CONTENT WARNING — RECOMMENDED 16+ 

This fictional diary contains dark humor, horror, body horror and disturbing themes.

Some later entries contain stronger 18+ violent content and will be clearly marked. 

The Diary is a weekly horror-comedy told through the eyes of Tiffany (Taffy), a 21 year-old girl surviving The Pastel Apocalypse of 1980. Every Sunday, a new diary entry is realesed for free on my website. 

If you are new, start from Entry 000 here <3

In 2019, when I changed the name of my shop to The Pastel Apocalypse, I had an entire world and storyline to share, complete with characters. But I never did, because I wasn’t quite sure how to tell it to you. I actually came up with two different storylines for the shop: the first one in 2019, and the second in 2020, when I started selling clothing too. This summer (2026), while working on the summer collection, I couldn’t help but come up with another story. I can’t help it, I just have way too much fun doing it.

So, now, you can enter my word. 

Enjoy! 

-Ayla A. Vigna

© 2026 Ayla A. Vigna. All rights reserved. The Diary and its original text, characters, and artwork may not be reproduced, distributed, adapted, or used commercially without prior written permission. Brief quotations for reviews and commentary are permitted with appropriate credit.

ᶜᴼᴺᵀᴱᴺᵀ ᵂᴬᴿᴺᴵᴺᴳ — ᴿᴱᶜᴼᴹᴹᴱᴺᴰᴱᴰ ¹⁶⁺ ᵀʰⁱˢ ᶠⁱᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿᵃˡ ᵈⁱᵃʳʸ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵃⁱⁿˢ ᵈᵃʳᵏ ʰᵘᵐᵒʳ, ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ, ᵇᵒᵈʸ ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵈⁱˢᵗᵘʳᵇⁱⁿᵍ ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉʳʸ. 

08/23/1980

Dear Diary,

Trevor came back, obviously. Although, to be fair, he actually came back Monday afternoon... he certainly made me wait.

A few days ago, during the pathetic excuse for dinner they keep giving us, the old man from the elderly couple who came up to Sector B with me, started staring at me after complaining about how little food we get.
Like... really staring.
Honestly, it was almost rude.
So I asked him if I could help him, mostly because they still keep treating Jenny, Trevor, and I like we're waiters, since we're the only staff members up here.
And do you know what he answered?
Yes.
I mean... wasn't it obvious I was being sarcastic?
Then he slammed his face straight into the plate in front of him. I thought he was dead, but he sat back up a few seconds later. He had spaghetti stuck all over his face. It was horrifying.
Purple liquid was dripping out of his nose, so his wife started shaking him, but he just kept staring at me.
That idiot Jenny started laughing. So, as usual, I almost started laughing too.
His face turned bright red, and I thought, well, sure, if two girls are laughing in your face it makes sense you'd get mad... but I also thought he was about to explode. Just like my boss did. So I grabbed my plate and stood up.
Instead, he smashed his face into the plate a second time.
Only then did his entire body explode into a rainbow of pastel colors... blood... and guts...
There was pastel slime all over the white tablecloth. You can't even have dinner in peace anymore.
Then his wife started screaming. Fair enough.
Then all the other guests joined in.
Jenny was screaming too, but mostly because she was pissed that her food had become inedible.
We're all starving.

Anyway, don't ask me how Jenny managed to get hold of a curling iron.
I was curling my hair while she was soaking in the bathtub next to me, humming Funkytown over and over, which was already starting to get on my nerves. I moved a lock of my hair aside and noticed this pink streak.
What was I supposed to do?
I threw the curling iron.
It sparked.
The whole room smelled like fried chicken. The two of us ended up sitting there in complete darkness. I immediately started apologizing to Jenny, but she wasn't answering. It would've been ridiculous to survive a nuclear explosion only to die from electrocution.
So I ran to grab the box with the radioactive slime and used it as a light.
With her hair like that she looked like a porcupine.
When she finally turned around and looked at me, she asked if I was stupid.
I ruined her hair, but at least she didn't die.
Although... with hair like that, maybe I would've preferred dying.
Trevor ran into our room a little while later to make sure we were okay. We didn't tell anyone the blackout was my fault. We got rid of the evidence.
I threw the curling iron out the window.

