ClubFloyd transcript for ZIT (2022)

You stand in your little half bath, listening to the message on your phone: "Hello, Ms. Willis! This is Stacy from Solutions! (you can hear the exclamation point in her bubbly tone) calling to confirm your appointment for this morning. Please call back and confirm with us. Thanks so much."

Your breath starts coming fast as the panic sets in. You meet eyes with your reflection in the mirror over the sink, and the panic snarls and snaps its teeth, getting wilder every second. Your job interview-- the first one in twenty years-- is in two hours, and the zit on your chin has become a desperate emergency. It was just a little bump last night, but this morning it has taken on a life of its own. Huge, red, swollen, pulsing with pain, it juts from your chin with a yellow-white tip that promises lots of pus under the surface.

You simply cannot go to a job interview like this. You’re fifty years old, for heaven’s sake. You shouldn’t even have zits at all anymore, yet here this one is, growing larger and more painful by the moment.

You try to keep your breathing steady as you consider it, wondering how on Earth you’re going to deal with this catastrophe. Do you even want to do the interview? You don’t even know what kind of service Solutions! performs for clients, despite having read through their website.

But you need a job. You’re divorced now, and it’s your fault you haven’t worked in twenty years. You just let year after year pass as the kids grew older, saying every year that you’d go back to work, and then not doing it. Well, now you have to. Or do you? The zit on your chin throbs painfully. It has grown larger just in the last few minutes.

PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE

ZIT
An Interactive Fiction by Amanda Walker
Release 1 / Serial number 221030 / Inform 7 build 6M62 (I6/v6.34 lib 6/12N)

Bathroom
This is your little half bath in the hall. Your kids take up the main bathroom in the morning, so you are relegated to this tiny space to deal with your current catastrophe, latest in a string of catastrophes.

There’s barely enough space to move in here. There’s a seafoam green sink cabinet with a sink and a single drawer, a toilet, a roll of paper on a holder, and a mirror. The narrow door leads out into the hall.

You can see a cell phone here.

>

> OPEN DRAWER

You pull open the drawer, revealing: an acne cream, a bandaid, a pin and a tube of makeup.

>

> X CREAM

A tube of acne cream, no doubt left here by your 14-year-old daughter Thea, whose skin is problematic.

The zit pulses like a beating heart.

>

> OPEN MIRROR

It isn’t something you can open.

You hear the commotion of your children outside in the hall, squabbling and poking each other as they geather their school things. Your 14-year-old daughter is an expert on acne.

You consider talking to your daughter about the zit. Do you want to? >

> YES

You call, "Thea?" and your daughter yells, "WHAT, Mom. I’m going to be late."

You say, "I’ve got this pimple…​" and Thea yells, "Yeah, Mom, it’s gross. Gotta go."

You hear squabbling and the door bangs. The house falls silent. It’s you and the zit, alone together.

>

> POP ZIT WITH PIN

I only understood you as far as wanting to pop the zit.

>

> POP ZIT

You put your fingers to the zit, and hesitate. Should you do this? Maybe you should call someone and get some advice.

A sharp stab of pain flares through your jaw from the zit.

>

> X PHONE

Your cell phone. You were probably the last person in the world to get one, and you stubbornly refuse to use it for anything other than calling people. You hate texting. You don’t want any apps. Your ex-husband thought it was cute, before he was your ex, teasing you about being a luddite. You have five numbers on your contacts list:
1.) Your ex-husband Tom
2.) Your daughter, Thea
3.) Your son, Ben
4.) Your best friend Eva
5.) Solutions!

You can call any of them by tapping on the number or the name.

>

> TAP THEA

You tap the contact for your 14-year-old daughter Thea, but she doesn’t answer. She never does. It’s like she hates you. She has made fast friends with your ex-husband’s young new girlfriend, and seems to delight in talking about her all the time: how gorgeous she is, how cool she is, how much she understands Thea. You end the call since Thea doesn’tt have voicemail set up, and you coud let it ring forever without an answer.

You catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror: the zit is redder than ever.

>

> TAP EVA

You tap the contact for your best friend Eva, who always has time for you. She has perfect skin and always has, but maybe she has some advice. After a few rings, Eva picks up and says, "My badass bitch! I’ve only got a minute-- Adam and I are about to hop on a plane."

