Monday 25 June 2001, Nice, France

"New place, I needed to start again somehow and that's when I thought about what to do, as it was a newweek, I was already getting ready to go out and see what was around town, my father hadn't even got homeyet and I already had to run after things, I was really thinking about what I was going to do from now on, Ihad the money to go to Luna Nova, at least part of it, but I didn't want to spend it yet, since I had francs leftover, worst of all is that the story of how I lived in the worst of Nice wasn't told well."

Dad hasn't really come round, he's gone to have some fun with that bitch Daryl, he's probably getting more money, I'm going to take advantage and go for a walk, I've already had breakfast today, yesterday's stale pizza, well at least it didn't turn out so bad, it's a new week starting, I even ended up sleeping a bit more, but I imagine there must be something open here, I hope so.

I go outside already dressed, feeling hot, it's much hotter here than Annecy, I think I'm going to have to get used to it, at least there's a bit of the freshness of the sea coming in, I walk through the town, trying to find just the place I had passed before arriving here, I remember it's close to home, I arrive, noticing the façade and the dancers, which enchants me, the girls doing their ballet class, I stare in amazement, soon it will be me there, I take a deep breath and walk in.

I wave to everyone and the teacher soon notices me, stopping the other girls who were doing their steps to attend to me.

"Good morning little girl, what brings you here? Do you want to become a ballerina?" She asks.

"Yes, I want to become one, I want to take ballet lessons" I'm just not going to say that the reason has a little to do with the fact that I'm going to use this to learn magic.

"Skinny, tall, very slender, it's quite rare to find a girl like that around here, you'd make a perfect ballerina, you have a great future, how old are you? 14? 15? We can discuss the price and timetable" said the teacher, "and I really can get a false identity by passing myself off as a 14-year-old easily.

"My name is Chariot Du Nord and I'm 11 years old. How much does it cost to take lessons?" I say, smiling.

"I'd swear you were a bit taller, you're really tall for your age, well we'll discuss the price, call your mum and we can talk to her about it" said the teacher.

"I'm the one who has the money here, my mum's dead, I live with my dad, let's talk to each other, I can afford it" I say to her and she laughs.

"An independent little girl hahaha, that's so cute, but we don't pay tuition with lollipop change, this isn't just any ballet school, you'll still have to pay for your clothes, you understand that" I nod and shrug.

"OK, I have money, can you tell me how much it is?" I ask the teacher.

"It's 500 francs a month, I told you that's not a small amount, if you want to come here you'll pay a lot, our ballet school has a reputation" Relax, I have enough to pay.

"All right, I think I can leave it a year early then, now let's discuss the clothes and where to buy them, I accept, I want to do lessons here in the evening, since I don't have the whole day free" She's all shocked when I reply.

"Woah, not bad little girl, you really aren't just anyone, we'll have evening classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from around eight o'clock until half past nine, don't forget to turn up to class, always on time, let's go over the paperwork and then I want to give you an assessment" said the teacher and I've already made a good impression.

We walk to an office and it seems that even the girls have stopped practising, when we get to the room we fill in the paperwork, I sign it, hand over the money, and we get the clothes, trainers, collars, whatever it takes to be a ballerina, I think the most basic clothes, they were quite cheap, I managed to pay 400 for everything plus the 6,000 for tuition, I touch the teacher's hand who smiles at me and then we leave the room.

Together we walk around the room with the other students and I already have a good impression, with a bag of my new clothes, I'm going to be one of them soon, this is so wonderful, it's full of happiness.

"Students, we have a new member among us, meet Chariot, she's going to study in the evening" said the teacher.

"Hello Chariot" say the girls.

"Now let's see if she has any talent, please Chariot, show us what you can do, your flexibility, it's important that we see how talented you are" as a street artist I'm surprising myself.

The music starts playing, it's Swan Lake, and I start doing some ballet steps that I've seen on television, at least what I remember, and also something that reminds me of the street, I'm not the best, especially as I'm wearing trainers, which don't leave my feet that free, but I think it's enough to show how it's done.

I start by showing off my flexibility, as I've been stretching since I was a child when I lived with my mum, which made me very flexible, and I notice that the teacher is impressed by how much I can move, until she stops the music and I stand in a pose, and I hear some clapping.

"Congratulations, many congratulations, you really do know something, you still need to improve more in terms of steps, but your flexibility is already something you've honed very well before coming here, it already helps a lot to cut the time around here, well done, now come back here tomorrow night and our first lesson will start, you're very welcome Chariot" said the teacher.

