Alsatian Island
TNPer
- Pronouns
- he/his
- TNP Nation
- Alsatian Island
Aldurtury 14, 1094
(November 18, 1094)
Should she be happy?
She was the mother of four. One was approaching her late teens, one his mid-teens, and two not even in their teens yet. Combine that with continued unemployment leading from the Black Monday crash and it makes for a hard living.
She listened well to Wilson and his compatriots speaking of poverty being eradicated, of employment hitting new records, of a new generation of workers. The last one very much felt like she'd been left behind, despite being about the same age as Wilson, if a few years his senior. A lot of promises had been thrown around in the past few years and one of them was that "all who wanted to find jobs, could find jobs." Well that sure was true - but they paid less than her benefits. Why bother when her alternative to unemployment is underemployment?
Yes, they'd increased her benefits. She no longer came close to poverty as such - but she was by no means well-off. The new budget allowed little for employment benefit extensions and employment programs - why should they when the government is under the illusion that everything's fine - and thus it seemed she was to stay unemployed (or underemployed) for the rest of her life, or at least for the foreseeable future.
The same business every day. A terse call with the father of her children - she'd be surprised if they even knew he existed at this point - to get him to pay child payments, despite working in the City; then get the kids ready for their respective schools and drive the little one there. Then hours of mindless nothing, of wasted opportunities, of ideas that will never come to fruition.
That was before today. Today was the first day she would join the meeting of the Communist Democrats of Osynstry. Today was her day to be included.
"Good morning, Sophie". Hearing someone call her by her name, rather than "Mrs Jones", the husk of her failed marriage that remained the chip on her shoulder forever, was refreshing.
"Indeed." And that's when it hit her. Elizabeth Skipton. That's the General Secretary?
"Sorry, but aren't you-"
"Yes, nearly everyone asks. I am Mrs Skipton. I greet all new entries to the party in this place."
"Right."
They fell silent. It wasn't an awkward silence, wasn't even unnerving, it was that nothing needed to be said. Skipton understood the predicament of her friend pretty quickly - the tired, exasperated look in her eyes, the dull clothes, the equally dull car she arrived in, the slight hint of condescendence thanks to the age difference, it's clear what she was dealing with.
They led one another into the room, as if Sophie had been there a million times before. And finally, for the first time in about seven years, she felt included. The feeling of life in the room, the banners, the slogans, and this was all before Skipton's speech - where she promised to "take down the gig economy and give the people the say", as she called it - sealed her opinion. There was a group that cared about her, fought for her rights, her survival. She thought back to when she saw the Communist Democratic Party on the ballot paper, and voted Workers' Party, as she said at the time, "surely the Communists are needless if we have a Workers' Party?". Apparently not, she was here to stay.
(November 18, 1094)
Should she be happy?
She was the mother of four. One was approaching her late teens, one his mid-teens, and two not even in their teens yet. Combine that with continued unemployment leading from the Black Monday crash and it makes for a hard living.
She listened well to Wilson and his compatriots speaking of poverty being eradicated, of employment hitting new records, of a new generation of workers. The last one very much felt like she'd been left behind, despite being about the same age as Wilson, if a few years his senior. A lot of promises had been thrown around in the past few years and one of them was that "all who wanted to find jobs, could find jobs." Well that sure was true - but they paid less than her benefits. Why bother when her alternative to unemployment is underemployment?
Yes, they'd increased her benefits. She no longer came close to poverty as such - but she was by no means well-off. The new budget allowed little for employment benefit extensions and employment programs - why should they when the government is under the illusion that everything's fine - and thus it seemed she was to stay unemployed (or underemployed) for the rest of her life, or at least for the foreseeable future.
The same business every day. A terse call with the father of her children - she'd be surprised if they even knew he existed at this point - to get him to pay child payments, despite working in the City; then get the kids ready for their respective schools and drive the little one there. Then hours of mindless nothing, of wasted opportunities, of ideas that will never come to fruition.
That was before today. Today was the first day she would join the meeting of the Communist Democrats of Osynstry. Today was her day to be included.
"Good morning, Sophie". Hearing someone call her by her name, rather than "Mrs Jones", the husk of her failed marriage that remained the chip on her shoulder forever, was refreshing.
"Indeed." And that's when it hit her. Elizabeth Skipton. That's the General Secretary?
"Sorry, but aren't you-"
"Yes, nearly everyone asks. I am Mrs Skipton. I greet all new entries to the party in this place."
"Right."
They fell silent. It wasn't an awkward silence, wasn't even unnerving, it was that nothing needed to be said. Skipton understood the predicament of her friend pretty quickly - the tired, exasperated look in her eyes, the dull clothes, the equally dull car she arrived in, the slight hint of condescendence thanks to the age difference, it's clear what she was dealing with.
They led one another into the room, as if Sophie had been there a million times before. And finally, for the first time in about seven years, she felt included. The feeling of life in the room, the banners, the slogans, and this was all before Skipton's speech - where she promised to "take down the gig economy and give the people the say", as she called it - sealed her opinion. There was a group that cared about her, fought for her rights, her survival. She thought back to when she saw the Communist Democratic Party on the ballot paper, and voted Workers' Party, as she said at the time, "surely the Communists are needless if we have a Workers' Party?". Apparently not, she was here to stay.