Thank You

Charlie sat outside his boss’s office; his knuckles white from gripping the papers in his lap. He bounced his leg as he watched the doorknob, waiting. The sound of the tick-tacking from the receptionist’s keyboard sounded like a jet engine in his ears as he nervously bit his lip.

‘It’s going to be okay.’ He thought. ‘just because you haven’t been able to complete the report doesn’t mean they’ll fire you.’

The lock clicked from the office door before him and the doorknob began to turn. Charlie straightened his back, his limbs beginning to shake.

“Thankyou Alfred, you’ve done a good job.” His boss said as he and another man stepped out from the office. “I’m looking forward to our new arrangement.”

The man, Alfred, nodded with a lopsided smile, his face pale as he left the office and wandered down the hall to the receptionist.

“Charlie, please come in.” Charlie’s boss said making Charlie jump.

He quickly got to his feet and edged into the room, cautiously taking a seat opposite his boss’s desk. Behind him his boss closed the door and locked it.

“I’m going to be frank with you Charlie, you’re fired.” He boss started as Charlie gaped at the man, his fear squeezing at his throat as he tried to speak. “Unfortunately, you haven’t met our requirements and as a business that demands punctuality when completing tasks, we have to let you go.”

“Sir, please, I had a death in the family, I-.” Charlie tried, his voice cracking.

“I’m sorry Charlie,” his boss interrupted. “But this just won’t work.”

“If I get fired, I won’t be able to pay my bills, I-I’ll have to live on the surface.” He stammered. “Just give me a second chance, please.”

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be Charlie.” His boss warned. “My decision is final, please leave.”

Charlie went numb. He stood, the papers slipping from his hands as he stumbled from the room. He didn’t remember the walk from his workplace to his apartment, nor did he remember flopping heavily on his bed. His brain buzzed with panic, the thought of being fired sticking to the center of his mind. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a loud bring noise echoed through his apartment, awakening from his fixated state. He rolled himself off the bed and lumbered over to the door where a letter was being printed from his letter box. It wrote:

“Dear Mr. Charles Frockman,

Due to the recent event of you losing your job, we are sad to inform you that your current living space is unavailable to you. Please leave the premises before Friday 12st of April 2150, or you will be forcefully removed. Free transport to the surface has been arranged.

Signed the Authorities”

Charlie slumped down onto the floor. This was it; all his family was dead and now he was too, only the lowest of the low lived on the surface, the vilest of society. He had lived on the Cruiser his entire life; his family’s wealth had made sure of that. But ever since his mother had donated all his inheritance to the local authorities upon her death, he had had to get a job, and work for his living.

With a heavy sigh, he dragged his frame from the floor and started to pack the few belongings he still possessed; including his mother’s ring, and a small photo of his family. All his things managed to fit into his father’s old suitcase; a small leather box that was light even when Charlie had filled it to the brim. He slipped a thick jumper over himself before lifting his lone suitcase from the bed and left the room.

“Computer, what’s the time?” he asked softly.

“eleven forty-six.” It replied, it’s voice metallic and filled with static.

‘Fifteen minutes until they evict me for good.’ He thought. He stared around at the bland walls of his home, the window glittering black over his bed and the wine stain in the carpet winking at him. He breathed it all in for a moment longer before turning on his heel and sweeping out of the room, quickly locking it behind him.

“Don’t look back.” He told himself as he marched towards his destiny.

He headed for the teleportation room, the corridors and halls all blurring into one before he finally found the door he was looking for. Before entering the room, he slipped his apartment keys into a box along with his identification card.

‘I won’t need those where I’m going.’ He thought as he entered the room.

He was greeted by a very tired and bored man. His eyelids drooped as he lazily looked out over the teleportation pads, his elbow resting on the console in front of him. Charlie looked at the man expectantly, waiting for some sort of instruction, but he just blinked lazily back.

“Ah, hi there.” Charlie began. The man looked at him a little harder but didn’t change his positioning. “What’s your name?”

“Buddy, I’m not here to chat.” He grumbled. “Just get on the pad already.”

“Oh! Right.” Charlie replied as he realized what he was meant to do.

He stepped onto one of the grey circular pads and waited. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment until a laser shone down from above him.

“Surface.” A metallic voice announced.

The man behind the panel blinked slowly, before pressing a button. Charlie yelped and squeezed his eyes shut as he suddenly felt like he was being pulled in every possible direction, before feeling like he was being pushed into a tight tube. Cool air breezed across his face, the smell of it felt fresh and clear, as though he were a child taking their first breath.

He opened his eyes, the darkness swirling all around him except for the cool glowing light of the stars, making him gasp. Their clarity and brightness surprised him; on the Cruiser he had only ever heard of them, but never saw their glow. That’s when he noticed a slight hum of music. It throbbed through the night air and made him turn his attention to a warm glow in the distance. Curiosity got the better of him as he began to walk. As he got closer the noise got louder and he was certain it was music, but he had never heard such sound before.

It throbbed and pounded to the rhythm of his nervous heart, and made his body want to relax and sway. He also noticed that the glow was brighter than he anticipated; occasionally it grew brighter and then died down again while it moved the shadows as though they were puppets.

Soon he was close enough to realize that the place where the noise and glow were coming from were surrounded by sheds and buildings he had only read about in his textbooks. He crept closer, sticking close to the shadows until he sneaked a peek around the corner and laid his eyes upon the source of light. He felt its warmth first, but quickly became entranced by the way it flickered and twirled as though it were alive and dancing. The bonfire rose high into the sky; embers raining down like fiery red snowflakes as the people danced around it.

‘The people!’ Charlie thought, drawing himself back to the shadows again.

But the longer he looked at the people, the less afraid he became. He noticed their skin first; it was darker than the people on the Cruiser, and it showed their many days out in the sunlight. What also sparked his attention were their clothing and body paint. It was rich with color and odd shapes; some he had never even seen before. The thing he noticed the most, however, was the smile’s that were plastered across every face. They sang, joked and laughed like he never knew humans could.

Charlie took a deep breath and inched out into the firelight, his body trembling as he moved towards the crowd. He scanned the faces waiting for one of them to notice him and just as he swept over the face of a man with the darkest skin he’d ever seen, they locked eyes. Charlie stopped in his tracks, smiled lopsidedly and waved awkwardly to the man. The man’s face lit up, quickly bounding over to Charlie.

“Hi there.” He announced loudly so Charlie could hear. “I’m Abayomi, what’s your name?”

“Ah… Charlie!” he replied as loudly as he could.

“Welcome!” Abayomi said with a wide gesture to the party. “You’re just in time.”

“For what-.” Charlie started.

Suddenly the sky erupted in colorful explosions, the light cascading across the sky and the noise booming in his chest. The crowd cheered.