Anyway, Jenny was already in a bad mood, understandably, and got into another argument with the banana men.
She started kicking and punching, and when one of them shoved her, of course I defended her.
I yelled at my favorite banana man that he was, in fact, a banana man.
I think he took it personally. He put one hand on his chest and just stood there speechless.

I know he was my favorite because he wears a little pin on his suit that says Don't Ask Me, I'm New. He's the one who brought me the Cosmopolitan magazines, and eventually he even started bringing me the new issues. I trained him well.

Anyway, they grabbed us by the hair.
Rude.
Trevor tried to stop them, but, you know... four against one isn't exactly a fair fight. They dragged us two girls down to the underground floor.
The last thing I remember from that day is a few seconds before they threw me into a pool.
But I'm fine, those losers really are pathetic. I've just been left with this weird pain in my arms and legs... The good thing is that when I woke up the next day, after the blackout, Trevor was asleep in the chair beside my bed. I just watched him for a while. His head was tilted awkwardly to one side. I wanted to get up and wake him, but I couldn't move at all.
A few minutes later he woke up on his own and came over to me.
He told me he'd hoped they'd never take me downstairs, and that he'd even asked them not to.
But they only do stupid tests down there anyway.
Maybe I just slipped into the pool by myself, maybe they didn't push me.
I was probably still arguing with those assholes, but when I told Trevor what happened, he didn't say a word.
He just clenched his fist. It looked like he was trying to hold himself together. So I gave him a few little taps on the shoulder, the way he always does with me.
And I managed to make him smile.

We're all okay.

XOXOXO

Taffy.

ᶜᴼᴺᵀᴱᴺᵀ ᵂᴬᴿᴺᴵᴺᴳ — ᴿᴱᶜᴼᴹᴹᴱᴺᴰᴱᴰ ¹⁶⁺ ᵀʰⁱˢ ᶠⁱᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿᵃˡ ᵈⁱᵃʳʸ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵃⁱⁿˢ ᵈᵃʳᵏ ʰᵘᵐᵒʳ, ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ, ᵇᵒᵈʸ ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵈⁱˢᵗᵘʳᵇⁱⁿᵍ ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉʳʸ.

08/16/1980

Dear Diary,

I'm not going to tell you about seeing Trevor being escorted out of the elevator by the banana men yesterday. And I'm not going to tell you how, when I tried to act offended with him, instead of giving me those little punches on the shoulder, he just pulled me into a hug.
I'm not even going to tell you that I was right about the food portions being way too small, because Trevor thinks so too. Even though, looking back at some old instant photos I keep in this diary, they seem exactly the same as what we were eating before we got moved up here.
But I am going to tell you what happened to Justin.
I think people around here have a strange obsession with pretending to be balloons.

Trevor was in Sector A with Justin and some other people. It's the floor below ours, apparently.
They weren't talking anymore, of course. Trevor thought it was disgusting that Justin cheated on his girlfriend, so he'd stopped talking to him too, out of respect for her.
He had barely walked past him when Justin suddenly started screaming and Trevor slipped onto the floor.
When Trevor looked up and, to quote his exact words:
"Holy shit... his arm fucking exploded."
And then, obviously, it turned into a fireworks show because his other arm and one of his legs exploded too.
Now, I don't want to judge... but maybe that's what happens when you cheat on your girlfriend.
Before assigning Trevor a room on the floor, they threw a shirt with his percentage printed on it right at his face.
56%.
For now, I'm the highest one out of the eight people on this floor. They still haven't told Jenny hers yet...

I stayed in Trevor's room last night. We watched the toxic pastel-colored clouds together, just like old times. He asked me to dance to Sailing, holding me close like he'd actually missed me. Not like the other boys I'd talked to over the past few years. And while we were slowly swaying to the music, I realized how good he smells.
I wish that evening had never ended.

