Chapter 75
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Over the next few days Eve adjusted to her school's new rules. Metal detectors, security guards in the halls, definitely took some getting used to. But then she hadn't done well when the old ruled weren't enforced. And with prisoners being released, mental institutions shutting down, and people getting angrier, there was a noticable increase in violent crime. School should feel safe. Some objected, feeling it was corporate profits ahead of students' civil liberties, but for now Eve was okay with this. The actual classes would've seemed unusual eight months ago. But learning to grow food, make medicine, these were skills Eve should know if she were allowed into an Ark. After school on Tuesday Eve went home, wanted some downtime. She went to school Wednesday, then went to work at Ravenwood. There was no homework yet so she just read the Koran while working. After school on Thursday there weren't any tests the next day so Eve joined Nadia at the clinic. More than twenty people went in, mainly young women for abortions. When they came out, it seemed clear they had gone through with it. Two people didn't come out at all. Eve became discouraged. Nadia told her to stay strong. If they could stop one person it would be worth it. Security was here to prevent these protestors from standing too close to the building. Eve had no desire to get too close to this building. In the back of her mind she feared being taken in by mistake. On Friday Eve worked at Ravenwood, and collected her first paycheck from the company. This wasn't much, but was okay for someone with few responsibilities. She still had some money leftover from working on the Ark. When Eve went home she noticed the weather was still warm. A nice summer night. She'd liked these, even when they coincided with the beginning of the school year. Eve had learned to savor these tiny moments. On Sunday Eve and Nadia returned to the clinic. Eve was suprised that they were open on Sunday, but she would continue this work. They were joined by some people from the local church. They likely felt they were doing God's work on their sabbath, which the clinic personel seemed to ignore. It didn't seem disimilar to Eve working at Ravenwood on Friday, believing she was helping to save lives. The Koran said that helping others, charity, was a form of prayer, even if the individual wasn't at an a official mosque. On Sunday a number of scared young girls went inside. They didn't seem sure that their decision was right, but they still went inside. An elderly couple walked towards the clinic. Nadia talked to them, tried to convince them that suicide wasn't the answer. Eve began telling them her story. Three months ago she put a gun to her head, ready to end it all. But Nadia convinced her that this life, bad as it was, is still better than Hell. The couple wondered, what if suicide got them sent to Hell? They decided not to risk it. For now at least, they walked away from the clinic.