Annoy <LIMITED 2024>

Elias put his forehead against the floor. Some days, the world was just one giant, persistent itch.

Elias lived for silence. As a professional watchmaker, his world was measured in microns and the nearly imperceptible snick-snick of escapement wheels. He was currently in the final hour of restoring a 19th-century Breguet, a piece of mechanical poetry so delicate that a heavy sneeze could ruin a week's work. Then came the whistling. Elias put his forehead against the floor

"No," Elias whispered, standing up. "It is the slow, methodical erosion of another person's sanity. It is a whistle that doesn't know its own tune. It is gum that sounds like a wet boot in a swamp. It is the destruction of a three-thousand-dollar hairspring." As a professional watchmaker, his world was measured

"Toby," Elias said, turning slowly in his swivel chair. "Do you know what 'annoy' means?" "No," Elias whispered, standing up

"Almost, Mr. E!" Toby chirped, followed by a wet, clicking sound as he popped a piece of gum. "Just making sure I get into the nooks. And the crannies. Can't forget the crannies." Snap.