Money from the article arrived at Alex's bank account. It was a lot. Even some regularly employed people would not get that much in a year. Now, her UBI seemed laughable in comparison.
Alex was thinking about what would make her happy and how to use the money. She liked the idea of having better things and eating expensive food, but she craved nothing in particular. She didn't see a path to more money anyway, so fantasies about that didn't make sense. Moreover, society would function better if people share what they have. In her mind, money was just a tool to oppress people.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized that using the money would mean losing her friends. She remembered Camille: she started working, and then she met Alex less and less. The meetings were awkward. Alex started to hate them because they cost a lot of money. She was scared that this might happen to her. Her friends would see her as greedy. The only acceptable way is to give the money to the party.
Donating the money would also help her position in the party. Volunteers who donate money have better jobs.
Alex decided to buy herself new clothes and a laptop and donate the rest. She wanted to buy the cheap brands she usually did. After some searching, she changed her mind to buy from more socially conscious brands. The clothes were also a bit nicer.
When she was browsing the web pages of shops, an ad popped up. "Enjoy a tropical paradise!" She clicked on it. It seemed very luxurious: a hotel with staff, food, and swimming in the sea. It had everything. It was even environmentally positive and not so expensive. Some influencers she followed were in the same place. She dreamt a bit but then closed the ad and continued shopping for her computer.
The shopping was exhausting. When the price was not the only consideration, it created a lot of problems. She had questions such as: "Is it better to support the wildlife or pay socially conscious tax?" She was researching it but felt a bit lost. Then the ad for the vacation appeared again. This time she thought about it a bit more. Maybe, if I don't tell the others, then I can go there. If they know, they would not like it, but they don't need to know.
"What the hell, I deserve it! I was in danger, and I give the most money away anyway." Alex thought for herself and then paid for the down payment.
With the rest of the money, she filled the donation form. She stressed her name. She didn't want to do it quietly. "It's a lot of money, and my comrades should know."
Few minutes after she sent the money, she got a message from the party to call. She called. "Hi, is this Alex? I'm Mia. I just wanted to thank you for the money." On the other side was a good-looking woman. "You are welcome. I'm always happy to help. I also work as a volunteer." Alex was happy to be recognized. "That's perfect. Which position are you in?" "I do just in-person street outreach. I don't like it too much thought." Alex hoped that after the donation, she gets something better to do. "Hmmm, I see it here. You are in a tough district, but what you do is very important." Mia gave Alex a warm smile.
In the rest of the meeting, Mia asked about the money. How Alex got them and if everything is legal and clean. Alex didn't want to say, so she lied: "My uncle died, and I inherited it. I don't have what to do with that. I don't need it." Mia seemed to focus on something else, like ticking some boxes. After that, they exchanged a few pleasantries and ended the call.
The next day, Alex had a meeting with a woman from the travel agency. They talked about her vacation, what experiences Alex wants and what she will do. At the end of the meeting, she gave Alex a form to fill. "The vacation is close to the non-associated waters. You need to fill that form." Alex heard about the non-associated water. She had contradicting opinions about that. She thought that NAW is sapping the wealth of the economy. But she also pitied people living there for being exploited and without social securities.
In the evening after the meeting, Alex clicked on the link and filled the form. When she clicked on the send button, it popped an error: "Due to outstanding debt, we are unable to ensure your departure." Alex was puzzled. She should not have any debt.
Alex immediately texted a support bot to solve that problem. "Hey, what's my debt?" And she gave access to the bot, and it replied quickly. "You need to pay income taxes on your irregular income." And a table followed. Half the money Alex got for the article should go for the income tax. "Damn, I need some money back from the party. Otherwise, I won't pay it." She thought to herself.
Alex didn't know what to do. She would need to talk with Mia, preferably immediately in the morning. It was not too late, so she watched some videos and ate ice cream.
In the morning, Alex had an optimistic message from Mia already. "Hi Alex, I'm happy to announce that you got an interview in the neighboring district." "Based on your evaluation, you might be an assistant to a campaign coordinator." In normal circumstances, Alex would be happy, but now she was afraid. "I already got something for my money. The party won't return it."
Alex called Mia immediately. Mia expected her to thank her. "Hi, Mia." "Hello, Alex, have you got my message?" "Yes, I have a problem." "What?" "I need to pay income taxes. There was a mistake. I didn't pay them." Mia's smile disappeared. "But you said that it's an inheritance, that does it automatically." "It was not true. I didn't pay the taxes. I'm afraid." "I'm sorry to hear that." Mia was writing to her computer. "I will check, but there is nothing I can do. Now I need to go." With that, Mia closed the call and disappeared.
Alex panicked. It seemed that Mia is running away from her. Alex checked the transparent account of the party. Her payment was already there, even with her initials. She didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.
But Alex was not the only one examining her payment. An artificial crawler had a closer look too and flagged it as "suspicious" together with hundreds of transactions.
Alex didn't know what to do. She wanted to watch some video that would help her to get her money back. She only found one that explained what to do if you send the money to the wrong account. Then the recommended videos led her out of topic.
After few less relevant videos about personal finance, she followed Caroline Derstler's case. There were a lot of commentaries but no official statement. The police were investigating the case. In the end, she ended up watching an old political commentary.
In the evening, she got a message from what seemed like a party's lawyer. "Dear Miss Robertson, we have been informed about your situation. Regretfully, we are not able to cancel your generous donation. We can offer you our tax and budgeting experts to help you." Alex wanted to smash her laptop but then reconsidered and smashed her pillow instead. Then she started crying.
The next day, she didn't get from her bed. Only to go to the toilet and to get food. Her head started to hurt around noon, and then she just watched some videos until she fell asleep.
When Alex woke up, the sun was already up. She realized that she should check the anonymous account where she posted the story. Maybe there can be some new money from ads. There were none. But quite a few messages, she read them. There was nothing better to do anyway.
Some of the messages were congratulating her, nothing important. Others were suspicious. They offered a small amount of money for her identity or rephrasing the article. But one was promising. It read: "Dear sir or madam, you impressed me with your writing skills, and if you are interested, I might offer you a freelance position in my small journal. If you agree, we can meet up." After a small search, she found that the author was an editor of some newspapers. That would be great work for her. She might even pay off her debt pretty soon.
She enthusiastically replied to the editor. When he connected, they talked. Alex didn't want to reveal her address, but he was understanding. He offered her some money as an advance. She agreed to meet with him in the city center. She didn't give him his name, but she was supposed to have a red bandana, such that he gives her the money.
It made her feel better. The money that the editor promised would not be too much, but at least something to cover the debt. The rest of the day, Alex was trying to practice her writing. She even missed the message from Mia. Mia suggested meeting with the lawyer and the experts. It was at the same time as Alex had a meeting with the editor.
Alex tried to negotiate a different time, but it seemed that some bot answered instead of Mia. She tried to convince it, but it was hard. "The party can give me more money, I need it, so I have to go there, and rescheduling with the editor would be unprofessional." "I'll ask Manta or Rebecca to take the money for me. The editor does not know how I look like anyway."
With that idea, Alex went to sleep.