Eric lay back in the bath, the no-longer-hot water lulling him into relaxation and, as it cooled, mild discomfort and annoyance. He tried to lower himself into too shallow water and keep all parts of him warm, while the room grew darker.
Money on the heat, that wasn’t frivolous; he couldn’t keep doing this, he’d end up sick and that would be his experiment in austerity over. Either taken back in by family who would think he was crazy, or lapsing into self-hating and just buying his way out of his misery and into more debt.
The world just isn’t filled with- doesn’t have use for- people who take what they want seriously. You want the man off your back, but you pay for satellite-TV, eat preprocessed high-margin food and distract yourself from your woes, and solving them, with games, films, books. Singularity of purpose, that was just another word for madness in other people’s eyes.