Oh, right. You’ve been so wrapped up in yourself that you forgot. Eva is also recently divorced, but she had a new boyfriend within a month, a younger man, rich, handsome, charming. You hesitate-- should you tell her about your zit?>

> YES

You say, "Eva, it’s a skin emergency. I have the interview in a couple of hours, and I have this huge zit, and I’m freaking out…​"

You hear the blare and crackle of loudspeakers in the background, and Eva says, "What? I couldn’t hear you. Look, babes, they’re calling our flight for boarding. I’ll call you tonight if I can get a minute away from this sex-starved man of mine. OK?"

"OK…​" you ssniffle, but the line has already gone dead.

>

> TAP BEN

You tap the contact for your 12-year-old son Ben, and he answers right away, "Whassup, Mom?" You blink back tears-- he’s such a sweet kid. You say, "Hi, sweetie," and then pause. Should you tell him about your problems with the zit? >

> YES

You blurt out, "Ben, I have this big zit on my chin and I don’t know what to do about it!" and he says, "Yeah, I noticed it, Mom. It’s really big. I didn’t know adults could get zits that big. Why don’t you put some acne cream on it? That’s what Thea does."

You hear some boys shouting and Ben muttering something, and then he says, "Got to run, Mom. Good luck with your interview!" and the line goes dead.

Your chin throbs.

>

> PUT CREAM ON ZIT

You smear some acne cream on the zit and nearly scream. Touching it causes the zit to throb. It looks worse now with a blob of white cream on it.

>

> PUT CREAM ON ZIT

You smear some acne cream on the zit and nearly scream. Touching it causes the zit to throb. It looks worse now with a blob of white cream on it.

The zit quivers, and you swear you feel it growing.

>

> POKE ZIT WITH PIN

If you do this, you’ll have a bleeding deflated zit instead of a huge pulsating zit. Are you sure you want to do it? >

> YES

You take a deep breath and put the pin to the zit and push. You see black spots in front of your eyes as your whole chin screams in agony. Do you want to keep trying to pop it? >

> YES

You poke harder, panting now with the pain of it, and the skin on the zit swells, the yellow-white surface of it burgeoning, and suddenly it pops, squirting an astonishing amount of bloody pus all over your chin and fingers.

Now it’s a wrinkled bag of torn, bloody skin, and bloody liquid is dribbling out of it.

>

> WASH ZIT

You wash the zit with water from the sink.

>

> PUT CREAM ON ZIT

You smear some acne cream on the bloody sore on your chin, and the white cream mixes with the blood, smearing a garish pink on your chin. It looks awful.

>

> PUT BANDAGE ON ZIT

This little bandaid will just get soaked with bloody pus. You should try to stop the steady trickle from the sore before putting this on.

>

> PUT PAPER ON ZIT

(first taking the roll of paper)
There’s only a little paper left on the roll. You unroll it and rip it off, forming a wad of TP.

>

> PUT PAPER ON ZIT

You press the wad of TP to your tender chin, soaking up the blood and pus, wincing as it touches the raw flesh, the torn bag of skin that is all that’s left of the zit.

Eventually the bleeding stops.

>

> PUT BANDAGE ON ZIT

You put the bandaid over the sore, and it looks like what it is-- a small bandaid over a zit. Your chin is still red and swollen, but it’s better.

>

> WEAR MAKEUP

(first taking the tube of makeup)
You can’t wear that!

>

> PUT MAKEUP ON FACE

You can’t see any such thing.

>

> X MIRROR

A big bathroom mirror. You see your reflection in it: a middle-aged woman whose eyelids are starting to sag. And of course, there is the zit. A giant, red pustule on your chin. It’s the kind of zit that people notice, and then their eyes keep flicking to it until you want to scream, "I KNOW I HAVE A GIANT ZIT. I KNOW!

>

> LOVE SELF

That’s not a verb I recognise.

>

> PUT MAKEUP ON BANDAID

Why would you do that?