Trevor isn't on this floor anymore. The banana men escorted him away. Jenny saw from the window that they took him to the underground floor.
Honestly, Jenny was worrying for nothing. They took me down there a few days ago too, and I'm still here.
They ran blood tests, cut off a lock of my hair for some reason, probably just to ruin my haircut... Took a urine sample...
I'll admit, I heard some screaming down there. But then again, people scream all the time.
You know... people exploding and leaving pastel-colored trails behind...
If we're going with Jenny's theory, one of the people on our floor says she hasn't seen her husband in two weeks. They were together before she got moved here. They took him out of their room, she followed them until they stopped her, and then he disappeared into the 24/7 restricted area.
I don't know how I'd react if that happened to Trevor.
He'd better come back.

Jenny painted my toenails, but I might ask her to touch them up a little before I go to bed.

I hope something finally happens around here. It's still so boring. Although, honestly, I'd rather just get out of here. At this point I'd probably just go back to North Carolina...

XOXOXO

Taffy

ᶜᴼᴺᵀᴱᴺᵀ ᵂᴬᴿᴺᴵᴺᴳ — ᴿᴱᶜᴼᴹᴹᴱᴺᴰᴱᴰ ¹⁶⁺ ᵀʰⁱˢ ᶠⁱᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿᵃˡ ᵈⁱᵃʳʸ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵃⁱⁿˢ ᵈᵃʳᵏ ʰᵘᵐᵒʳ, ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ, ᵇᵒᵈʸ ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵈⁱˢᵗᵘʳᵇⁱⁿᵍ ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉʳʸ.

08/09/1980

Dear Diary,

Up here on the fourth floor, Sector B, it's painfully boring.
I complained so much to the men in the yellow suits that, eventually, they brought me a few old issues of Cosmopolitan.
I can't deny that, in my opinion, they could've done better... but for now I'll take it.
I spend all day in bed flipping through magazines I've already read. The good thing is that Jenny arrived four days ago. Somehow we managed to convince the men in yellow to let us stay in the same room. So now we get bored together, the two of us.
Three more people arrived too, all of them guests. And you know what they do? They treat Jenny and I like we're maids.
"Miss, could you get me this?" "Miss, where are the clean towels?" "Miss, what time is dinner?"
How would I know? I'm stuck up here with you!
Sorry, Diary, I don't want to spend the whole time complaining, but being locked up here is starting to drive me crazy. This was supposed to be an amazing summer. Instead: I'm not even tanned, my boss exploded all over me, and I'm bored.

Jenny actually found herself a hobby: watching the people being escorted in and out of the underground floor... the one that's guarded 24/7.
She thinks some of them never come back out. I think that after staring at people for long enough, they all start looking the same and you just get them mixed up.
Oh, they finally told us our radiation levels. Crazy.
Apparently I'm at 75%, according to the banana men.
Which is ridiculous if you think about it. My boss was only at 4%, and she exploded.
I haven't told my mom. She's the one who encouraged me to come work in California, she'd never forgive herself.
And I don't want to make her worry for no reason.
Anyway, I have no idea how, but Jenny somehow brought that radioactive slime into Sector B, the one she sealed inside the container... Oh God... now that I think about it, what if that thing is the reason our contamination levels are so high?
I swear that thing moves around inside the container. Sometimes it's in one corner, then it's in the middle, then it moves again. Jenny says that's not true, though.
Maybe I'm just so bored that I'm making up distractions for myself.
At least we've been laughing a lot together... Thank God she made it here...
Right now she's painting her toenails. Yesterday she yelled so much at one of the banana men that he eventually brought us nail polish.
I've got the radio on quietly because otherwise I can't concentrate while I'm writing, and Sailing by Christopher Cross is playing... Trevor always turned the volume up whenever it came on... I'm gonna tell Jenny to turn it up...
I miss watching that boy smile at me... or hearing him laugh when he lightly punches my shoulder because I get offended over stupid little things and pretend I don't want to talk to him.
Jenny told me he's okay, at least the last time she saw him before she got moved.
If he were here too, at least we'd be complaining together about the tiny food portions they're giving us and about how awful everything tastes.
Honestly, I'm starting to think they're spitting in our food... or trying to poison us.
As soon as I see Trevor, I'll ask him what he thinks about the food.

