I come back here and I'm alone and I go to bed every night wanting to kill myself."
My rage began to taper off. I had to remind myself how terrible her conditions were. Sex goddess by day, rape victim by night.
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault."
"If I'd never come here, none of this would have happened."
"You didn't know what you were getting yourself into. I didn't either. I was just a high school student trying to pay my car insurance with a part-time job. Then one night while I was closing up, Patton appeared out of nowhere, which scared me because I'd already locked the door. I had no idea about the hidden elevator, any of this stuff. I do remember men going behind the counter to the back office and disappearing for a long time, then reemerging later looking messy and smelling like sex. I just thought the store manager was gay and had a lot of boyfriends."
I laughed, surprising myself.
"So he just offered you a job out of nowhere?"
"Yeah. I guess they use the jewelry store to hire potential employees for the company. "
"How many people work here?"
"Let's see, Patton has eight teachers and seven teacher's assistants. Brian--"
"What happened to the other assistant?" I interjected.
"She had a stroke. She was ninety-nine years old."
"Oh, good. I mean, you know, that she wasn't murdered."
Kate laughed. "Oh, no, no, Level D is like a whole different world. That's where the Favorite Girls spend their entire childhoods. Nothing bad happens up there. The teachers don't even know who they work for or what happens to the girls when they graduate."
The more Kate talked, the more questions I had. But I had to take it slow. We would have plenty of time to discuss everything about Your Favorite Girl, Inc., locked up alone together in this big room.
"So eight teachers, seven assistants . . ." I said.
"Yes, the employees," Kate said, tossing the sheet away and climbing off the bed, an almost cartoonish bounce in her boobs. "Brian has quite a few lab assistants, a couple of scientists. Do you want something to drink?" She was headed for the kitchen area, tiptoeing when she reached the cold tile.
"What do you have?"
"Anything. If we don't have it, we can order it."
"How about a soda?"
She opened the refrigerator, and before I knew it a canned Coke was sailing through the air. It landed softly on the bed and I scooped it up and gulped half of it down. I didn't realize how thirsty I was--how hungry, too.
Kate must have realized how long it had been since I'd eaten. She was busy piling food onto a big serving tray as she counted employees.
"Sean has three security guards who post up with him in the lobby when a client comes in--"
"I remember those guys."
"--and a few more to watch surveillance monitors all day. Then there's Bob, who does nothing but present contracts for clients to sign. Bob, the deliverymen, and a couple of janitors all answer to Clifton, if you can imagine."
"They let that guy be in charge of people?"
"Oh yeah, Clifton supervises Level A, all expect for the jewelry store and the Showcase Hall, which are on Level A, technically, but are only accessible from Level B."
"I'm confused."
"Hang on."
Kate was coming back to the bed with the tray, upon which she'd piled fruit, a bag of tortilla chips, a jar of salsa, several different blocks of cheese, various lunchmeats, thick-sliced whole grain bread, crackers, chocolate chip cookies, and a plastic baggie that reeked of fresh, sticky marijuana.
I no longer cared about the Levels or who supervised what employees. The sight of all this food made me so happy I thought I was going to cry.
Instead, I quickly made a sandwich with ham, turkey, and three different kinds of cheese. It came out so big I had to smash it down before I could fit my mouth around it.
Kate watched me eat, like a child petting a puppy as it wolfed down a treat. If she started petting me, I might even growl a little.
"Wanna
My rage began to taper off. I had to remind myself how terrible her conditions were. Sex goddess by day, rape victim by night.
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault."
"If I'd never come here, none of this would have happened."
"You didn't know what you were getting yourself into. I didn't either. I was just a high school student trying to pay my car insurance with a part-time job. Then one night while I was closing up, Patton appeared out of nowhere, which scared me because I'd already locked the door. I had no idea about the hidden elevator, any of this stuff. I do remember men going behind the counter to the back office and disappearing for a long time, then reemerging later looking messy and smelling like sex. I just thought the store manager was gay and had a lot of boyfriends."
I laughed, surprising myself.
"So he just offered you a job out of nowhere?"
"Yeah. I guess they use the jewelry store to hire potential employees for the company. "
"How many people work here?"
"Let's see, Patton has eight teachers and seven teacher's assistants. Brian--"
"What happened to the other assistant?" I interjected.
"She had a stroke. She was ninety-nine years old."
"Oh, good. I mean, you know, that she wasn't murdered."
Kate laughed. "Oh, no, no, Level D is like a whole different world. That's where the Favorite Girls spend their entire childhoods. Nothing bad happens up there. The teachers don't even know who they work for or what happens to the girls when they graduate."
The more Kate talked, the more questions I had. But I had to take it slow. We would have plenty of time to discuss everything about Your Favorite Girl, Inc., locked up alone together in this big room.
"So eight teachers, seven assistants . . ." I said.
"Yes, the employees," Kate said, tossing the sheet away and climbing off the bed, an almost cartoonish bounce in her boobs. "Brian has quite a few lab assistants, a couple of scientists. Do you want something to drink?" She was headed for the kitchen area, tiptoeing when she reached the cold tile.
"What do you have?"
"Anything. If we don't have it, we can order it."
"How about a soda?"
She opened the refrigerator, and before I knew it a canned Coke was sailing through the air. It landed softly on the bed and I scooped it up and gulped half of it down. I didn't realize how thirsty I was--how hungry, too.
Kate must have realized how long it had been since I'd eaten. She was busy piling food onto a big serving tray as she counted employees.
"Sean has three security guards who post up with him in the lobby when a client comes in--"
"I remember those guys."
"--and a few more to watch surveillance monitors all day. Then there's Bob, who does nothing but present contracts for clients to sign. Bob, the deliverymen, and a couple of janitors all answer to Clifton, if you can imagine."
"They let that guy be in charge of people?"
"Oh yeah, Clifton supervises Level A, all expect for the jewelry store and the Showcase Hall, which are on Level A, technically, but are only accessible from Level B."
"I'm confused."
"Hang on."
Kate was coming back to the bed with the tray, upon which she'd piled fruit, a bag of tortilla chips, a jar of salsa, several different blocks of cheese, various lunchmeats, thick-sliced whole grain bread, crackers, chocolate chip cookies, and a plastic baggie that reeked of fresh, sticky marijuana.
I no longer cared about the Levels or who supervised what employees. The sight of all this food made me so happy I thought I was going to cry.
Instead, I quickly made a sandwich with ham, turkey, and three different kinds of cheese. It came out so big I had to smash it down before I could fit my mouth around it.
Kate watched me eat, like a child petting a puppy as it wolfed down a treat. If she started petting me, I might even growl a little.
"Wanna
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