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don’t know what you’re talking about.’
    ‘Oh, don’t I? So you deny that you were told to drop and do thirty push-ups? And that he kicked your ass each time you lifted up? And then you left with your new guy and went back to his room? Do you deny it?’
    ‘How the fuck do you know all that?’ I exploded, completely taken aback by her total knowledge of my whereabouts and behaviour. Did she peep through Jacob’s window, too? Jean laughed derisively.
    ‘I have my sources,’ was all she said, grinning smugly. I felt my right fist curling into itself, as my body tensed in pleasurable anticipation of knocking her flat on her ass.
    ‘Move it, girls. This isn’t time for chit-chat.’ Joan, the assigned cadet company officer of our barracks for the month, was all business. She insinuated herself between us, breaking up any possible fight as she folded her arms, each elbow pushing us apart. She was the one responsible if Sergeant Roster decided there were any problems at inspection.
    I realised how stupid it was as I made myself take a deep breath. I forced my body to unwind, to relax its fighting stance. I would deal with Cadet Dillon another day. Jean turned away, but not before I heard her hiss, ‘Coward.’ I bit my lip; she wasn’t worth it.
    Inspection went reasonably well. Roster seemed preoccupied and in a hurry to get it over with. She found a few things to fault, just to keep us on our toes, but in a matter of minutes she had swept out of the room with her usual theatrical flourish.
    ‘Maybe she’s got a date,’ one of the girls suggested, as we congratulated ourselves on getting off so easy this time.
    ‘A date?’ said Joan. ‘I didn’t even know she was a woman. I thought she was an army-issue robot.’ We all laughed, but I was still badly shaken by Jean’s spying on me. It was study period, so I grabbed my books and headed for the computer rooms.
    The days passed quickly after that. My classes took a lot of my time and I enjoyed the challenge of college studies. With a major in computer science and a minor in English Literature, I was plenty busy. I got into the habit of rising very early, just as the sun was spilling over the windowsill each morning, so that I could study before PT (physical training) and classes, leaving me more free time after school for Jacob.
    After that first time together, I had raised the obvious concern of birth control. Jacob said he despised condoms. They ruined the spontaneity, he said. At his strong suggestion, I went to the university clinic and got birth control pills. I was embarrassed when I was called in to see the examining doctor. He was a heavy-set man with a double chin. I was subjected to a perfunctory and unpleasant gynaecological exam, attended by a sour-faced, middle-aged nurse who glared disapprovingly at me throughout. I was then told to dress and come to his office to ask any questions I might have.
    I decided to cut to the chase; this whole thing was wearing on my nerves. ‘I’d like to get birth control pills, sir.’
    ‘So.’ The doctor leaned back, ducking his head so that the two chins became at least four. ‘I presume you are sexually active?’ He waited, looking bored, his eyebrows raised in an imitation of interest.
    The question, which I felt was unnecessary, embarrassed me. But dutifully I answered, ‘Yes, sir,’ half expecting him to launch into a lecture about promiscuity. Instead, to my vast relief, he simply pulled a pen from his lab coat and scribbled something on a prescription pad. Tearing it off with something of a flourish, he pushed it across the desk to me.
    I reached forward and took the little piece of paper, half feeling it might disintegrate if I didn’t grab hold of it right away. I stood, thanking the doctor. He nodded, adding a final warning not to skip a day.
    I told Jacob that night that I had gotten the contraception. He was pleased, though his remark was something less than romantic. ‘Thank God for that. Last