Short Stories

Always Happy

    The sky was grey and cloudy, the sun hiding behind the shadows of the atmosphere. People fill the sidewalks of Seattle; some carrying umbrellas and others carrying raincoats. Of course, it was possible that it was going to rain, especially since it had been cloudy for some time, quite weird weather for late June. It was a hard time for most people to stay happy, so the local hospitals were selling extra Happiness syringes for more money to take care of the weather-associated moods.

    Happy Co. was the largest drug-producing company in the country, making pretty much all of the Happiness syringes the people of the U.S used. Before Christmas of 2015, they had just released their first tested product. The side effects included depression and rage, eventually leading to an increase in the suicide and homicide rates. They immediately recalled them and a few months later, they released the second version of the syringes. Side effects were still pretty unusual, but surveys found that 50% more people felt happier with themselves after starting the daily dose of syringes.

    The country changed dramatically after that, Happy Co. putting better versions of the syringes out into the nation every few months to make their goal: 100% of people happy and healthy. The most recent version of the Happiness syringe was a mix of dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. These chemicals are already in the human body, but the syringes help keep the levels of chemical high, especially serotonin; the chemical receptors for serotonin are a target for drug companies who want you addicted to them. This was one of the reasons Happy Co. was the number one provider for these suckers. Although this was the case, few people were immune to the effects of the syringes, but nobody knew that, not yet at least.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Lexi was rushing to work, coffee cup in hand as her heels clicked on the pavement. Citizens smiled at her as she jogged passed them, giving them an awkward smile back as she continued on her trek to work. She never understood why everyone was so happy. Yes, those syringes helped slightly with her mental issues, but not like everybody says they do. She shook her worries away and pushed on the door of the Happy Co. headquarters, a breeze of slightly warm air flowing across her face.

     The foyer lobby was large, had to be so the company could intimidate the competition; the ceiling was tall, at least 25 feet up, with a large chandelier shining with diamonds glistening from it. The room was lit up by the natural light coming in from the windows that the lobby was made up of. People chattered at the front desk as Lexi made her way to the elevators, scanning her ID card to open the doors of an empty elevator. She stepped into the silver box and waited for the doors to close anxiously. The elevator began to move, a quiet buzzing sound and a vibration appearing as soon as it did. One, two, three, four, Lexi sipped at her coffee as she listened to the beep that came with every floor that she passed, five, six, seven, eight, another sip and another beep, nine, ten, eleven. DING! The plated doors slid open smoothly, Lexi stepping out onto the grey concrete floors that stretched across the big room.

    Desks pack the large space, men and women clicking away at keyboards and chatting to clients on their phones. Lexi looked for her desk and slid down into her chair, sighing softly; she smoothed down her skirt and fixed her hair, taking a deep breath and a sip of coffee before she turned her chair towards her metal desk; the chair squeaking faintly as she scooted it closer to the table. She couldn't help but notice how cheerful everybody sounded as they talk to clients or to one another; it annoyed her, the joy digging deep into her skin second by second. Her fingers naturally clenched into fists on her lap as she tensed her jaw and eyes firmly.