THE MOMENT
"Thank you for waiting," the office door opened behind Leah; she didn't bother to turn around to see who it was. She'd been waiting patiently for about 20 minutes and in that time, she hadn't bothered to do much of anything. She was mildly annoyed that she had to sit and wait for her own impending death; but, there wasn't anything she could do about it. She'd already signed her name on all the appropriate paperwork.
She was surprised when a teen girl in a white blazer walked behind the desk and sat in front of her. The girl had short rainbow hair and she wore a red tie with her crisp suit.
"My name's Monday," she introduced herself with a smile and sat down. Her apparent youth surprised Leah enough to comment.
"Oh, wow," she said. "I didn't expect someone so...," the teen looked up and Leah chickened out at the last moment. She was going to say 'young' but something about the way Monday carried herself did not fit the word. The only thing she came up with was "... well-dressed," she said. It was technically true. The rest of the staff she saw around the complex were all dressed casually. Jeans and white t-shirts that read 'Sharp Development' on them seemed to be the uniform. At least Monday's outfit matched the white and red motif the rest of the staff had. Monday nodded at her.
"I'm higher up on the chain than everyone else here," Monday shrugged. "But, I wanted to give your case my personal attention," she said.
"Is... is everything okay?" Leah asked. In the back of her mind, she hoped that maybe she could still make a different choice. She was in a tight spot when she signed her life away; her benefactor promised to take care of her family once she was gone. But, as soon as the deed was done, she realized she had far more options than she thought available to her. She wished she could take it back.
"Not quite," Monday shook her head. "Mr. Powers promised to take care of your parents and your child for the next 50 years in exchange for your life, is that correct?" Monday asked. Leah nodded. Mr. Powers was well known to be over 300 years old. If she could trust anyone, it would be someone that knew how to 'work the system'.
"Did you get any of that in writing?" she asked. Leah shook her head and her gut sank. She did try; but, maybe not hard enough.
"He said that I would sign the final paperwork today, before...," she hesitated. ".. the uhm... procedure," she said.
"Well, Mrs. Greyson...," Monday said. "...the bad news is, Mr. Powers never intended to follow through with that promise. The good news is, we caught him this time," she said.
"This time?" Leah asked. She was glad she wasn't the first sucker; but, she was curious about how many came before her. Monday nodded.
"So far, he has welched on every promise made to his sacrifices. He's not the only one; but, he is the first one we've caught. I personally flagged the rest of them in the system. The next time they come in with a sacrifice to extend their life, I'll be having a conversation with them."
"What...," Leah hesitated. She didn't know if she wanted the answer. But after a moment, she continued. "..what's going to happen to me?" She hoped that meant she would get to live.
"You have two choices. You may leave...," Monday gestured at the door. "Or, you may choose to get the life extension. We're already set up for Mr. Powers, so it's no trouble at all."
"But...," Leah knew which one she wanted. But, she would never ask anyone to give up their life for her. "...I don't have a sacrifice...," she said. Monday grinned and shook her head.
"That won't be a problem," she said. "We have no intention of ever doing business with Mr. Powers again," she shrugged. "At least his death will have some meaning if you choose to accept the extension.
Leah's eyes widened with the implication. She had a free ticket to a 50-year extension. And, all it would take is the death of a man she grew to hate very much in a very short time. But.., that wasn't who she was. The way Monday explained it helped Leah see that she didn't want that at all.
"No...," Leah shook her head.
"No?" Monday was surprised. But, Leah confirmed what she said with another, more firm shake of her head.
"Not that way," she said. "His death should be meaningless; I'm not going to wake up every day for the next 50 years feeling like I owe that man anything." Leah clutched her purse ready to stand and leave. But, Monday's reaction made her curious. The teen's smile grew wider as Leah explained her reasoning, and she nodded firmly when Leah reached the end.
"I like you," Monday grinned. She leaned over the desk and dropped her voice to a discrete level; but, not quite a whisper. "Let me tell you more about what we do at Sharp Development...,"