"Wonderful," Grace said, glancing around to make sure no instructors were within earshot. "It'll go good with the instant potato flakes and lima beans."

"I think they have someone who knows what kind of food we like and makes sure they never serve them," Latisha said, adding a copious amount of salt to her food. "We can't even get salsa around here."

"I'd kill for a taco day," Grace said, sniffing the unidentifiable meat before taking a bite. "Or ice cream."

"How about soda?" Jan added. "I'm getting tired of milk, juice, and water. And that excuse for coffee they serve is undrinkable."

"Really," Grace said, burying the piece of meat in her mashed potatoes. "Someone should tell those idiots in the kitchen not to use the dishwater to make coffee." Seeing activity at the table where Alpha Squad was sitting, she nudged Jan with her elbow. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, but there's Scary Carey," Jan said.

"Uh-oh," Latisha said. "She looks pissed."

"At least it's not at us this time," Grace said. "Look, she's talking to Grenner."

"More like she's yelling at Grenner," Jan said. "Yup, there she goes. Ten or twenty?"

"I know that look," Grace said. "Twenty." She winced when she saw Instructor Carey kneel down to continue her tirade as Grenner did her pushups. "She's really pissed."

"Word," Latisha said. "Ooh, Scary's turning red."

"Do you girls have nothing better to do?" Instructor Gage asked. The teens quickly turned in their seats and looked down at their trays. "That's what I thought."

Grace waited until Gage was out of range. "Damn," she said. "We always get caught."

"At least it wasn't for whatever Grenner did," Jan said. "Look, she's still yelling at her."

"Hey, Grace," Campbell said. "I didn't think it was possible for someone to piss off Carey more than you do."

Grace gave a false smile and scratched her cheek with her middle finger. "I've seen her drop you a few times."

"Yeah, but you hold the record."

"I want to know what she did so I don't do it," Jan said. "Look, she's finished."

"Doing pushups," Grace said. "Queen Bitch is still yelling at her." She took a bite of her food, watching the dark-haired instructor finish her tirade. Just watching those pushups had made her arms ache. I'm glad it's not me this time.

Grace groaned and sat up, the light corning through from the sodium lamp outside providing little illumination.

"Psst, you up?" Latisha whispered.

"We're all up," Mo said from the bunk on the other side of Grace.

"How can you sleep through all that?" Loud snoring was heard from the other end of the barracks. "Sounds like a damn bulldozer."

"I'm up, Latisha," Grace said, pushing off the blanket. "Every time I start to fall asleep, Godzilla over there starts up again."

"Esa muchacha le van a poner una almohada sobre fa cara si no para."

"Lopez, you know we don't speak Spanish," Grace said.

"I say that girl is going to get a pillow over her face if she doesn't stop," Maribel Lopez said, moving from her bunk to flop across Grace's.

"I'll help," Jan said, joining the crowd and sitting on the edge of Latisha's bunk. "I woke her up twice to tell her to knock it off."

"Which one is it?" Grace asked, propping her pillow against the wall to use as a backrest.

"Campbell," Jan said. "Grenner's not too far behind either."

"Be quiet," a voice in the darkness said. "Some people are trying to sleep."

"How is it you can sleep through Campbell's snoring, but our talking is too much?" Jan said. "Shut up and roll over, Rosetti."

"Damnit, there's no way I can handle tomorrow with no sleep," Grace said. "Campbell! Shut the hell up!"

"Wha-what?" Campbell said, her voice thick with sleep.

"Your snoring is enough to wake the fucking dead," Jan said.

"Shut up, Bowen."

"Piss up a rope, Rosetti."

Grace slammed her head into the pillow and rolled her eyes as the bickering continued. "We're never going to get any sleep." The springs squeaked as Jan joined Mo and her on the bunk.

“I snuck a deck of cards back from the rec room," Jan said.

"And just how are we supposed to see them?" Mo asked. "It's not like we can turn on a light."

"Word," Latisha said. "Viking or Short Shit would be on us faster than ugly on Dawson."

"You'd better have those cards back before they do inspection tomorrow," Grace said. "Queen Bitch will drop your ass."

"You mean Scary?" Jan snorted. "I've handled worse than her. A few pushups ain't gonna make me change and be a choir girl."


