by Lauren Salem
* * *
I heard footsteps approaching, and shivers traveled down my spine. I grabbed the bars and leaned my head against them. Could this get any worse? A young man with a neatly ironed, black Armani suit and matching Prada pressed-leather loafers strutted down the prison catwalk. He stopped in front of our cell, gave me a piercing glare with his powerful emerald eyes, and placed the laundry bag he held on the floor. He was definitely fierce and had an amazing bone structure…one of the best I’d seen.
“I’ve been expecting you,” he said to the group.
“They keep sending one goon after another,” Johnny said. “I’m tired of all this nonsense. What’s going on here?”
“I’m Kenneth Quinton, the soon-to-be governor of Walnut Cherryville Village.”
“Where are we?” I asked.
“This is where you will start your new life. A better life than the one you led before,” Kenneth replied. “I have a lot of information to go over, so no more questions until after the tour.”
Kenneth pulled out folded orange jumpsuits from his bag and handed each of us one through the bars. It was the most wretched piece of clothing I’d ever seen: a one-piece jumpsuit that buttoned up with long sleeves that was all orange, except for the white nametag on the right breast pocket that said “Laura” and “Gatherer” in black stitching. The Walnut Cherryville oval logo that read WCV was printed on the back. Beautiful man—why would you make me wear these rags?
“Excuse me,” I said, holding up the ugly jumpsuit. “What is this for?”
“You’re going to wear that to work every day.”
“Work?”
“Well, don’t tell me, princess, that you’ve never gotten your hands dirty before.”
I had, but mostly with the neighbor’s unborn children. It was a living that paid better than working at my father’s restaurant as a dishwasher.
“These are for your head so you don’t get sunburned,” Kenneth said, while handing us all blue patterned bandanas.
What the hell…was I working outside?
“And finally, your black sneakers in all the correct sizes,” Kenneth said as he slipped them through the bars.
Ick…This outfit kept getting uglier by the minute.
“Please change into your uniform now, and discard the clothes you’re wearing into this bag.”
The boys began undressing, but I hesitated.
“What’s wrong, princess?” Kenneth asked.
“Well, first of all, you calling me ‘princess,’ second, stripping in front of you, and lastly, this hideous outfit!”
The immature boys laughed.
“I strongly advise you to put on the uniform.”
“And if I don’t put this on, what are you going to do to me?”
“The uniform is for your own safety. The village, myself included, will be very insulted if you don’t like the appointed community attire,” Kenneth said.
“You’re a pig,” I said as I lifted my shirt over my head. They hooted and whistled at me while I undressed, but the minute I put on the jumpsuit, they all stopped. I was forced to hand in my Hollister Skinny Jeans and my spaghetti-strap tank top with the lace trims for a baggy jumpsuit that left much to the imagination. No one would ever know how hot I was in a baggy jumpsuit that made me look like a fat girl. At least I got to keep my Miraculous Push-Up Bra from Victoria’s Secret.
“It seems like, based on your choice of thong, I interrupted the plans you had for tonight,” Kenneth said.
“You could say that,” I replied.
“Laura!” Counselor Hank shouted. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing…and seeing.”
“Can we please get on with the tour? Why can’t you guys talk about me behind my back like normal people instead of in my face?”
Kenneth opened the cell, and everyone walked out. “This way,” he said as he led us back into the sandy village. “Walnut Cherryville Village is the safest place on earth. We do not have any crime because we eliminate all temptations. All citizens of Walnut Cherryville are equal and live carefree lives unconcerned about their monetary status. We take the stress out of your life by making decisions for you. We work for the community, and it works for us. I think you’ll really enjoy your new home. Walnut Cherryville offers only the best quality of life. This is where you’ll be staying during your off time and at night. We call it the glass house.”
Kenneth stopped in front of a skyscraper made of glass and scanned his key to unlock the doors, and we walked into the lobby. My mind was overwhelmed. I could see everything everyone was doing in all the neighboring rooms and on the floors above me because the ceiling, floors, and walls were made out of glass.
“There is no privacy in this building to protect your safety and the safety of others. The logic is simple: people are less likely to commit crimes when other people are watching. Everything is glass, so there are no secrets kept from the community. There are several guards on each of the forty floors of this building, not to mention security cameras. Here are your keys.” Kenneth handed each of us a plastic scan key. “You will need to use these to unlock the doors. They will let you enter and exit only authorized buildings. Our computer system knows which buildings and rooms you’re authorized for and which ones you’re not. If you’re caught in an unauthorized room, there will be a penalty.” Kenneth pushed the up button on the elevator.
