Ticket Slips, Part 1

"Where is it?" 

It's like there was a shotgun in my chest. Each deafening beat, harder, heavier than the last. It felt like it might just burst out of my chest. Certainly didn't help that I had the side of my face completely pressed flat on my bedroom floor either. 

I could feel the stick and sweat start to seep, little dots, trickles of mounting desperation, down my neck, slipping past my brow, with every passing moment spent searching and searching to no avail. 

It all started just right after I showered and fully swapped Chester out for boring ol' me again. I had the next few hours all planned out nice and good: find the most comfortable seat in the house and plant my ass on the spot until evening eventually rolls around. 

Alas, Adalia had already laid claim to the living-room couch, so I had little choice but to settle for second-best and settle down snug on the single-seater a little to the side.