Rhesus Monkeys: A Short Story

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Eric Lawson was in his fourth year of graduate school when the accident happened. He had spent a long day in the lab and the sounds of rhesus monkeys shrieking at each other still rang in his ears on his way down the stairs. Eric left the psychology building and unlocked his bicycle from the rack, happy to be heading home for some rest.
Weaving through foot traffic on the sidewalk, Eric turned onto the nearest street. It was a major thoroughfare leading into downtown, filled with college students, city buses, commuters, and Jimmy John’s delivery drivers, all impatient and harried.
It was 6:22 PM. The city bus stopped in front of him, right on schedule. Eric pedaled into the left turn lane. He stopped for a red light behind a white Chrysler 300. The bass throbbed so …show more content…
“Okay.”
Bruce balled up the paper wrappers from his dinner and stood up from the chair. “Thanks. I think you’re going to make a huge contribution to our work. Do you want me to flip the lights off on my way out?”
“Um, sure.” Eric wasn’t sure if it was possible for him to sleep, but it would be easier in the dark than if he had to stare at the lab all night.
The next day he saw some of his fellow grad students. They tried to ignore the elephant in the room, but he felt like less of a person anyway.
Two weeks after the accident, a couple of undergraduates came into the lab unattended while the others were at lunch.
Eric heard their voices before he saw them.
“Where is he?” A girl asked. Two students stopped in front of him. Eric recognized the boy as a former student.
“That’s disgusting,” the girl said. “It’s just a brain in a tank.”
“That’s Eric – he’s not an ‘it,’” said the boy. “He was my TA for Psych 101. He was a great guy.”
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Was? Did they think he was sitting in formaldehyde?
The girl grimaced. “Guess I know not to become a psychology major.”
Eric could hear their laughter echoing as they left the room. It took several hours to shake the dull, hollow feeling they left
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