Glitches (Book 1)

Chapter 23: Claire

My head was spinning, the Can was spinning, the world was spinning. The full impact of what had happened only hit me after I changed into my Sloppie clothes and returned to the lobby. I had gone from superstar to janitor in half a day. 

I should've listened to you, Dad, I never should've come here. I should've learned from Megan's mistake...

I remembered my ecstasy when WGO first knocked on my door with disgust. How could I have been so blind? How could I have believed a couple of random kids over my own father? 

It's no use repenting now, I thought as I looked around the unkempt bottom floor of the Can. You're knee deep in this mess already.

"Claire?" A concerned Kelly tapped my arm. "I got you a welcome present, if that makes you feel any better," she held out a delicate bracelet of amber. I reached out to touch it; the pale stones glinted in the dim light and the beads were smooth under my fingertips. She had kept it surprisingly clean despite the squalid environment. 

"It's beautiful," I smiled taking it gently from her hand. 

"My mom gave it to me for my eleventh birthday four months ago, just before I joined WGO," she beamed proudly. "That makes it extra special!"

Her eleventh birthday was only four months ago... It was only then I noticed how young she was. She was at least four inches shorter than me, and her big eyes were so innocent, so loving, and the way she looked at that bracelet- the devotion and the love she seemed to pour into it. To her, it was her mom, it was her family. 

"I can't take this from you," I dropped the bracelet back into her outstretched palm. "It's all you have left," I whispered, my pity for the poor little girl turning into fury. Amanda did this to her, Amanda did this to all of us.

"Thanks, I guess," Kelly smiled softly. "See? This isn't gonna be so bad. We're best friends already, we can deal with any assignment Government can throw at us! Come on, let me show you around," she turned around and skipped up the narrow, rickety stairs in the corner and I began to follow, the corners of my lips starting to form a wide grin. 

That kid was the definition of optimism, radiating joy even in her situation. If she could continue to balance Amanda out like she was, my Sloppie life would be a lot less unbearable.

"This is the Cubby, where the regs sleep," Kelly said as we stepped onto the second floor of the Can. Just like the Can itself, it was aptly named. The Cubby was even darker than the lobby and its walls were lined with cots, each with a cardboard box underneath it where the Sloppie helpers, the lowest rung of WGO's social ladder, stored their meager possessions. 

"Don't worry, you'll never have to spend much time here," she laughed when she saw my reaction to the stench.

"Now this is the important part," Kelly announced as she hopped up the second flight of stairs. "The Rafters, its where you'll live." The third floor of the Can was certainly nothing luxurious, but at least it was well ventilated, had a couple of windows, and was fairly clean. 

"This is the boys' area, you should probably stay out of it at night if you don't want to be tackled. When I was new, I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, except I was pinned to the ground before I made it down the stairs," she laughed.

"Nice tip, maybe we should get a chamber pot," I smiled, and Kelly giggled.

The four Sloppie boys definitely didn't have a good taste in decoration. Their two rusty bunk beds were shoved lazily into a corner, their ping pong table was strewn with empty bags of chips, and each of their three wicker chairs looked like it had been made in a different country. 

The single armchair looked like it had been made in a different galaxy; no earthly furniture designer would make a red and purple striped chair with duct tape-lined legs and weird circles etched into the wood of the hand rests. Well maybe the tape and the etching were the boys' doing, but even without them the chair was outlandish.

"My room's this way," Kelly pointed to the open door that lead out of the area. The room was certainly not the pink wonderland of a typical little girl. The walls were a plain beige, with the paint peeling off in places and exposing hard, black brick. The only furnishings were a cot, a faded red box which held Kelly's things, and a black folding chair. 

"You can live here too, we can get another bed and stuff." 

"Okay," I smiled, looking the place over. This was going to be a huge downgrade, but I would get through it. Yes, I would be okay.