by Lauren Salem
Maybe these were not supposed to mean anything relevant to nowadays. They were probably really old, but the inside of the building looked new. A guard approached me, tapped me on the shoulder, and said it was time to get back to work, so I walked back to the glass house. Since it was almost lunchtime, I sat by the cafeteria doors and began to read the laws of the land.
As a citizen of Walnut Cherryville Village, you are forbidden to do the following:
1.Abandon Walnut Cherryville Village: any citizen that walks beyond the confines of the village will be charged with abandonment, a serious crime punishable by death. Village limits are marked by gates and fences that are under constant surveillance.
My interpretation: whoever made this law must be so undesirable and lonely that they had to make up their own village and force people to live in it. This might put a damper on our escape plans.
2.Refuse to Work: any citizen who skips work or refuses to work their assigned job will be charged with absence from work, which is a crime punishable by appearing in Chair Trials after the citizen is judged. The only time it is acceptable for a citizen not to work is during a medical emergency.
My interpretation: this was a communist village with no free will. The only way to get a break from scrubbing windows was to fake a medical emergency. I had to practice my fainting and become an expert fainter.
3.Vandalize Walnut Cherryville Property: everything within the confines of the gates and fences is Walnut Cherryville property. Citizens who destroy Walnut Cherryville property will be judged based on the value of the property. The punishment for vandalism could be a warning or appearance in Chair Trials.
My interpretation: citizens couldn’t own anything, and a citizen was the property of Walnut Cherryville. If I ever got out of here, I was going to drop an atomic bomb on this place…How was that for vandalism?
4.Disturb the Peace: citizens who behave aggressively will be charged with disturbing the peace, which is a crime punishable by a warning or an appearance on Chair Trials.
My interpretation: no one here had any fun! I mean, come on…I wasn’t behaving aggressively by using my cleaning cart as a scooter. OK, I admit, I probably freaked out some people when I rolled past them but only because they were all brainwashed and forgot how to have fun. I bet there was at least one person who saw me and who was like, “Whoa…that dude is awesome!”
5.Assault: a citizen who physically injures or rapes another citizen will be charged with assault, a serious crime punishable by appearing in Chair Trials after the citizen is judged. In a situation where the victim uses physical violence against their attacker, the victim will receive the same punishment as the attacker.
My interpretation: if someone tried to hurt me, I couldn’t defend myself without taking heat for it.
6.Steal, Bribe, or Trade: citizens must earn everything they need by working and following the laws of Walnut Cherryville Village. Those who obtain or sell physical objects or bias marks on work reports by stealing, bribing, or trading will be punished by appearing in Chair Trials after they are judged.
My interpretation: there was no place in Walnut Cherryville for a good deal. No wonder Ben White was stealing shower coins; he probably wasn’t good enough at his job to earn any. I was no Cinderella, so I hoped Johnny liked his roommates stinky.
Chapter 5: Johnny
