In the lower floors live the poor; the ones who always have too much month left at the end of their money. Payday hovers in the back of their minds constantly, hanging themselves from paycheck to paycheck.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MwhOynW5Y
Prices just keep rising because poverty mustn't get too cozy. God forbid anyone gets used to it. Basic needs are met, so please: shut up.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupBLvolfhS
They've got a roof over their heads; what more do they want? Dignity? lmao, some people really need to learn contentment.
The garbage from upstairs falls with predictable regularity down into the lower floors. Every day, every second, nonstop. Thankfully, there are people down there who clean up the mess diligently, nearly free of charge. With back pain included.
The stairwell is busy. Chaotic, but with structure.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstz5potq1a
On the lower steps, people with heavy backpacks struggle to climb upward; or at least try. Not the trendy ones from "The North Face", of course. Their bags are packed with emotional baggage, debt, a bit of trauma, and a suitcase labeled "different background."444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3drml6hnxB
Most don't even make it past the second floor. The heavier the backpack, the more slippery the stairs. That's the unwritten law.
The cunning ones schmooze their way up, floor by floor. They fake credentials, promise this, lie about that. Add some social capital and a fresh haircut and somehow, they sleep well at night and still manage to move upward. A luxury the honest ones from the bottom rarely enjoy.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xzQgXA0UG
The honest ones usually stay where they were born.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOdTEzii54
At least they're authentic. That's what people say when they're broke.
The elevator is a bit of a mystery. It works, but only if you have the right last name. Or a different kind of currency; connections, education, inheritance, fraud.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2iMIYAzigi
Others press the button in despair. Nothing happens.
Outside are the ones without a home or address. No Wi-Fi, no access to the building.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglYZUwZR17
They're simply ignored by everyone inside.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZTVLuwwkt
Sometimes someone spits on them. Usually from the lower floors. Because when you're already at the bottom, it's a comfort to find someone even lower; someone you can still look down on.
The upper floors lean out their windows, smiling benevolently, calling out:444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlHIqlyGvU
"You just need to work harder! Why are you all so lazy?"444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLgEhUPdKe
All while they're sitting in meetings, brainstorming "innovative" business ideas like: "How do we make free resources expensive?" and how to teach "resilience at the workplace" to those who already are on the edge of breaking down.
Meanwhile, the lower floors work obsessively to keep the building from collapsing. 444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3q1sKkSBs
They come home only to sleep and eat. They don't see their kids grow up, but at least they get to say: "I was always reliable and conscientious. My behavior toward supervisors and colleagues was exemplary."444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GqokLM4xr
Team spirit, they say.
But whoever thinks the people on the lower floors will band together and simply storm the upper levels probably also believes the salaries will catch up with inflation.
Instead, there's an endless war.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0iXnZhQcK
Some scream, "Meat is murder!"444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChaefeH27T
Others shout back, "tofu-fascists are ruining everything!"444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZUY0QblCR
Down the hallway, one curses the greed of corporations while the neighbor whispers conspiratorially, "Climate change is a hoax by the elites... and don't get me started on vaccines."444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCthpqtC686
The eco-conscious with their bamboo toothbrushes insult the diesel drivers who drag themselves to their night shifts.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGinFWVKkq2
And in the middle stands someone holding a sign: "Everyone's wrong except me."444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFf5EBWf7gI
Everyone feels morally superior, everyone's read statistics, everyone is right.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3Ev5C6Zz8
And yet, everyone is wrong.
Instead of solidarity, the stairwell hosts endless shitstorms.
And the upper floors? They watch. With binoculars. And hors d'oeuvres. 444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Pj387cV1o
They cry with laughter over the latest season of "Class Conflict: Down vs Down."
Arguments continue. About food, pronouns, thermostats and discussions about our climate.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTkH9XY09w
While upstairs, the apartments have long been fully air-conditioned.
Sometimes someone on a middle floor collapses. Burnout, exhaustion, existential crisis. Pick your poison; it doesn't matter. They vanish. Hospital. Out of sight, out of stairwell.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZGeP9kC90
"Serves them right," people mumble, "shouldn't have worked so hard."
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and then Add to home screen.