Remember All the Good the Purge Does - A Polite Stranger Story

Chapter Two

I silently pick at my food as all of us sat around the dining table eating our dinner. I looked up from my plate, watching my dad devour his plate instantly. "Honey, this food is so good," He praises as he continued to take mouthfuls of mom's dinner.

"Isn't it amazing? Not one carb," She said as she took another bite. "Not one." I looked over at Charlie, pretending to slit my throat with the butter knife, causing him to laugh silently to himself. I took a bite out of my untouched plate full of food before looking up at my dad as he cleared his throat.

"Well, I'd like to hear about everybody's day. Amy, you'll go first." He said as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. I set down my utensils, debating whether or not to mention my encounter at the grocery store.

"Uh, well, the drive back wasn't so bad besides mom making me grocery shop right when I got here," I stated, causing her to snort out a small laugh. I stayed silent for a bit, still thinking about the event at the grocery store. "Nothing new really. Just a bunch of people getting ready for tonight." I technically wasn't lying, just left out a few minor details about the trip.

"Well, how's school going." He pressed, causing me to look up at him again, as well as the others staring at me. I pursed my lips and nodded slowly.

"Right... Well, school is going great. I actually got a perfect score on my economics class, the one I have been telling you about." I told him. He smiled up at me. At least he doesn't make it his plan to always bring up the situation.

"That's great. Well done. We're proud of you, aren't we Mary?" He asked, looking directly at mom. I smiled at my dad before turning to look at my mom. She smiled at me and nodded her head.

"Of course, we are. All her hard pays off in the end." She said before lifting her glass of wine up to her lips and taking a rather large sip. I look back at my dad and shot him another smile as a thank you for being proud of me.

"All right, Zoe, you're next," He said as he took a bite out of his food. I look at Zoe, sensing a fight coming on. She looked at dad, chewing her food rather slowly before Charlie's watching began beeping. Saved by the bell or should I say the beeping of his heart rate watch. I watched him quickly take out his journal to record the numbers on his watch. "Charlie, what are you doing?"

"Sorry, I forgot to take my vitals earlier." He said as he flipped through the pages of his journal to find where he left off. He took out his pen and being recording his vitals. "By the way, there's a slight deviation in my heart rate, but other than that, nothing to worry about." I look at him as we made eye contact. I mouthed at him, calling him a nerd.

"Okay, thank you," He said as he lifted up his class of wine and turned his gaze over to Zoe. "Zoe, your day."

"I don't want to do this anymore. It's stupid." She said as they both glared at each other. I sighed, glancing over at my sister.

"Zoe, seriously, cut it out." I said as I put my fork back down on the plate. By the looks of it, dad wasn't giving up until he got a response from her. She picked up her fort, pick at her food before she started to speak.

"Okay, fine," She said as she picked up food with her fork. "Calc test, piano. Normal day. Who cares?" She said as she took a bite. I mentally slapped my head against my forehead, really wanting to do the action physically to show how stupid Zoe sounded when she acted like a brat.

"I do. I care, very much. And what about practice? You ready for your recital?"

"James." Mom said, trying to get him to stop being so persistent.

"Of course, you are, because you're always ready. Just make sure your left hand cooperates in that third movement," He joked before turning to look at mom, who raised her eyebrows at him. "When I'm listening, that's what I hear."

"I think she's doing fine. Piano is very hard to learn and get the hang of at first." I said as I stared down at my plate. Everyone sat in silence before my dad shifted in his seat, putting his napkin down.

"All right, can I... I have some news."

"Go ahead." Mom said as she set her glass down and focused all her attention on dad. I looked over at my dad, waiting for him to start.

"I did it. I did it," He started as he fixed the napkin her placed on his lap. I grabbed my glass of water, taking a sip from it. "All sales are final... And I'm on top." He said with a proud smile on his face.

"Congrats." I said, forcing a smile. It made me think about all the other people wo weren't ass fortunate as us to afford a security system to protect themselves from tonight. Even if you weren't poor or homeless, you never knew if you were going to become a target for tonight's Purge.

"My division sold the most upgraded security systems." He said with a small chuckle, a large smile painted across his face.

"Congratulations, dad." Charlie said with a mouthful of food.

"It was a team effort." He added. Zoe rolled her eyes at his comment. Maybe it was a team effort, but my dad is the one that's truly benefiting from the sales. Dad continued around the table, asking everyone else about their days. I sat back in silence, thinking about how in twenty-five minutes, the country's dangerous night is about to begin. The Purge is telling us that their idea for a genocidal purge is effective. It's a bunch of bullshit to me. Genocide for genocide's sake is the exact opposite of how a human's survival instinct works. Not only that, women are at risk tonight. Not just women, but men as well. It's a powerhouse to do the unthinkable without and repercussions.

Suddenly, I was snapped back into reality when everyone around the table started arguing and laughing. Charlie hit his fork against his glass, catching all of our attention. "Guys, look at the time." He said as he used his fork to point at the clock. We all turned our heads. Ten minutes until the start of tonight's Purge.

"Oh wow, it's later than I thought, All right, it's time for lockdown. Let's go." He said as he looked down at his watch to confirm that indeed it was time. He is the first to get up and walk out of the dining room. I watched him disappear down the hall as we all remained seated in silence. I looked at Charlie, motioning towards his plate.

"I'll trade you," I said as I lifted up my fork to grab a piece of food, I wanted in exchange for what he wanted.

"Don't even think about it," Mom started as she stared us down. I moved towards Charlie's plate and grabbed off the piece from his plate as he did off mine. "Are we in a zoo?" Mom asked as we all laughed. Zoe's fork reached over to mine, grabbing the piece I traded with Charlie.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "That was mine." I said as I reached for it and eventually fought over it with her.

"It was yours. Past tense." She said as she stuck her tongue out at me.

"I'm home for two seconds and this is how I'm treated? That just isn't right." I joked, laughing. Our laughter quickly died down when mom began collecting the dishes. Right. The Purge. I looked at Charlie and Zoe, glancing back and forth between them. We all get up and file out of the dining room towards dad's office to start the lockdown together. I stayed back a bit, glancing around the dining room before shutting off the lights and following them shortly after.