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.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvxXVPDfSi
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.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGs9rNhr1X
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.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfTPuEIm3z
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."212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJTVJumSQA
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.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5DXeWGUeY
The honest ones usually stay where they were born.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YIp6R72tw
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.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2y7Ir2Czhh
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.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8g6FvO7xyG
They're simply ignored by everyone inside.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNgxeQvxLG
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:212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGk5YUSJivY
"You just need to work harder! Why are you all so lazy?"212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxln3Qvu6L0
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. 212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5g67nA0DgC
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."212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOdBmGeP2a
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.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOD51qmzfb
Some scream, "Meat is murder!"212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Cfi4sXvZx
Others shout back, "tofu-fascists are ruining everything!"212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZpTXQ6gMI
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."212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcKIkAKV8D
The eco-conscious with their bamboo toothbrushes insult the diesel drivers who drag themselves to their night shifts.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUCOPr54DM
And in the middle stands someone holding a sign: "Everyone's wrong except me."212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZCnNOZZ1H
Everyone feels morally superior, everyone's read statistics, everyone is right.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyTa0pOO6q
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. 212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoPUHGrizL
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.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9U7eZoDVBQ
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.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03meFPSMGf
"Serves them right," people mumble, "shouldn't have worked so hard."
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and then Add to home screen.