by Lauren Salem
We parted when I walked onto the elevator. Once the elevator doors started to close, I noticed Kenneth was still watching, so I opened my top and rubbed my grimy bra against the elevator door. “You’re no fun!” I shouted.
He started marching toward the elevator.
I thought it was time to go. I pressed my floor, and the elevator took off before he could get to me. The shower coin must have brought out a playful side of me that I hadn’t seen for a long time. When I got to my room, ComCon told me that I had a message from Kenneth.
“Your friend, Collins, will be cleaning that tonight, and he has you to thank for it…P.S., I am a lot of fun [wink face],” ComCon read.
I didn’t know he heard me say that. I couldn’t imagine what Kenneth considered fun. I’d really like to see Kenneth make Collins clean up my boob dirt. Collins owed us anyway since he got into so much trouble and didn’t show up for the escape meeting. Why did we have to pull Collins’s weight? Couldn’t we just leave him here? No, because Johnny wouldn’t allow it, since they’re best friends.
I grabbed a clean uniform before I went to the restroom. The shower room was located past the toilets, and like everything else, it wasn’t very private. By the time I got there, ten women were already showering in a giant room that had multiple showerheads protruding from the walls. The hard gray floor was slippery and scattered with drains, so I walked slowly until I found the showerhead that was furthest away from the other girls. Under each showerhead, there was a squishy, bone-colored mat on the floor and a locker built into the wall. I took off my clothes, put them in the locker, and inserted the shower coin into the metal slit in the wall. The water turned on automatically, and the soap dispensers connected to the wall unlocked. Ah…yes, finally a shower…I’ve needed one for three days. I pumped a handful of shampoo into my hand, lathered it up, and massaged it into every part of my scalp. My eyes closed as I became more relaxed. After I rinsed the shampoo out, I opened my eyes and saw Amy Chang standing in front of me; she didn’t look too happy.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Amy asked sternly.
“I’m taking a shower,” I said as I stepped out of the rain to soap my body.
“I brought in sixty pounds today, and my supervisor said I only brought in fifteen,” Amy complained. “Why is that?”
“You stole my mangos, so I stole your shower,” I said. “Simple as that.”
“That’s not possible!”
“It is when the weight recorder is my roommate.”
“Oh I see, he did that for you because you’re sleeping with him. Two can play at that game!”
“You think I’m sleeping with him?” I laughed. “Eww, no, we’re just acquaintances.”
“You’re right; he’s too scrawny to be worth sleeping with,” Amy replied.
“How about this, you stop stealing from me, and I won’t steal from you,” I suggested. “Do we have a deal?”
“No,” Amy said as she got naked.
“What are you doing?”
“I earned this shower, and you’re wasting a lot of water.”
“What? I was just about to wash off!”
“Too bad!”
I shoved her out from under the showerhead, and she took a step back. I started to rinse the soap off my body.
“Did you just push me?”
“Maybe?”
She pushed me back. “Ready for round two?”
“Bring it,” I said, pumping a handful of body soap into my hand.
She threw a punch at me; I caught her fist and smeared soap in her eyes. She rushed to the water, and I let her have it. As she rinsed her eyes out, I pushed her against the wall where she hit her head and slipped on the floor. I stood back for a few minutes, letting the water run over her body. It eventually turned off, and I still had soap on me.
“I don’t want to fight you anymore,” I said. “Why won’t you agree to stop stealing from me?” I walked over to the towel pile at the entrance of the shower room and grabbed two towels. I threw one over her body and wrapped the other around me.
She sat up and covered herself with the towel. “You don’t understand,” she began. “If I don’t steal from you, someone else will.”
“Why?”
“There isn’t enough fruit for everyone to bring in thirty pounds a day. The forest is overpicked. I just steal from people who aren’t paying attention, but no one I ever stole from put up as much of a fight as you did.”
“If you didn’t beat me up that day, I would have never found out I have HIV.”
Amy went silent. I left the shower room and continued to rinse off in the sink. I soaked my towel in water and wiped the soap off. A few minutes later, I saw her reflection standing a few feet behind me in the mirror.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “That must have been really painful to hear.”
“Life-changing,” I replied. “Also, you might want to see a doctor and make sure you’re not contaminated.”
“OK, fine, you win; I won’t steal from you anymore.”
“Thank you,” I said as I walked by her to grab a dry towel. I dried myself off and put my clean uniform on before I left the bathroom. Once the door was closed, I popped back in for a minute. “Amy, the shower is much more rewarding when you don’t steal it. Good night.”
Chapter 12: Johnny
“Jonathan, you have a new urgent message,” ComCon said.
My eyes opened as I stretched out my arms and legs across Collins. It wasn’t time to wake up yet; it was only seven thirty. I went back to sleep.
“Jonathan, you have a new urgent message,” ComCon said, increasing her volume.
“Johnny, make it stop,” Collins mumbled in his sleep.
I sat up and read the message from my supervisor. It said that everyone who worked in laundry services would have to report to the laundry room at eight o’clock in the morning for a mandatory meeting. Breakfast would be provided. Thanks for the notice…She couldn’t have told us this yesterday? I changed into my uniform and washed my face in the bathroom sink in an attempt to wake up. I needed coffee; water doesn’t have any caffeine in it.
