𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕀𝕗 𝕀 𝔻𝕚𝕖 [ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕕]

꧁ ℂ𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟽 ℙ𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟹 - 𝔸𝚗𝚍 𝙸𝚏 𝙸 𝙾𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 ꧂

꧁ 𝔸𝕕𝕒'𝕤 ℙ.𝕆.𝕍 ꧂

I suck in the cold air. If I mess up, it might be the last thing I taste. I eye the guns that the officers wield, clutched tightly with a spare hand by their belts. I'm not scared, I'm just slightly terrified. I had waved at Min, through the window before it was shut, and she waved back. That might be the last time we saw each other. The officers had nudged me a little too hard and I had winced slightly. The head officer had sat down placed his gun at one end of a table, which is the only thing in the room besides security cameras. It seems too unrealistic how far we've come. Every problem, the wrong locker, not being caught, the tablet having all the answers, every one was solved too quickly. It's almost suspicious. I decide to just be grateful that Min and I aren't caught and executed yet, and ignore the many possibilities. The officer motions for the guards to lower their weapons, which they do, but they don't remove my handcuffs.

"What's your name again?" "Dana Whitley." "You're a janitor here, right?" "Yep, with my friend, Jade." "The one waiting outside?" My nose wrinkles when he says that. To him, we're merely "the one waiting outside" and "the one being interrogated". While to us, they are the people who will determine our futures, our lives, our fate. It's bitterly cold, and the icy handcuffs aren't helping. I wish I'd put on a jacket before. The officer behind me nudges me sharply to answer him. "Yes," I mutter. "Where were you at ten o'clock last night?" I keep my face blank and answer straightaway, "Cleaning the security room with Jade, why?" The officer sighs in annoyance. I know I'm pushing things, but I'm too scared to let off my steam some way else. "You know why, someone's leaked information about the government." The officer looks tired as he says this, he looks exhausted in fact, probably from questioning so many people. I can use this to my advantage. I infuse my voice and face with the smallest and safest amount of pleading possible.

"Look, we're just janitors, we just want whatever money we can scrape to keep living in the Solstice together." The officer nods, "I know, but I was instructed by the president to go through everyone, I can't make you an exception." "I know," I say politely, "I'm not asking for you to let us off, I'm just saying that we can't gain anything doing this, so why would we? Maybe a secret enemy of the president would do it, to ruin his reputation, but that would be a powerful and rich political opposition, not two scrawny, teenage janitors. We just want coffee and a place to live is all." The officer sighs and rubs his neck, "May I see your timetables?" I nod and hand them to him. I'm suddenly glad Min and I chose a day where we both were scheduled to work on the security room together at ten. It was a smart decision and it seems to mollify the officer, who hands back the timetables to me, looking quite satisfied. Our plan was working.

The officer asked me a bunch of other questions, but they were mostly about my job, why I applied, if I saw anything suspicious, if I enjoyed my job etc. I answered them all quickly and politely, but my tone flat throughout. Finally, he gave the signal for the guards to bring me out and release me. I almost cry of relief, but there was still a lie detector test to pass soon. If Min and I passed that, the government could be overtaken, we would win. It would be perfect. But if something went wrong, we would both be dead in seconds, all our hard work would come crashing down. I don't even want to think about it. Min is elated to see me and suppresses a smile while she's released from her handcuffs too.

The officers offer us a ride but we politely decline, insisting that we'd walk to the café by ourselves instead. Once we're outside, we burst into giggles and hug each other so tightly. We've done it. Our plan is almost fully complete. I feel a bursting happiness in my chest that I've never felt before. Like a seed of joy is planted in my heart, and now it is blooming. The walk to the café feels like a fever dream, everything around me swirling, I've never been this disorientated, and my knees are shaking. Min and I get a cup of coffee each to congratulate ourselves, then return to the Solstice.

Min is taking a little while in the shower, and I'm getting worried. I knock at the door, "Hello?" There's a loud silence before she answers in a small voice, "I'm here." Something's wrong. "Can I come in?" The shower turns on, "No." I grow more worried, "I don't care, I think something's wrong, if you don't let me in I'm bursting in." The shower switches off and then she answers, "Fine, but nothing's wrong, you're wasting your time." She opens the door wrapped in a towel. I look around, confused, but there's nothing out of the ordinary. Min manages a weak smile and says, "See?" "What is it? Tell me now." "Then?" "I'll... make coffee tonight?" She sighs and I laugh, "Gotcha." "Fine, it's nothing much, it's just something's been bothering me." I raise an eyebrow, "What is it?" She sits on the edge of the bathtub, "I can't say, but I keep thinking about it and I'm in a dilemma, I don't know whether I should do something or not," she laughs, " and I know it's hard to help someone when you don't even know what they're talking about, but what should I do?" I ponder this for a second then give the best answer I can, "If I were you, I'd just go with it. You only live once, after all."

Min slowly breaks into a smile, "Yeah I guess that's true. Like how we're taking down a government, because it's our only life, and we want to improve the lives of the future." I nod, "It's not going to be easy, we're definitely going to face lots of challenges and adversities, maybe even death, but it'll be worth if I overthrow. And if I overtake.

And If I Overpower."

Banner by: Thingybabiby <3333