Ungrateful (freewrite)

honeydue (68)in #freewrite • 6 years ago

The man looks through her and sees nothing. He's seen dozens like her, perhaps hundreds in his time here and this girl doesn't mean much more than a shadow. Not to him. Tomorrow, he will already have forgotten about her. He won't remember that he ever saw her, that she smiled slightly, when he met her eye, by accident.
She's nervous, the man knows. That's why she's smiling, to hide her insecurity - crippling in the strong neon light. She's pretty, but not unlike all the others. She is plain. Her eyes are beautiful, sure, but that won't make a difference, not when it comes right down to it and he knows that. If this girl doesn't pull it together, she'll never make it on to the other side. She's going to make it through his room, naturally, it's just a routine screening and there's not much he can find wrong with her.
He glances over at the machine and it confirms what he already knows. She's perfect. Her kidneys, her liver, her heart - all in top shape.
And it's not enough. Maybe it should be, but it's not. This girl will need far more than a good heart if she's to pass.
'Is anything wrong?' her voice breaks his concentration and he jumps, only a little. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...' her voice trails off and her cheeks turn a deep red.
No, she didn't mean to, but she did.
'No, nothing's wrong,' he says, more roughly than he should, making her bow her head. 'You're in excellent health.'
She smiles, only a little, as he looks up at her, looking straight into her eyes for the first time. He's seen her somewhere before, but he can't place her. He sees girls like her each week. Pretty, young, all wishing to be chosen, all dreaming of being the next big thing.
Maybe this one will be it. For a while. Does it really matter? The man wonders. Lately, he feels hopeless. He feels darkness in his soul that he can't quite place because ever since he came here, he can't quite remember whose soul that is.
It's customary for them to erase the memory of each new worker, otherwise, the risks would be too high. You could sneak someone in, you could let an imperfect candidate make it in front of the Great Four. And then what? The Great Four are wise judges and not unkind, but they are not here to waste their time on flawed creatures. Only the very best can pass through.
And so, it is a necessary sacrifice that all the screeners - all the men and women who work in offices much like his - have their memories erased. Poof, gone. All the people you might've helped, gone from your head forever.
The girl is holding his gaze, eyes steady and serious - the eyes of all candidates who want to make it to the final. He wonders what this one does - sing, dance, maybe both?
She's saying something and for a second, he thinks she's saying 'math'. That maybe she's going to charm the grand jury with a bit of arithmetic. But then he hears.
'Matt,' she says louder this time and glancing around. 'Matt, it's me, Lucy.'

And the man who was once Matt, her uncle and her best friend, shakes his head. 'I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about.'
'Please, Matt,' she says, stepping closer to him. 'It's me, it's Lucy. You used to play with me when I was little, Matt. I know you're in there...' her words trail off once more and he sees anger flood her eyes. And he doesn't understand. Some of the candidates are, of course, crazy, but they don't usually make it to him.
Besides, this one doesn't seem insane. She just seems sad.
'Matt please, listen to me, you need to get out of here. You have to come back to us,' she's saying now and her face is a terrible shade of red. She's no longer the picture perfect girl he saw, and yet she's more real now, somehow. 'Please,' she begs, stepping around his machine.
She's almost touching him now. So close to her, she feels sure that if she touches him, she'll break through. That she can make him see her again, that she can make him leave this monstrous place, where she never sees him anymore.

But he's quicker than her and just as she places her hand on his arm, he's already talking 'Step away right now, or you will be in real trouble. Interacting with any of the screeners leads to immediate disqualification.'
And as he says this, he's already pressed the button to his right and they come storming in and drag the girl, now screaming after him - 'Matt, please, Matt!' - out of the room.
That evening, the man who was once Matt sits in his room at the top of a very high tower - employees only - and thinks.

He thinks about all the ungrateful people out there, who don't appreciate their chance of going before the Great Four. She could've been a star.