While I was heading over to laundry services, everyone else who was an early bird was going to the cafeteria for breakfast. I didn’t want to eat in the laundry room; it would make all my food taste like body odor. When I got to the laundry room, there was no one around. They must all have been inside, so I tried to enter the room, but the door was locked. I thought I was early, so I sat down beside the door and waited.
Five minutes later, the door cracked open. When I pushed it open a little more, no one was in the laundry room, not even Mama. I walked in and felt something soft crush under my feet. It was a red rose. What the hell was that doing in a laundry room? It wasn’t the only one…There were more. The roses formed a trail that led to the sliding glass doors in the back of the laundry room. Do I dare follow this trail? I looked ahead and noticed the glass door was agape. There was a patio chair outside with a rose resting on the seat cushion. Was it too late to turn back? I started to backtrack when Mama called out my name.
“Johnny, where do you think you’re going?” Mama said.
Shit!
“Come outside,” she continued. “Mama got you breakfast.”
I sighed before I turned and followed the trail of roses. When I reached the rose on my seat, I flicked it off onto the concrete floor and sat down. The table was covered with a white silk tablecloth and set fancily for two with a vase of roses and actual china. A platter of food sat in the middle of the table beneath a silver lid. Mama, who stood behind me, grabbed my hand and cuffed my wrist to the chair with pink furry handcuffs. She poured me a cup of coffee before she sat down and poured herself a cup.
“You stood me up,” Mama said.
“I told you I was sick,” I explained. “I threw up five times that night.”
“Mama is always here to comfort you if you let her.”
She lifted the silver lid and served me eg
gs benedict with a side of mixed fruit.
“You broke my heart, Johnny.”
“I’m sorry,” I said with my mouth full, hardly paying attention to Mama. That was the only way I could eat with her sitting across from me. I stared down at my food and never looked up.
“I’m just a woman who wants to be appreciated, respected, and loved. Do you love me, Johnny?”
I wanted to say no, but then I remembered the guy on Chair Trials who refused to marry Mama. He didn’t get picked to die, but that didn’t ensure that I wouldn’t get picked. Besides, being sent to Chair Trials would put a damper on our escape plan. I couldn’t waste any time.
“Sure,” I said uncomfortably.
She reached across the table, placed her hand over mine, and said, “Look into my eyes and tell me you love me.”
I dropped my fork, gulped, and looked at Mama.
“Go in deeper, Johnny, feel the intensity.”
I closed my eyes for a second and envisioned that I was looking at someone else. When I opened my eyes, I gazed deeply into hers.
“I love you,” I said and then took a sip of coffee.
Mama jumped out of her chair, excited. “Great, let’s get married!”
I choked on my coffee and spit it out in surprise. “What? Don’t you think this is a little soon?”
“Relax, couples can stay engaged for as long as they want before they get married,” she said, grabbing my hand. I tried to pull away, but she had a strong grip. She slid a copper-wire ring onto my finger. “Oh, look at the time, it’s about nine.” She unlocked my cuffs. “Don’t be late for work.” Mama leaned in for a kiss, but I dodged it, so she patted my head before she went back inside.
My brain could hardly process what just happened. I told Mama that I loved her while I envisioned that she was…Veronica? This had been a crazy morning; I was sure it was just the tiredness talking. It probably didn’t mean anything. As soon as I went back inside the laundry room, Mama got everyone’s attention.
“There he is,” Mama said. “My special man. Johnny and I are getting married!”
The workers cheered and applauded while I was a deer in headlights.
“All right, everybody, back to work,” Mama demanded.
At the end of the day, I delivered Darnell’s extra uniform to Collins and some extra guard uniforms to Veronica, Vincent, Laura, and me. As usual, I folded the uniforms, put them in plastic bags, and left them by their doors…Nothing strange going on here.
Since my shift was over, I returned the laundry cart to the laundry room and met up with my friends in the cafeteria. Tonight’s dinner was roast chicken with mashed potatoes, green beans, and corn bread. When Collins sat down at the table, we were all in shock and awe. His plate was piled high with hot food, and he even managed to fit a bowl of creamy tomato soup and a garden salad on his tray.
“What are you all staring at? Can’t you just let a hungry man eat in peace? Come on people, I’m on a diet!” Collins said.
Laura laughed. “It sure doesn’t look that way.”
“He’s on the see-food diet,” I said. My joke got some chuckles.
“Actually, Veronica started portioning out my breakfast and lunch, so I don’t fall asleep anymore,” Collins explained. “Dinner is the only meal I get to pick for myself.”
“Is it working?” Vincent asked.
“Yeah, I made it through work today without getting sent to court. Cleaning is incredibly boring.”
Veronica sat down at our table with a tray of food. “How is everyone doing on collecting their items? I got everything on my list except the water.”
“I got everything except the mosquito repellent,” Laura said.
Collins gave Laura a disapproving glance. “Great, now we’re going to become bug food because of you.”
“I tried my best, but the doctor refused to give it to me.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “I’m sure we can survive a few mosquito bites.”
