002 :: Terms and Conditions
The border guard held up his hand miming lifting a suitcase.
Luggage. (Hank)
She shook her head. She turned to show her small backpack. She was a tortoise. Her home was on her back. This is not a fact. Tortoises have no homes.
Hank led her down a long corridor. Doors on either side every few metres. No labels. No signs. She would have started counting them after a while. Every migrant does. She would have guessed ten then got up to thirty two before they stopped. Hank smiled at her. He opened the door. She would not have known how he knew this was the right door. No migrant does. Documentaries of London are like SciFi movies to migrants.
She stepped through the door into a cube like she was a suspect in a crime drama. It was an empty room with a table in the middle and a chair on either side. Sturdy metal chairs with soft patterned material. Hard wearing lIke the airport. She turned to face the border guard. He did not step into the room. He held out his hand. Towards the chair on the left.
Please sit. (Hank)
She sat. The table changed. A coat of arms appeared on the table: a red cross, two dragons, a knight helmet and writing. She looked at the table. Shrugged. She looked under the table. Nothing. She looked at Hank.
Please. (Hank)
Hank held his hands out. Towards the table. Palms facing down. She put her hands on the table. Palms down. The coat of arms disappeared. Her photo appeared. The photograph used by the agency.
Someone will be with you shortly. (Hank)
She watched the screen for a while. The writing changed. It was in English. She could not read it. She watched it. It was the agency rules. Standard terms and conditions of her contract. It was a trick the agency used. They show migrants their terms and conditions. Use an iris tracker to confirm the migrant has seen it. Then later they can enforce any broken rule as a breach of contract. While she was looking at the writing as it slid up. When she looked away it stopped. If she looked away for more than 15 seconds a beep sounded. She looked back. The words moved again. She watched the words for five minutes before they stopped. She closed her eyes. Let her forehead rest on the table. Between her palms. She fell asleep.
Exhausted.
The Au Pair
