"Katie, can we have a bite there?" The unicorn pointed at a food shack at the edge of the park—nothing fancy, a single one room building with a few benches and tables in front.

"Of course, Ms. Dis Lee." I nodded. This wouldn’t have been my place of choice, but after last night I was dying for a double espresso.

"Please, call me Fleur," the unicorn laughed, then casually trotted across the street, making me run to keep up.

Fleur—or Ms. Dis Lee as I preferred to address her—was the representative of a multimillion-dollar fruit producer and my current employer. She was also a unicorn from another world. I was still in middle school when her kind first arrived, but I still remember how enthusiastic I felt about the whole thing. Legendary creatures arriving through a magic portal, it seemed like a scene from an anime. However, there was one catch.

"Five of whatever pastries they recommend." Ms. Dis Lee sat at one of the tables. "And a bowl of tea."

Only virgins could communicate with unicorns, and with the increasing number of trade and business relations between our worlds a new occupation was born. The official term, according to the jobs registry, was Unicorn Interpreter. Yet there was another way we were referred to: Professional Virgins.

"Five of something sweet and a bowl of tea," I said to the vendor, flashing a magenta credit card. "And a double espresso."

"Gotcha," the man sad, handing me the card swiper. "Go right ahead, I'll bring them when they're ready."

"Thank you." I pressed the credit card against the device. "Add a glass straw if you have any."

Putting the card back in my purse, I then went to Ms. Dis Lee's table and sat down. She had already taken out her tablet and was reading intently. I couldn't help but wonder if she was preparing for her meeting or reading a gossip column. At the end of the day it didn't matter much. I was only paid to convey her words.

"Are you nervous?" she asked without lifting her glance from the tablet.

"No, Ms. Dis Lee," I lied. I could feel butterflies in my stomach. Fresh outta high school and already involved in a fifty million dollar trade negotiation. Nope, I wasn't worried. Not one bit.

"It's like that the first few times." The unicorn tapped on the tablet screen with her hoof. "After that you'll stop noticing you're even there. If you want my advice, imagine you're doing karaoke. As long as you don't rush the words everything will be—" She suddenly stopped, glancing at something behind me. "Oh, my stars! It can’t be!" Ms. Dis Lee smiled and began waving to someone behind me. "Joanna!"

My interpreter instincts kicked in. "Joanna," I repeated loudly before I could even see who I was addressing.

"Fleur?" A surprised voice asked. The woman in question was blond, at least ten years older than me, short and chubby, dressed so casually I felt envious... and with a baby pouch. "Fleur, what are you doing here?" She rushed to join us. "I thought you were in Europe!"

"Well, you know how it is," the unicorn giggled.

"Well, you know how it is," I repeated, moving aside so Joanna could sit across Ms. Dis Lee.

"So this is the little rascal you quit ApplePeak for." The unicorn booped Joanna's baby on the nose. It laughed. I hesitated a few seconds whether to interpret that or not. Virgin School hadn't said anything about being part of personal conversations. "Is your mommy pampering you, little one? Because if not I'm going to levitate her in the air and leave her dangling as the silly girl she was when I hired her."

I coughed, but managed to voice all that. I could feel my face turning red. To make matters worse, the vendor came with our order—a bowl of tea, five slices of chocolate cake, and a double espresso for me. No glass straw, of course. I quickly thanked the man on Ms. Dis Lee's behalf, then took my espresso. Discussing babies and virginity loss in public, with me having to voice half the words, made me extremely uncomfortable. I was relieved when the vendor left to deal with another customer. I took a sip of my drink. It tasted awful, but at least I felt more alert.

"So this is my replacement?" Joanna smiled, looking at me. "As green as I was. What's your name, hon?"

I turned towards the unicorn. Legally it wasn't forbidden for me to have conversations with other people while on the clock, but it was strongly discouraged. Ms. Dis Lee nodded, giving me the go ahead.

"Katie," I said, feeling like such a freshman.

"Eight year contract?" Her baby started fidgeting, so she took out a baby bottle and gave it to him.

"Four," I replied. "With the option to renew."

"Short ones are always better, unless you have student loans." Despite the milk bottle, the baby continued to fidget, becoming more and more grumpy. "Seems someone needs his nap time. Lovely seeing you again, Fleur." Joanna smiled to Ms. Dis Lee. "Buzz me if you're in the area sometime. Would love to catch up."

I was ready to voice the unicorn's words, but instead she kissed her hoof and waved with it to Joanna. I felt chills pass through me. Everyone who'd graduated Virgin School knew the significance of that gesture: "goodbye and I'm sorry I can't talk to you anymore." It was reserved for that moment when an interpreter chose to do away with their virginity, forever deafening all unicorn voices.

"Don't be so glum," Ms. Dis Lee said as Joanna walked away. "I still keep in touch. You'll probably write a few letters to Joanna on my behalf during your career. There also are excellent post-Virgin programs. Remember, you're not just some human. Most of us keep our ties with our former interpreters."

"Yes, Ms. Dis Lee." I took another gulp of my espresso.

The rest of the snack continued in silence. I sat there, trying to bottle the internal emotions the experience had brought up. Meanwhile, the unicorn enjoyed her slices of cake. Did she feel anything at all? Or was it all an act? Maybe they really stopped caring about us once we lost our virginity. In four years I would probably find out.

Ten minutes later we were on our way once more. The trade negotiations were to be held at ChainPro's corporate offices. I wasn't well versed in business ventures, but even I knew that anyone who wanted to do an agricultural deal in the U.S. had to go through them. As we stood in the lobby, I watched other unicorn negotiators arrive with their interpreters. A few of them I knew from Virgin School, most I did not. There were a few clergymen. In the present day and age all major religions allowed their members to enter in short term contracts.

"Don't let them intimidate you," Fleur whispered. "When they start shouting, and trust me they will, remember they are shouting at me. You are untouchable."

"Yes, Ms. Dis Lee." I straightened the collar of my blouse.

"And one final thing, Katie." For the first time since she'd requested my services she looked me in the eye. "If you fall in love make sure it's real and not a negotiations saboteur."

I nodded. They had warned us about it in Virgin School, but it felt different hearing it from a unicorn. Apparently, they did care about us in their own alien way. As I entered the elevator my mobile phone vibrated. I had gotten a request for a weekend job: a unicorn tourist wanted to check out some local music clubs and was in need of an interpreter. I tapped accept and put my phone away. For the next few hours I could only focus on the negotiations. Until they were over I was Ms. Dis Lee's voice. Afterwards, I was free to choose whose voice I was.