Chapter Two
THEN
Eva was barely nineteen when she entered the convent to become a Proxy. Hers was a typical story, a parent had run into deep financial trouble and the only way out was something drastic. Eva knew she didn't have a choice even though her father swore that things would be different, the bakery would pick up and everything would be okay. But the hurricane that had devastated the Northern Provinces particularly hard and the following tourist season didn't quite pick up the slack. It was the only choice they had.
Becoming a Proxy seemed glamorous enough to Eva. She liked sex and had hooked up with several boys over the years, some townies some vacationers from the South. She felt like she was good at it and the recruiter promised her that it would help her. She still thought about the woman named Madam Snow. She thought of her often in the weeks leading up to her going to the convent. But she pushed that from her mind, trying to concentrate on the moment.
Her tummy roiled as she waited in front of her father's porch. She looked back at the tiny rowhouse and frowned. She almost cried. She would never see it again. At least she hoped that she'd never see it again. Her brother and sister's faces pressed against the glass as they watched her waiting. It was one o'clock when the big black car turned onto her street and drove towards her house. She could feel her father's eyes on her from his window as she waited for the car. He had to understand she was doing it for him, but she knew deep down inside he wouldn't understand.
Neighbors came to windows and out on porches when they saw the car. Everyone knew. Eva felt the heat in her cheeks as the car got closer and looks grew longer, filled with scorn. It was hard to believe that being a Proxy was considered an honor in more cosmopolitan territories in the Union. But not here in the Northern Territories.
The car stopped in front of her house and the door opened. A tall, curvy woman with long legs, blonde hair and a full obviously fake breasts stepped out of the car. She was beautiful with a fully made up face. She looked at Eva appraisingly.
"Are you the Candidate?" the woman said.
"Yes, Madam."
"Marie. Madam Marie."
"Yes Madam Marie."
"Good, you learn fast, that will be to your benefit."
"As you say, Madam."
Eva had chosen a simple red dress that showed off her shapely legs and red pumps. Madam Marie nodded at the choice, making little "mm-huh" noises as she circled around her, taking her in. She lifted Eva's chin and looked into her eyes then nodded.
"You aren't a tweakers, are you?"
"No, Madam Marie," Eva said. "I've taken and passed all the tests."
"That isn't what I asked," Madam Marie said.
"I am clean, Madam Marie," Eva said.
"Good," Madam Marie answered. The driver opened the trunk and loaded the single satchel she'd been allowed to take with her to the convent. Madam Marie motioned for her to get into the car. Eva took one last look at her house and climbed into the car. They had to understand why she had made this choice. Madam Marie got in the car, sitting opposite Eva in the back of the car.
The ride felt like it took forever even though it was only to the other side of the city. Madam Marie was silent, watching Eva's reaction to everything. Eva kept a cool, detached look on her face, like Madam Snow had told her to do. The look melted away the first time she saw the convent. Even though it was just as she expected, it was still a shock. A huge walled campus, it resembled the universities some of her friends attended. Not that she knew, she worked in her father's bakery. She pushed that from her thoughts, she'd never have to go back there again.
The car pulled onto the campus with wide, tree lined lawns and ivy covered buildings and slowly crossed a busy quad filled with girls in the same basic uniform: knee length beige jumper and white tunic underneath. They carried similar backpacks and moved quickly across the campus from building to building.
Here she would receive her education. She would learn to be a Proxy. She would learn to do the things that the high born ladies of the Union wouldn't do. Madam Marie leaned forward.
"I'll take you to your room," Madam Marie said. "You'll have the afternoon to freshen up. Everything you need is already provided for you in the room already. Change into the uniform and we'll meet again this evening."
"As you say," Eva said. Girls of all shapes and sizes watched her enter the dormitory as Madam Marie led her to her room. It was a simple room, the size of a small apartment with a double bed, a dresser and closet. A large dressing table sat in one corner, a desk in the other and she had her own bathroom. In the closet were six uniforms, two cardigans and two sets of workout clothes. There was room for much more and she spent some time hanging up her own clothes. She knew there would be clothes given to her along the way, so the size of the closet made sense. It was almost as big as her room back home. She changed into the uniform and sat down on the bed, not sure what to do next. She walked around the room and went to the window, watching the quad. She went back to the desk. There were several books on the desk and she picked one out. The Great Houses of the Union. The thumbed through it, reading with rapt fascination about Houses she'd never heard of before.
Madam Marie arrived at exactly six o'clock and escorted her to a car.
"Where are we going, Madam Marie?" Eva asked.
"We're going to a convent house," Madam Marie said. Eva wasn't sure what to say. "We're going to observe for tonight."
"W-why?" Eva asked nervously. "I'm not going to be expected to work there?"
"That's entirely up to you," Madam Marie said.
The car was smaller than the one that picked her up and navigated across the campus and down an alleyway out the back entrance down a major thoroughfare. The car cruised through traffic.
"Convent house girls are girls that either washed out of the Proxy program or were never selected," Madam Marie explained. "But much of their work is similar to things you might be asked to do as a Proxy."
"I see," Eva said, swallowing hard. Working at a convent house was not what she imagined.
"They are well compensated," Madam Marie said. "And it is certainly better than working at a factory and back seat fumblings in the wee hours of the morning."
