From the day
Perspective: The Anxious Local · Sight
The glare of the neon "Gas $1.51" sign burns my eyes as I pump fuel, watching the digits climb faster than my paycheck ever could. I glance at the crumpled newspaper on the passenger seat, spotting a headline about **World Business Briefing | Asia: India: Reliance Profit Rises**, and I can’t help but scowl at how some billionaire’s bottom line keeps swelling while I’m stuck paying a dollar for a measly loaf of bread. Across the street, a teenager in oversized cargo pants is shouting into a flip phone, "Can you hear me now?" over the blaring bass of that new Beyoncé track. Everything feels loud, expensive, and increasingly sketchy as those clunky Robosapien toys stare back at me from the shop window with their cold, plastic eyes.