Josh's tone made Mark pay attention, an eyebrow raising," What, I wasn't exactly expecting to be brought in on this job when I came into work this morning. I need to get some clothes, washing items, etc," He picked up his briefcase," Plus, I need to feed my cats," Who'da thunk it? Mark was a catperson," Make arrangements for them to be taken care of while I'm away," He turned to Josh," By the way, how long will that be again?" He pressed the button for the elevator," You never did say," He pressed the button again. How long did these things take anyways? He spent as much time as he could looking at the red numerals ticking down to where they were, looking at the lights, the floor, the fire escape, the fire alarm. Anything but the man in front of him.

He had a condition. Looking at someone told him about them. Small details. New Hairspray, cologne, the lack to put on deodorant or putting on too much of it, those were details he couldn't avoid, as much as he couldn't avoid inhaling. But they were insignificant. Distraction, or too much attention, when preparing for the day, how much they noticed about themselves during the day. It said small things, painted incomplete pictures. Added to visual details, small twitches of the eyes, around the mouth, sweat on the face, hands, anything spoke of why they were distracted or paying too much attention. Josh reeked of aftershave, but not much of cologne or deodorant. He was clan shaven, but small details at the back of his jaw had been overlooked.

He looked away," Yeah, getting on the elevator is..." A bad idea? It was. His condition involved taking on the various details of the people his agile mind studied and taking on their minds in a way, thinking how they would think, and therefore acting like they would act. The doctors that examined him advised him that getting too close to someone would cause him to lose his identity to theirs. So was going down in small steel box with another person a bad idea?

"You're right, of course," He pressed the button of the elevator, finding the small crack along the wall incredibly interesting as the bell dinged and the door opened. Mark indicated for Josh to enter first.