"Thank you, I've only learnt what I've seen on television, I've really wanted to learn ballet, I know what an elegant art form it is, I'll go now, thank you very much" I say, picking up my things to leave.

"Keep showing a lot of talent like that and you'll get a career later on" Maybe I will, I'll become a great stage entertainer with what I learn here, now I'm going out.

I'm leaving ballet school, now I've got somewhere to go, all that's left is to find a way to get a fake ID, the worst thing is that I'm new to the city, how am I going to do that? I don't know, well, I think that in the right places I can find something, it's all or nothing to get a job, at least enough to survive well.

I see a group of people in coats, it's exactly what Pierre told me, hardened people, they can help me find someone to give me an identity, I take a deep breath to go to the place, when I get there I'm immediately spotted by the guys.

"Who are you, brat? Don't you see that you can attract what you don't want?" Said one of them.

"That little girl may know too much, get out" said another.

"Next, I already know too much, I don't want anything you sell, I just want an identity" I say to them, making it clear and they even stop kicking me out.

"Search her, there must be a police bug inside this girl, if it's clean, come with me" said the man in the white coat.

I'm soon being searched, they're running their hands all over my body, it sucks, I hate this touch, my breasts have been hurting since I started bleeding, what the hell, then they keep touching me, it sucks, but soon they've finished looking at everything and I'm released, I follow one of them to where this place is that can serve.

We go down the alleyway, and then we enter a place that looks like a dark basement, where I notice that there are more people, a lot more, I sit down at a table and there's another bald guy with a moustache who comes up to me.

"All right, young lady, what does a girl your size want here? An identity? But for what reason?" He asks.

"I just want to work, that's what I want to do, since I can't work at my age, I'm only eleven, if you increase my age a little I can be accepted in places" I say to the moustachioed boy.

"Hmmmmmm, you know that's expensive, don't you? A good identity will cost you a lot, and work? You don't need an identity to work around here, we can give you a delivery service, if you know what I mean, especially for a girl your age, I can pay you a lot of money" he said and I shook my head in denial.

"I just want the ID, no services like that, I'm not going to steal anything or hand anything over" I say in denial.

"Oh ma cherrie, full of yourself, how are you going to pay for an ID? It's 20,000 francs for one of these and I can only put you at 15 years old for your looks, so you have to..." He says and I put the money on the table, already showing my business.

"Ohhhh, that's marvellous, magnificent, I could make an identity out of you like that, I like it when you talk and look at you, you're for real, who knew that little girl had money, who did she steal it from? Did she kill someone to get that money?" I just keep quiet.

"Are you going to give me an identity card or not?" I ask him.

"Come with me little girl, let's start making the ID, it may take a while, but it will do, by the way what's your name?" asks the criminal.

"Chariot Du Nord" He then nods and starts to make the details for the identity, first of all I take a photo.

I go through all the processes, I see it up close, he even makes the ID with a laminate that imitates the real thing, it's just like a real ID, I could even use it to buy things, but I'm not going to, my priority now is to get the ID, I hope everything works out as well as possible, that way I come out on top.

They even use the computers, it's impressive, maybe I should have one one day, but they seem complicated to work with, apart from the fact that they take up space, I prefer to play my magicstation at home, it's more fun

Soon they're giving me the final details and handing me over my identity card, now I'm Antonia Bordeaux, born on 19 August 1986, I've had this identity for 15 years, even the photo has been changed, how wonderful, they've taken a girl who must look like me, so much so that they've asked me to imitate the pose, that's very good.

"Here you are, you're Antonia now, remember to only refer to yourself in such a way when you use your identity, don't draw too much attention to yourself and we'll never speak to you, but you know where to come when you want a job, after all, a girl like you is never going to be someone who creates suspicion, If you can't find a job, we'll pay you a bit extra, we'll squeeze you out, but you'll have to pay, if we pass by a place where you work, pretend we don't exist and just turn a blind eye to any illicit activity of ours, OK?" Said the one with the moustache and I nodded in agreement.

"I'll talk to you if I need to, I just want my ID, I'm going, I've got a whole day ahead of me" I say as I leave, where I'm searched again, this is really quite unnecessary.