>

> PUT MAKEUP ON ZIT

You pat a little concealer on the sore and then eye it in the mirror: a beige dab of what is obviously makeup on a red, swollen chin. It does cover up the sore, but it still looks terrible.

>

> SMILE

That’s not a verb I recognise.

>

> LOOK IN DRAWER

In the drawer are an acne cream, a bandaid and a pin.

>

> PUT BANDAID ON ZIT

You put the bandaid over the sore, and it looks like what it is-- a small bandaid over a zit. Your chin is still red and swollen, but it’s better.

>

> TAP SOLUTIONS

You tap the contact for Solutions! and after two rings, a receptionist says cheerfully, "Good morning. This is Solutions! (you can hear the exclamation point in her voice). How may I help you today? You hesitate. Should you:

1.) Confirm the appointment
2.) Reschedule the appointment
3.) Hang up

>

> 1

You clear you throat and say, "This is Natalie Willis. I’m confirming my interview today."

The receptionist says, "Excellent, Ms. Willis. We’ll see you in a little while."

You thank her, hang up the phone, take a deep breath and square your shoulders.

You’ll have to do the best you can with this zit before the interview. You can do it.

>

> EXIT

You can’t leave this bathroom with a giant open sore on your chin.

>

> L

Bathroom
This is your little half bath in the hall. Your kids take up the main bathroom in the morning, so you are relegated to this tiny space to deal with your current catastrophe, latest in a string of catastrophes.

There’s barely enough space to move in here. There’s a seafoam green sink cabinet with a sink and a single drawer, a toilet, a roll of paper on a holder, and a mirror. The narrow door leads out into the hall.

You can see a cell phone here.

>

> X PHONE

Your cell phone. You were probably the last person in the world to get one, and you stubbornly refuse to use it for anything other than calling people. You hate texting. You don’t want any apps. Your ex-husband thought it was cute, before he was your ex, teasing you about being a luddite. You have five numbers on your contacts list:
1.) Your ex-husband Tom
2.) Your daughter, Thea
3.) Your son, Ben
4.) Your best friend Eva
5.) Solutions!

You can call any of them by tapping on the number or the name.

>

> TAP TOM

You tap the contact for your ex-husband Tom, and after one ring, "he picks up: "Nat? Are the kids OK?"

You gulp back a sob and say, "I have my interview this morning, and there’s a problem…​"

Tom interrupts with a dramatic sigh, "There’s always a problem, Nat. Whatever it, is, you’ll deal with it, I’m sure." You hear a girl giggle over the phone and your whole body feels hot with shame at having made this call-- that’s Tom’s new girlfriend, age 28. And she’s laughing at you.

Tom says, "Gotta go, Nat. Good luck with the interview."

And the line goes dead.

>

> X ZIT

A wrinkled sack of skin around a red, sore hole in your chin. You should cover it.

>

> COVER ZIT WITH MAKEUP

I only understood you as far as wanting to cover the zit.

>

> PUT MAKEUP ON ZIT

You pat a little concealer on the sore and then eye it in the mirror: a beige dab of what is obviously makeup on a red, swollen chin. It does cover up the sore, but it still looks terrible.

>

> I

You are carrying:
  a tube of makeup
  a wad of TP

>

> PUT TP ON ZIT

The bleeding has stopped. You gingerly pat the sore area with the TP, but you think the worst of the bleeding is over.

>

> PUT MAKEUP ON CHIN

You can’t see any such thing.

>

> CRAWL INTO A HOLE. DIE.

That’s not a verb I recognise.

>

> TAKE BANDAID

Taken.

>

> PUT BANDAID ON ZIT

You put the bandaid over the sore, and it looks like what it is-- a small bandaid over a zit. Your chin is still red and swollen, but it’s better.

You’re ready to leave the bathroom and get ready for your interview.

>

> TAKE PHONE

Taken.

>

> OUT

You leave the bathroom on shaky legs and go to get dressed. You put on your nicest skirt suit and your designer shoes and your best earrings. You study yourself in the mirror one last time, saying to yourself, "I can do this. I CAN do this. I can DO this. I CAN DO THIS.

You pick up your purse and keys, and as your leave the house for your interview, you feel the trickle of liquid seeping from under the bandaid and down your chin.

Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last command? >