It's spring now.
I've been in control of the factory for about five months.
And nothing notable has happened in that time.
It's like a sigh of relief.
I'm starting to think Elaine was wrong. All it took was me taking it back and things would be peaceful again.
Null can't do anything. The Claim is destroyed. And Elaine was wrong.
But I have been staying vigilant.
I know memory B is going to happen soon, I just don't know when. It could happen tomorrow for all I know.
But that's not what I'm really here to talk about.
I'm just here to write a little day in the life of ■■■■■■ ■■■■■■.
I think any autobiography should have one. And since I haven't had anything to write about, might as well do it now!
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Today, I got there a little earlier than usual.
Not because I had to.
Just because I wanted to.
The walk there felt… normal. No rush, no pressure, no feeling like something was about to go wrong. Just me, heading to the factory like it was any other place.
Which, I guess, it is now.
When I got to the front door paused for a second before opening it. Habit from the squeak. But when I pushed it open, it moved clean. No noise. No warning to everyone inside that someone was coming in.
Just a door.
Weird how something that small felt like a big change.
Inside Factory 24, it was loud.
Not chaotic loud. Not yelling, not fighting.
Just… noise.
Voices overlapping. Shoes scraping the floor. A ball hitting the court over and over again. Laughter. Conversations that didn't matter.
It didn't feel like a battlefield anymore.
It felt like a place.
I stepped further in and looked around.
The basketball court was full already. Full court too. No more half-court games because of that stupid projector. It was gone, and honestly, good. No one missed it.
George was on the court, obviously.
He was yelling at someone for missing a pass like it was the end of the world, but he was smiling while doing it. Leo was there too, quieter like always, but still playing just as hard. The teams weren't split by age or anything like that. It was just whoever wanted to play.
A couple of younger kids were standing near the edge, watching.
They looked like they wanted in.
One of the high schoolers noticed them and waved them over.
"Yo, you guys playing or just staring?"
They hesitated for a second.
Then one of them nodded.
And just like that, they were in.
No awkward asking. No rejection. No one making it weird.
Just… included.
I watched that for a second longer than I probably needed to.
Then I moved on.
There were groups all over the place.
Some people were sitting against the walls just talking. Nothing important, just random conversations. A few had notebooks out, actually doing homework. Not because they were told to. Not because they had to stay out of the way.
Just because they could.
That still felt weird to see.
The study area used to be the place for that.
Now it didn't even exist.
Andrew destroyed it during his little reign, and no one ever bothered to rebuild it. Turns out people didn't need a designated spot to sit down and do work. They just… did it wherever.
I passed by the office window.
Still plastic.
More plastic, actually.
It looked worse, technically. But it held better. That was the point.
Function over appearance.
That's how most things were now.
As I kept walking, I noticed a small argument starting up between two guys near the side of the building.
Nothing serious. Just voices raised a little.
I slowed down for a second, thinking about stepping in.
Before I could, someone else got between them.
"Hey, it's not that deep."
They both talked over each other for a second.
Then it just… stopped.
No fight. No escalation.
They split and went their separate ways.
I didn't need to do anything.
Before, everything came back to me. Every problem. Every argument. Every decision.
Now?
Not everything needed me.
And somehow, that didn't bother me.
I kept moving.
The Melanies were off to the side with a group.
Mel was sitting a little apart from everyone, like always, but she wasn't hiding. She was still part of it, just quieter. Melanie was talking more, actually engaged in whatever conversation they were having.
They both looked… comfortable.
That was the word for it.
Comfortable.
I don't think I'd ever seen that before.
Especially with Mel, she used to stick to me like glue. But now, she's as free as ever.
I did get around to telling her about Josh, and afterward she was as relaxed as I'd ever seen. I had no idea he was sitting on her mind that badly. I should've done more to help.
A couple younger kids ran past me, almost bumping into me.
They didn't even apologize.
Not in a rude way.
Just in a way that said they weren't scared.
They didn't feel like they had to be careful around everyone.
One of them stopped, looked back at me for a second, then said, "Oh—my bad," and ran off again.
I didn't even respond.
I just watched them go.
Someone tapped my shoulder as I stood there.
"Hey."
I turned.
It was one of the high schoolers. I didn't know him that well, but I knew his name.
"Yeah?"
He shrugged a little. "This is way better now."
That was it.
No big speech. No deep meaning.
Just that.
I nodded.
"Yeah."
He walked off.
And that was the end of that.
I ended up sitting down for a bit, off to the side where I could see most of the factory.
236 people.
All doing their own thing.
And somehow, it worked.
No one looked trapped.
No one looked like they were waiting for something bad to happen.
No one looked like they were being forced to stay.
They were just… here.
Because they wanted to be.
I leaned back against the wall and just watched everything.
This is what it was supposed to be.
Not control.
Not fear.
Not power for the sake of power.
Just a place.
A place where people could come, hang out, do whatever they wanted, and leave when they felt like it.
No one above anyone else.
Even if I still had the title.
Monarch of 24.
I kept it because it sounded cool.
That's it.
Nothing more.
For once… nothing was going wrong.
And for once, I didn't feel like I had to prepare for something to.
It worked.
It actually worked.
For now.