Ryan Turner

Things I packed for my three-day trip to St. John’s: my laptop, three pairs of boxer shorts, two pairs of socks, two shirts, a heavier sweater-type shirt, my miniature pillow that Erica calls the bean, an extension cord, my toothbrush, deodorant, a copy of my book to read from, two fancy book-signing pens (in case the first one gets lost I suppose), Orhan Pamuk’s memoir Istanbul, and finally, a medium-sized fan to create white noise while I sleep. The fan was larger than I expected and I had to force it down into my large backpack with the heel of my foot. I wondered if I were to bring it in my carry-on (it wouldn’t have fit anyway) what they would say. Could I cobble together some sort of weapon from the plastic blades?