“I can’t, man,” Collins complained. “I got sweet blood!”
“Well, if that’s a problem, then you can always stay here in Walnut Cherryville,” Laura said.
“No, I ain’t staying here and cleaning no more.”
“Veronica, there are water-bottle packs in packaging services already that the workers hand out to the truck drivers,” Vincent mentioned. “We should probably steal the water from there after the perimeter sweep.”
“Sounds good to me,” Veronica said.
“I got the uniforms and plastic bags,” I added. “What about those unassigned items? Who’s going to get those?”
“I think we might be able to find the compass, map, and possibly a few other items in the Quintons’ office,” Veronica suggested. “The only problem is that the office is highly secure, and the only way in is if the governor or Kenneth invites you in. I would need someone to go with me to be a distraction.”
“I’ll do it,” I said quickly. What? What did I just agree to? The words came out of my mouth before I could even think about what she said.
“OK, cool. I think we should do it tonight after dinner. Johnny, you should set up an appointment with Kenneth through ComCon before dinner is over, otherwise we might not be able to get the items before we leave.”
“How do you set up an appointment?” I asked.
“I’m sure I can figure it out,” Vincent said. “ComCon and I have a bond.”
Laura rolled her eyes and shook her head from side to side.
“Catch you guys later,” Vincent said. “Let’s go.”
Vincent and I left the cafeteria and took the glass elevator up to my room. When I touched the screen, the glass wall lit up with colors.
“Jonathan Cockit-Gilbertson, how may I help you?”
I searched the screen for options, but there was nothing I could press that would express to ComCon what I wanted.
“She does voice recognition,” Vincent whispered. “Tell her what you want.”
“I would like to make an appointment.”
“With whom shall I make this appointment?”
“Kenneth Quinton.”
“Let me check when he is available. He is available tonight from eight to eight thirty. Should I book the appointment for then?”
“Yes.”
“What is the appointment regarding?”
I paused for a moment…What was I going to talk to Kenneth about that would give Veronica enough time to find what we needed?
“Work,” I said.
Two buttons popped up on the screen that said send and edit. I pressed send.
“Your appointment request has been sent to Kenneth Quinton for approval. When the appointment is approved, I will notify you.”
“So I guess now we sit here until he approves it,” I said.
“Yep,” Vincent responded.
It didn’t take longer than five minutes for Kenneth to approve the appointment. I felt nervous because so many things could go wrong. What if he noticed Veronica rummaging through his stuff? What if I couldn’t distract him long enough? What the hell was I supposed to talk about for thirty minutes? I guess we’d find out soon. The greater the risk, the greater the reward was what people always said. A compass and map was something we couldn’t afford to leave without. It was almost more important than water.
A few minutes before the appointment, Veronica met up with me in the hallway to discuss how she would get into the office. I needed to make sure Kenneth walked into the office first, so I could pretend to close the door but really leave it slightly open. Veronica told me to sit in the chair against the wall at the small wooden table in the corner of the room. This would ensure Kenneth’s back was turned to the desk. If I picked the seat first, he would have no other choice but to sit across from me unless he wanted to sit uncomfortably close. She’d give me five minutes to get the conversation going before she quietly snuck into the office. I would have to ramble, keep Kenneth extremely engaged in the conversation, and make sure he didn
’t leave the table while Veronica was still around. It was a dangerous plan, but it would have to work.
I waited next to his office until it was time. To the right of the door was a keypad of round, red buttons that didn’t have any numbers or letters on them. Beneath the keypad was a square of green glass built into the wall. This had to be the high-security system Veronica was talking about.
“Good evening,” Kenneth said as he walked past me. He pressed the red buttons in a certain order that opened the green glass. Actually, the glass wasn’t green; it was the substance behind the glass that was green. Kenneth placed his hand deeply into the green, gooey substance behind the glass and left it there for several seconds. The green goo lit up brightly before the office door opened. I assumed this was some sort of a fingerprint identity scanner. “Go ahead,” Kenneth said.
“No, I insist, after you,” I replied. I followed Kenneth into the office and closed the door, leaving it slightly ajar. Once I spotted the small wooden table, I walked past Kenneth and sat down in the chair against the wall. Oh shit, there were three chairs!
Kenneth looked like he was going for the chair to my left with a better view of the door.
I swiftly grabbed the leg of the chair with my feet, pulled it closer to me, and used it as a footrest. “Working in laundry services is hard work. I’m on my feet all day, so this footrest is nice.”
“Make yourself at home,” Kenneth said sarcastically. He sat down in the only chair available: the one where his back faced the desk. “So you want to talk about work?”
“I don’t think laundry services is the right place for my talents,” I said. “Would it be possible to change jobs? I’d like to be a gatherer because they get to work outside in the forest. I’m really good at climbing trees and picking fruit.”
“I’m sorry I can’t change your job.”
“Why not?”
“That’s just how it works here. The government assigns jobs as they become available.”
“But what if I could get a gatherer to agree to switch jobs with me?”
“The job you have now is not the job you’ll have forever,” Kenneth explained. “Every year we evaluate our workers based on their supervisor’s reports and their loyalty to the community.”