The Runaway

Youth Spirit is a skeleton key

After the mandatory morning exercises, the participants of the "neighbor guards" remained standing in front of the entrance. This time Mileena stayed to look and remember each "snitch" in the face. Among the warders there were mostly women in their sixties, and it was known in the Union that old ladies usually go mad for some reason. They had long begun to restore their order, and this did not surprise anyone. Half of these desperate ladies are honored pioneers of labor with their awards, victories and defeats. And when it comes time to retire, then the state already pays not very much, about about 1000 alphas. Then it's clear why they become "overseers". The speech of the leader of the group was not big. Everything was short and clear: to work for the good of the Union, to look after the neighbors, to identify the traitors of the motherland and to inform the leader personally. Mileena climbed into her apartment, walking up the staircase past Richard's floor, a flood of sadness came over her. She quickly walked past to her floor and got ready for work. Already sitting in her office under the tune of national agitation, she set to work. A young guy was passing by, about the same age as Mileena. He knocked and asked:

- Excuse me, comrade Chaplina, can I wash the floor here or should I come later?

She looked at the poor young man, who was dressed in a dark blue suit, all stained with chlorine because of permanent squeezing of rags. And she was humanly offended for him, even if women are higher beings it dioesn't mean that all men deserve to be humilated.

- What is your name? - Mileena smiled sweetly

The guy was silent, and continued to squeeze the rag.

- Young man, I appeal to you by the way!

- Excuse me, comrade Chaplina, but we are forbidden to speak ...

- I don't care about the right answers in this "little red-book", damn it! Not always the right answers lead you to great discoveries. And not always those who say that the answers are right - are right.

- You are saying it right... - the guy said, and stopped - Thing is, we can't talk about it if the security guard sees that I haven't managed to wash the floors in your office in 10 minutes. They'll write me a fine, take away the discount coupon, or even fire me.

- In my office you can do everything that I say. And if I said that a person can sit down, then he sets, and if I told him to stand, he will stand until the sun sets! I asked you to introduce yourself, and you ignored my request.

- My name is Roman.

- You see, Roman, how easy it is to not be afraid to pronounce your name. And you can call me Mileena Lionovna.

- And do not give a damn about the "party questionnaire"? - the guy asked fearfully

- Exactly! - said the girl and sat down in a chair

- Mileena Lionovna, but did you hear the latest news?

- No. I missed them, but what is there? Is something scary? - she asked, typing something on her computer. She got up, went to the window and opened it. An echo penetrated the office from somewhere far away.

"... Vanin Sergey Yadvigovich. The suspect was last seen hiding in Westland's central square. Comrades, please kindly inform the day or night patrol service if you know anything about the location of this person.
Attention, comrades, deaths from severe pneumonia have become more frequent abroad of our bright state, and these winds can bring this ailment to our lands. The Weather Control Service is engaged in programming cleansing rains throughout our country. In this connection, partly cloudy and precipitation is expected in Yongsaang. We urge you to pay special attention to personal hygiene! "

Mileena closed the window and sat in a chair, looking at the cleaner.

- Wow, what's happening?

- In fact, you need to pay more attention. - said the guy, having washed the last section. - That's it, Mileena Lionovna I finished for today, see you tomorrow.

- Yes, take care of yourself. - the girl smiled.

- You, take care of yourself most importantly - said the guy and left the office.

Chaplina worked all day, the time was already approaching twelve, and then the phone rang.

- Konhateb Palace, what do you want?

- Mileena Lionovna, come up to my office immediately! - the voice of the General Secretary croaked.

She jumped up and ran to the elevator, went inside and pressed the 99th floor button. The elevator went up, and Mileena sorted through the options in her head that could serve as a reason. She rode higher and higher, but this trip seemed like an eternity. Ideological questions and correct answers to them revolved in her head. And then the elevator stopped, the doors opened and she went out on the ninety-ninth floor of a glass pyramid. From there, a view appeared on literally everything! She clearly saw her own neihbourhood, and the whole central square was in full view, as well as each high-rise building and street, everything was very well thought out. And so she went to the door and knocked, after permission went in and gave a salute. A woman of about sixty sat in front of her. Gray short bob hair was neatly styled. She was wearing a knitted sweater with cute embroidered flowers on her shoulders, and a dark brown corrugation skirt.

