The year 2036, district number 16.
5 am in a rental three-bedroom house.
Ring... the alarm on the phone.
I turned off the alarm. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom.
While washing my face at the sink, I look at myself in the sink mirror.
A thin, childish, malnourished face that could be mistaken for a girl. If he puts on a female uniform and uses some female makeup, he looks like a young pretty girl.
Mitsuki Ito is a 15-year-old boy, but he grew very little because he is malnourished, as his father, Itsuki Ito, passed away two years ago. He lives with his mother, Miyuki Ito, and his younger twin sisters, 14-year-old Kazumi Ito and Michiyo Ito.
His father owns a virtual gaming company,
So many developers took the precious data from the company and destroyed it before jumping ship to
Therefore,
However, all the assets from the company only cover 50% of the debt. Because of the enormous debt and stress, his father suffered a heart attack and passed away, leaving the enormous debt to the rest of the Ito family.
The Ito Family used to live in District Number 2, after getting into debt and the family moved into the slum District 16. His mother Miyuki Ito who used to be a stay-at-home parent and did not work so she does not have much work experience. She works full-time at a retail store to pay off the debt and to take care of the family fund to raise her children. The Ito family cannot survive on the measly amount his mother earned after paying debt, so they live on government welfare.
Ding, his phone notification rings.
I exited the toilet and took my phone from the study table to read the message.
Ding, incoming message.
Mr. Mitsuki Ito
Incoming deposit> 1,000 dollars
Current debt amount> 25,500,600 dollars
Auto repayment> 25% (unable to set a lower percentage)
Amount deducted> 250 dollars
New deposit amount> 750 dollars
Total new balance> 2,805 dollars.
Any incoming fund automatically has 25% deducted because of the debt owed by the Ito family. The debt payment percentage is determined based on the income source and age. My mother needs to make 50% minimum auto repayment toward the debt meanwhile my younger sisters are 15% till they graduate middle school.
I turned off the phone screen, set aside the phone, and got ready for school. This will be the last day of middle school. I will get my results slip today and apply for high school in the one-month break before school starts.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
I got dressed up in the school uniform and got out of the small bedroom.
My mom works the late shift today, still early for my sisters to wake up for school.
I went to the kitchen to get bread with cheap fruit jam and a glass of water for breakfast. There is not much in the kitchen as the food is expensive. The family cannot afford milk, coffee, or tea for breakfast. Every dollar and cents saved would go towards the savings account for a rainy day.
I washed the dishes in the sink after I finished the simple breakfast and prepared to go out to school.
Putting on my shoes, I closed the front door. I walk toward the nearest bus stop. District 16 is a low-income street bare of any proper road and no proper maintenance, with trash thrown around the pavement from the homeless mess.
While waiting at the bus stop, there is a job center next to it. Many day labor jobs post low pay to hire temporary staff to give the residents some jobs. The pay is way lower than full-time, and lots of companies & the government took advantage of this to get cheap labor.
There are no holiday, medical & bonus benefits, and once a person gets sick to work, they would have barely enough money to see a doctor in a small clinic.
There is no hospital in District 16. The nearest hospital would be in District 15, two to three hours away, and would cost a lot for the transport and hospital bills. Therefore, many people get into enormous debt once in the hospital. Once in debt, they are to work and pay back fast, as the interest is high. The bank will chase the debtor’s family for payment.
Any person in debt would have their personal information tag and cannot enjoy certain services such as traveling between districts or working for cash, as they would need the salary through the bank to collect the loan. Of course, many black market jobs give cash salaries, but those are risky and shady.
There are many posts on the wall outside the job center. I looked at the posting as I might need a job over the month's holiday to get some money before high school starts.
….
Each person can barely survive with that pay as food costs around $20 per day for a basic meal of bread, vegetables, eggs, and rice. Many jobs have 1-2 meals provided with low-grade meat to attract workers to work for them.
The bus came, and I joined the queue to get on the bus. The bus ride costs $2 per way for middle school students and below, high school students $3, and adults would cost $4, only covers a route that the bus took. Any transfer to a new bus would be a new ride. Luckily, my middle school has a direct route toward it from my house, but it still costs a lot of money for the bus ride every month. $2 per way, $4 a day. It would be $20 a week and roughly $80 per month, nearly 1/10th of my welfare payment given.
The bus ride along the bumpy road takes about 1/2 an hour to reach 16th Middle School. The bus is currently half empty during this hour, as many people cannot afford the expensive bus ride. For that reason, I can find a seat on the bus.
I took my phone out of my pocket to check the 15th High School scholarship and welfare page. On the main page of 15th High School, a new announcement was posted:
I clicked on the link, and the main page showed some virtual glass currently on pre-order. There are many specs and designs, but the bare minimum specs cost around $10,000. Woah, I cannot even afford that. Does the school provide some funding for that?
I quickly put down my phone and got off the bus. 16th Middle School currently only has 20 students, 12 in year 1 and 8 in year 2, who are graduating today. 16th Middle School only has 2 class years as this is a poor district. There is no high school in District 16, only in District 15, three hours away. Many students would drop out after finishing middle school as their parents or live in the orphanage as they really cannot afford to send them to District 15, as it is a boarding school with an additional cost for the dorm. Unless they study hard to get a scholarship, it is nearly impossible to attend 15th High School.
I have spent many endless nights studying to get a good grade. I hope the results later will allow me to be a scholarship student. The welfare department & high school get funding from the government that provides students the money to study in high school, giving them a chance to be more successful. Of course, there will be some bond, that after graduating from high school or university, they would have to work for the government for a couple of years.
I walk into the small building. There is no school gate it is only a small building that houses two classes and a teacher's office. I have reached the door of the year two classroom; it is pretty quiet as many students are nervous about their results. If they cannot get a scholarship but get decent results, they can do a full-time job in this district instead of working a daily job or part-time that pays less. I walk into the classroom.
Most of the students hardly talk to each other than help with homework and such. I only got along well with a student named Ren Sato. He lost his parents a few years ago and is currently in an orphanage, but he can study well. He is likely to get a scholarship to study in 15th High School.
I sit in my seat and wait for the homeschool teacher to arrive to give us the result.
Ren Sato: "Hey Mitsuki, think you can get that scholarship?"
I replied, “I have put in lots of hard work before that final exam. I will get that scholarship.”
While replying to Ren, the homeroom teacher, Mrs Takana, walked in with a stack of papers.
Mrs Takana “Okay students, I am passing the exam results slip to you. Be sure to bring back your results and discuss them with your parents or relative regarding your plan.”
I got the result slip from the teacher and opened up the slip to look at my result.
Results:
Language 85/100
Maths 92/100
Science 89/100
History 88/100
Total: 354/400.
1st in 16th Middle School.
After looking at my slip, I am glad I scored well and got 1st place in the school.
I asked Ren how his result was. Ren replied he got 349 out of 400 and was 2nd in the school.
Homeroom class ended after giving the result slip, so I bid Ren farewell and walked out of the school building.
Finally, I made it to 15th High School. I swear I will do well in high school to pave my future. To repay the debt and give my mother and sister a more comfortable life compared to now. Okay, I shall go home quickly and give my mother the good news. I would need to find a job over the holiday to get some money to survive in high school. I would need money for food and school supplies as the scholarship does not cover a comfortable high school experience.
To be continued.