Risk it and leave Labour early.

Alice quickly packed up her work station taking with her all the few possessions she had brought with her to Labour. Tomorrow she would be assigned to a new day-desk and she would begin the reinformation all over again. Pressing the call button to at the elevator. Alice had an enormous scare when the doors to the elevator opened and two Status-Wardens were inside. Alice stayed were she was frozen in place as if that would prevent them from seeing her. The two of them stepped out onto the 30th floor. One turned to look at Alice he walked past but remained silent. Alice quickly jumped into the elevator when they were gone so they wouldn’t stop to question why she was leaving early.

On the ground floor, other ReInformation Workers were starting to leave now so she could blend into the crowd. Alice held out her Colour-Bracelet to be scanned by the heavily armed Status-Wardens at The Gate. The Gate was a fortified portal that everyone had to walk through to get into government buildings. Alice had heard rumours of terrorist attacks on ReInfomation Buildings. Bombs going off after being smuggled inside. The Gate was meant to stop all that and Alice had never come across any sort of reports like that in her time with The Department of ReInformation.

Alice thought about stopping by the Blood Pool on the way home to donate blood for a handful of Social Credits. She’d already had to donate twice this month to keep her status up. It had left her feeling a little bit weak and forgetful. That was probably why she had been getting her infractions at Labour. Alice wasn’t sure she could handle another donation so soon.

Passing the Blood Pool Alice decided against going in. She’d donate her entire days Labour tomorrow to the Department of Restorations rebuilding fund. The Department and its fund had been established to cleanse and rebuild the cities that had been bombed in the war. She’d heard stories of the monuments in Old D.C. and longed to visit them one day. Alice reckoned she would need at least 500 Social Credits to be allowed to enter that zone. She hoped to have them by the time she retired. The clean-up efforts were going well. Alice herself had reinformed the radiation levels from over 100 sieverts down to just 10 it was that safe. Alice was a long way from being able to retire anyway. An entire days' Labour had to be good for at least 10 Social Credits. That would put her in the high 70’s and safe again in her Labour at The Department of ReInformation.

Thinking about the difference an extra 10 social credits would make to her, Alice called into the Ration-Market on her way home to pick up some food. She had quite a bit of space on her monthly quota still. Alice was a slim girl and didn’t eat all that much anyway. It allowed her to afford a few small luxuries occasionally.

Picking up a basket, Alice started to wander down the isles filling as she went. Her Green Status meant she was allowed to shop in the green section of the store. The quality was better than the yellow section stuff and cheaper too. It was one of the ways the government encouraged everyone to stick to the Social Credit System. She didn’t even want to think about what the Red Status people would have to eat. That stuff wasn’t fit for animals.

Coming to the single confectionary shelf, Alice thought she would treat herself with a chocolate bar this month. Her basket was already quite full so she slipped it into her pocket. She’d remember to take it out when she got to the Quota-Auditors.

Lining up at the front of the Ration-Market Alice could see her Colour-Bracelet clearly from how she was holding her basket up. It started to pulse green for a moment and then before her eyes turned yellow. Oh God! The Status-Wardens must have followed up on her leaving early and infractioned her for Labour-Stealing. They’d taken 25 Social Credits from her! Alice could afford all this green stuff now. She dropped the basket on the ground where she had been standing. She couldn’t stand the shame of being seen with a Yellow Status Colour-Bracelet. Alice caused a scene then as she fled back out of the Ration-Market. She’d run back to the Blood-Pool and beg them to let her donate double. Her apartment was in a Green 66 and above building. She wouldn’t be allowed back in the high rise like this.