Liberation (Remnants of Men)

Chapter 12: Death and The Matchmaker

 Olivia

  Olivia Patterson sat on a black sofa which was definitely not one from the office of the City’s ambassador in CapitalOne. Thick white smoke curled all around her, coming from the lungs of rich kids clinging to their hookahs.  Behind her, a blonde lady in red sang on a stage, dancing and twirling to the thrill of middle aged men drowned in ecstasy.

She glanced at some boys on her left giggling frequently as call girls imported from the slums, sat on their laps and tickled them. On a normal day, it was her job to round them all up and deport them to the slums, but today was different.

She was stoned… again.

A pile of sense pills littered on the table before her. They had been her escape from the world of false smiling and unwarranted societal expectations. Club Omega was the only place where she was free from the watchful eyes of her father, the Supreme Councillor.

She had made a promise to her mother and gave up her addiction, but here she was again, and this time the pills were more than an escape. The Matchmaker of MegacityOne has been summoned again. She was a dreadful woman popular for being every girl’s nightmare. They called her the Lady of love, but how could that be? When the lady has grown grey hairs and yet remained unmarried.

In a fortnight, the Matchmaker would announce the ceremony of the Great Match ball dance. Every respectable girl above sixteen from the great families of MegacityOne would be matched to a young man of similar interests. A series of interviews was always done by the Matchmaker to determine this and Olivia mourned her lack of choice.

She swallowed another pill and gulped a glass of wine. Most girls have the mercy of not knowing their match until the Judgement day, but Olivia’s has been signed, sealed, and delivered.

“Hey,” a voice came.

She raised her gaze to see in her stupor. Speak of the devil! It was her very own nightmare, Lucan Capricorn, son of Gaius Capricorn, the head of Capricorn Corporation. Practically the same company that served as Runner’s sponsors.

He was the perfect model of a posh kid with black curled hairs and genetically enhanced facial features that made him extremely handsome. Every girl in town loved Lucan Capricorn. They threw their bras and even panties on him as his convoy drives him home from social functions. Unlike them, Olivia knew him since childhood and Lucan Capricorn was clueless in love and likewise in life.

“Are you excited about the Match ball dance?” he sat on a seat opposite, his vivid blue gaze cast upon her.

She turned her head away to ignore him.

“Look, Olivia, I know this isn’t what you want but I’m sure you knew it was coming. We have to try and make this work. The ball is in two weeks, after that there is no going back.”

He tried to reach for her hand on the table, but she withdrew it. She did not say a single word, rather, she swallowed the remaining content in her glass in one go.

“Alright, I’m taking you home,” Lucan said.

He stood up and grabbed her arm.

“Go away, Lucan!” Olivia pushed him to stagger backwards and almost fell off her chair too.

She stood up and staggered towards the stage, shoving through tons of sweaty men. She climbed the stage where the lady in red sang to the audience.

“Everyone, Olivia Patterson!” the lady waved her right arm to the crowd.

The chants that followed was exhilarating, boisterous chants screaming Sing! Sing! Sing!

Olivia grabbed the microphone from the lady and began to make sudden lewd sways with her hips in the golden dress she wore. She put her hand behind her golden hair and released the pin, setting her pony tail loose and wild, much to the joy of her male audience.