"Is she aware you're so far ahead?"

"No, ma'am," Grace said. "She doesn't check my homework anymore. I guess she figures I do it so she doesn't have to check."

"Do you get anything out of class?"

"Not really. I'm usually working way ahead of whatever they're doing," she said. "But I give the right answer when she calls on me."

"When she calls on me, ma'am," Carey said. "All right, it's almost 2100 hours. We'll talk about math tomorrow. You can go to bed right after you do ten pushups."

"Yes, ma'am." Oh yeah, I'm in hell.

The smell of fresh coffee filled the air as Grace slowly woke up. When she opened her eyes, it took several seconds for the unfamiliar surroundings to make sense. With a soft groan, she sat up and rubbed her face. "Morning, ma'am."

"Good morning, Waters," the instructor's voice came from the kitchen. "You have another half-hour before wake-up."

The option of catching more sleep was tempting but Grace did not want to appear lazy. "That's okay, ma'am. I'm up now, ma'am."

"I put a set of towels out for you in the bathroom."

"Thank you, ma'am." After a good healthy yawn, Grace went to her footlocker and removed her toiletries and last clean set of underwear. Guess I'll be at the laundry during first free period. After she set them on the carpet, she folded the bedding and placed it on top of her footlocker. Collecting her things, Grace headed for the bathroom, stopping just before the door. "Ma'am?"

"Yes?"

"In the barracks, we have the shampoo dispenser, ma'am," she said, turning to see her mentor standing in the kitchen, a white mug with a multicolored logo in her hand. "Did you want me to go get some, ma'am?"

"No," Carey said. "Use mine for now."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Fresh razors are in the top drawer of the vanity. Waters, I'm going to trust you not to need supervision. Don't make me regret that decision."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't lock the door."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Hang your towel neatly over the shower door when you're done."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't touch my conditioner or my body oil."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And the bathroom had better look as clean when you leave it as when you went in."

"Yes, ma'am." What do you think I'm going to do? Have a party in there?

Grace stepped into the bathroom, amazed at how bright and airy it seemed. A skylight graced the slanted ceiling and pale yellow tiles allowed the sunlight to bounce all over the room. Opening the top drawer of the vanity, she found the package of razors. I'm glad she's not gonna watch me shave, she thought as she stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower stall. It was then that she realized in all the times she had taken a shower while at Sapling Hill, Instructor Carey never had shower duty. Must be nice being in charge. A smile came to her lips as she turned on the water. Of course if I was in charge, I'd volunteer for shower duty.

Steam rose as she took her time scrubbing under nice hot water. A corner bench built into the stall made the perfect place to put her foot as she washed between her legs, being much more thorough than she ever could with others in the same room. For someone with short hair you sure have enough things, she thought, looking at the full shower caddy. Shampoo, conditioner, cream rinse, mousse, body lotion, body oil...guess you believe the commercials. Rinsing her hair, she reached for the shampoo and poured a healthy amount on her hand. Strawberry, nice. She basked in the privacy after a month of community showers for as long as she dared, then rinsed and turned the water off. Nice shower. I could get used to this. Opening the frosted glass door, she stepped on the yellow mat and toweled off. After dressing, Grace looked around the bathroom. A red toothbrush sat in a ceramic holder built into the tile. I'm surprised you don't have one of those fancy electric toothbrushes, she thought, opening the medicine cabinet to find the usual assortment of toiletries. Must not worry about your teeth as much as you do your hair. Beneath the vanity she found cleaning supplies. Well, I'd rather clean one toilet than ten. I'll


probably end up having to keep the whole cabin clean or do her laundry or both.

Grace returned to the living room, unsure now of what to do until morning formation. After putting her things away, she sat down on the couch and laced up her boots.

"Do you drink coffee, Waters?"

"Yes, ma'am," she said, turning to see Carey open a cabinet and pull out a red mug. Real coffee, she thought excitedly, loathing the brown liquid that came from the large urn in the mess hall. Grace quickly jumped to her feet and entered the kitchen. "Thank you, ma'am."

'This is the only mug I want to see you using. Cream and sugar?"

"Cream, ma'am."

