Where did the world go?

You're the one who's offensive.

Peteren didn't like the grin on her face. It made him uncomfortable. He turned away to leave, but before he could, Quail called after him, "Wait a second." He faced her again, and she held out a box to him. It was about a foot by two feet, though only a half foot deep, made of a dark wood. "To plant them in." She explained. "I'll leave you to get the dirt." She forcefully put it in his arms. He struggled to hold it. It wasn't heavy, but was rather cumbersome. "I can't take this back to my room - they'll see me. I'll-" "If you're about to say you'll get in trouble, don't bother. They don't give a shit if you carry a box from room to room. People pawn stuff all the time. It's not even illegal." Quail gave him a gentle shove, opening her door and forcing him out of the room. "And don't worry about the planting. I promise it'll work!" The door closed behind him. 

He glanced around. A few people gave him passive, curious looks, but no one really cared. He hurried back to his own containment and put it at the foot of his bed. Tunx looked at him, but didn't question it. He was passing the ball back and forth in his hands, sitting in the corner like he always did. Peteren collapsed on his bed. "Tunx, you won't believe this. I'm a criminal." Tunx looked at him. "I'm a criminal." Peteren moaned. "I'm breaking rules. I haven't broken a rule in forever." He rolled over to look at Tunx, then the clock. Hour 12.49. 

He sat for a few moment, pondering his predicament. On the one hand, he did like the prospect of a supplemented food source, and tomatoes were rather rare in rations. On the other hand, if the dominas found his food source, he'd likely be arrested. On the third hand, the dominas wouldn't find him unless they broke into his containment, which they never did. Oftentimes, they actually turned a blind eye to stuff like this, though that mostly applied to older workers and domina entertainment. 

Ugh. The thought of that job made him cringe. What did it mean? From context and what he knew from Quail, he could infer it had a sexual connotation, but he doubted that. It wasn't illegal, at least among citizens, to have an age gap in relationships, but if the domina workers had families it would be frowned upon. Wouldn't it? He didn't know. But the thought of Quail, a generally nice person, being forced to entertain anyone made him squirm inside. 

"You know what, Tunx, screw it. If I'm going to be a criminal, I may as well go all the way." He muttered. He reached under his bed and took out the box that contained his saved shekels. He took one out, then got off his bed. He put on his yellow working jacket, which had deep pockets, then left the containment. He moved quickly, jumping in a pod and zooming off to the park, spending his shekel. There was a sizable amount of people, many just laying on the grass. He headed into the woods, past the pond. The whole area wasn't too big, but the trees were dense enough to make it seem larger than it was. 

When he was deep enough in the trees so that he couldn't see anyone, he knelt down and put his hand on the earth. He gently pawed at it. The grass gave way easily, and he scooped up a handful of dirt. He looked at his pile, a brownish red that was stocked full of fertilizer. He put it in his pocket, then shoveled more in, moving quickly. Soon his pockets were full, but not so stuffed that they looked conspicuous. Enough, he assumed. He smoothed over the dirt. Incredibly, he could see the grass growing back already. He wandered around the woods for a little bit, then found the edge and emerged into the park. He headed to the pond and rinsed his hands off, releasing the rusty dirt into the water. A fish, he noticed, was only a few feet away - it was almost like he could touch it. The second he moved his hand towards it, though, it swam away. 

He took his hands out, examining his palm. Small droplets of water covered it, and he thought back to what Sim had said about drinking it. He'd never tried drinking water before, at least on purpose. She'd said it was normally poisonous, though obviously it was safe to shower and swim in. He shook it off, the droplets scattering. He left the park in a hurry, incredibly aware of the extra weight in his pocket. The purple person manning the pods barely even gave him a glance. He arrived in his containment block moments later, then hurried to his containment. He approached the box, then glanced at Tunx. He looked at him, curious. When he started emptying his pockets, carefully placing the dirt, Tunx's eyes widened and he groaned softly. "I know, I know. It's illegal." He whispered. He finished packing it, then took out the seeds. He didn't know anything about how plants worked, other than they grow at some point, normally with water. He buried them in the dirt, trying to space them evenly. 

He finished and stood up, his hands once again coated in dirt, though this time he just wiped it on his jacket. He looked at Tunx. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open. His bluish-grey skin had gone more grey than normal. For the first time, he looked shocked. Peteren went to him and stood over him in an attempt of a threatening stance. "Tunx, you are not allowed to say anything to anyone about this." He said. Tunx nodded vigorously. "I mean, not like you can talk." He muttered. "Also, I'm going to need to use some of your slave rations occasionally. Is that alright?" He wasn't sure why he was asking. Tunx was his slave. He didn't have a choice in the matter, but he nodded anyways. Tunx almost looked... Happy? He pointed to the dirt, then gave Peteren a thumbs up. He groaned, a higher pitch, which meant he was indeed happy. 

"Why are you happy about me breaking the rules?" He asked, suddenly feeling defensive. Tunx gave him a lazy smile and shrugged, then gave him another thumbs up. Peteren turned away from him, suddenly feeling awkward. "What happens to you if I get caught?" He wondered aloud. "I'll get sent to prison, that much is obvious. What about my slave?" He turned back to him. "You'll probably end up back in rotation with the others. Get a new owner." He huffed a laugh. "Other people probably won't treat you as well as me." He felt light, shaky, and full of energy. He felt good. He shook his head, denying this. "I can't make a habit out of this." He muttered. "Don't want to turn into Leon. Too much money at stake." He checked the time. Hour 16.43.