Sparrow's Story - A Girl Defiant

Chapter 16

Susan Zelmore’s blond white hair is cut in a chic bob. She’s a traitor to her gender, Sparrow thinks, but Zelmore probably doesn’t see it that way. Her skin is way too tight for her age so maybe she’s holding out for retirement or maybe she believes that auctioning girls will go on whether she collaborates with the enemy or not.  

“I received your file.” Zelmore taps her tablet. “Your medical and dental records are in order--with the exception of your Verification certificate.”

Dad squints. “What’s that exactly?” 

“It’s completely unnecessary,” Sparrow says. “I’m a virgin.”

“Actually, we require that a Verification certificate be on file before the Auction begins to eliminate any hiccups in finalizing the Contract. We recommend scheduling the Verification for the day before you arrive for the auction. It keeps things neat.”

Neat and tidy. No last minute sex to screw things up.

“Your school records are satisfactory.”

Dad shoots Sparrow a look. Satisfactory = unacceptable in the Currie household.

She had straight A’s until Masterson dumped math and science for homemaking. Dad doesn’t know about the online classes she’s taken at Harvard and CalTech, and she’s not going to bring them up now.

Zelmore taps her computer. “Your IQ tests and written recommendations more than compensate for your grades, however.”

“So what’s the bottom line?” Dad asks. 

“We assign value to girls based on the 3 P’s--Profile, Position and Progeny.” She ticks them off on her enameled fingertips. “Profile is a girl’s original facial bone structure. Using facial structure analysis, we can quantify how closely a debutante’s natural bone structure approaches what the human eye perceives to be perfection. Sparrow has very high marks in this category.”

Sparrow aced Profile, but she knows Position could take her down, and Dad does, too. 

He throws back his shoulders. “I assume by Position, you mean our family status?”

Sparrow wants to laugh. Dad thinks he can intimidate Susan Zelmore into giving her a higher grade. 

Zelmore isn’t phased. She got Zuckerberg his second wife. A fact Sparrow failed to mention to Dad. 

“Correct. Position is the value we assign to the family. It’s a loose formula taking into account the head of household’s earning power and assets, combined with his connections to influential political or business decision-makers.”

“You’re saying money wants to marry money.”

“And power, Mr. Currie.”

Dad sits up straight, but his cheek is twitching. “So how does Sparrow rate on Position?”

“Satisfactory, Mr. Currie.” 

Ha!

Zelmore lets that sink in. “However, Sparrow’s very high Progeny Score cancels out the lower score in Position. Sparrow’s genetic makeup as demonstrated in her physical beauty and intelligence scores, make her extremely desirable as a mother. Many of our clients hope to pass on their business holdings to a son or sons.”

“So what’s your Valuation?”

“We’ll give you a final number after the Committee meets later today, but I am  impressed enough to recommend Sparrow for our fall Classical Beauty Collection.”