- Comrade Chaplina, I will have a serious conversation with you. Have a seat.

- I can't sit in the presence of the General Secretary. - said the girl straightening up.

- Well, I dare to offer you tea or coffee. What do you prefer? - the woman said and went to the cabinet, in which there were various confectionery products. On the upper shelves were beautiful glass decanters filled with amazing drinks. On the shelves below was a bakery products, and even below the candies. The woman took a decanter with cranberry concentrated juice and a crystal bowl with delicious sweets that people in the Union could afford. It was creamy chocolate-coated vanilla sweets; she put them on her desk. - You must be very tired and the time is already thirteen hours hundred and twenty-one minute. Agree? Go ahead, enjoy!

- N-no. - Mileena said, swallowing saliva. - During the working hours, the storage and use of products of any type and production is strictly prohibited!

The woman with a slight smile nodded approvingly, after which she sharply and aggressively threw off a bowl of sweets, a decanter and crystal glasses, shattering them to smithereens.

- Oh, you little cheesy girl! Well, you have an ideology in you! Still exists! - yelled the General Secretary. - Then what the hell are you doing, huh? For the last eleven days, they have sent me letters asking me to deprive you of your labor party book, to send you to the camp, at the State Insulator. A couple of hours ago, the last letter came with a request to test you for ideological fidelity and knowledge of it! A couple of hours ago!

- From whom? - asked Mileena through a lump in her throat

- I did not give you a word! - the woman shouted, and slapped her subordinate. - From whoever it is, you occupy the post of First Secretary of the palace. You should be an example of ideological fidelity, and not make people think ... - she waved her hand and approached the table menacingly, pressed the button and handed the guard over the selector into the microphone:

- Send the cleaner in my office! I said vividly!

Then she turned toward Chaplina.

- Listen and record on the subcortex of the brain! Don't you dare to bring discord into the friendly ranks of our social-democratic state! Our descendants found the perfect form, and we brought it to perfection, got it? I know that you are capable, I have seen your indicators and am going to reject, hear me, reject the proposal to examine your ideological immunity. Everything that happened, I write off to fatigue and to frequent changes in the weather. I'll point out that weather conditions should be changed less often, okay?

- Understood!

The General Secretary pressed the button again and yelled:

- Where this walking nonsense is?! I asked him to be here five minutes ago! - then turned her head towards Mileena and said - Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock you go not to your office, but to mine, okay? We will have a serious conversation.

The girl went to the exit and collided in the doorway with a cleaner. Head down, she abruptly left the office and ran to the elevator. The cleaner came in.

- Where have you been, a piece of an idiot ?! Clean everything here! - she said and headed behind the wall to another part of the office

The guy saw sweets scattered across the floor and swept them together with splinters into a scoop. Then he mopped the floors. Leaving his office, he closed himself in his tiny office and eagerly ate sweets directly from the garbage bag. Eating one by one, he felt the taste of vanilla and fresh cream, and recalled how joyfully he ate these sweets with his parents on New Year's Eve. And he will not have such an opportunity anymore.
Mileena walked along the street, a strong wind blew in her face.

She stood at the crosswalk. The movement was controlled by a charming traffic controller. In a sky-blue fitted dress, in a vest with the symbols of the party, on her head is a white cap with a gold cockade, endowed with only a baton, a whistle and ideology. She whistled and waved to the pedestrians, and the crowd obediently began to move. At this time, Richard sat at home and looked into the eyes of his mother, who gently looked at him in response from a family photograph. There was a knock on the door; Nikolka immediately rushed to open it. Maelynn stood on the threshold.

- Is Richard at home? - she asked

- Yes he is! - said Nikolka and called out to his brother

- Oh, Maelynn! Come in don't stand on the threshold. - he said, and elegantly, taking the girl by the hand, invited her into apartment.

- What are you doing? What are your plans for today?

- I'm sitting looking at the payments.

- And what do you see there? - she said and hugged him

- It's easier to say what I don't see here. Electricity is zero point thirty-five hundredths multiplied by six hours, apparently, and multiplied by forty days. Eighty-four alphas turns out.

