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Juniper turned her attention back to Amy, “Um, yes.” Her fingers laced together in a ball in front of her.
“Alright, you will get four outfits including underwear, two pairs of shoes, shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, lady products of your choice and your phone. After all that we will get your chip inserted.” She smiled down at Juniper.
“Okay.” She looked around the room taking it in as she followed Amy line the four walls.
“You look to be a medium, what do you think about these two tops?” Amy handed her two hangers, a black blouse and a navy tee shirt.
Her hands ran along the two fabrics at the same time. “They’re nice.” June shrugged, “I haven’t ever really picked out my own clothes.” Her eyes locked into Amy’s for a moment. After meeting Ben he had a part in what was deemed attractive or not on her body.
“I think they will look great.” Amy’s smile was warm, soft and she felt drawn to her.
“What am I supposed to wear at work?”
“They are not too strict with a dress code.” She placed the tops in an oversized tote bag.
“Oh, okay.” June felt her walls shift downward, “What about pants?”
“Let's finish with the tops first,” Amy turned and reached for a top just over her head, “You know, I have this nephew, I think you two would lookcutetogether. But, he hates when I play matchmaker, so.” She rolled her eyes and handed June the top with a shoulder shrug, “This would look gorgeous on you.” It was a dark teal blouse similar to the black one.
“Okay, I trust you.” Juniper kept her hands to her side.
“Great, but here,” She motioned June to step back and opened a drawer as she did, “Pick out your personal items,” she pointed to the socks, underwear and bras. June pulled out some underwear and assumed the size would fit as it strung from her fingers. Shepiledher findings on the counter. “Alright,” Amy walked back over and swooped up June’s pile and turned back over to her bag. She zipped it shut and opened the front pocket along with a drawer next to her, “This bag has your toothbrush, paste, shampoo, soap, you know, all those goodies.” She stuffed it in the pocket, “When you run out, you can find more at the supply store, you will have to pay for them then.” Amy opened a cabinet behind her, “This is your phone and charger.” She added it to the front pocket and zipped it closed as well. “Okay, are you ready for your chip?”
June, feeling all the energy from Amy spinning around the room, responded, “Yes.”
“This way,” Amy waved her to follow her into a room. Amy asked June to sit in the opposite chair of her and began typing on a computer. A moment later a tiny pill shaped metal chip fell into a tray, Amy snapped on some gloves and reached for a sterile syringe in the drawer.
“Wait, you’re doing it?” June was shocked.
“Yeah,” She hitched her thumb to the framed document on the wall, “I’m certified.” Amy picked up the capsule and pushed it in a small vial with clear liquid. inserting the needle into the bottle at the perfect angle she withdrew the chip and set down the syringe. Amy sanitized Juniper’s palm below her pinky, “Ready?” June nodded and looked away when Amy picked up the syringe again, “One, two, three!” She blurted out quickly in an attempt to throw June off. A sharp pinch shot into June’s hand. She resisted to jerk away as Amy finished. “Alright,” She strapped a band aid on June’s hand. As Amy looked at June she tossed her gloves in the bin. “You are good to go, and the way the chip works is if you need to pay for something, you’ll press it to the scan pad at checkout. If you take the bus, you’ll press it to the scan pad. You’ll use it for clocking in and out at work. Oh, which you get paid daily. You can check your balance or any other info with your phone, it tells you how to do that when you set it up. Let’s see, it’s also your house key and the shared household vehicle key. The chip has your address, age, money, pretty much anything you would need in a purse, except you still have to carry your lip balm around. Bummer.”
Amy stood, grabbed Juniper’s bag and handed it to her, “The bus is here, are you ready?”
“I guess.” Juniper’s heart felt like a bird trying to escape her rib cage.
Exiting the last doors and entering the island Amy stopped her, “Everyone is helpful and understanding, don’t be afraid to ask, come here.” Amy hugged June tightly as her bag fell off her shoulder weighing her arm down. “You already have everyone who can help you on your phone.”
“Thank you.” She replied.
“Welcome home Juniper.” Amy smiled and stepped away as June turned towards the bus.
Chapter Two
January Twenty Third
Wolfgang
Wolfgang noted the rare sound of airplane motors as he closed his childhood home door. He had just finished having lunch with his mother and was heading back to work. Since his father passed, they spent a lot of meals with each other, always assuming the other needed them to lean on more than themselves.
The conversation with his mom over lunch played in his head as he started his Jeep. ‘I’m hoping you find someone. Today is Placement Day, there could be someone who catches your eye. Maybe you shouldn’t be too picky.’ She had already questioned him if he was straight or not years ago. He was straight, he was very straight and he knew that. All the girls on the island his age, he grew up with. He knew too much about the island girls, they were like weird cousins to him. Wolfgang doubted his luck again.
‘On Placement Day, they recruited people they needed, not hot chicks for him to pick a wife,’ He thought to himself. Wolfgang knew he had a few options but they all felt wrong. They were beautiful no doubt, but there was no spark.
It was hard on him, he had wished he had found someone at a younger age, like his parents had. They were young and the pinnacle of marriage, that was his problem. He picked up the tablet in his passenger seat to see his next few jobs and without thinking tapped on Margaret’s personal persons application. This was how Margaret kept everyone apart and how she remembered everything. Margaret trusted his dad and Wolfgang inherited that, besides this was his job, kind of. He excused himself as he snooped. Three men and three women were added. Their profiles were blank, it was still early. Wolfgang sighed and tapped out of it, the red five next to his tickets application glowed. He selected it and scanned it over, looking at Max, his coworker, and his job requests: The Salon, home keypad, home keypad, car key pad and some inner doors on the mountain.
He pulled up the salon request: Computer complications, forty nine minutes ago, submitted by Brittanya. He smiled and turned his jeep around into the direction of The Salon. Wolfgang began thinking about what gym exercise routine he would be doing after work. He went alone but usually saw the same people, Max went with him sometimes. Wolfgang put the Jeep in park and routinely walked up to The Salon. The door chimed as he entered, revealing a few hairstylists busily working away.
A slim tanned woman behind the reception desk beamed, “Wolfie!”
