REM

Glove Thief

Riding backwards on the work train, I held onto the horizontal railing as the tracks tilted me to my left. They flattened out as the banked turn disappeared from my field of vision, the bustling of the under-construction city drowning out my thoughts. Massive cranes of all colours were helping construct skyscrapers, buildings, and even factories, where I could potentially one day be transferred to.

Cranes coloured bright pink, lime green and orange lifted supplies upward on my right, large, silver dumps reaching upward as contents emptied from them as well. Workers with shovels surrounded the machines, everyone wearing protective gear as they did their jobs in close quarters. Considering how congested everything was, work related injuries were at a minimum.

I continued to hold the railing tight as the train passed by welders connecting beams and a group of females hammering away at steel rods. This was the morning commute I became accustomed to at my old job, but today was the beginning of my latest transfer.

Pulling into the station, I turned around to face the dock as the train slowed to a stop, pistons locking the cars in place. I stepped out onto the checker-plated decking in my steel-toe boots, people walking single file to the end before walking down another section with tubular railing.

As I waited patiently in line for my other safety equipment, the woman in front of me stood up from a bench. She had been sitting on her gloves, which a young man snatched up quickly, scurrying behind me to his place in line.

"Really?" Muttering under my breath, "Fuck."

"What?" he asked. "It's not like she needs them. She's gone to get another pair."

"You're clearly new," I stated. "You'll learn."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I stepped forward, collecting my gear from a uniformed female. "Thank you." She smiled quickly as I turned away.

"You don't even know me," continued the thief, trying to convince me he was something special.

On the other walkway, I looked over at him and replied, "But I already do. You're a selfish bastard who only cares about himself. Stay away from me."

"Or what?"

"You'll see," I replied ominously, leaving him to collect his gear.

Input screens awaited myself and others at the end of the walkway, another docking station behind dull rails filling up with more work trains for transfers. We all took turns scanning our citizen badges on the screens for jobs we wanted. I took one to start with, while others took three at a time. There was no point to being greedy on the first day. Most of these people were probably desperate, but I knew the companies frowned upon greed since they were the kings of it.

Stepping out of the way, an error occurred on the system. Wasn't me, I assured myself, leaning against the railing as trains waited for passengers behind it. I crossed my arms as I saw the idiot waiting on the far section of the platform for his chance to pick a job.So help me God, if I have to work with that shithead, I think I might kill him.

It was a good thing no one could read my thoughts, but as I waited with the rest of the workers, I knew it was going to be a long day. One job, or three to complete, with computer systems down, we weren't departing any time soon.

The sound of the bustling city filled my ears again as I remained calm and relaxed while others seemed to be panicked. I smirked to myself, knowing that I had the upper hand on these newcomers. Not only did I have more jobs under my belt, I had the advantage when it came to meeting deadlines without stressing myself the fuck out. I did feel bad for some of the older workers, but the young ones would have lots of time to learn, just like I had.