A day in the life of an oral fixation #2

8:15 am - She washes her hands thoroughly and rubs soap on and around her mouth. She washes the soap off and rinses her mouth out. She brushes her large, slightly smoke-stained teeth. She brushes the bottom sides, then the front, then the top sides, then the top front, then the outsides, then the insides of all her teeth. She rinses her mouth again and examines her teeth in the mirror. She dries her mouth roughly with a hand towel. She stares at her mouth in the mirror for seconds that pass like hours. She applies red lipstick to her top lip, from left to right. She applies red lipstick to her bottom lip, from right to left. She rubs her lips together and smacks them lightly. She puckers her lips and then stretches them out into a smile, but her eyes don’t follow suit.

8:45 am - She arrives at the large corporation where she works. She pours herself a cup of black coffee on the way to her desk. She says good morning to someone and her voice sounds hoarse. She clears her throat. She sits at her computer, takes a sip of coffee and frowns slightly. She picks up her hair and puts on her thick, black plastic frame glasses. She grabs a pen and chews on the cap as she writes. She puts the pen down and stares at the computer screen as she nibbles a few fingernails. She reads intently and tastes the salt from the fingers on her lips. She takes a large drink of coffee and makes a bitter face. She half-smiles at an email, then takes three large gulps to finish off her coffee. She licks her lips and pushes the lipstick-stained coffee cup away from the computer screen.

10:00 am - She types an email and pauses every few sentences to tap her bottom lip with her right index finger while thinking. She reads a few documents, then peels a banana that’s been sitting on her desk. She bites a large piece from the top of the banana. She reads a paper and makes notes in the margin with a pen in her left hand and the banana in her right. She brings the banana to her mouth and takes a soft, slow bite. She chews the mush of banana filling her mouth. She throws away the last banana quarter along with the peel.