17/05/2041
"Hey, did you hear? Pankor just signed up with the Z brigade. He's definitely going for the GoldBin Premier League. The GoldBin Cup is way too irresistible for a rookie like him." A young boy in a construction worker's outfit covered in mud and grime said excitedly as he off loaded his barrel filled with bricks next to a growing pile of bricks.
"Obviously, and he's not the only one. Even Lady Kiri has her sights set on it. This year's premier league is gonna be awesome." Behind him a girl dressed like him dragged her own
barrel filled with bricks as she 'fangirled' over her favorite MMA Brand fighter.
Behind the both of them another boy dragged his barrel, only he was looking worse for wear as he gasped for breath. "Hey, earth to David and Beth. Can you guys give me a hand."
David and Beth both sighed as they looked at him. "Maxwell, Maxwell, Maxwell." David shook his head trying to look like a wise sage.
"You know Max, it kinda sucks that I'm better at this than you. Aren't you supposed to be the man here. You're looking worse everyday. You better find a man and get settled before your beauty fades away." Beth snickered.
"Ha ha, laugh it up why don't you." Max off-loaded his barrel right into pile.
"Look Max." David began, as they heard a bell like sound.
"Finally, lunch time. Look out shrimp and fried beef, the Bethzilla is coming. Raaar." Beth jumped giddily as she grabbed her barrel and moved to the back of the construction site, David and Maxwell in tow.
Dropping off their barrels, they made their way to their locker rooms with Beth entering the girls locker room and the boys moving towards the men's locker room. The men's locker room was already quite full with other workers coming in to drop off their worker's gear.
Slowly but surely they squeezed their way through till they reached their lockers.
"Damn, for a company very clearly obsessed with order and cleanliness, they could stand to make this place bigger." David groaned.
"Well bigger means more money spent. Besides once construction is done we won't even be here anymore so why should they enlarge what –ow." Max was cut off as another worker bumped into him.
"Ha." David snickered.
"Sorry about that." The worker apologized.
"Nah it's cool." Max brushed it off as he and David squeezed their way out of the room.
Heading towards the canteen, they found Beth waiting for them.
"Well what do you know, the ladies finally finished changing their clothes. How lady like." She sang as she tried to sound like a rich woman.
"You try getting through a mass of bodies, see how you like it." David chased after Beth who just kept laughing as she kept away from him.
"Hehehehe." Beth laughed as she stopped and turned around. "Oh you want some of this? Lady Kiri's special attack, the Moronto special."
"Oh no you don't, here comes the Pankor deadly, Stampede." David yelled in response.
Maxwell watched, shaking his head as his friends pretended to be brand fighters, earning curious glances from nearby workers.
Heads turned as people stared at the duo who ignored them for the most part.
"Hi yah."
"Take this."
"Moronto special."
"And this."
"Oh no, you got meee! My dreams of fame and glory, destroyed!" Beth wailed, pretending to collapse in defeat. "You've bested me, the Gold Bin Cup is yours."
Maxwell rolled his eyes as Beth put on an award winning performance that was sure to bring a tear to the eyes.
Walking into the canteen they made their way to the counter where they ordered their meals.
David ordered his usual two set meal of corn and some veggies doused in duck sauce.
Beth ordered her very obvious usual three set meal of shrimp and fried beef, with extra shrimp and fried beef.
Turning to face Maxwell they both sighed seeing him order his usual 'potato porridge'
Finding a seat a distance away from the counter they settled in and began eating.
"I'm worried about you Max." David began.
"Oh really?" Max replied, sarcasm clear in his voice.
" Don't start Max, you need some meat on your bones. You're weaker than Beth... and she's Beth."
David dropped his half eaten corn as he pointed at Beth.
"Hey!!" Beth complained from her literal pile of shrimp and fried beef.
"You know why I do this, why I have to do this." Max snapped at David who dodged a piece of shrimp Beth tossed at him.
"And we love you for it. If there were an award for the best big brother, you'd win it for sure. But seriously, look at yourself. Your health is declining, and you're getting weaker every day. There are definitely cheaper institutions than the one Ben's in. If you keep this up, you're setting yourself up for failure." David shook his head and resumed eating his meal.
Max opened his mouth to respond, but Beth cut him off before he could get a word in.
"Max, this job pays so well, but looking at you, no one would ever guess that. Can't you treat yourself to a proper meal every now and then? If not for yourself, then at least for Ben. At this rate, you're only hurting yourself. Ben might be little, but he's not stupid," she said, placing her hand on his in an attempt to convince him.
"At least give it a thought, maybe sleep on it." David sighed as he finished his meal.
"And get some actual food in your stomach. Now open up." Meanwhile Beth began forcing down the rest of her meal into Max's mouth.
The rest of the meal was as hectic as any other day.
Using whatever time they had left to just hang around and rest, they heard the bell again signaling the resumption of work hours.
A few hours passed and the trio finally signed out along with other workers.
"Take care of yourself Max, and say hi to Ben for me." Beth gave him a little punch in the shoulder as she crossed the street and went her way.
In companionable silence, Max and David walked together for another fifteen minutes before parting ways—David continuing down the street while Max headed toward the subway.
After buying a ticket and getting on the train, Max began scrolling through his phone.
Checking out various new notifications and news.
# New rare Kyrennei found, estimated price shoots up to CC680,000,000.
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# Massive shootout at senel joint union, six confirmed dead. Gang war escalates.
Expand••• #
As he scrolled through the news, the announcement for his destination echoed through the train. Max got off, and the change was immediately noticeable.
The upper district was worlds apart from the middle district. The floors were spotless, almost everyone wore cheerful expressions, and surveillance cameras rotated every five seconds, meticulously monitoring the area.
Wasting no time, he left the subway station and hailed a cab.
Twelve minutes later, he stood in front of a large black gate.
"How may I help you?" the security guard on duty asked, noticing Max's approach.
"I'm here to pick up my brother. I usually get him around this time. You must be new here," Max replied, realizing the guard wasn't the usual one.
"Yeah, the previous guy got caught up in one of those gang wars last night. Poor guy didn't make it—ripped to pieces," the guard said, pulling out a logbook.
"Ripped to pieces, huh? Things must really be going downhill if they're bringing Brands into the fray. The guy didn't like me much, but may his soul rest in peace," Max sighed.
"What's the name of your brother?" the guard asked.
"Benjamin Flores. He's nine," Max replied quickly as the guard scanned the names on his list.
"Ah, there he is. You can pick him up from Class 3C. You know where that is, right?" the guard asked.
"Sure thing. Thanks for that. By the way, I didn't catch your name—since we'll probably be seeing more of each other," Max said as the guard opened the side gate.
"It's Dax," the guard replied, settling back into his seat.
"I'm Maxwell, but my friends call me Max," Max said with a nod before walking inside.