“Everything is ok” a story set in a money-free utopia

“Ma’am, come this way please,” the grocery store guard motioned to Maggie to move out of the way of the customers behind her. She felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment.

She hastened to escape the curious looks her fellow customers were giving her. The alarm tone had finally turned off, thank god.

“Ma’am, your work card,” the attendant reminded her. She turned around and snatched the card from the frowning attendant’s hand. She kept her head down as she followed the guard into an office off to the side of the grocery store. The official motioned for her to sit down in a chair in front of a desk. A work card reader and a computer sat predominantly on the desk.

“May I?” the guard asked, holding out her hand. Maggie passed over her work card, then wiped her sweaty palms on her pants.

“I don’t know why it isn’t working…I logged over 40 hours last week.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” the guard murmured. “Let’s just take a look.” She swiped the card and started reading something on the computer screen. Maggie itched to look. She wanted to find out why the card reader had denied her entry to the store. It had never happened to her before. But she sat back and pressed her hands together, trying to be patient.

The guard glanced at her from over the top of the computer and she smiled weakly back. I have no reason to be nervous, she reminded herself. Then why am I sweating so much?

“I see what the problem is,” the guard stated just as Maggie opened her mouth to ask a question. Her mouth snapped shut. She turned the computer screen so that Maggie could see. There was a picture, a mug shot. It was a woman who had Maggie’s same brown hair and tan skin. “It looks like this woman tried to enter the store with a fake work card under your name,” the guard continued. “Were you aware that this woman, Brittany Saiks, was trying to use your identity?”

“No. No I wasn’t,” Maggie said flatly. “But I’m not surprised. She’s unemployed.” She didn’t mention that Maggie was also her sister. No need for more people to know that. The guard nodded in understanding.

“May I get on with my shopping?” Maggie asked, trying to sound patient. “My son is waiting for dinner.”

“Yes of course,” the guard said, handing the work card back. “We’re sorry about the misunderstanding.”

Maggie gave her a smile, which slid off her face the moment she left the office. She was fuming by the time she wrenched a shopping cart free from the line.

“That woman…” she muttered under her breath as she grabbed the box of grocery basics. She gasped as she almost threw her back out. “What the hell-” she swore as she looked at the sticker on the side. It read: “Family of Four”. She groaned and set it down. She’d been so angry she’d picked up the wrong box. She searched for the box that said “Family of Two”.

Only last month she’d been picking up the box for one parent and one child. But Benny was eating so much these days that she’d had to upgrade to the box for two adults. The box had all the necessities for a family her size, from sugar to toilet paper. And it was all measured to the ounce, based on years of consumption data.

Every aspect of life was optimized by data, from roads to grocery stores. For the most part, life flowed without a hitch. The only exception being anomalies like Brittany who couldn’t hold a job down. People who couldn’t pull their weight and didn’t even have a decent excuse. Brittany wasn’t disabled or sick. She was just a failure. A flake.

But not Maggie. As soon as she’d graduated from business school, she’d gotten a job and started working. 40 hours a week until she was 68. That was the plan. She was expecting her second promotion any day now. So why was I so nervous? she thought to herself in annoyance. As long as you logged satisfactory, quality hours, you had nothing to worry about.

She shook her head in annoyance as she continued walking down the aisles. There were always extra things here and there she needed to supplement the basics box. And according to the work card app, she had 50 extra points from logging 5 extra work hours the previous week. That meant she could get something from the extra special groceries aisle.

She called Benny while eyeing the ice cream freezer.

“What?” came a groggy voice.

“Were you napping?” Maggie asked, exasperation coloring her voice.

“Only a little. Soccer practice was tough today,” came Benny’s defensive voice.

“Make sure you’re doing your homework or you’ll get kicked out of soccer.”

“Yeah yeah I know mom. How did you know, anyways?”

“No, no. That’s not why I called. I got some extra points. Should we have ice cream this week or save up for horseback riding next month?”

“Um, ice cream obviously!” came Benny’s much more animated voice.

“What ki-”

“Chocolate caramel!” he squealed before remembering he was thirteen. He continued in a lower tone. “Or whatever.”

“Alright kid, see you soon.” She slipped her phone back into her bag, snagged the chocolate caramel tub off the shelf, and walked over to the self-checkout machines. The only thing she needed to check out was the ice-cream, a specialty product. The checkout machine beeped as she scanned it. A quick glance at the receipt screen showed it had only taken fifteen points from her total.

Maybe we’ll still get to go riding next month, she thought with a real smile. She, her late husband, and Benny had always gone riding, at least until the car crash. It would do Benny a lot of good to go out again.

But then her smile turned sour. As always, thinking about Andy made her think about her sister, especially when she was already present in her mind. How does an honest, hardworking man die while an unreliable flake goes on to…to fail? It wasn’t a very good thought, she knew. But it was always there, chewing on the back of her mind for the last three years. No, she told herself. Cut it out. We’re finally happy again. Don’t ruin it by thinking about her.

She forced a smile. It was almost real. Even if it was her fault, her mind added against her will. She shook her head, trying to dispel it. She was used to this particular battle by now.

She walked out of the grocery store, smile planted firmly on her face and conflicted thoughts swirling around her head. And this time, at least, there were no guards stopping her.