Talk to you soon.
XOXOXO

Taffy

ᶜᴼᴺᵀᴱᴺᵀ ᵂᴬᴿᴺᴵᴺᴳ — ᴿᴱᶜᴼᴹᴹᴱᴺᴰᴱᴰ ¹⁶⁺ ᵀʰⁱˢ ᶠⁱᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿᵃˡ ᵈⁱᵃʳʸ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵃⁱⁿˢ ᵈᵃʳᵏ ʰᵘᵐᵒʳ, ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ, ᵇᵒᵈʸ ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵈⁱˢᵗᵘʳᵇⁱⁿᵍ ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉʳʸ.

08/02/1980

Dear Diary,

First, some important news: the power is finally back. Jenny and I got to talk to our parents.

Something completely insane happened a few days ago. We found out Justin has a girlfriend back in his hometown. Jennyfer was in his room, the other day, and found inside his wallet a picture of the two of them hugging. Unbelievable.
What a cheater.

I thought he was ugly anyway.

Also, the other day, my boss was explaining the same thing to me for the millionth time. She seemed completely out of it by then, and she kept repeating that I wasn't allowed to stop and talk to Trevor while I was on shift. But he wasn't even there.

So, while I was watching her struggle to remember her own words, I suddenly found myself covered in something warm... It splattered all over my face as my boss's headless body collapsed onto the floor.
Seriously... gross.
She could've at least gone to the bathroom before doing something like that. Now that I think about it, I'm not even that surprised her head popped like a baloon. That woman had seemed completely crazy ever since before the nuclear power plant exploded.
I won't lie, I started screaming. Some of it must've gotten into my mouth too. The funny thing was that it wasn't just blood, there were the usual pastel-colored patches mixed in with the pieces of her brain. At least from what I managed to see, since I had to wipe that disgusting stuff out of my eyes. I wanted to take a picture with my camera, but they dragged me away before I could...
The men in yellow ran some tests on me. And you know what? They still haven't told me my radiation level. Seriously, how long does it take?

The morning after she exploded, I woke up with pastel-colored patches all over my stomach and legs. I took a shower and they disappeared right away. I mean, they weren't ugly... But I wouldn't have known how to match them with my outfits once I got back to North Carolina. Because... I'm going back home... right?

...Of course.

Today I got assigned to my sector... Sector B. It's the fourth floor, the one Trevor and I found completely empty.
Now that it's furnished, it's actually really nice, and my room is much bigger, with a way more comfortable bed. Plus, you can see the entire Resort from up here. The only bad thing is that they won't let me leave this floor, and I'm here alone with two older people.
At least my room has a balcony. I'm actually out there right now, lying on a sun lounger while I write this at late night.

I don't think they gave me enough food for today's dinner. I'm still very hungry...
I already miss talking to Jenny and Trev, like we do every evening under the pastel clouds... eating food we stole from the kitchens.
I hope they come visit me soon.

XOXOXO

Taffy.

ᶜᴼᴺᵀᴱᴺᵀ ᵂᴬᴿᴺᴵᴺᴳ — ᴿᴱᶜᴼᴹᴹᴱᴺᴰᴱᴰ ¹⁶⁺ ᵀʰⁱˢ ᶠⁱᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿᵃˡ ᵈⁱᵃʳʸ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵃⁱⁿˢ ᵈᵃʳᵏ ʰᵘᵐᵒʳ, ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ, ᵇᵒᵈʸ ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵈⁱˢᵗᵘʳᵇⁱⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵉᵐᵉˢ.

07/26/1980

Dear Diary,

A few days ago, Trevor and I went up to the fourth floor of the Resort's main building...
The lights were barely flickering and, even though I'd never been up there before, we both thought it was strange that there wasn't any furniture anywhere... The sound of our footsteps echoed throughout the entire floor. Looking out the windows, we spotted a few men in protective suits walking around, followed by some guests and staff members. They crossed one of the pools and then headed downstairs into the covered parking garage. They actually put up signs saying "No Entry." It's one of the very few areas that's really being guarded 24 hours a day.

