My day starts, as everyone's does, with a headcount at the city square. You could compare it to a school roll call, except your name is never called.
The basic understanding of headcount, is counting how many people are there. The don't care about'who' is there, all that matters is the quantity of human beings in the one area. Some people send androids in their place. I'm surprised that the government officials haven't discovered this trick yet.
The one reason I show up to headcount everyday is because they give us breakfast, usually consisting of a dry piece of jam on toast and a glass of water. I doubt that the jam is real, but it's food nonetheless.
After headcount, we are given our schedule for the day.
8:30 - 11:00 ~ You may clean your home. The help of friends is advised. Friends make the chore more enjoyable!
11:00 - 12:00 ~ Do as you please.
12:00 - 13:00 ~ Lunch break. Today's theme is salad! Plants can be good for you and delicious!
13:00 - 16:00 ~ Grab it while you can! Shopping spree at the mall today! New fashionable wear and iconic new room designs, today only!
16:00 - 18:00 ~ Dinner
HEADPHONE VOLUME BETWEEN 10&15db BEFORE 13:00
5&10db AFTER 13:00
CURFEW IS 21:00
Smile your best today! Do your best deed and you will succeed!
Everyone's is much the same, right down to the note on the bottom. It makes people feel like they are worth something, leaves them grinning from ear to ear, ready for the day. Not me. Not without the pills.
Three simulated bells chime through the city's many speakers, and everyone moves off to their first task of the day. I take my time to get up, as I'm not very excited to clean. I sigh.
"Oh, come on Talulah!" A painfully cheerful voice says. "Try to be optimistic for once! I'll come and help you clean your flat!"
"You know Jason, for a pessimist I'm pretty optimistic. I look forward to the future, not the present." I reply putting on the best smile I can. Jason's grin widens and he takes a big bite of his stale jam toast.
"That's great news! Let's get back to your place so we can quickly get to work! Doesn't that sound great?" Remarks Jason.
"I'm sure it will be the most fun I've had in ages..." I reply.
We begin to make our way back to our tower. People in the city walk to wherever they're going in precise lines. If you were to look at the city from above, we would all look like worker ants.
Jason and I join our tower's line and move surprisingly quickly into the lobby, then to the packed elevators. I never take the elevator from the lobby because of how little room it has. While Jason chatters happily, we walk up the stairs to the 4th floor and wait in front of the elevator. When the silver doors open, three people get out and Jason and I get in.
Jason lives just across from me. He comes home after our cycles every day smiling, shines his shoes, tidies his flat, cleans his dirty clothes, eats a packet of rations and goes to bed. He doesn't complain or procrastinate, he just does. He's like a robot. But then again, everyone in this city is.
Although his constant happiness does irritate me sometimes, he is genuinely a kind person. I enjoy his company most of the time. He's my only friend.
The elevator makes a lighthearted ding. Jason and I step out of the silver box and make our way down the corridor.
"So, who's flat should we clean first? Mine or yours?" Jason asks.
"Yours. It will ease us into it I think." I reply thoughtfully. I'd bargain that my flat is the messiest in the city. It will take us hours upon hours to clean it.
"Sounds like a plan." Jason agrees.
As we reach his door, Jason pulls out his key-card and scans it on the door handle. A green light shines from the handle and the door opens.
"Oh! Oh no! It's atrocious! I'm so embarrassed!" Jason says worriedly.
I squint at him and around the small lounge room. "I can't see a damn thing to clean up! It looks as good as new!" Everything is clean as a whistle. If I look really hard, I could probably find a spec of dust or two, maybe even a glass that hadn't been put in its cupboard. I doubt it though.
Jason laughs nervously. "Thanks, but yours couldn't be any worse than this monstrosity."
"Wanna bet?"
We finish cleaning Jason's flat in about 20 minutes. Most of the time I was searching through the house like a pioneer in a new area, looking for something out of place that I could fix. Sadly, I didn't find much but a handkerchief that had been left in the dryer.
After Jason stops fretting over how much dust is on his electric candles, we walk across the hall to my place. I grab my key-card from my back pocket and hold it near the door handle. It unlocks, but I hesitate to open the door. I sigh and push it open.
Before us is a lounge room that should be identical to Jason's. It has all the same furniture, floors and walls, but there are clothes, ration packets, dirty dishes, pillows, and every schedule I've ever been given.
"Oh, Talulah..." Jason mutters.
I let out a laugh. "This is what you signed up for." I state. Jason shakes his head.
"Well, let's get to work then."
We start on the floor. Jason picks up all the dirty clothes and puts them in the washing machine. I begin to pick up the papers and plastic packets, but decide it's easier to move them with a broom... which I don't have. I take a detour and grab one from Jason's place.
Once everything is off the floor, I grab a dust buster (that has been sitting in my bathroom since before I moved in) and suck up all the crumbs and dust on the furniture. After the lounge room is almost spotless, we move to other rooms. I take the bedroom while Jason takes the kitchen. My sheets haven't been changed in months, so I grab a new set of them and toss the old ones in the washing machine (with Jason's help). I push my hoarded small bag of belongings into my closet to get them out of the way, dust my bedside table, clean the window pane, then find Jason to ask what to do next.
I find that cleaning is bringing me back to reality again. Maybe it's the only human thing left in this city.
When I walk through my house, I find that the tables have been shined, the dishes have been done, the floors have been swept properly, and my bathroom has been cleaned. Jason steps out of the bathroom, wiping sweat from his brow. His eyes meet mine and he grins.
