by
Sam Byers
‘OK,’ said Hugo as the car eased up to the kerb and he took in the scene, ‘I’m seeing an ambulance.’
Teddy didn’t look at the ambulance but instead checked his tablet for news of it.
‘I’m not seeing anything that would suggest an ambulance,’ he said.
‘I’m literally looking at the ambulance, Teddy.’
Teddy tapped around. ‘Looking at it doesn’t tell us anything,’ he said.
‘It tells us it fucking exists,’ said Hugo.
‘Right. An ambulance exists. I could have told you that without seeing one, no? It’s irrelevant. That ambulance could just be there as a matter of protocol. Visual confirmation of its presence is, like, literally useless at this point.’
‘Maybe we should briefly speculate,’ said Hugo.
i think this would be funnier if the fact that Teddy didn't look at the ambulance were conveyed more obliquely & w/o the all-seeing eye. like instead of that second line, something a little more basic/perfunctory: "Teddy pulled out his tablet and tapped at it for a few scconds."