Ivory brushed her black hair with her slender fingers.
She had been standing in front of her full body-size mirror for thirty minutes. She smoothed again a plain white dress decorated with black lace at the neck. The clothes were the best she had. Ivory kept cursing herself. The dress she was wearing was a little worn and gave off a musty smell. This happened because she had kept the clothes at the bottom of her wooden wardrobe for years, piled up by dozens of other clothes.
The dress had been prepared by her sister since she was 17 years old. Her sister at that time excitedly bought the dress she bought with her first salary as a manual laborer for Ivory, who had just had her birthday. Full of hope, she put the clothes that were still too big on Ivory's tiny body, which was quite thin. Ivory had tried it once, and at that moment she couldn't tell whether she was wearing a new dress or a burlap sack. Too big, like a scarecrow.
She rubbed the white dress, trying to make it look a little more presentable. She put on a small belt so that the clothes she was wearing were not too big. She snorted in annoyance because it felt so uncomfortable wearing a skirt like this. She used to wear pants everywhere.
The girl took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. It's finished. Her make-up seems decent.
Moreover, what is needed by a 20-year-old girl who will come to her 'potential partner'?
The corner of her eyes glanced again at the envelope with her name and the name of her potential partner on it.
"Aaron Magnifico." She spelled it over and over.
The name sounds majestic. The person certainly comes from a wealthy circle with a pile of wealth above average. According to Roger, Aaron sounds like a gentleman who is surrounded by many women. Like spilled honey surrounded by ants.
Ignoring her reverie, Ivory returned to focus on herself. As a final touch, she sprayed rose-scented liquid all over her body. Not perfume, more precisely the spray she usually uses to make her clothes smell good.
Ivory has no perfume. The price of the cheapest perfume sold at the convenience store near her house is quite expensive. It was the same price as the sack of apricots she had sold. So, instead of spending her money on buying this useless liquid, she'd better save it for more important things.
Ivory grabbed the black blazer she had placed on the sofa. Actually, the reason she wore the blazer was she was uncomfortable with her exposed shoulders. This dress has an off-shoulders model. She who is not used to such feminine clothes feels quite uncomfortable. That's why Ivory wears a blazer to cover her shoulders. The girl carefully wore an oversized blazer on her body because the blazer was a borrowed item from Roger. She didn't want to ruin it, or she couldn't be trusted anymore.
The girl then took her wallet and cellphone. She took a deep breath and rushed out of the house. She locked the door of her house twice before walking towards the field near her house. It was there that the Guardians would pick up prospective Copulation participants to be brought to the residence of the Supreme Council.
It was there that she would meet Aaron Magnifico.
On this occasion, the Copulation participants will be allowed to get to know each potential partner for a moment before the event officially opens next week. Talking about getting to know her potential mate, Ivory thought of the first Copulation that her sister followed. At that time, her sister was paired with an old man in his 40s who had a distended stomach and terrible bad breath. That same night, her sister was abused and groped, making Ivory emotional when her sister told her experience while weeping.
Ivory is scared. She was afraid that she would experience something similar to what happened to her brother. To be honest, she was afraid to give herself up to a complete stranger. If she may be honest, Ivory really wants to keep her precious virginity only for her eternal partner in the future. Unfortunately, it is as impossible as she served on the Supreme Council, a.k.a just a fantasy.
All she had to do to survive this activity was to serve with all she had. Whatever the partner asks for. She couldn't argue. Can't say no.
Or she will end up like her sister.
"Ivy!"
Ivory turned towards the cheerful voice that greeted her eardrums. From a distance, her best friend, Megan, jogged to catch up with her. The girl with shoulder-length short hair was wearing a knee-length dress in ivory white, with a large ribbon on the belly. The matching-colored heels are shiny, so dazzling that she also wears them. Ivory was sure that her best friend had wiped it dozens of times before using it.
"Why are you wearing a blazer?"
"I just want to," she replied casually.
Megan didn't seem too concerned about her friend's answer. She just laughed cheerfully as she asked again, "Are you ready to meet your potential partner?" asked Megan with a twinkle in her eye. She didn't look shy or afraid of what she was about to do.
"I don't know. I'm not really interested," Ivory answered simply. Unbeknownst to Ivory, her footsteps drew closer and closer to the crowd on the field. Her knees trembled slightly. Her breath hitched seeing the number of people who would join this year's Copulation.
"My brother said, this partner of mine is one of the heirs to the biggest drug company in town! You hear that, Vy? A company heir!"
Ivory snorted in annoyance. "So what if he's the heir to the company? After all, you won't benefit at all from this ridiculous event."
This time it was Ivory's friend's turn to exhale after hearing Ivory's words. Megan shook her head repeatedly until the bangs that had been arranged in such a way were swaying wildly. "You're too antipathetic, Vy," she said. "In fact, I would be very proud if I could hand over my baby with this rich man to The Higher-ups. You will also be able to live well for a year! The Higher-ups will supply your clothing and food needs. You don't have to bother looking for food and toil like before. If you pair up with Gene E in this Copulation, you can slowly approach the Primers. Maybe they might consider me working with them in the city. Who knows if I work at an even better level then my Secondary status will change to Primary."
Ivory was stunned to hear her friend's words. Her heart warmed when she heard Megan's thoughts about her future baby. She didn't expect her best friend to have a very different view from her.
"What are you thinking, Megan? Don't you want to take care of and raise your own child later? Instead of leaving it happily into someone else's hands? How can you be prepared to entrust your flesh and blood to be used as they wish?"
Megan smiled lopsidedly as if Ivory's question was a silly question a child would ask her mother.
"My dear Ivy, you understand very well that our baby will be deformed. They won't be perfect. We'll have a hard time taking care of them. You know that for us, eating is a hard thing. Can you imagine if we have to take care of our children? You also know that all of these Copulation babies will be sent to the Training Center to be further raised and educated to become a soldier, doctors, and other promising jobs. They will transform and use the disabled children as useful people. These Higher-ups are very generous with your life. What else do you have to worry about? Their fate will be much luckier when compared to living with their own parents. After all, this is part of serving the country."
Ivory rolled her eyes at Megan's words.