Trevor and I spent a long time exploring the floor. All we found were more pastel-colored patches in some of the rooms and scratches all over the walls. While I was trying to take pictures of them with my camera, he grabbed me by the arm and told me we should leave. Then, just a few steps away from the elevator, the power went out completely.
Everywhere.

I think the reason Trevor worries so much is because he's older. Maybe getting old just makes people paranoid. He's three years older than me.
I'm 21, in case you didn't know, Diary. Actually... I don't think I've ever told you that.
Anyway, while he was starting to scold me because I was wasting time taking pictures, I showed him the service door that leads downstairs through the stairwell...
He went quiet after that...
Yeah, it was my idea to go exploring, but he agreed to come with me. It's not like I forced him.

When we got back to the ground floor, everything was dark. The men in uniform gathered us all together and explained that things at the Resort were about to change again.
They were going to divide the entire Resort into sectors, and each sector would be assigned to a certain number of guests and staff members. Other than that, the rest of our stay here wouldn't change.
But that's when some of the guests completely lost it. Everyone wanted to just go home. They had to escort many people away, it was getting very chaotic.

Even without electricity, we still have to work. My boss gets more absent-minded every day. Yesterday she called me by at least three different names within just a few hours, and sometimes she'd be right in the middle of explaining something, then suddenly walk away without even finishing. One of her eyes has turned completely purple, too. I stare at it sometimes, wondering if she still see out of it.

Without power we can't talk to our parents anymore or watch TV. Movie nights are completely ruined, and they've closed that area of the Resort too...
At least we still get free alcoholic drinks. Although, at this point, we're just stealing bottles of tequila straight from the kitchens.

The other night Trevor and I were just soaking in the pool. It must've been around two or three in the morning. The men in yellow showed up and asked us what we were doing. They insisted on pricking one of our fingers to check our radiation levels... Sure, it only took a second, so why didn't they do it sooner? They took both of our names and then just left us there in the pool, the fenced pool.
Idiots.

It looks like Jennyfer has started seeing Justin. I don't know how it happened, but this week I've barely seen her except in the evenings. That's okay, though. It just meant I got to spend more time with Trevor.
Oh, and Jennyfer put some of that pastel-colored slime she found in one of the hallways inside a little transparent plastic container. It's actually pretty useful since there's no electricity. It gives our room a little bit of light after the sun goes down.
It's July 26th now, and I'm still as pale as a corpse. You can barely even see my swimsuit tan lines. What a shame...
The food, even though it looks exactly the same as always, is starting to taste strange. Jenny and Trevor noticed it too. Maybe that's just what happens when you eat delicious food all the time. You get used to it, and it starts to feel normal. It's not special anymore.

Talk to you soon.
XOXOXO
Taffy.

ᶜᴼᴺᵀᴱᴺᵀ ᵂᴬᴿᴺᴵᴺᴳ — ᴿᴱᶜᴼᴹᴹᴱᴺᴰᴱᴰ ¹⁶⁺ ᵀʰⁱˢ ᶠⁱᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿᵃˡ ᵈⁱᵃʳʸ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵃⁱⁿˢ ᵈᵃʳᵏ ʰᵘᵐᵒʳ, ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ, ᵇᵒᵈʸ ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵈⁱˢᵗᵘʳᵇⁱⁿᵍ ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉʳʸ.

07/19/1980

Dear Diary,

It’s been over a week since the explosion, and yet the sky still looks like it’s stuck in a never-ending sunset. There’s this pastel-colored haze covering the blue sky all day long. It’s a little annoying because it makes it kind of hard for me and Jenny to sunbathe during our free time... But honestly, it’s really beautiful to look at.

Jenny and I are still waiting to get tested for radiation. There were around two thousand people at the resort the day of the explosion, counting both staff and guests. But I’m starting to think there’s no point anymore. I mean, if someone’s sick, you can tell. Like my manager. Remember how she had that light blue liquid dripping from her nose last week? Today she looked like she was struggling to talk, like she kept forgetting words. Or even how talking works. She still managed to yell at me, though, because I was chatting with Trevor during my shift.