- Well, usually people get such amounts in the end. I don't see anything contradictory in this.

- There is still zero point seven hundredths of the water multiplied by some meters or cubic meters. It turned out fourteen point thirty five hundredth alphas. This is such a lot of money!

- Believe me, this is very, very cheap. But you can take a bath at any time of the day or night, and generally pour water for days, and the amount will remain the same. - Maelynn reassured him

- Well, yes, you are probably right.

- Don't even worry. Now, do you know what I saw when passing the SoyuzFund? I personally saw on the scoreboard that our alpha has become more expensive on the world exchange. Therefore, the prices are very democratic, yes. For example, do you want to exchange alpha for the dollar, but for us everything is the old way, how much you brought so much you will take away, and foreigners should count.

- Not bad. So really our country is moving towards success.

- Our country is already a success. - said Maelynn, gently hugging Richard

- Richie, I just wanted to inquire from you, do you know what is happening to Mileena? I am very worried about her state of mind.

- To be honest ... - Richie said. - I'm worried too. She is very executive, responsive ...

- Yes, for sure. I remember her at school, she was very responsible and more sociable. I even sent an official note asking for help to the General Secretary of our party.

- You too? - surprised Richie

- Wait, and you? - Maelynn said in surprise, joyfully. - I'm glad you are concerned about this. I will report on this action at the next party congress. Richie, you are great.

- Let's keep an eye on her. Take her under care.

- Under care, you say? No, the idea is not bad, but in my opinion it is better to provide this matter to professional party services. I tell you, as a national broadcaster. No one better than the party can help her.

- Wait, did the Weather Control Point decide to activate the rains today?

- Well, yes, we did broadcast this today. - said the girl. - By the way, Richie, have you seen what time is it now? Have you handed over the newspaper to the accepting point?

- No. I forgot!

- Well, go ahead. I will accompany you too.

In the park on the bench Mileena sat and fed cranberries in sugar to the little union birds. Small white birds with a red breast, which were called "klyukovka". She sat and thought that maybe she should look more like a typical citizen of the Westland Union, not giving any ideas and stop nourishing herself with doubts. Maelynn and Richard were heading to the accepting point of the district, noticing a neighbor, they sat down on her bench.

- Mileena, how are you feeling? - asked a friend

- I am the happiest girl on earth, - she said indifferently. - I live and benefit our society.

- Good ... - Richard said cautiously. - And we are carrying a newspaper to hand over. Will you come with us?

- No, I won't go. I'm thinking of going to the central square. Have you ever looked at the panel that stands there?

Maelynn and Richie looked at each other in silence.

- Dea is such pretty on it, and Elizabeth did not turn out badly. The history of our great state is concentrated in that picture - she also said sadly - But this is a mosaic work made of thousands of thousands of pieces, with working hands.

- Honey, how are you feeling? - Maelynn repeated her question again.

- Have you noticed how beautiful Dea is?

- What do you mean beautiful? - asked Richard

- Well, just beautiful. I'm going to admire her portrait at home. Well, I have to go.

She said, she got up and quickly walked toward her house.

- She's broken, poor thing. - said Maelynn

- Broke down?

- Well yes. She comprehended her behavior, realized that she was exposed to anti-socialist ideas and made conclusions. She needs our support more than ever. I'll drop by her today.

In her apartment, Chaplina was sitting on a sofa, which was slightly covered with a lace fabric, opposite was a coffee table on which crystal glasses snugly placed on the same lace stand. Suddenly, a telephone rang in the hallway. Mileena sat and looked into the void. The room was dimly lit by a candle alone, and the telephone in the hallway continued to ring. No movements in the apartment, time stopped, Dea and Elizabeth looked from the portraits with the same humane smile.

This was followed by a doorbell. Mileena also sat and watched the wax flowing smoothly from the candle. Darkness swallowed the whole territory of the apartment, the doorbell rang a couple more times, and after a couple of minutes of silence the phone rang again. Mileena waited for a pause, and when he stopped making noise she simply pulled him out of the socket. Maelynn, who called, thought that supporting her friend should be done in a special way. As a true pioneer, a national broadcaster and just a good citizen, confident that her friend is in perfect order, but goes through a difficult period of reflection, couldn't leave it like that.She called straight to the General Secretary's office. By a happy coincidence, the woman had just finished her working day and was about to leave, when the attendant console rang. She came up and saw the message "Incoming call: Maelynn Rennods" on the display of her console and remembering that this was one of the most executive party heads, picked up the phone and asked:

- Maelynn Afroditovna whatever you want, I was going home!

