“Guess you’re right,” I reply. “I’m kinda looking forward to this next Scavenging.”
“Aren’t we all? I mean, I’m already getting my banners ready. Oh, that reminds me, I need you to come by to help me glue the letters to it. I managed to trade some makeup for glitter the other day. That’s going to make for an awesome sign to hang in the hallway.”
I wave her off. “Yeah, yeah, you know I’m gonna be there. Dork.” She seems oblivious to my point, though. “Anyway, about looking forward to this Scavenging… It just seems like they’re having to go a lot deeper into the Tower than they used to, you know? I’m just, I dunno, interested in seeing if they find anything. Anything not food, I mean. Something important.”
“Jackie, are you seriously still on about this?”
I look at her with a ferociously perturbed glare as I hold my palms up. “What am I on, Allison? I’m just saying.”
“I know, Jackie, I know, the problem is you’re always saying the same thing, and you know what can happen if you get too nosy. I mean, do you really want to end up going to Reinforcement?”
“For what? Asking questions?”
“Well… ?” She shrugs and nods like I should know the answer. “Jackie, there’s nothing below. This is all we have, and we live pretty good here.”
“I’m sorry, did I imagine it, or weren’t we just talking about having to decide between food and watching a movie, like that’s a decision that should be normal? Allison, the poor people in the movies we watch have more going for them than we do.”
“But that’s fantasy, and you’re only hurting yourself by focusing so much on them.”
So I’m just all sorts of righteously pissed off because I’m used to hearing this stuff from everyone, but Allison’s supposed to have my back. “Fine. Whatever. Guess I won’t bother thinking about having a life even slightly better than this miserable crapsack we live in.”
“Aren’t you being dramatic?”
I stab her with my eyes. “What did you say?”
“Jackie, I just mean there’s no point in trying to get below Floor 21.”
“Since when did I say that? I’m not asking to go there; I’m just saying I think we can do a little better than just sitting around waiting for the Creep to come get us. All I want to do is ask a few questions without having to worry about getting hauled off by Security.”
Her eyebrows raise like warning flags. “Yeah, well, Jackie, your behavior could end up getting everyone “hauled off,” so maybe you should think about toning it down. You’re at an eleven, and I need you to bring it down to an eight.”
“I can’t deal with this,” I say as I get out of the chair. “Dance party over.”
“Calm down now.”
“Hey, I’m calm, got it?” I ask as I lean my head toward the door. “Maybe I just want to take a nap.”
“Fine,” she replies as she darts past me, the floor clicking underneath her as she steps into the hall. “Call me when you feel like being a grown-up about this.”
“Are you freakin’ kidding me?” I demand as the door closes behind her. Immediately I turn around and go limp, my body collapsing like a bundle of wet towels into the couch. My utterly exasperated scream is muffled by the mountain of pillows I’ve burrowed into. Thank God! Wouldn’t want Mom’s crazy coming in here to pile on top of Allison’s.
Anyway, a few hours later, I’ve calmed down, but I still haven’t forgiven Allison. Oh no. That’s going to have to wait until I’ve had time to head to the baseball field to hit a few balls around. And probably break a bat.
Recording Six
Can I just state, for the record, that Mrs. Bloom has no frickin’ idea about what happened before the Before? I’d rather someone just tell me they don’t know something instead of pretending like they do.
That’s the thing, though. Everyone in the Tower acts like they know something about the world before the Darkness. Mr. McCauley at least comes up with stuff nobody else does, but Mrs. Bloom tried to convince me today that we had flying cars and cities above the clouds. I’ve seen movies, Mrs. Bloom. Whatever happened before the Before, we didn’t have any of those. Cars? Sure. Plenty of those. Trains? Okay, I’ve seen those. But cities that fly in the sky? Give me a break.
Someone was filming a long time ago—that’s why we have these movies in the first place—and none of the movies have flying cities.
Anyway, I got really frustrated with that conversation, but I get really frustrated with everyone these days. As if yesterday’s argument with Allison isn’t example numero uno about that, I’ve got some people lying to me about what happened before the Tower and others that don’t care.
And did I mention that Tommy tried to ask me out? I nearly decked him across the face. He knows I think he’s a tool bag and way too much of a jockstrap for me to ever be interested in. I just don’t get it. Tommy’s asking me out, and Allison’s picking fights with me. Like what the hell, life?
Recording Seven
About yesterday. I mean, what’s his idea of a date, anyway? He doesn’t like to read. All he does all day is work out in the gym on Floor 9, and every other word out of his mouth is wrestling, basketball, boxing, blah blah blah.
Don’t get me wrong; I like those, too. Not that I’m great at all of them, but I’m in shape, you know? Got a little muscle. Kinda. I can outwrestle half the guys I know and shoot a basketball like a sniper. And don’t get me started on baseball. I don’t miss with a bat.
That’s not the point anyway. My point is that a date for Tommy means working out, playing video games, and… I dunno, kissing. I mean, that’s what you’re usually supposed to do to end a date, right? Nothing wrong with any of that, but it’s not exactly everything I want in what I’d consider a fulfilling relationship. At the top of my list, I’d probably be looking for someone I could talk to, most likely because thinking about what’s below Floor 21 makes my head want to crack open. So Tommy’s a no-go from the start since his vocabulary’s as big as sports and more sports.
Urrrrrgh. Why is this bothering me so much today? Maybe because Tommy just really rubs me the wrong way. Maybe because I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with my life. It’s not like there are a ton of other boys to date, at least not this high up the Tower, and Mom and Dad would never let me date someone from beneath Floor 11.
I mean, how would that even work? People from the lower floors aren’t allowed up here, I mean, unless they’re working. Safety reasons, they say. I get it. It’s not fair, but I get it. Someone from deep in the Tower could be really crazy from the Creep. They might even have some sort of infection or something. Can that really happen? I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard it can happen. Maybe. I dunno. People say lots of things about how it all works.
When I think about the details, I figure it really must suck living on the lower floors. People from higher up can go down there, even if they rarely do. I mean, why would they want to? On the other hand, people from the lower floors can’t go above Floor 12, since there’s a Security checkpoint that makes sure everyone heading to the higher floors has the right identification.
Oh yeah, identification. I get pretty tired of having to wear this thing around my neck all day. I mean, it’s not a huge pain, but it’s just not my style. It’s this glowing electronic card that makes me feel like I’m going to a horribly thought-up dance party. Security guys have these scanners they use on it whenever you’re on your way up the stairs. You either get cleared to go up the stairwell, or you get turned around. If you make a scene, then you get taken in for Reinforcement.