Now I have the fake ID, which is very similar to the real one, all that's left is to get a job, I can work at anything, I've already walked a lot of steps and spent a lot of money, what the hell, I hope it was all worth it, I paid a lot for that ID.

I leave there and walk back home, where I sit reflecting, in my head the list of things to do, I've already done the ballet class and the ID, now all that's left is the most important one, which is to get a job, good thing I have some money set aside for that.

[...]

"And how I tried, every grocery store or restaurant already had people working there, or they just said I wastoo young, a shame, but I didn't give up, I went one by one, to find the damn restaurant that would accept myjob offer, the identity really was being very believable, which saved me a lot, since I was using it very little, Ieven slipped up a few times saying my name, but then I got used to using Antonia, it seemed that no placewanted to accept my presence, that all the teenagers were doing summer work at the same time as me, so Ihad no option, it was already two days looking for a job, doors and doors closed, my feet couldn't take itanymore"

What a fucking life, every little place I think I'm going to find a job here in Nice is simply already occupied by someone else, what the fuck, I thought I'd have a chance of getting something.

I've just arrived at them again, with only the money in my pocket, I hope they pay me well for the service of having to scare someone, because I have to get a job, I get to the door, I'm searched and again I get to the room where the guy with the moustache is.

"Oh look who's back, apparently you really liked my services" I'm looking like hell.

"How much is it to scare someone away and get me a job in a place" I ask him.

"It'll cost you 10,000 francs, we'll take the guy who was working in your place and convince him to hire you, deal?" I take the money out of my purse.

"I just want to get my job straight away, where are you going to act?" I ask him.

"Give me your phone number, when the job's done, we'll let you know and you'll go to the site and offer to work, understand?" I start writing down my phone number, because there's no way, now I'm going to have to deal with a phone call coming in all different.

"Will I be able to do it now?" I ask again.

"In a few days you'll have your answer, now you can go, don't forget our offer, you can earn more than just a very low salary working even full time, after September your classes will start again and you know you'll have to work part time for half what you earn now, so think carefully about what to do from now on, from what I've seen of you you're not in the best situation, Chariot Du Nord, after you left I could see a bit of you, you left Annecy, you were earning a lot of money being the little witch of the Cookies and you were expelled from the city by witches coming here, we have a witch here among us, we are not like the population of Nice, the potential of a witch is enormous for our plans, think about it, enjoy your work as long as you can, one day your money won't be enough to support yourself living in that place, from what I've heard from my sources you pay for everything while your father lives the soft life, if you want we'll take care of the old slacker" I'd like to, but no, this is too much.

"I just want the job, I'm an honest person, I'm not going to get carried away by this kind of thing" I say, standing up as he smiles.

These are lives that I would be damaging by doing this, but I need to think ahead, unfortunately if I don't get a job I won't be able to support myself, I could be kicked out of my house, apart from Luna Nova's money, what the hell? Why do I have to make such questionable decisions, will I ever really deserve all this in the future? I'm just being a bit selfish. I'm going to jeopardise someone's life to improve my own, but damn.

I hate myself for it, I left there and went home, now all I can do is wait, there's no way, everything that happens from now on is going to be hard work, damn it, I can't give up, now's my chance for good. I get home and throw myself on the sofa looking up, while everyone else is enjoying their summer holidays, I'm here working like a convict, my father must be enjoying everything he can with bloody Daryl and I'm here alone, without my friends from Annecy, without my real family, alone.

"I hate this place!" I say angrily.

[...]

It's been a day and so far nothing, no phone call, well, the way is to sit and wait, or go for a walk, I think I'll do that, I didn't even let myself do that, I just walked around the shops in Nice and didn't go for a walk in any other way.

I'd seen that there's also a theatre school, maybe I could think about taking theatre classes at the same time, if I increase my talents it could be a good idea, I leave the house with my mobile phone in my pocket, looking at the landscape around me, the sky all open, a hot Thursday afternoon, I follow the path strolling through the city, until I get to where this theatre school is, I arrive at the counter and am greeted by what looks like the theatre teacher.

"Hello, what can I do for you, young lady?" Asks the teacher.

"How much does it cost to take a theatre class? I'd really like to do it, and I'm hoping there's something available for my schedule"

"We have them every day except Sunday and public holidays at all times - you decide how many a week you want to do and then we negotiate the prices" Interesting.

"I want to do it in the evening around eight o'clock, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, how much would that be?" I ask him and he looks it up on the computer.