He seems really worried, you know? He’s still waiting for his test too, but he’s obviously fine, so I don’t think he has anything to worry about. We spent a long time sitting by the pool with our feet in the water before the men in the yellow suits told us we weren't allowed to stay there anymore. You know the pool where Jenny fell in? Yeah, that one. They completely fenced it off. We both just stood there watching them surround the whole area with yellow caution tape. And not just that pool... They've closed almost all of them... This resort is huge. I think there are seven or eight pools in total.

And of course there are people refusing to get tested because they feel fine. Honestly, I kind of get it. There are also people who just don't want to stay here anymore after everything that's happened. It's been over a week now, and they still won't let any of us leave these walls...

Jennyfer, Trevor, and I have started having dinner together on one of the resort rooftops. We sneak food out of the buffet and watch the colorful streaks in the sky. They're even prettier at night. They almost look like the Northern Lights. Even Trevor admitted there's at least something nice about this whole disaster. Those evenings together. Sneaking into the movie area now that it's practically empty.  Jumping into the pool in the middle of the night while everyone else is asleep. The yellow caution tape definitely doesn't stop us...

We finally found out the name of the guy Jenny likes. Trevor told us. His name's Justin. Apparently he's really quiet, and Trevor said they've barely talked since the explosion.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you something.

The staff who've already been tested got new work uniforms... Well, technically they're the same uniforms, but now they've printed all these safety warnings on them, and on the back there's a contamination percentage. So far everyone's numbers are really low. I've seen people anywhere between 4% and 15%. Jenny, Trevor, and I will probably be around the same. Maybe even lower.

One thing I still don't know is what happened to those guests with the weird pastel blotches on their skin. Apparently the people who were outside during the explosion had some pretty bad reactions within the first seventy-two hours... But Jenny was outside too, and she's perfectly fine. So... I don't know. That's why I still think people are worrying a lot more than they need to.

Anyway, I'm in bed now, like always when I write to you.

Jenny's arguing with Trevor about Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. We watched it last night. It was Jennyfer's first time seeing it. I'd already seen it when it came out in theaters back in May. I went with a guy who threw such a fit when the movie ended that I never called him again. Trevor had already seen it back in his hometown too. Anyway, the conversation is going something like this.

Jennyfer's standing up, I can hear her bare feet pacing across the carpet. Trevor keeps shifting around while sitting on my bed, making the mattress springs squeak. Why can't either of them stay still?

"I'm telling you, the story is incomplete!" Jenny insists.

Trevor doesn't seem willing to accept her point of view.

"That's the whole point! It's supposed to leave you wanting to see the sequel!"

"But I wanted to watch a movie! Not half of one!"

I'm on Trevor's side, but I've already given up trying to convince her. I'll let you know if she changes her mind.

That's all for today.

XOXOXO

Taffy

ᶜᴼᴺᵀᴱᴺᵀ ᵂᴬᴿᴺᴵᴺᴳ — ᴿᴱᶜᴼᴹᴹᴱᴺᴰᴱᴰ ¹⁶⁺ ᵀʰⁱˢ ᶠⁱᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿᵃˡ ᵈⁱᵃʳʸ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵃⁱⁿˢ ᵈᵃʳᵏ ʰᵘᵐᵒʳ, ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ, ᵇᵒᵈʸ ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵈⁱˢᵗᵘʳᵇⁱⁿᵍ ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉʳʸ.

07/10/1980

Dear Diary...

I don’t even really know how to start.

Remember that bad feeling I had yesterday?

A nuclear power plant a few miles from here exploded. They told us that nobody can leave the building, not the staff and not the guests.

There are men in yellow suits walking around the resort. We’re trying to keep working and act like nothing happened, but this morning some of the guests by the pool had these awful pastel-colored blotches on their skin. A little boy went up to his mom and popped the one on her knee, and all this colorful goo came out.

