Eventually, Gronk got up from his desk and peered out of the window. He grinned as a Destructor drove past. Taking a comb from his pocket, he tidied his hair. He had an impressive house, an amazing job and flashy lifestyle. Gronk felt appropriately smug. Outside, he jumped into the sports car he had appropriated from Harry Fortescue-Stuck-Up. It was perfect for his new image. Open-topped, leather seats and customised pink stripes down the sides, which really did make it go-faster. He zoomed down the High Street and banged his horn at an idiot Outsider, who was not emptying the bins quick enough. Gronk knew he looked good. From the pencil moustache to the complementary tuft of hair below his bottom lip. The lowly types must be in awe of my mysterious and impressive persona. As he turned a corner, he noticed some Outsiders smiling at him. See? Those people look up to me, their great leader. I bet they think I’m bloody marvellous, he thought.
As the sports car farted speedily into the distance, fumes belched out and swept its unhealthy cloud over the Outsiders. They wafted their arms to clear the air. One turned to the other and nodded.
“You’re right, he does look like a hairdresser.”
“He must be late for the salon.”
They burst out laughing as a Destructor snarled past.
“And there goes another TwatWagon.”
They laughed some more.
Whilst Outsiders tried to remain light-hearted to help them through those times, Pinkshirts kept a heavy presence on the streets to enforce order. The paramilitary uniforms and baton-slapping reinforced their dominance. Fully complicit in sinister authority, they enjoyed the task of keeping Outsiders down. Now the dust had settled from the promotions and demotions, social divisions were even more marked. Domination and exploitation enhanced the privileged sector. For now, Outsiders made light of the situation, but this was a war of attrition and malaise was inevitable. The authorities intended to gorge their morale into empty insignificance.
Copyright © 2025 Callum Stanford. All rights reserved.
