Jacks And Jokers

2: Another Suicide

I woke up groggily. The sun outside of my window was peeking above the horizon in a blazing sunrise. A breath smelling of dirt and trash wafted into my lungs. The muggy morning air brought what I could assume would be the molding scraps of what I would be having for breakfast. 

I got out of bed, took off my pajamas, and replaced them with my tattered school clothes in the blazing red and orange light. The only good part of living in the twos is the sunrise looking out onto the beach. The Kings got the benefit of the even more luxurious sunset, all be it, without trash piling up everywhere.

I picked up a few pieces of trash that had blown into my room over the night and walked into the kitchen. Our house isn't that big. With only two rooms, a bathroom, and a dining room there's barely enough room for my three-person family.

"Good morning," my mother calls, her gaze boring into the back of my head as I sit at our table. Her voice is phoney. She's been conditioned like everyone else to be nice for points. I hated her fake voice. "Don't forget to grab your permission slip," she added as I took scraps from the table and put them on my plate. It wasn't really a plate, but a poor excuse of a carved wooden slab.

"So where's the field trip to?" My mother asked. She was using small talk to gain her points. As if on que there was a ding from her wristband as she was awarded points for her 'nice' action. Points got you better incentives, like, for say, more rations the next week. To say the least, the point system was unfair. You could be perfect, but if you make mistakes early on it's difficult to earn them back, or progress much further than you started.

"It's to the other Card Stacks," I responded despite the fact that she already knew the answer. I finished the burnt bacon, moldy eggs, and spoiled milk and headed out to school.

Outide our house was the typical residence of my dad. He loved his garden, and that's exactly where he was. He looked over at me and scowled with what I assumed was hatred. 

My dad was originally from the Seventh Card House, till he was framed for something he said he hadn't done. He got moved here and settled down, but never really let go. I could never tell if he was lying about being framed, and I decided never to dig into the case in case he went for me next. One of the few ways to get put into the Second Card House is to commit a crime or be born into it. I had the luxury of the latter, and so did my mom. 

As I started nearing the school the town started to glow up a little bit. It was still trash like everything else, but just more organized trash. The government set up a system when the original King, Queen, and Jack passed away. Those who were 'nice', or 'helpful' would earn points. The higher someone's point score, the better the job they could get. It was flawed like every other system but it was harder to cheat. Higher points also meant less trashy houses, like the ones further into the town I was passing.

I got to the schoolyard, and I saw many fake smiles. Everyone learned from an early age that anyone who was 'sad' was immediately deducted points. Emotions could apparently not help anything, not even those who wanted to express themselves.

I walked down the dilapidated hallways that I recognized so well and sighed. My friend was nowhere in sight.

Slowly I made my way to my home room. A hushed murmer had fallen across the room in the absence of a teacher presenting an oportune environment for gossip. I sat down at my desk and listened. Some shopkeeper had lost his store in a fire. Another family had lost their luxurious home due to the loss of their "positivity". The last one made me shudder. This society had gotten to one more student. There was another suicide.