There had been some objections, of course, even a protest or two, partly on moral grounds and partly over concerns about the increased traffic to the area causing disruption for locals but these had all been smoothed over and most of the sceptical residents had been reasonably assured that the new restaurant with all the jobs that it would bring, not to mention potential customers for other local businesses, would be a net benefit for the town.

Although they did clearly hope to recruit from among local girls for their menu, it would clearly be necessary to bring in girls from other parts of the country too, or even from abroad. For fun, one rainy lunch time, Kerry and a couple of her friends had done some calculations. Well aware that some days would be busier than others, they had settled on an average of twenty girls cooked per day, which came to seven thousand and three hundred girls cooked per year, which they had rounded up to seven thousand and five hundred. They had then looked up the population of their town which had come up comically small so they had extended it to the whole borough, rounding up to one hundred and seventy five thousand. Assuming that half that number would be female, they had then checked some national statistics which showed that one about ten percent of those would be of eligible age which they decided to generously round up to fifteen. This gave them a total a little over thirteen thousand eligible girls in the borough, meaning that if every single eligible girl were to volunteer, something they were quite sure was not going to happen, the new local Sidney’s would still run out of meat in less than two years. Reflecting on this as she enjoyed the luxurious car journey, Kerry decided to ask Hunter and Josie about it.

“So, my friends and I were doing some sums a few weeks ago,” she explained, “and there’s nowhere near enough girls in the local area to keep you in business. How’s that going to work?”

“Oh don’t you worry about that!” Josie grinned. “Unlike the big city branches, these regional Sidney’s restaurants are all going to be built with accommodation on site for up to three hundred girls. Of course we don’t expect to have that many staying with us most of the time but it will mean we can bring in a steady supply of girls from more densely populated areas or towns where there are no plans to build a restaurant just yet. The UK government has also agreed deals with the US, Canada and the EU to allow girls to sign up with local recruiters and be imported.”

“Don’t worry, li’l red!” Hunter winked at her. “We’re not about to invest big bucks in your school just to empty it out in a few months!” Kerry smiled, pleased that her question had been taken seriously and interested to hear the answer.

“But girls from the school can volunteer if they want to, right?” Katie asked, eyes wide with concern, not wanting to think that her friends might miss out on a great opportunity.

“Of course!” Josie chuckled. “We will encourage it! And we plan for your schools to become so well known for their academic excellence that families will be queuing up to move to the area to get their daughters in! This town, let’s face it, had a bit of an issue with an ageing, dwindling population but with our presence we plan to make it a vibrant, young community once more!” The girls both beamed, happy and proud to be playing an important part in the rejuvenation of their school and the town in general.

“Is there going to be a dance troupe?” Kerry asked, remembering what she had heard about other branches and some of the videos that had been shared online.

“Oh yes!” Josie nodded excitedly. “They will be based at your school and we’re hoping most of the members will be pupils there, although it will be open to girls from other schools in the area too. They will be performing every Saturday and meeting twice a week after school to rehearse in your hall.”

“I bet Mr Harcourt will love that!” Kerry chuckled. “And no shortage of teachers offering their time to chaperone, I’m sure?”

“I don’t think we’re going to have a problem in that area, no.” Josie winked.

“What about mermaids?” Katie asked, gripping the edge of her seat and rocking excitedly.

“Of course!” Josie grinned. “Can’t have a Sidney’s without mermaids! Every afternoon before four and eight and all day on weekends, in shifts of course. We’re hoping most of those will come from your schools too.”

“Hey look!” Hunter pointed out the window. “We’re here! Ready to be famous, girls?” They both grinned and nodded as the car came to a stop and they waited for the driver to open the door.

“Hats on!” Josie reminded them, looking out the window at the swarm of press photographers and local news camera operators who were already there. She could see the Mayor in her ceremonial robes and chain as well a few other important-looking people in suits. The driver opened the door and the girls, now wearing their hats, got out and first, waving and blowing kisses to the various cameras, closely followed by Hunter and finally Josie. They entered through the open gates onto the building site where the ground-breaking ceremony would take place.

Behind the wire fences, the site was mostly empty aside from some stacks of metal beams, a concrete mixer, a small, pre-fab site office, some porta-loos and assorted diggers and fork-lift trucks. They were greeted by the Mayor and a man who wore a suspiciously clean yellow hard-hat and high-vis vest over his smart suit who introduced himself as the site foreman. Hunter took the lead, introducing the girls to the small audience of mostly journalists and thanking everyone for coming out then, before giving a short speech about Sidney and how happy she would be to see how far her legacy had spread and how widely her dream had been embraced. Then he handed over to Josie who said a few words about the planned restaurant and what she hoped it would mean to the local community. With the speeches concluded, Hunter and Josie were handed a spade with a sparkly pink ribbon around it which they posed with as if they were about to dig, the Mayor and foreman on either side of them then the girls on the outside. Then the girls were asked to pose with the spade while Hunter and Josie stood behind them with their hands on their shoulders.


To be continued...