"Look, from what I've seen, three lessons a week will cost you 400 francs a month, the rest of the material is up to you." He said, I'll just hand over 5000 francs, I'm spending a lot of money, but I know it'll be worth it, it'll give me a bit more knowledge.

"I want to study for a year, then you'll see the rest, here's my document" I say, handing over my real ID and he immediately fills in everything on my form, which is a relief.

"Here's everything, you're too young to act so independently, you already know what to do little girl, well your parents must not have said anything, it's impressive for someone your age to take all that money, but even so, here it is, I've already enrolled you here at the theatre school, we'll start tomorrow then, welcome Chariot" said the boy and I'm all happy and relieved.

I'm all smiles, he even hands me my name badge, now I'll be able to learn theatre, I'm sure this will help me a lot going forward, I'm going to celebrate a lot, the day before yesterday I started ballet and I was praised, today I have ballet again and tomorrow I'll start theatre, it feels like a light has gone on for me, today is a wonderful day, I think I'm going to take advantage of the beautiful sunny day to admire the beach more closely.

I'm leaving the theatre school, taking a walk all around, now I can definitely be a little relieved, take advantage of the moment to be all happy, it's today, I'll be able to be free, I get to the beach, take off my trainers, my socks, walk through the hot sand, which I'm getting a little uncomfortable with, but soon I put my feet in the water and feel enormous relief.

"Ahhhhhhhh, this is one of the few things I can enjoy about life, it's been so hard on me" I tell myself.

I don't think I'm going to enjoy anything on this beach, I haven't seen one in so many years, at least not a nice one, the ones near my house were always cloudy, I don't know how people in Edinburgh called it a beach and it was cold all the time, you couldn't even enjoy it, getting into that icy water, jeez, here at least the beach makes up for the rest of the place being awful.

[...]

Today was a fun day, I was even able to indulge in a bit of nostalgia by going to McDonald's, even though I was alone, I took the opportunity to go to the cinema too, class was a lot of fun, ahhhh, now it's back home, having to see that guy... He must have come back today, what the hell? I hope he doesn't say anything to me, nothing's going to spoil my day today.

I got home, opened the door and there he was watching television, which made me feel really discouraged to see that bastard here, he was all covered in marks, just relaxing.

"Did you remember you have a house, who knew, and that hair? Have you turned into a ballerina?" He said.

"Ugh, you could stay in the hotel and I wouldn't miss you" I say, taking off my ballet flats, leaving my hair in its usual mess.

"I agree to stay, will you pay for my stay there? I'm happy to, it was the best week I could spend, relaxing by the beach, by the pool, the women, the good food, her presence too, it only made the place better, but what about you, have you got a job yet? I can't depend on waiting for you, or have you given up and are you going to use that money you've saved to finally find something that's useful" Here comes the kind of comment he's going to make.

"You can stay here, I'm not going to pay for an old git like you to stay in the hotel living a soft life, while I'm here on the dole" I say to my father.

"What a lack of compassion for your father, I even saved your skin from something worse happening, we're in a beautiful new place, I even managed to rent a cheap and spacious house on the beach front, what kind of evil father would do such a thing, you who are an ungrateful daughter and don't value the father you have - If I were to give him a value I'd give him a negative number that's for sure.

"I'm not going to waste my time with you, you stay there in your thoughts, but know that I'll soon have my job and what about you? Are you just going to lie there?" I tell him you're just lying on the sofa.

I get to my room and lie down tired on the bed, it's getting dark, I'm tired, I think I'm going to order something for dinner, order another pizza, that's what I'm going to do, but soon my phone starts ringing, I hope it's not Daryl, my hope will come back for sure, I'll finally get my job, will I? I hope so.

"[Little Chariot, we've got you a job, you're going to work in Mr Esteban's grocery store, we've just convinced him, show up tomorrow and he'll give you the job, he's already said he'll take you on, it seems that mysteriously the boy who worked there left and then we talked to him about an available maid who will better guarantee our services in the market, I can assure you that he's promised to pay you decently, I tried to talk you down, but you're on the right track, don't want a life like that girl, he's promised to pay you well until you're part-time, now we're on our way, if there's any trouble, you know how to solve it]" How marvellous, I'm going to start working, this grocery store is close to home! That's marvellous, my first job anywhere.

