When we got up in the morning, I told
the group that I was planning on working to earn some money back for us.
“Bro,
you don’t have to do that for us,” explained Bro, “We already forgive you.
Let’s see if this town has any place where we belong.”
“I
know, and thanks,” I said, “But I still want to pitch in a little bit. How
about you and Peyti look for things as I work for a week? We paid for a week
anyway,” I mentioned.
“Alright
that sounds good.” Peyti said as Bro nodded. Then we said goodbye and I headed
off to my new job.
“Good
morning!” I said to Autarkia.
“It
is, isn’t it!?” She exclaimed. Then she began to teach me how to go about the
job. It was pretty simple. Just filling out paper work and filing it as we did
different sets of laundry. We had plenty of time to relax and talk in between.
“So
where do you live, Autarkia?” I asked.
“Just
the second floor. And yourself?”
“I’m
on the first. How long have you lived here since you are only on the second
floor?” I asked being slightly confused.
“Well,
I’m unsure how long it’s been. I was sixteen when I came to the Island. And I
was probably eighteen when I settled here. I don’t really need to move up in
floors once I got a kitchen, especially since I work at a Laundromat.”
“I
see,” I smiled, “all of the stuff in the upper floors looks pretty cool
though.”
“Bro,
it’s not worth your time. You might assume that going up is going somewhere,
but it’s not. Trust me.” Autarkia returned. I think I knew what she was getting
at, but I was thinking about how well I could treat the others if they stayed
in a nicer place. Just saying sorry didn’t seem like I just way to make it up
to them.
The
work day was finally done and I went back to Babel. Bro and Peyti explained
that they hadn’t found anything worth our time yet, and since the city was very
large, they only covered a small section of it. The rest of the evening we
relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company. It felt good to be in a place of
giving back to my friends. I still was upset at myself for ignoring or
friendship all for the sake of knowledge. After spending time together, we went
to bed.
The
same pattern continued for the next two days. On the day after, while I was
working, a very big man walked into the Laundromat.
“How
can I help you sir,” I asked, “Do you have any laundry for us?”
“No,
I don’t have any laundry,” he stated, “Our business has been observing you
these last few days; we would like to offer you a job.” I looked over at
Autarkia to see what she was thinking. She sort of shrugged apathetically. Her
shrug was almost as if this is what had happened to the other workers that she
has hired. I started thinking how she mentioned I wouldn’t be getting anywhere.
I also started to consider how I had only intended on earning some quick money.
“Sir,
I’m sorry but I don’t think tha…”
“Wait,
I know what you are going to say,” interrupted the man, “You were planning on
telling me that you don’t need a different job right now, but I haven’t even
told you how much Coin we are offering or even what the job is.”
“I
still don’t think it is necce…”
“You
will be working four days a week as a developer for other cities.” He
interrupted again, “You see, we haven’t just been observing you these last few
days. We know that you have visited multiple cities and left empty handed.” In
that moment I was sincerely worried. Being watched, no matter the cause, is not
a very appealing thing. “You see,” he cleared his throat, “What’s your name
again?”
“My
friends call me bro.”
“You
see, Bro, we want to provide you with the chance to give back to these cities. Make
it a better place for the future people who make their transition to the
Island. Does that sound like a good idea?”
“Well,”
I began to explain, still worried about being watched. “I just…”
“Oh
I forgot to mention how much money we will be paying you!” The man exclaimed. “We
are offering you 1,000 Coin a day.” My mouth naturally dropped. And at the same
time, my mind started racing to all the awesome ways I could treat my friends.
It was the perfect way to give back to them!
“Ok,
as long as I can choose when I’m done working there.” I demanded.
“Of
course!” he said. “We will meet you at the bottom of the lobby and take you to
your new office in the morning at 8:00am sharp!” Then the man left the Laundromat.
I looked over at Autarkia still with a smile on my face from the large number
of Coin. Autarkia gave me a disappointed look.
“Bro,
you are a nice guy,” she stated. “I don’t want you to lose who you are. Be careful,
and remember that you aren’t going anywhere when you are going up.”
“Thank
you, Autarkia,” I said as the work day came to an end. I left the Laundromat
and headed to Babel. On the way back, I decided that I wanted to surprise Peyti
and Bro, so I chose not to tell them when I got back. I wanted to buy them a
nicer floor with the money I made in the first day.
When
I got back to Babel, Bro, Peyti, and I talked about how things were going
again.
“How
has work been?” Peyti asked.
“Same
old stuff,” I responded trying to keep my surprise secret. “How was the search?”
“Still
not too much,” Bro said, “I’m starting to think this Island has nothing for us.”
“Don’t
be silly, Bro,” said Peyti. “We’ll find something, but if we have to spend a
few more weeks here, then I doubt Avaritia has anything for us.” The conversation
continued for a while longer and then we went to bed again.
When
morning came, I was full of energy. A new job was right before me, and also a
way that I could help people fit in. I headed downstairs earlier so that I didn’t
miss my opportunity. I was sitting in the lobby and instead of the man I saw
the day before, a well-dressed man entered in and approached me.
“Good
morning, Bro,” he said, “I’m your supervisor at your new job. Mike told me to
tell you welcome, but he couldn’t make it to show you around this morning. Please,
follow me.” He then took me to a building five blocks down. It was also huge. We
were going up the elevator for quite a while and the well-dressed man was
awkward enough that I sort of kept silent most of the time. When the elevator
opened to my floor, my eyes caught her.
