Transcript

Panel 1: Sara rings the bell to apartment A again.

Panel 2: Nothing happens. She thinks, "...Did they leave?"

Panel 3: She drops the keys in the mailbox.

Panel 4: Sara's walking back the way she came, past the cemetery with the tall wrought-iron gate. She thinks, "Now, can I find my way back to the train?" Off to the side of the panel, on the sidewalk, there's a cardboard box and duffel bag visible. A voice says, "Excuse me --"

Panel 5: A young woman with black hair with bangs, a black hoodie, and quite a bit of eye makeup on rests her hands on top of the cardboard box and asks Sara, "If you have a cell phone, can I use it? I called a car but I think they messed something up; it's been forever."

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Posted on September 5, 2025 by Shayna Marchese

Playlist:
The Apples in Stereo / She's Telling Lies (Bryce's Mix) (2002) / Bandcamp

Since this takes place in 2005, it's not completely bizarre that someone's asking "if" Sara has a cell phone, but by that point most people would have had one. There would have been plenty of pay phones still around (maybe not in this particular neighborhood). It's hard to think of any time when asking a stranger to use a personal phone wouldn't have been a bit odd, and this is indeed supposed to feel off. Calling a car service would have been the only way to get a ride in an outer borough.

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