mechanical horses and he liked to stack rocks on top of one another to build castles and i played with branches and pitted spiders against each other and one day he just walked up to me and he asked if he could give me a kiss and i didn’t know what to say and i said yes and he kissed me and he asked if i wanted to be best friends and i couldn’t answer and a few days later it was dark and he pressed a flashlight on his palm and said look you can see my blood glow can i see yours and i couldn’t answer and we spent our adolescence together in hiding and he drooled on the cover of my math textbook while he went on about david bowie in labyrinth as he was half-falling asleep and he told me he loved me and i didn’t want to but i did but it didn’t matter and when we met he asked me to introduce myself and i couldn’t answer well i could but i didn’t want to but i did but it didn’t matter and i never tried the flashlight thing
well uh.
sorry.
oh yeah
i guess paprika?
is my favorite seasoning
is that the last of it?
yeah.
yeah.
that’s me i guess.
Jaric Sarmiento is an immigrant from the Philippines currently residing in Southern California. He graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in literature and mainly focuses on writing experimental explorations of depression, the absurd, and LGBTQ issues. He also likes card games.
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