I originally wrote this for a non-fiction essay competition. I didn't win so I'm just going to post it here. Enjoy x * I brush my teeth with wireless headphones on my head. I try to blast something meaningful into my ears but noise in any capacity is what I need here. The way I know to stop brushing is when my electric toothbrush buzzes three times against my jaw bone. That’s how I know how long two minutes are. When I get into my pyjamas, I have to remove the headphones to get my shirt off my head, or I’ll get stuck. In that silence, my ears buzz for a good 5 seconds before I can hear what silence is. I keep the window open in summer because all of my skin sticks together, and tonight, I can hear bats flying outside, a very small Doppler effect of squeaking. I can still hear the music in my headphones because I didn’t disconnect them. I haven’t decided whether to stop listening to music whilst brushing my hair and then I remember where my hair is. I disconnect my headphones. I