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It all started during car pool- though, it could have begun earlier. Randall Specific awoke to the sounds of his wife singing into his ear- I can’t live if living is without you. It was lovely, and quite sexy, but he shrugged it off for he was already late for work.

When he emerged from the shower, she was still singing. He would have thought this odd if he wasn’t so late.

I can’t live, I can’t give anymore…

Outside, he rushed to the waiting vehicle. This was not his week to drive the carpool, which he hated because this meant that he did not get to choose the music.

Randall hopped into the passenger seat and said his hellos. Almost immediately the driver, who was a gregarious fellow of Irish descent, began to sing to him- You can’t always get what you want. It happened that every morning the Irish driver fellow sang along with the radio and often with more feeling than an American male passenger in the immediate vicinity would feel comfortable with. But Randal did what he always did- he smiled, and tried not to make eye contact. If Randall had looked into the rearview mirror, or perhaps had turned and looked at the passengers in the backseat, he would have noticed that instead of laughing at his situation as they usually do, they were quietly humming along- You get what you need…

Slowly, but surely, thing began to become clearer once Randall arrived at work.

He settled into his cubicle, and checked his email like he did every morning. As he worked, he noticed that everyone in the office was singing- to him! He ran as far as he could, but no matter where he went there was singing. Finally, he took a pencil and stabbed himself in the ears.

But he could still hear…