- Comrade Secretary, I am calling you to say that I have found an amazing candidate for us.

- For...

- Yes.

- Amazing, who is it?

- First Konhateb Secretary - Comrade Chaplina

- Chaplina? Are you seriously? You spent two minutes of my life on this offer. And with such impudence?! Amazing! So, Maelynn Afroditovna, I myself will figure out who to appoint. The task is very responsible, and as you yourself put it in your letter, dear, she's an ideologically extremely unstable element. I dare to assume that mentally too. Therefore, henceforth, if you want to dial this number, think three times, it may cost you a career! - and she menacingly hung up.

Grabbing her bag, she proudly left the office and closed the door. Suddenly she heard the elevator open and the sound of heels slowly moving toward her office. She turned around and saw in front of her the one that everyone is talking about, the one that's somewhere above and very rarely goes out to people, the one whose voice she hears only in the handset, and does not bring all the documents personally, but sends it by fax, despite the fact that her office is on top. The Great Daughter, who's also called the Great Helmswoman, the godmother of social democracy and the queen of the matriarchal system - Elizabeth West. She went to the General Secretary and asked:

- Isolda Evelinovna, have you prepared what I asked you?

And the secretary could not tear her eyes away from the appearance of the mother of the nation: a blue evening gown of a crazy price, an elegant big hat decorated with a stuffed wild bird named "ally", a very expensive diamond necklace shone on her neck, and a huge fluffy fur cape was draped over her shoulders. The General Secretary could not take her eyes off these clothes, because she did not even see any of this in the stores, even for a lot of money.

- Isolda Evelinovna, have you probably lost your hearing? I asked my order, at what stage of readiness is it?

- Your order has been prepared at the highest level, and I responsibly declare ...

- I'm not interested in your responsibility. I'm more concerned about your diligence. I contacted Yongsaang Airport and received confirmation that the plane of our honored guest will land at about eight in the morning. Instruct tomorrow the working team that you formed and at nine o'clock zero zero zero minutes I'll be waiting for you at my place. You all should be beautiful, dressed, full of happiness and working spirit. And so that everyone has a party badge on their chest.

When finished, Elizabeth did not even wait for an answer, leaving the General Secretary to stand in a stupor. Isolda closed her office with a lock, went to the elevator and stood silently. She has been working in this post for thirty-eight years, and does not remember when she last looked at these windows on her floor. Even through this small panorama, the whole city was visible, from the parking of the palace to the border, where there was one of the wonders of the world that only a few lucky people could see.

Mileena was one of them when last year she received a ticket to the Red Sea for her outstanding work in the palace. This place is officially included in the book of records due to the amazing view and the unusual combination of absolutely red water and black sand. But, in all her life, Isolda Evelinovna has never been there.She slowly stepped into the elevator and drove down, pondering Maelynn's phone call. Already sitting in her car, she checked the documents and the presence of all safety documents. It seemed to her for a second that she had lost the party power of attorney for the car, without which it was forbidden even to take pictures against the background of transport. After some time, Isolda began to move towards her apartment on the outskirts of the city.

She rushed along a large almost empty avenue, passing, she noticed a voting girl, but she pretended that haven't seen her and passed by. After a couple of kilometers, she was stopped by a road patrol. A young lady, a traffic policeman, approached her, gave a salute and said:

- Captain Vasnetsova, provide me your documents.

Isolda opened the glove compartment and held out a small folder. The captain studied the documents very seriously and then issued:

- Comrade Dobrolyubova, you zipped past a citizen in need of a ride.

- So.

- The sensor worked for us, so please follow to my car, I will write you a fine.

- Girl, and do you know that I'm allowed not to bring anyone home. I want to go home myself, I was late at work in general!

- Aren't you familiar with Dea's red-book? Point seventy two ...

- I know perfectly all the points by heart since 7490! I myself personally considered each amendment at the party congress and brought the country's leader a signature!

