Indentured House

Kimberly took a deep breath as she waited in the taxi. It had stalled at a light, and the time between her old life and her new life was postponed for about another minute. She sat in the back seat, in her cute but modest outfit: a knee length skirt, button-up blouse, and a neat leather jacket that matched her purse. In substitution of the normal heels she wore were a simple pair of flats, she would be coming to this house to work after all, and she expected to be on her feet most of the time.

Kim knew that the whole 'indentured servitude' thing could be seen as a really dangerous way to go. But it had been all but normalized over the past few decades. In lieu of the usual in-house nannies or dedicated housekeepers, especially rich people would provide some other exchange, whether it be paying off a debt, or a prison bail, or even a college education. In the most **** cases, it might be all three. The servant would work for and live with the family for a set amount of time, during which the family was expected to provide housing and other amenities for the servant, until the time of their service was up.

Three years, Kim thought to herself, I've signed away three years of my life to this family, I hope it's all worth it in the end.

Eventually, the taxi chugged onward as the light turned green. Kim was about a five minute drive away from the family's house by now. The Watts family, she remembered. A mother and father, and an adult daughter and son. It shouldn't be too difficult, she thought to herself, it's only four people, and it's not like their children are especially young. Supposedly, they're both attending a university not too far from here.

Kim looked out the window as the taxi pulled into the neighborhood's entrance. She had given the driver the code to the gate ahead of time, and he went about punching in the numbers. The gate to the opulent neighborhood swung open and the taxi glided through. The houses inside were bigger than just about any building Kimberly had ever stayed in. Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad, to know how the well-to-do lived. It didn't take long for the driver to find the house, 3223 S Acre St. It was positively massive, with a total of three stories and a yard to match the size. The walk up to the front door was at least a hundred feet long, Kim was glad she wore flats.

She looked to the driver, "How much do I owe you?"

He waved his hand dismissively, "The folks who bought you already paid ahead, don't worry about it."

"Oh." Kim replied, feeling somewhat disrespected at the 'bought' comment. It wasn't like she was their ****, she was just a servant, right? She pushed the thought from her mind and moved to get out of the car. As she was about to shut the door, however, the driver stopped her.

"Hey, one last thing girl. You take care of yourself, these rich folks can be pretty eccentric if you catch my meaning."

Kimberly didn't quiet know what he meant, but she nodded anyways. "Alright."

The driver grunted and she closed the door. He wasted no time in driving away to find a new passenger, and she was left alone in front of the intimidatingly big house. "Well," She said to herself, "I guess it's time to meet the family."