it and opened the bottom drawer. He reached inside and brought out a stack of manila envelopes. He wheeled himself back to his desk, in a move that was perfectly timed. He was facing them as he came to a stop. “You know what I have here, girls?”
None of them moved. Em thought, Please, Corb, keep your mouth shut.
As if on cue, Corby cleared his throat and took a deep breath.
“Keep it shut, Cookie. I like it that way.” Cannon stared at him.
Em could see the lump in Corby’s throat when he swallowed. He also saw the sweat as it dripped off his forehead. Em quickly brought his eyes back to the front when he felt Cannon’s stare. And sure enough, Cannon was now staring at him. Why, oh, why hadn’t he continued to stare forward? Jack stood motionless the entire time.
“You, Storybook, I expected more from you.” Cannon reached down and sorted through the envelopes.
Em just knew they were all going to be recycled. He knew that it was up to Cannon to decide who could be sent back two weeks to join another flight. To have to go back and complete the first two weeks of training was not an option. Em decided then and there that he would do anything to keep that from happening. “Sergeant Cannon, this is all my fault, you see…”
“Shut your mouth, Story! When I want you to talk, I’ll tell you what I want you to say! Until then, keep it shut!”
“Yes, Sergeant.” Em felt his own lump as it descended down his throat.
“Here it is.” Cannon held the envelope. Em saw his name typed on a tag that had been placed in the slot on the front of it. Cannon opened it and pulled a small stack of papers from it. “Story, you have shown some skills over the past two weeks. I’ve noticed the way you seem to have mastered this whole operation. I never seem to see you working, but you always have everything in inspection order. I’ve also noticed some leadership qualities; however, what happened in there tonight was completely inexcusable. I will never accept that behavior from anyone. You fellas are here to be trained for war. In case you haven’t heard, we have one of them going on now.” Em continued to look him right in the eye.
Cannon took a deep breath and sighed. “You, Turner, I thought you showed more leadership qualities than anyone I had seen in quite a while, but what I saw in there was a boy losing his temper a little too quickly. I don’t know what was going on in there, and I really have no intention of finding out. The only thing I saw was you trying to show off some muscle. I’ll trade a few with ya if ya want to. How about it?” Jack did not move. Em couldn’t tell if he was looking at Cannon or at the wall. Em focused on a wooden statue of an eagle that sat on the shelf behind Cannon’s desk. Its talons were squeezing a rabbit. It was painted as if it were real. The rabbit’s eyes bulged from its skull. Em felt just like that rabbit right now.
Cannon sat still again and made a show of looking through the papers he held in his hand. Em slowly moved his eyes to look at his three friends. Jack still stood at attention, staring straight ahead. Corby was still sweating profusely. Larry, however, had a look on his face of pure hatred. He was leering at Jack.
“What’s up with you, Daniels, you little pip-squeak? Wipe that look off of your face or I’ll knock it off.” Em noticed that Cannon said this with a look of amusement on his face. Larry didn’t say anything. He continued to stare at Jack. “I got a meeting tomorrow with a good friend of mine.” Cannon stared straight at Em now. “He asked me if I had a couple of go-getters with half a brain in their head.” Cannon now looked from Em to Jack. “I told him I might have a couple in mind.” He paused and pushed himself back from his desk. He stood up before he said, “This is important, boys, so don’t mess up again.”
Cannon walked to the door and opened it. He walked straight toward the latrine. He began to scream before he was even there. The latrine crew jumped immediately and double-timed it into the bathroom. When Cannon entered the latrine, the stall he chose had to be specially prepared. The crew had no clue which stall he would choose, so all six of them would scramble to prepare each stall to his specifications. By the time Cannon reached the door, four stalls were prepared, and the remaining two were finished before he reached the door to the first one. The crew had perfected this operation within the first week. They worked on the sinks for fifteen seconds before they cleared the area for an indefinite period of time.
Em and his three cohorts remained where they were. They did not know whether to leave or stay. To be safe, they decided to stay right where they were.
Larry spoke first, “You ever do that again, Turner, and I’ll kill you.” Jack did not say a word. He stood like a statue and continued to stare straight ahead.
Em decided to try and mend the fences. “Where did you learn those moves anyway?” he began. “Could you teach them to us?” He looked from Jack to Larry and realized he was not helping.
Larry even looked madder than before. He said, “If you hadn’t surprised me, I could have taken you.”
Jack finally moved but just slightly. He looked Larry right in the eye and said, “Oh yeah, pip-squeak, you tried that once. How did that turn out for you?” Em thought Larry was going to jump him again.
“Really, Jack? You could teach us those moves of yours. We could all learn something.” Em looked at Larry and added, “Larry, seriously, we could work on it. You got to admit, you wouldn’t mind knowing how he did that.” Em hoped he was getting through to him. He had to smooth things over for his and Corby’s sake. Jack and Larry were their best friends. They just simply had to get along. “How about it, Jack? What do you say?” Em looked at him and saw a look of satisfaction. Then it was gone as quick as it had come, replaced by the stare.
They heard the familiar sound of the latrine crew as they scrambled to stand at attention as Cannon exited the latrine. This too they had perfected down to the second. As it turned out, theirs was the best duty to have, next to laundry crew. Once they established their routine, they spent little time actually cleaning the latrine.
Cannon stopped and turned toward the barracks area. He looked at the pile of clothes on each bunk. He had never had anyone handle the laundry as effortlessly as Story and his crew. He had noticed this since they had first started doing it. He watched as Story and Turner had competed to see who could memorize the numbers the fastest. It had taken them no time at all. He thought the two of them would be exactly what Philip was looking for. He decided then and there to recommend them no matter what had taken place tonight. He remained standing where he was as he thought about how to handle the situation. He knew there was animosity among these four. He needed to force their situation and see how they handled themselves when given additional problems. He spun on his heels and headed straight for his office. “All right, girls, let’s get this little party going.” He slammed the door as he entered.
Em, Corby, Jack, and Larry spent the remainder of that night and most of the early morning hours finishing their new duties. Cannon created a whole new crew. The four of them would now perform their new duties along with their old duties on a daily basis. They were now the official pressing crew. They would have to iron all the uniforms they had laundered and place them in the correct footlocker. Em couldn’t believe it. He had only ironed clothes initially. Now he had to iron one hundred sets and then keep everything caught up daily. He also realized that there would be little time to write to Irene.
They worked until 3:50 p.m. Through the long night, Em had worked hard to force Larry and Jack to communicate. Reluctant at first, the two of them gradually began to show a little effort. They ironed and ironed until it began to drive them crazy. They laughed at things that were not funny. When they finished at last, Em felt that a breakthrough had been made. This was a very small breakthrough,
