Flash Fiction February 2025 Day Five: Basic Needs (Phillip)

A/N: Somebody please give Phillip a grant so he can have an actual working lab space...

Flash Fiction February 2025 Day 5 Prompt: Needs

The more I think about it as I work shivering from the cold thanks to broken heating in my typically already cold lab, toddlers have the right idea, cry if your basic needs aren’t being met. Cold? Cry. Tired? Cry. Hungry? Cry. The list goes on, if something is wrong simply make enough of a fuss about it, and suddenly like magic the hands of those capable of fixing things appear to make everything better. I wish that worked for me but no, when there’s a leak in my lab for the fifth time in three weeks, or when Deborah the Physics department secretary takes my leftovers when I’m not looking, or when the heating system breaks again because of strange weather patterns I just have to continue to go about my day. It doesn’t matter if I’m cold, or wet, or hungry, or all of the above, I have to act like a responsible adult. As a piece of glass shatters when I go to grab it due to the frigid temperatures I finally give up. Cleaning up the glass shards, putting away my materials, and locking up any substances that are not to be touched by those who don’t know what they're doing I clean until everything is back where it belongs more or less. Finding my key with more difficulty than normal I lock the door and grab the rest of my things hanging on a peg in the hallway. “Professor! Where are you going? It’s only one o'clock!” the department assistant calls after me as I walk out the door. “Home!” I shout back as the heavy metal door slams shut behind me. I’m not teaching today, and my own basic needs for warmth, food, and adequate shelter are clearly not being met here, so there’s no real reason for me to remain here for the rest of the day. Trudging along I feel myself warming up if only slightly and the fatigue kicking in from prolonged cold exposure. I’m going back to bed.