- Then the fine will double several times.

- Okay. - Isolda said menacingly and got out of the car. - Let's do this, you will get three thousand alphas in your hands and we will part with the peace.

- Awesome. Let's add here the constitution of our country, article twelve paragraph "b".

- Well done, I see you were a great student. Well, you'll get ten thousand alphas right now and I'll go to my house at last.

- So, madame, I'll write you a subpoena in court for violation of the social democratic regime! - indignant captain Vasnetsova

- Listen here, comrade captain, tomorrow you will receive a subpoena, not only in court, but in the "State Isolator". You'll see how five years with the confiscation of property will make you reset to the maximum.

- Well, wait! Ten thousand and I have never seen you.

The deal has taken place. The time was late, but the house manager called to Mileena's apartment. The manager's call went along another line to another phone, so she jumped up and holding the candlestick, answered:

- Mileena, are you still awake?

- Not yet, Vladlen Palych, but was about to.

- Can you go down for a second to the basement of our building, there is a small meeting of "Neighbor Guards"

- Oh yes, of course I will.

- Wait! Do not forget the main thing: clothing is strictly working and the party badge should be pioneer, not ordinary.

And the girl, in a state of slight fatigue, went to dress. She put on a decent working gray dress, pulled out a pioneer party badge from the casket, which differed from the usual one in that instead of the portrait of the Great Mother on it were portraits of Dea and Elizabeth together, and under them there was an inscription with symvolista "Youth Spirit". This badge is issued to everyone after entering the pioneer camp after undergoing mandatory physical training. Mileena supplemented her appearance with a white bow hairpin, as on the first school day. Going down to the basement, she found a whole room. Apparently it was formed in case of military operations or emergency. Apparently, such huge halls are in the basement of each building, and they are connected by tunnels. Mileena thought that in the event of a war or the complete destruction of the city even with nuclear weapons, the entire population of Yongsaang would be moved underground. It was a very thoughtful decision. Half of the residents of the house gathered in the room, especially the most active participants were those who always held the front row seats. They needed to maintain their position in society. Among all she noticed Maelynn, but sat down at the end of the hall, so as not to accidentally collide with her. She wondered how so many people could voluntarily knock on each other, it's not good neighborly. Her train of thought stopped the sudden start of the meeting. A woman stepped on the scene and said:

- Dear ladies, I welcome you to the next meeting of the overseers from our house. Before each of you gives a report on the work done, we will start according to the standard program.

The woman lit a butter lamp, which began to travel from side to side, in front of the audience, after which she began to say:

- Repeat after me. We are all one! We are invincible! Youth spirit is a skeleton key! We are not afraid of any obstacles! We are knee-deep in the sea, mountains on our shoulder! We are a friendly team and are friends warmly!

The girls repeated this very merrily and contagiously, and Mileena also picked up this wave, after the third time she felt strange pressure in her temples and stopped talking. But a strange feeling swept over her, as if she were pleasantly exhausted, or as a slight intoxication. In any case, some unknown and unnatural processes were launched in her head. She began to breathe deeply and closed her eyes. At one point, everything abruptly stopped and the woman invited the front ranks to voice her observations. The most industrious lady came out first and announced:- Over the past eighteen days, I have been watching my colleagues, friends, and housemates. Over the past week, the Petrov's and Lavryantsev's families from the thirty-sixth and twenty-fifth apartments did not turn in newspapers on ponedelnik (first day of the week), triteinik (third day) and pyatnitsa (fifth day), and also violated the decree prohibiting the wearing of clothes of foreign manufacture. It is proposed to discuss the issue of transferring this information to the patrol, for them to take appropriate measures.

Next came the young girl:

- I watched the housemates throughout this period. I put a bug in Aurora's handbag and using the Atlas system developed by the Union's Great Mother, I found out that Aurora Voznesenskaya spent less time on volunteer weeks than other citizens, the same goes for work, she left office ten minutes earlier than everyone else. It is proposed to discuss the issue of transferring this information to the district precinct for taking appropriate measures.

