Chapter 4

• "Right then, let's get started on the paperwork. We want to have you matched with someone as quickly as possible" Graces slender fingers slide the clipboard she had brought out earlier across the desk in front of us. I reach over and take the clipboard, clicking the pen attached to it before filling in the mandatory questions.
• N A M E
• D A T E O F B I R T H
• A D D R E S S
• H E I G H T
• W E I G H T
• O C C U P A T I O N
• E Y E C O L O U R
• H A I R C O L O U R
• From there the questions get a little bit more personal:
• Do you take any recreational drugs?
• Tattoos/Piercings?
• Number of sexual partners?
• Have you lost your virginity?
• Do you drink alcohol excessively?
• I scribble my answers down on the form as Poppy rejoices in telling Lory about her latest date with Adan. Apparently his next date sounds quite grand.
• "Next weekend he's taking me on his boat, I can't tell you the last time I was on a boat!" Poppy squeals with delight as Lory grins, taking a sip of her tea she had brought in by her assistant.
• "It's such a beautiful time for it now. Have you finished with that yet Amelia?" I nod my head and hand Lory back the forms, who gives them a quick scan before raising her left eyebrow.
• "You're still a virgin?" She asks me quizzically. I nod my head, it's just never happened for me. Guys don't really take an interest in me, I'm sort of invisible to them. Even Poppy beside me is surprised, I look at her and observe her open mouthed expression. Lory hums.
• "That's a good thing Amelia, you'll make nearly double what other girls do because of it" Lory flicks back over to the front page and looks at her computer monitor. "All that's left to do is your photos and your measurements. We might as well do them now while I have you here" she stands and gestures for me to stand too.
• "Stand over there" she points to a spot by the large window against a plain white wall and I stand in front of it, quickly running my fingers through my hair. I watch as Lory takes out a Polaroid camera and waits for me to stop moving before she takes a photo; whilst waiting for it to print off she directs me further.
• "Now smile" I swallow the residual lump that still resides in my throat and smile widely. I've always been told that I have a nice smile but I still feel self conscious about it. When that one prints she takes a few steps back and takes one more before putting the camera back in the drawer.
• I stay in the same position as Lory takes out a string of measuring tape and crosses the floor over to me. Standing perfectly still as instructed as Lory stretches the tape across the different areas of my body, noting down numbers on a notepad as she goes.
• "Perfect, we're all done. I'll put your profile together this afternoon and will start looking for your match" Lory places the tape back into her drawer and smiles. Poppy claps her hands excitedly and stands up, giving my hand a squeeze before walking around the table to give Lory a hug.
• When they've finished their hug, Lory envelops me in a gentle hug and kisses me on both cheeks. "I'll be in touch soon darling" I mumble my thanks to her and collect my things, wandering back down the hallway with Poppy and into the elevator. It's only then that the situation completely dawns on me. What the fuck have I done?
• "Cheers, to your new life!" Poppy grins as she holds up her coffee mug filled with red wine in the air to toast to me. I grin gently and clink her cup with mine before taking a sip and immediately scrunching up my face. Poppy insisted that we celebrate me signing up for the London angel club with takeout and wine, but I'm still not a heavy drinker yet. On the other hand; Poppy is a well seasoned pro, taking a large sip and humming in appreciation.
• "When you get your first round of money you need to seriously decorate this place" Poppy comments from her seated position on the floor of my living room. I too look around my barren apartment, I still have moving boxes half-filled with things from my move last month. I have no TV, no art, no furnishings. It's bare bones here, I shrug.
• "Yeah I could, but I have other things I need to do first. It all depends on how much I get" I've always held the philosophy that you do all the things that you need to do first, then you can have fun. I don't treat myself to anything if I have more pressing matters like bills or loans, and lately I've only had bills and loans to deal with. As a result, I've been living off of bread and pasta the last two weeks, these are dark times.
• "But you need to make this place cute if your fella comes around" My stomach churns, I hadn't thought about that part obviously. It is like a proper relationship, he might want to stay the night, he might want to, you know, do stuff. I eat another mouthful of fried rice to avoid lengthening that conversation. We decide to watch some movies before Poppy orders herself a taxi home; given that she polished off 9/10 of the wine and I had three sips that's probably the best idea.
• I lay practically restless in bed that night. Every time I close my eyes I picture an ugly older man with a sinister smile presenting me with a diamond necklace. It's quite haunting, I know it's just my subconscious reflecting on the day I've had and the events that took place but it would be great if that stopped.