The Systems Challenge

Jonas groaned as he opened his eyes. The light fixture directly above him didn't help his hangover any. The light was too bright, even though it was the same brightness it had always been. Except when the lightbulb burned out of course, which generally got promptly replaced, since this was a county jail.

Jonas ran over what he could remember overall. He had been in a bar the night before... or was it earlier in the night? He had no idea what time it was or even how long he'd been here.

Jonas glanced around the holding cell he was in. There wasn't anything remarkable about the cell, but he still recognized it from the layout and shape of the room. Even if he went to the door, he wouldn't be able to see what time it was. And of course, the deputies on duty wouldn't bother telling him what time it was if he asked, so he was stuck not knowing when he'd be processed to be sent to one of the regular units for those waiting for their case to be decided.

Jonas shook his head. He thought again to what happened at the bar. He was minding his own business, drinking enough to get a good buzz, but not plastered. He didn't really care for the really strong booze, but at the same time, he couldn't really afford it either.

It was all he could do to pay for the drinks he did drink from what he was able to earn doing day labor jobs. There wasn't much he could do about it, but at the same time, he wished he could get his life more stable. Living this way wasn't really a long-term solution, but he also didn't really have the motivation to do much else.

Was he as much of a loser as his family said he was? He really didn't have an answer to that. Not that his family was ever that supportive of him in any meaningful way. As by the time he finished High School, he was burned out and his family's response was along the lines of that if he wasn't willing to put in the work, then he'd get what he desrved.

For him, it hadn't been about the work, it was the fact that he no longer cared. Yet, because he didn't have the drive to go into some college, then he was a dead beat to them. Of course, the more prestigious the college, the higher his status in his family would have been, but that didn't matter to him. Why should he care when they obviously didn't truly care about him? All he was to them was another potential bragging point. One that they could ignore and milk for pity since he clearly wasn't going to 'amount to anything.'

He forcefully pulled his thoughts away from that. Thinking about all that only made him angrier and he couldn't really afford to let himself go down that road. Especially since whenever he let himself get worked up about that, that generally didn't end well for him.

He sighed as he finished his beer. He remained at the bar, debating on whether he should get another one. Part of him was telling himself to just head out. Nothing had happened that night and he was sure he'd be able to find a good alley or place to sleep that wouldn't get him disturbed by the police or anything.