POV: Damian
I have chaired board meetings where billions of dollars were at stake.
Nothing prepared me for Community Cleanup Day.
At seven-thirty that morning, someone pounded on my apartment door with the enthusiasm of a police raid.
I opened it, still half asleep.
Emma stood outside wearing faded jeans, work boots, and a baseball cap. She held out a pair of bright orange work gloves.
"Good morning."
I looked from her face...
...to the gloves.
"...Why are you smiling like that?"
"Because today's mandatory."
Those two words should never exist together.
"Mandatory?"
She nodded.
"The second Saturday of every month."
"I don't remember reading that."
"You signed the lease."
"I skimmed."
"I noticed."
She placed the gloves against my chest.
"We're cleaning the building."
I s
