Meningitis Sound Symphony

I sat in a doctors office and took note of the symphony of sounds around me:

• A low gravel filled voice issuing from the television set and the solemn newscaster on it. 
• An elegant female voice answers with authority 
• A mid-range buzzing cuts through their voices
• On my right, glossy newspaper pages rustle and rub against each other
• A stuffy sniff comes from the blond next to me
• A clunk from the front desk startles me through the mixture of buzzing around me as a drawer is rapidly shut
•  "Meningitis"

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• A lilting television jungle sets the new tone of the room
• Thump, a hand falls on the desk, providing the base
• The soprano joins in with a light yet gravel filled melody of speech
• "Video game"
• A crumbly pencil comes in as the snare
• Syncopated sniffs join the percussion
• "Ha-Humph", the vocalist clears his throat
• A drum solo interrupts in a moment of clear, dry coughs
• The chorus enters the symphony with their voices blending in a rapid fire 2nd soprano melody line 
• A xylophone of papers rubbing against each other before a careful thumb and finger pry them apart
• "Meningitis"

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• A shuffling metronome of relaxed shoes scuffing across the floor
• A silvery flute of high pitched sniffling combines with the deeper, wet sniffs of the clarinet
• The tap and click of a cellphone interrupts the live performance, a premature drum
• The female vocalist trills a soft and gentle glissando 
• Keys hidden in a pocket clang in a cloistered run of symbols
• Thump! A chair leg falls loudly
• Thunk! A stapler joins in 
• Pitter-Patter; pens rain down on a wooden table with the gentle tapping of a magnified rain stick
• Heee-Huuuuuummmm; a syncopated and rich strings section joins in at the height of this composition as    an unseen copy machine spits out sheets of paper
• The cellos dominate for a moment as the copy machine rollers enter the swell of sounds
• Squeak, squeak, slacks trill at the crest of sound
• "Meningitis"

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• Pop!  A bottle hits wood 
• Click! A distant door lock closes
• "Injection"
• A swift intake of air preparing for percussive coughs
• "Alright Darling"
• "Stock Market Update"
• The metallic clink of a file cabinet cuts the vocal soloists
• Slip-Slap, flip-flops tap as the beat takes over the melody
• Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap the buttons on a silenced phone provide the faintest drum line
• The percussion swells with the crackle of a plastic bag and the crumple of packaging material
• "Cash you can use to pay off your credit card bills"
• An audience member clears her throat 
• A bell-like zipper emerges in a descant
• Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha; a punctuated and articulate laugh with the dissonance of a forced sound
• Twiz-Twit: whispers undercut the swell of sound
• Hu, hu, hu, hu, hu, hu; a suppressed laugh trills
• A laminating machine hums in an even haromy line
• Click! A pen taps mimics the conductors baton
• Crush! A punctuation of thin plastic rips through the other sounds
• "Appeals Court"
• "Girl, we are open 8-5 in the daytime"
• "Meningitis"

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• Snap! A binder shuts
• The faint trilling of a telephone begins
• Tap, tap, tap, tap; high-heels enter as the drums presence
• Squeaking flip-flops like a hesitant violin begins
• The vocal 3 part harmony: 
• A harsh female voice carries the melody
• The alto has a chocolate, smooth voice
• The third voice in the trio murmurs a barely audible descant
•  Two voices join the females:
• A hesitant soprano line is added by a soft-spoken juvenile male
• The melody is strengthened by a stereotypical television salesman
• Choot, choot, choot, choot; a low chant of boredom issues from the receptionist
•  "Kelly Thomas... brutal details.... graphic"
• The baritone groan of leather as it peals away from bare skin
• "Don't tell my boss"
• Blunt trauma to his head"
• "Meningitis"

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• The tapping of a keyboard sets the beat
• Swish! The conductors baton slices the air in the form of a backpack being repacked
• A zipper trills across the simple beat
• "Assault"
• A hard-backed chair creeks like a protesting viola 
• A door taps closed in the distance
• Ka-Plunk! An item drops onto a desk
• Echoing squeaks from a distant hall give the melody a haunting quality
• A whoosh of air escapes a chair cushion like the sigh of an impatient audience member
• Ritt-Da-Dum, a cabinet rattles closed 
• Tap, tip, tap, tip, a woman taps on the window
• "Brutally Murdering"
• The curtain comes down on this symphony with a scratch of a snack bag against rough fabric
• "Meningitis"