Now I go to bed even a little excited, oh I can't forget the pizza, I haven't eaten anything since I left ballet, even though the teacher says I have to be careful not to put on weight, I find it very difficult, the way I barely put on weight by eating, I think she must be talking about my breasts getting bigger, but that's the least of it.

[...]

A new day, with a new job, this Friday has already arrived nicely, I've eaten yesterday's pizza again, I'm on my way to the grocery store, there I meet Esteban, I wave to him, I go up to the counter and he hands me an apron, already starting to explain what I'm going to do.

"Very well, you must be Antonia, the boys told me about you, show me your document and we can see if you'll be able to work here, you look very young to want a job" he said and I handed over the false document.

"Everyone thinks the same thing, but I just want to be able to work somehow, have a little extra money, help out around the house" I say, scratching the back of my head.

"1986, right, you're fifteen, well I wouldn't think you were that young, but we're taking on young people your age for a summer job, until then if you show up, I'll show you what you'll be doing, since that's all there is to it, I'll pay you by the hour, it'll be 50 francs an hour, plus some extras you can do, eight hours a day, you can choose to work overtime, just punch the card and I'll check that you're working properly, there's a one-hour break for lunch, food is on the house, you can take the ready meals and prepare one of them, there's a cooker here, if you want extra money on top of what you earn, just do a few extra jobs, can you manage?" I nod, I have no idea how much that would be.

"How much a month is that?" I ask him.

"At the very least you'll get 8,000 francs if you work hard, apart from the extras, accept the offer" he said and I shook his hand, it's a lot less than I used to earn selling cookies, a lot less, there have been days when I've earned almost that much selling cookies, I used to earn that much a week on average during the high season, so my earnings are going to be very slow from now on.

"All right, I accept the offer, now show me what I have to do" I say to my new boss.

He shows me everything, the time card that's given to me, so I can start marking the hours worked, so much so that I put it in the time card and let the hours be counted, then he shows me that I have to mop the floor, wash it, the toilets, the walls, organise the stocks, even handle the cash register, a bit of everything, which he's going to help me do, apparently there's not that much to it, tinkering with the cameras too, as well as the stock, counting everything, the money, as well as something else he said to pretend that some purchases had taken place, that he was giving the money away, I didn't understand anything, but I had to record it, as a very frequent purchase, I could even take some things, it was a way for him to let the money circulate, I didn't understand, why he did this thing of buying things by giving his own money, but okay, I think I understood.

"All clear, girl? When I give you the money, you'll make fake purchases, put the money in the till, and most importantly, for every thousand francs you put in, I'll pay you an extra 10 francs, believe me, that's a lot of money you'll make, just create notes showing that you bought these products, but without looking too obvious" I think I understand.

"It's strange that you ask me to buy things with your money, but that's okay" I say, scratching the back of my neck.

"You don't have to understand, you just have to do it, always make a few silly purchases, of a thousand, a thousand and five hundred, up to a couple of thousand francs per purchase, showing that it was these things that were bought, then just put it on the invoice, leave it in this box on the side, the ones you do normally you leave in this box, then at the end of the day I'll see how much you've put in, do the maths and put it on your payroll, you'll get paid per week, do a good job" I think I've got it, I'm nodding my head in agreement with him, well that's pretty weird but okay.

I'm already starting to do just that, I'm pretending to buy some crisps and sweets, which comes to about 400 francs, which I create an invoice for, placing it precisely impaled in the business where my boss asked, taking care not to tear it too much, one is from the house, the other is from the customer, the one from the customer I throw away, the one from the house I leave there and my boss immediately gives me a thumbs-up, showing that I was doing the right thing, since I've also put the money in the till.

"Great, you've already got your first 4 francs guaranteed, keep it up and you'll earn extra which will be great for business" I hope so, I'll make a point of putting money in as disguised a form as possible then.

"Well, I had to resort to alternative means to survive in Nice, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get a job,the false identity part isn't mentioned in the book, they made up my biography, I used it for a long time topass myself off as legal, but I also innocently had no idea that I was indirectly helping old Esteban, he waslinked to the city's criminal organisation, he distributed drugs throughout the city and used the grocery storeas one of the transporters, On the other hand, I earned a lot for it, there were times when my salary doubledfrom the amount of money I was able to launder, the normal purchases themselves were around 4,000

francs a day at the most, I washed at least 5 times that amount every day in the cash register, who wouldhave thought that Chariot Du Nord had reached these heights, but it was all or nothing to survive in Nice."

See you, new city witches...