Everyone patted, and after it came a middle-aged woman:

- I watched from the playground with binoculars through the windows of our neighbor Mileena Chaplina. I also sat on the bench and analyzed how she returns home, what she wears and how she interacts with her neighbors. Based on my observations, I concluded that Mileena Chaplina is an opponent of the Great Idea and possibly casts doubt on the authority of the Great Mothers! Comrades, this is not acceptable and should be considered at the highest level. The discussion raises the question of transferring these materials to the Patrol Service, as well as thorough testing of comrade Chaplina for ideological immunity and if needed to isolate her from society in the State National Insulator, thank you.

Then Maelynn stepped onto the stage:

- I cannot disagree with the previous observations, since I myself noticed a behavior unusual for my friend, but only today I want to speak in her defense, comrades. When I noticed oddities and hesitations towards imperialist ideas, I immediately informed the General Secretary of Konhateb Palace about this. From what I saw today, I dare to take the liberty and assume that she goes through torment. I believe that it is necessary to support our neighbor with a kind word and action in order to strengthen her stamina and confidence in our choice!

Mileena neatly got up when the next woman came out and left the audience, no one even raised an eyebrow at this. At home, in her bed, she thought:"Why is there such a strange feeling in my head? Is it somehow connected with ideology? What were these speeches before the meeting?" with such thoughts she fell into a dream.

The next morning is vtornik (second day of the week). Mileena went down to mandatory morning exercises almost the first and heard a voice from the speakers of "Rínkho Kenté":

"Attention attention! Attention attention! Dear comrades, listen to the message of the Social Democratic Party of the Union of Westland . The text was submitted and approved by the General Secretary of the Mikado Party, Comrade Dobrolyubova Isolda Evelinovna. And I'm Serebryakova Alyona who will support your current mood. "

Downstairs, near the entrance, residents of the house began to gather.

- Oh, Chaplina, well done! You see, the youth spirit works for the benefit!

All neighbours, as spellbound, began to clap and speak at Mileena with various compliments and provide signs of support. At the end, everyone went to put themselves in order.Chaplina dressed, as usual for work, protected her skin with sunscreen and went. Leaving the entrance, she headed as usual towards the subway. On a wide street, between rare cars, a NAS truck drove from which it heard:

"Today, the Weather Control Center has given us a clear sky above our heads and a day without precipitation for today. It is planned to create cloud cover in case the temperature exceeds the limit of 28°С. Tomorrow they promise to leave the weather unchanged, so that everyone can wear their very different clothes in the evening. "

Mileena got up and gave her salute, and when the truck passed, she noticed a group of girls cheering in green dresses with red flags, she stood, looked at them for a couple of minutes and headed for the subway. There was a newspaper stand in the middle of the platform, this time Mileena went up to it and read the headlines. On the first page was a close-up photograph of Elizabeth West, on the second page was a photograph and an article about the event that happened with the Mother of All-Nations on the same day. Then she did not have time to read because the train arrived. Already at the workplace, leaving the bag at her place, Mileena went to the office of the General Secretary. Her legs were shaking slightly, and her thoughts were confused in her head. In the office, the secretary general had a team of several four patrolmen, one of whom was Richard, an elderly man in a cap and a lady in an elegant flesh suit. The girl knocked and went in.

- Mileena Lionovna, come in. Please, meet Son Taek - director of our films, Anetta Ryabina - historian, guide, honored party worker, these are your "father" and "mother" colleagues: Peter Danilov - the best representative of the "Atlantis" organization and Petra Mikheeva - head of the department of zoology at the university West, and these are representatives of the Universal Patrol. I will explain everything in order. So, we all together rise to the office of the Great Mother, she is already waiting for us with a respected guest. A film director from Moscow arrived in our country. He is going to make a documentary about our life, about the great history of our country and about our ideological foundations and cultural heritage. We already made up the script and gave it to the director for review. Your task is not to be surprised at anything, to answer strictly according to the party red-book and no other thoughts diverging or different from those written, okay?

Everyone nodded silently. Then Isolda Evelinovna went to her table and said:

- Youth spirit!

- Is the skeleton key! - the participants continued monotonously.

The General Secretary quickly scrambled up, and after receiving permission, she said:

- Go ahead! And do not shame the history of our revolution!

Those present gave a salute, turned and ran towards the elevator, while Mileena was so shocked that she did everything mechanically like everyone else.