--------------------------------- [u][b]May 20th, Addis Ababa[/b][/u] --------------------------------- Three girls sat together in a coffee shop, sipping on their hot drinks and giggling to one another about their futures underneath a painted wooden sign advertising Negus Coffee. All three were the children of government functionaries, members of Ethiopia's small technocratic class, the pioneers of a western bourgeoisie lifestyle in a culture not far removed from its feudal past. From the looks of the three, they were hardly different from other girls their age, wearing the long cotton habesha kemis and their hair in tight cornrows along their head, where it expanded in a burst of natural hair behind them. "Kofi is talking to my father tonight!" Eskedare Nebiyou said. Her impending marriage was the gravitational center of the conversation. "An officer will do good for you." Konjit Bruk replied. She was the shortest girl, going a little on plump. Leyla Masri watched the old woman in the corner of the room preparing the coffee. She roasted the beans in a pan over an open fire. The rest of the preparation was done on a short table in front of her as she sat on a stool close to the floor. Leyla wondered when she married, if she was happy with her life, and if she had dreams when she was younger. "Are you still planning on getting a career, Leyla?" Konjit said, irritating Eskedare. "Yes." Leyla said. "I read in a magazine that women in some parts of America are expected to get careers" Leyla said. "That's so weird." Eskedare replied, making a face. "I don't think I could ever do a career. I mean, who would raise the children?" "I don't know that I want children." Leyla informed matter of factly. Eskedare looked scandalized. Konjit looked amused. "There has to be children." the former said, "That's the way the world works. What would have happened if your mother decided a career was more important that children?" "I wouldn't have been born I guess." Leyla looked thoughtful, "But if I wasn't born, I wouldn't be around to care." "Don't say that!" Eskedare made a concerned face and touched Leyla on the wrist. The round-faced Eskedare was matronly, but Leyla's tall slender form made her look more like an overgrown little girl, and she couldn't see herself as somebody's mother. "Have you heard about Azima al-Himyari?" Leyla said, "She trains with her father's men." "Because she is her father's only child" Konjit whispered, "And everybody knows that Ras Hassan would rather see his daughter rule when he is dead then have any of his great generals take the spot." "They probably won't let her." Eskedare said. "I want to see the world." Leyla replied, self conscious that her voice sounded whiny when she said this. "I don't see why only boys should do this. It is not just Azima al-Himyari, or the girls in America. The world is changing. [i]All[/i] the world. Maybe in a hundred years, there will be more women with careers then there are men." "I think you will do good." Konjit patted Leyla on the knee. Eskedare sulked. "I have to go soon. Here..." Leyla picked up her cup, "One more drink, for Emebet Eleni School for Girls and the latest three graduates of their program." The other girls drank, aware that life had caught up with them, and they were soon to be pulled apart. Leyla left them and went into the street alone. It was not that long ago that Addis Ababa wasn't safe for a girl to walk on her own. When Leyla was a little girl, the Emperor ordered the institution of the country's first true police force, focused on keeping Addis Ababa's growing metropolis protected. She saw them in their corner booths, catching gossip from familiar locals to keep themselves entertained, but present, and that presence was enough to dissuade most would-be criminals. The city was changing in other ways. Tall buildings were going up downtown, towers like they had in far away fantastic lands like Manhattan or Beijing. Car traffic had far outpaced traffic by ass or cart. A growing middle class life brought luxurious conveniences like soda pop and cheap clothing. So much of this started to appear when Leyla was a girl; she had watched the process, and it was intoxicating. She wanted to be part of it. She came to the monument of her hopes. It was a literal monument, a tall brass statue of Mikael of Wollo, the great grandfather of the current Emperor. The man on the statue was on horseback, a proud lion's mane headdress on his head, a flowing cape on his back, and a sword firmly in his hand. It stood in the middle of a roundabout in front of Negus Mikael Military Academy. This was her destination. If everything went right, it would be her life. Negus Mikael Military Academy was not a single building, but a collection of buildings surrounding a perfectly circular courtyard. All of the buildings, if smashed together, could fit inside the expansive courtyard and leave extra room. As it stood, they created a perfect ring, gaps closed by a tall slat fence, leaving only a single entrance through a steel gate. Leyla passed through. The front half of the courtyard was a garden planted in honor of Negus Mikael. The second half was a dusty semi-circular drilling ground with a flagpole proudly displaying the Imperial colors. In that drilling ground, young men dreaming of careers in the officer core practiced with fake wooden guns. She watched them, not ignorant of the flower of lust flickering in her breast at seeing so many young men in uniform. The [i]Shotel[/i] had a building here. There was no sign, but rather a single sword crossed over a shield to mark their location, like something from a western pulp story. This was not the sleek western architecture one might expect from an agency like the Shotel, nor was it a militaristic bunker. The building was humble, like a two story house. She went inside. "Can I help you?" a young man looked at her suspiciously. "I'm here for a job." she said. "A job? We don't hire everybody who comes in you know. What can you do for the Shotel?" "I know two languages. Aside from Amharic." she said, "English and French. I am working on Arabic, but that isn't easy, and I am only seventeen." "That isn't bad." the man admitted, "But there are many men who have the same skill. Do you feel comfortable taking a job from a man?" She paused. How do you even answer something like that? In her mind, she imagined a smug look on Eskedare's face. "Correct me if I am wrong, but hasn't the Emperor ordered the government to hire more women?" "That law isn't in effect yet. I know it has passed, but no word has came down to me." "It has passed." she said, "You guys should get a head start. Not every day a girl walks in here asking for a job." The man laughed and shook his head. "You are good. We should have you doing interrogations. Okay, here is what we'll do. You are young. You still live with your father, yes?" She nodded. "We need a letter stating his approval. If you can get that, I think we can find a place for you." She smiled. "Okay. I will see you tomorrow."