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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4aV1d0ASm
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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5U7ljNHTh
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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwQabyRR3R
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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGaqOlhxcb
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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdG2yCbkop
The honest ones usually stay where they were born.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BGeU3Llzt
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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDpWuXGsoF
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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeW0bBwmoZ
They're simply ignored by everyone inside.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjimwH8eHo
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:121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2Jce7NZZm
"You just need to work harder! Why are you all so lazy?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0U4N3o5ts
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. 121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ME2wCEmJc
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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQdZGbZX3F
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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJo1Kt1Eu8r
Some scream, "Meat is murder!"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdb69AuI8gY
Others shout back, "tofu-fascists are ruining everything!"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwuLm6Xr1P9
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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDZFzbLjyS
The eco-conscious with their bamboo toothbrushes insult the diesel drivers who drag themselves to their night shifts.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhD0Xq6ohA
And in the middle stands someone holding a sign: "Everyone's wrong except me."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLoQPc035p
Everyone feels morally superior, everyone's read statistics, everyone is right.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5BIeCxyaeX
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. 121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6EhMhDqUgO
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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kN788ZgXV
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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡutPymadMgl
"Serves them right," people mumble, "shouldn't have worked so hard."
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and then Add to home screen.