Where was this praise when I was stuck at rank 2 for years?
"She's going to get me killed too." I leaned forward, gripping the arms of the chair. I decided to give the nail in the coffin. “With all due respect, sir, you make me go above with her and one of us ain't coming back."
"Is that a threat?" He stood, looming over me. "This isn't a game, Callahan. It's been decided. They're stripping your quarters as we speak and moving you up to her floor. You don't have a say in this."
He leaned forward, his face so close to mine I could smell his toothpaste and the whiskey on his breath. "If you let her die, your fate will be worse."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. So it was done then.I was royally fucked.
"Yes, Sir."
I'd heard horror stories about what they did to people who they deemed punishable past death. They'd be pushed above, with no PARA suit or gas mask, and left to the elements. Without anything to protect them from the chemicals in the air, they wouldn't die; they'd turn into a creepie or a crawlie.
"I have one request, sir."
Cecil sat back down. "And that is?"
"Let me clean up my own space."
He raised an eyebrow. "Contraband?"
"I am a young man, sir."
He laughed and slid his hand over to the telephone. "You got a hold of a magazine from above, didn't you? It's okay, I have a small stack myself." He picked up his phone and called someone, giving orders for them to leave my room alone.
"Anything else?"
"No, Sir. But I still don't think this is going to work. Eleanor is beyond my capabilities."
"See, this is where I have to disagree with you, son. You're her Daddy now. Use your power of authority to wrangle her in some."
"How do you suppose I do that?" I scoffed.
"What have you been taught to do if your young girl is being disobedient?"
"Punish her. But, Sir?—"
"Then you punish her."
I rolled my eyes. "I can't put her in a corner."
"Why not?"
I looked from him to Dorothy. She nodded. Did they expect me to treat Eleanor like a petulant child?
Cecil cleared his throat. "When this idea was brought to me last week, I had the same worries you have right now. When you are assigned your Young Ladies, the goal is for them to look at you as a parental-like figure, and to develop a bond with oneanother. A father-daughter type of relationship. But you didn't have that opportunity with Eleanor. So, you'll have to do a speed course through it."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means, treat her like you'd treat the child you'd just been assigned. Give her love and affection when she's good and punish her when she's not. You've trained for what, eleven, twelve years now? How old are you, son?"
"I'm 20."
"Yes, so your training is almost done anyway. You know exactly what to do with her. If you are stuck, bring out the manual. There's no shame in double-checking."
"I think you underestimate Eleanor's stubbornness."
"I think you overestimate how much I give a shit about what you think." Cecil walked around the desk. "My Young Lady, Myrtle, was quite similar to Eleanor. Sharp-tongued but good at what she did. She learned quickly that the Young Ladies who did well were treated better, given more CAFE bucks, more presents, more treats. But she struggled with listening. The moment those doors closed, and all the people who adored her couldn't see her anymore, she became nasty, mean, and lazy."
