Chapter 15

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.