“Reality has been scheduled for regular maintenance…”

That was not what James wanted to hear today. How come every time he went out without Mercedes something had to go wrong?

“…and so is temporarily down.”

“I knew it.” He sighed, shifting his bag over his shoulder. Things looked normal around him, but he knew better than to take that for granted. The elephant who had been watching him over the fence had stopped eating the chocolate leaves for goodness sakes. He never thought he would see that happen. She was still staring at him though, Mercedes thought he was being paranoid.

“Please stand by patiently and it should be back up soon.”

James didn’t move his feet. He really didn’t like having to stand in one place for very long, he hoped this would resolve itself soon.

“Thank you.”

And for some time, James waited for reality to come back.