DAY THREE


“Stop hogging the mirror, Waters."

"Bite me, Rosetti," Grace said, checking her appearance and adjusting her collar. "I'll be damned if I'm going to do any more pushups today."

"Just our luck she's in charge of Bravo Squad," Latisha said, tucking her shirt into her pants. "I'd rather have Donaldson than Scary Carey. Grace, how do I look?"

"Like a Hershey Kiss reject," Grace said, moving away from the mirror. "But you shouldn't get any hits."

"Don't worry," Jan said. "Scary will find something, she always does."

Someone outside yelled for formation. "More fun at Sapling Hill," Grace deadpanned. "Time to face the queen bitch."

The noon sun was bright, forcing Grace to squint as the instructors moved through the rows. Suddenly the sun was gone, eclipsed by her nemesis. "Think that bunk of yours will pass today, Waters?"

"Yes, ma'am," she said, seeing a distorted image of herself in Carey's mirrored sunglasses.

"We'll see," Carey said. Grace waited endless seconds before the instructor moved on.

"All right, ladies, we're going to take a little run today," Instructor Gage said. Groans went up within the crowd. "What's that? You want two miles instead of one?" Grace rolled her eyes, unaware that the ones hidden behind mirrored sunglasses were watching her.

"Waters, drop for twenty!" Instructor Carey said as she came storming over. "You have a problem, Waters?"

"No, ma'am," Grace said, unhappily noting the instructor she despised was now only inches from her, black boots shining from the early morning sun. The temptation was there to spit and ruin that perfect shine but Grace knew the consequences would be most unfortunate for her.

"I'm tired of you interrupting formation," Carey said. "Now what's your problem?"

"Didn't get...any sleep last night, ma'am. Campbell wouldn't stop snoring."

"And you don't think it's fair that we're going to make you run and do all the other things scheduled for today because you didn't get your beauty rest, is that it? Do you think Mr. Employer is going to care that you didn't get a good night's sleep?"

"No, ma'am."

"Getting your sleep interrupted is a fact of life, Waters," Carey said.

"We all have to do things we don't want to do, including going to work after a rough night." The boots moved out of Grace's vision. "And for those of you that are keeping your bunkmates up, I suggest you report to the infirmary for those nose strips before someone decides to give you a pillow party."

Grace stood up, wiping the small stones from her hands as the instructors began inspecting their squads. Straightening her shirt, Grace looked forward as Instructor Carey came into view. Just keep walking, bitch. My shirt is ironed, my belt is straight. There's nothing you can give me a hit for.

"Waters, two hits. Crooked hat, laces touching the ground."

"Pick up a workbook and take a seat, I don't care where," Instructor Donaldson said as they entered the room. Grace took one of the soft-cover books and headed for the back corner of the room, the place where she was least likely to draw attention. "We're starting with Chapter One," the tall blonde instructor said. "If this part seems easy or familiar to you, keep working ahead. If it seems too hard, you might want to think about going to the remedial math class, but your tests scores all indicate you should be able to handle this level of math. Here are the rules. You will have homework, every night. I expect that homework to be done. No excuses, no exemptions."

While the instructor they called Viking was talking, Grace opened the workbook and looked at the problems. Oh please. I knew this stuff in ninth grade. She began filling in the answers, finishing the chapter in just a few minutes. Out of boredom, she started working on Chapter Two when she heard her name called. "Yes, ma'am?"

"What's an integer?"

"Any whole number, ma'am."

"Can a fraction be an integer?"

"No, ma'am."

"Can negative seven be an integer?"

"Yes, ma'am." Oh please move on to someone else.

"Very good. I see you paid attention in at least one of your classes."

Instructor Donaldson turned her attention to Latisha, allowing Grace to go back to filling in answers in the workbook.

"Sit down," Carey said as Grace entered the room. "I read your essay. The only thing you want to get out of this experience is to do your time so you can get back to...let's see..." She looked down at the paper. "Oh yes, running your life. You think you've been doing a pretty good job so far?"

"When I'm left alone, yes, ma'am."

"Really?" Carey leaned back in her chair and laced her fingers together. "How much money do you have in the bank?"

Grace shook her head. "None, ma'am."

"Own any real estate?"