Everyone started running around like crazy. Jennyfer started laughing at the whole thing. Then she got me laughing too, so we were the only two idiots laughing in the middle of a screaming crowd...

In all the chaos, some man pushed her into the pool. But when she came back up, she was still laughing like a maniac. So hard that I couldn’t even stay on my feet anymore and had to crouch down.

Thank God we’re together.

I heard they’re calling the staff in one by one to check how much radiation we have in our bodies. But if it were really that dangerous, we’d all be dead already, right? Maybe those suits are a little over the top. And aren’t they hot in there?

I managed to talk to that cute guy I told you about yesterday. There was a power outage, probably because of the explosion, and I was in an elevator with him... I think we were stuck in there for about 30 minutes before someone came to get us out.

He has really nice brown eyes and a smile that makes you feel safe. But I can’t remember his name. Maybe Trevor. I’m not sure. He told me he’s from a town near here, but I can’t remember the name of that either.

I’m not very good with names, okay?

Tomorrow I’ll find a way to ask him without actually asking him.

Tonight, Jennyfer and I snuck into the guests’ buffet for dinner. We had some amazing shrimp and spaghetti with mussles. The empty plates are still sitting on our beds. I hope they don’t fall.

I guess with everything going on, nobody’s paying much attention to people stealing food. Better for us, in the end.

Oh, and of course, she’s still humming Funkytown...

Well, I talk about it, talk about it...

Anyway, they talked about the nuclear plant explosion on the news too. There are other places completely locked down.

I’m actually a little worried.

While I was talking to my boss, light blue liquid started dripping from her nose.

Well, at least if the world has to end, it’s decorated with pretty colors.

XOXOXO

Taffy

ᶜᴼᴺᵀᴱᴺᵀ ᵂᴬᴿᴺᴵᴺᴳ — ᴿᴱᶜᴼᴹᴹᴱᴺᴰᴱᴰ ¹⁶⁺ ᵀʰⁱˢ ᶠⁱᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿᵃˡ ᵈⁱᵃʳʸ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵃⁱⁿˢ ᵈᵃʳᵏ ʰᵘᵐᵒʳ, ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ, ᵇᵒᵈʸ ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵈⁱˢᵗᵘʳᵇⁱⁿᵍ ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉʳʸ.

07/09/1980

Dear Diary,

Yes, I bought a brand-new diary. I got it especially so I could document this new adventure properly.

Let’s start from the beginning.

Leaving from North Carolina, between the two flights and the layover, it took us almost 10 hours to get to California, where we’re going to work at a five-star resort. It’s called the Sunny Side Resort. Very chic. Of course, it’s not exactly the same as going on a real vacation. But we get unlimited alcoholic drinks when we’re off duty!

And obviously, food and accommodation are included. Our room is wonderful. It has two pretty big beds and it’s always so bright. Even though we’re hardly ever in there...

They gave us our uniforms. Mine is Yellow, Jennyfer's turquoise... but I don’t know... I feel like they’re missing something. They look a little empty...

Anyway, we’ve only been here for four days and everything seems to be going perfectly. We’ve even spotted two cute guys.

I mean, I’m not completely sure the one I like is actually cute. I’ve only seen him from far away and, as you know, my eyesight isn’t exactly great. But he’s a member of staff too, so sooner or later I’ll get the chance to talk to him.

Jennyfer has been humming Funkytown nonstop since we left. I always end up singing along with her, but it’s starting to get stuck in my head...

There was something else I wanted to tell you, but I forgot..

Oh, right! You’re probably wondering why we left so late for our summer job... I fell behind on two of my college exams. But yes, I passed them both! And Jennyfer, who had already taken hers, helped me study.

Luckily, the resort agreed to wait for us anyway.

That’s why I’m saying everything is going perfectly... maybe a little too perfectly.

Actually, I have this weird feeling. Like a little knot of anxiety in my stomach. But usually when I feel like this, nothing ever happens. It’s like something is trying to tell me... I don’t know... that I shouldn’t be here.

I’ll update you in a few days!

Maybe something even better will happen after all!

XOXOXO

Taffy