Breaking the System

Bloody Monday.

"So help me, I will-" No one ever lets me finish my sentences before they slam me up against the wall of their truck or stick a syringe in my side, I swear.

The start to my Monday morning consisted of just that, at roughly 3 in the morning. I must congratulate them on the effectiveness of the wake up call- oh, except that syringe put me to sleep again. 

I woke up. My watch said 4:05, my brain said what the hell is shining light in my eyes. It was a flashlight, and they were not amused that I said that comment out loud. There were two men in beige uniforms shining flashlights in my eyes as I rubbed my pounding head. One spoke while the other impatiently tapped his toe.

"Your name is J." No it's not. "Yes it is, and from now on you will not speak against your superiors."

Okay, I'm almost sure I didn't say that out loud.
"You'll be able to understand when your training is complete."

"Training?" I decided they were going to know what I said whether or not I actually spoke. I shivered and rubbed my bare arms, glad I at least wore sweatpants. 

"We'll explain when you're in better health." They grabbed my arms and dragged me to a concrete building I didn't know existed. 

"Welcome to your unit. We'll allow you to rest for the day, but your duties begin tomorrow at six sharp. Understand, J?" Not really.

The other man answered. "Too bad. We'll be sleeping if you need us. Which you won't, unless you want everyone to suffer." He eyed me, clearly annoyed by my presence. The door slid open.

"Everyone, this is J, she came in late." Came  in? More like "was dragged."
One of them gave me a stare of death.
"Somebody show her around."

Well, turns out my unit is full of pajamaed kids as old as me, rings under their eyes from lack of sleep. One of them showed me to a computer panel, where my information was filled out. I was pointed towards a room with four bunks, two of which were in use and a third clearly occupied. I got the bottom. Ugh. A drawer near my bed had space for personal items, of which I had none. 

In the center room was a few couches and a table. A few kids sat around doing things. I perched on the end of the couch and sat quietly for a few minutes. A boy next to me had a computer. Another boy had a sketchpad, and across from me a girl read a newspaper.

I moved near the computer boy and asked, "Where'd you get that?"
"Name's Flop, glad you asked. You are?"
"Um, hi, where'd you get your computer?"
"Yes, hi, but what is your name?"
"I asked you first."
"They didn't offer one object of your choice to keep yourself sane?"
"Nope. It's J, by the way."
"The letter J, or j-a-y?"
"I have no idea," I sighed.
"I can change it, I changed the others..." He gestured to everyone. "See, before I was F. That's Gerard, with the drawings. The one who showed you around was Effie."
"What about her?"
"I'm still deciding," she said. She pushed her frizzy hair from her face and looked up at me. "You can call me K, for now. What can I call you?"
I looked at both of them and decided then and there. "Jay, with an a-y."

"Done!" Without a moment's hesitation. Flop knew his stuff.