Carey opened-the refrigerator, pulling out a pint of half-and-half. "I tried the mess hall coffee once," she said, then scrunched up her face. "Tastes like they filter it through dirt."

Grace smiled. "We figure they use the swamp water, ma'am," she said, taking the pint, putting a splash into her coffee, then handing it back.

"You may be right about that," Carey said, leaning against the counter. "I was on duty on a cutter off the coast of Connecticut and we ended up reusing the grounds two or three times. It still tasted better than the mess hall coffee."

Taking a sip, Grace hummed at how good it tasted. "Oh, this is great," she said, taking a larger swallow. "Ma'am," she added belatedly.

"All right, let's make a deal before you ma'am me to death," Carey said. "Here in the cabin you can skip the ma'am, but you slip up out there and I'll drop you for ten, you got it?"

"Yes, ma'am, I mean yes. A cutter, that's a ship, right?" Carey smiled and shook her head.

"That's one way to put it."

"Were you in the Navy?"

"Coast Guard," Carey said, holding out her mug, which Grace now realized sported the Coast Guard emblem. "And that's enough about me. Now, let's talk about you and math." She drained her coffee mug. "What do you want to do about it?"

"About it?"

"Do you want to stay in math class?" Carey asked. "Or would you rather have free period?"

Grace finished her coffee, surprised at how quickly she drank it. "I don't mind being in class," she said, looking from her empty mug to the coffeepot. "I'll just work some more in the workbook." Taking a chance, she gave the instructor a small smile. "I didn't think it was a good idea to do my English homework in math class."

Carey reached for the coffeepot. "That's probably one of the brightest ideas you've had since you arrived here," she said, pouring the aromatic brew into her mug. "I know I'd drop you for twenty easy if I caught you doing your homework during SR." She held out the coffeepot. "Maybe I should be checking to see if you're really taking notes?"

"Thanks," Grace said, holding her mug out. "I'm taking notes. Ask Instructor Gage. She checks."

"She checks to see if you're taking notes for Sexual Responsibility?"

"Um, would you mind if I...?" She pointed at the refrigerator. "It's part of English class. Note taking and studying. We have to show her that we're taking notes in our other classes. Well, except for Self-Defense. Thanks," she said when Carey handed her the pint of half-and-half.

"So do you want to stay in math class or not?" Carey asked.

"No," Grace said. "I'd rather use it as a free period."

Carey sipped her coffee. "I'll speak with Instructor Donaldson."

"Instructor Carey?"

"Yes?"

"Um... about barracks inspection?"

Carey took a sip of coffee before responding. "Your footlocker is here and you're using the closet as you would the big locker in the barracks. Since you don't have a bed to check, make sure the sheets and blanket are neatly folded and centered on your footlocker." She had another sip. "I'll have to think about what chores I can assign you."

"Yes, ma'am."

Grace took her place next to Latisha. "Hey."

"Man, how did you survive a night with Instructor Scary?"

Looking at the group of leaders, she spied Carey. "It was okay," she said, turning to spot Jan standing behind her. "How'd it go for you?"

"It sucked," Jan said. "Gage snores worse than Campbell."

Grace rolled her eyes. "Wonderful," she said.

“Yeah, and how do you tell an instructor that?" Latisha asked.

“Better figure out a way to make some earplugs," Grace said.

"So what happened with you?" Jan asked.

Grace shrugged. "I can't touch anything. She probably has a fingerprinting kit to check and make sure I don't."

"I'm going to kill Grenner for this," Jan said.

"Save some for me," Grace said. "I thought it was bad enough dealing with Queen Bitch on A schedule when we have two classes with her. Now I have to spend free time with her watching every move I make." She deliberately looked away when the dark-haired woman's head turned in her direction. "See?"

"Just like having Big Brother on your ass," Jan said. "All right, she's looking somewhere else now."

Grace looked back. "More like Big Sister," she said. "Big Sister Queen Bitch from Hell."

"Marilyn, do you have a minute?"

"Sure, Carey," the tall blonde instructor said.

"Let's go in my office," Carey said, leading her down the hall. "I wanted to talk to you about Waters."

"Sure, I don't have my grade book with me but she's been passing the tests with flying colors," Donaldson said as they entered the office.