A second later, the glass elevator arrived, the door opened, and we were on our way to the fifth floor. When we arrived, Kenneth took us to glass room K.
“There are five of you and three rooms. The rooms are a simple living space, so there can only be two people per room. Each room is already equipped with a pillow and a sleeping bag for your comfort. You—”
“Excuse me,” I interrupted. “The glass is hard, and a sleeping bag won’t be enough to keep us comfortable.”
“Well, if you’d like, you may go back outside and sleep in your cell if that was more comfortable. Every citizen of Walnut Cherryville has the same accommodations because it’s important that everyone is treated equally and no one owns something more valuable than someone else.”
“No thanks, here will be just fine.”
“Anyway, rooms K, L, and M are yours. Pick the person you would like to bunk with, and scan your key to mark your room.”
The counselor scanned in for room M.
“Laura, do you want to—” Collins began, but I walked away before he could finish his sentence.
I saw Vincent scan room K, so I scanned it, too. Vincent glanced at Collins and shrugged with disbelief. Like I said before, I don’t spoon for free.
“Collins,” Johnny said with open arms, “would you like to be bunk buddies?”
“Sure,” Collins said, disappointed. Johnny and Collins scanned into room L.
“Now that you know where you’ll be sleeping, let me show you the restroom facilities,” Kenneth continued.
We walked down the hall and stopped at the entrance to the restrooms.
“Men’s facility is on the right, women’s to the left. You don’t need to scan your key to enter the restroom. You do, however, need to insert a golden coin into the water dispenser to use the shower. When you insert the coin, water will run for exactly ten minutes. Golden coins are only given to those who do good work and follow the rules of the village. The rules are simple: follow the instructions given by your superiors, and never abandon your community. If you follow those two simple rules, you will be rewarded with shower coins. If you don’t follow the rules, you will be punished. Ask any resident of Walnut Cherryville, and they’ll tell you how severe punishment can get. This village takes community service very seriously. Now let’s go down to the cafeteria.”
We took the elevator back down to the first floor. Across from the elevator was the entrance to the cafeteria.
“This is where you will meet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You may only enter the cafeteria during designated mealtimes that include: breakfa
st from six to nine, lunch from twelve to one, and dinner from five to eight. You can eat at the tables here if you want, eat outside, or eat in your room. As long as you start your work on time, we don’t care where you eat. At the end of the hall is an entertainment room. You may enter that room only when you are on breaks or at night. The room closes for the night at eleven thirty, and we expect that you are back in your rooms by midnight. You will be able to watch TV in here and play a variety of card and board games. We also have a great selection of books you can borrow if you’d like to read on your downtime. We do not have resident computers, Internet, phones, or video games, because these technologies will corrupt your mind and complicate your life. If there is ever a medical emergency and you need immediate attention, press the red button connected to your key ring. The medical team will come to you right away. Well, that concludes the tour of this building. You will begin work tomorrow, and your supervisor will give you individual tours of your work space and responsibilities. They are expecting each of you to meet them on the first floor by the key scanner tomorrow morning at nine. Please be on time. On behalf of the village, welcome to Walnut Cherryville.” Kenneth began to turn and walk away.
“Why are we here?” Johnny asked.
Kenneth stopped in his tracks, turned back around, and stood across from Johnny. “You’re here because this is where you’re supposed to be,” Kenneth answered. “The events in your life led you here to help us.”
“Why do you think we can help you?”
Kenneth looked away for a moment. “Each of you has valuable skills that our village desperately needs. Only you guys can do the job.”
“How come you couldn’t just ask us to come here instead of abducting us?”
“We couldn’t risk you saying no.”
“Will we ever get to go home?” I asked, looking into Kenneth’s eyes. I could see the rage stirring as his eyebrows constantly twitched, and his hands formed fists. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and released his fists. Somehow he turned down the flame on a pot that looked like it was about to boil over. Why was he getting so distressed over the questions we asked?
“I hope that someday you will say that this is your home. I know we haven’t treated you very hospitably, but we have to take certain precautions for the safety of our people. I promise you that we will never treat you like that again. Once you finish the tasks ahead of you and you still don’t want to stay…I will let you go. Now excuse me, I must get back to my work.” He quickly turned and walked away.
“He’s got some serious repressed anger issues,” Vincent commented. “There’s something going on here that he’s not telling us.”
“What are we going to do?” Collins asked.
“Just sit tight, and see how this plays out,” Johnny said.
“Find out as much information as you possibly can without looking suspicious,” Vincent added. “There are still many questions that need answers.”
Chapter 4: Collins
