The three of them looked at each other, growing too anxious to keep looking outside.

“What do you see?” she asked the both of them.

“I don’t see anything,” Alex answered, to which Josie silently nodded. “But that doesn’t make any sense. I have a balcony…”

Marigold cut him off: “Yeah, yeah, lucky you with your fancy-ass balcony. I don’t have windows on my floor.”

“What?” Alex put his hand on his chin in contemplation. “That little natural lighting can’t be healthy…” It got him thinking: what the hell was up with all the potted plants, anyway? They were definitely organic, yet they were never pointed towards any windows.

“Not the point!” She opened the window and tried to thrust her arm out of it, where it seemed to hit another invisible layer of glass and slide off. “We can’t leave!”

He walked up and imitated her, if only to feel it for himself. The nothing-wall was cold, and it almost even felt wet with condensation. He shuddered. “Huh.”

“Listen.” She ran her hand through her hair and then turned to face Alex. “I know this is a shitty question, but it’s important. Have you ever tried… leaving the balcony?”

He looked at her, hand still pressed against the air. “Um…” He saw that Josie was standing off to the side, grimacing.

Marigold had seen their sour look: “Come on! It’s not a suggestion. I’m not that much of a bitch.”

Alex waved his hands in front of his face. “No! I wasn’t taking it that way!” Secondhand embarrassment was sending blood rushing to his head. “I did try. It didn’t work.”

“See?! We’re stuck here!”

Josie finally spoke up after an eternity of making themself look busy: “I would like to do my laundry by now.”

They all were jostled back on track. “I’m sorry, Jo,” Marigold was apologizing as she lifted the basket back up. “You have to admit something weird is going on here, though, right?”

Josie was quiet. They seemed to be looking at something in the distance.

Alex saw that Marigold was trying to follow their eyes as well, but neither of them could see whatever it was that Josie was staring at, so they both just looked forward and let the subject trail off.