"All empty souls tend toward extreme opinions"

William Butler Yeats

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Prologue ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Graduation year, 2020

A release of pent-up emotion was tangible to those who sat in the hall that day.

Row upon row of brown-hatted young women sat upon long wooden benches, as they waited for what seemed like forever, to hear their name called out.

"Sarah North."

A brown hat lifted up, and a pale face emerged as the teacher trilled the name towards the audience. The young woman rose sharply, and made her way to the stage.

This was it. The day had finally come. Sarah had graduated from the esteemed Norton Academy.

All those evenings spent poring over course books on child psychology, whilst simultaneously weeping at 2am had truly been worth it. And now, here she was, receiving her BA Honours Degree in Early Years Development and Learning.

"Thank you, Mrs. Jenson." Sarah whispered, and gave the older Nanny a shy smile.

"You've earned it, Sarah. Well done." Mrs. Jenson gave Sarah's hand a firm squeeze of encouragement and reverently handed over the paper which held the key to all of Sarah's hopes and dreams.

Sarah's smile grew a lot less shy, and she turned to walk solemnly back to her seat. The girl who was sitting next to her looked up and gave her a cheeky wink.

"God, I need a drink." The girl whispered to Sarah as she sat down. "And I need to ditch this bloody hat!" Auburn curls were trying desperately to burst free from the confines of the girl's brown hat, much to her annoyance.

"You should think yourself lucky, at least they don't make us wear corsets anymore." Sarah whispered back.

"Amen to that..."

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Once the graduation ceremony was over, the girls headed over to the pub near the Academy for a few celebratory 'beverages' before the real fun started later that evening.

"Lucy, I've found a spot!" She called out to her friend, who then subsequently made a mad dash for said free table.

Sarah, shook her head in mirth at her friend, who was now strategically laying items of her outer clothing (hat, coat, gloves) on all the chairs to 'save' them for their other friends, who were due to join them shortly.

"You're a bit of a nutter, you know that?"

"Hmm, that's a bit rich coming from you..." Lucy replied with a slight twinkle.

Intrigued, Sarah sat down slowly and looked at her friend, "What do you mean by that?"

A sad look swept across Lucy's face, "Please don't go away. Stay here, stay in England."

"Ah."

"Don't 'ah' me. You shouldn't have accepted that placement over there. Anywhere that can condone that kind of barbarism is not a place you should choose to live."

"Lucy, I know you're worried...but this is an amazing opportunity. And seriously, you wouldn't believe how safe it is there now!"

A snort of disbelief flew in the general direction of Sarah, who merely sighed.

"Please, Lucy, I just need to get away. I need a change of scenery. My parents aren't around, what with their retirement plans, and everywhere here just reminds me of Nick..."

"...the Prick." mumbled Lucy.

Sarah's breath hitched slightly, and she could feel the heat build up behind her eyes. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.

"America is one of the safest, most economically secure countries in the world now. And the family I'm working for...they live in an incredibly affluent, gated, community! These people spend millions on high tech security to guard their homes."

"Sounds delightful."

"The Purge...yes, alright it's obviously not something I agree with." Sarah placed her hand on her friends shoulder, "But, you can't not do something because of what might happen. "

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Author's Note: Norton Academy is based on Norland College - an old, highly regarded British institution where the 'best' Nannies are trained.