Stories from Union Pool

Aileen had to go home to edit tape from the Pen World Voices Festival, while Jess was thrilled that her random date with Jess had gone well. Brian and Corrina said they were moving once Brian returned from Thailand. In the yard, Daniel stood in a circle with his friends, but it didn't stop Katie from trying to hawk CDs by the talented Rebecca Schiffman. ("She looks like Natalie Portman," Tiffany said to someone, just as Gowri said to Tiffany, "She looks like Natalie Portman.") Back inside, Gregor and the storyteller (sad about the lack of cherry in the whiskey sour) listened to Keith introduce the North Brooklyn Story Project and then watched the crowd go nuts for The Blue Album Group, playing songs from Weezer's The Blue Album. Outside again, Tammy defended eating burritos and ramen for breakfast, while Shannon recounted rinsing the rotten milk from her cereal, and Garrett said that cultural Christians might indeed exist. Janos and gang were going strong in a back corner, making friends with an adjacent table through Maia's urban games. Someone was getting sick on the street. Someone was buying an avocado. Elsewhere in the city, people were going to sleep, waking up, and thinking of each other.