Lucas

Lucas is the protagonist of the short story. He lives a solitary lifestyle and does not enjoy spending time outside of his apartment despite living in a major city. He always orders delivery food, usually Thai, and does not even enjoy interacting with the delivery drivers, always waiting for them to leave the food before he retrieves it.

Although Lucas lives in an apartment building with an involved group of board members, he does not take any interest in working with them to improve the building or joining their various committees.

When the frying pan is left outside and kicks off the story’s main plot point, Lucas finds himself drawn out of the apartment and forced to interact with his neighbors for the first time. He initially resists and does not want to get more involved with them.

As the work progresses, Lucas becomes less cynical about...