I’m not sure if he was speaking to me or just thinking out loud when he said, “I don’t know how we are going to get you from this to a royal.” I could not speak out of turn, so I just left.
At lunch, Alex accompanied our supervisor for an impromptu meeting. There was a desperate hiding of leftovers as they came in. The supervisor said, “Your highness, I apologize. They know better than this. I will ensure this never happens again.”
“Sir, with all due respect, this is left over food that would be discarded. I see no harm in them eating it.”
“This food is top-of-the-line and fit for kings. They could never afford such luxuries even if by royal standards it’s just trash.”
“That seems like a problem to me. They are table scraps. Just let them eat it. They will work better because of it. Anyway, I did not come here to argue with you. I am making my way to each of the departments to see what changes need to be made. Do any of you have suggestions?”
No one spoke. I eventually went to, but Sally nudged my leg.
Alex continued, “Ladies please, I am inviting you to speak. You will not be punished.”
I raised my hand and Alex said, “Go ahead.”
“A mobile phone for the person on call would be very helpful. It would reduce response times.” He wrote it down.
“I have briefed the royals about changes in the way we run our ship. One of the things we addressed was social status as a barrier. As I understand it, the current rule states that you may not look us in the eye, touch us, or speak to us except when directly spoken to. That seems degrading to me. You may now feel free to look us in the eye and speak to us. You still have to be polite and the royals must initiate any physical contact, but I think it will help you. I have also created a hotline to call if you feel one of your… one of the royals is a danger to themselves or others. It is completely anonymous. I will post the number by your staff phone. We will still be having a royal dinner this Friday, but we might change them to biweekly or even monthly. It will take some pressure off of all of you and let the royals try new things. One last thing, I am holding a raffle to select five new royal court members. You can drop your hot water chips in the bin by my office as your entry. You will not be needing them anymore. Hot water is free from this point forward. I don’t want you all taking hour long showers, but you don’t have to pay for it.”
Gertrude said, “Excuse me sir, but that isn’t fair to the people who follow the rules. As a punishment, they take hot water. If you give the hot water back freely, how will the disorderly be punished?”
“I like the idea of positive reinforcement. If they were being punished, they have no hot water chips and can’t enter my raffle. Future punishment will include being on call more and being ineligible for time off or other benefits I am still working on. If there are no further questions, have a nice day ladies, oh and gentleman. I see you in the back now. If any concerns come up, please put them in the suggestion box. I am placing it here. Again, have a nice day, it was nice to meet all of you.”
He asked to speak to me in the hall. He handed me a hot water chip and said, “I understand all of yours were taken on a technicality. This is a thank you for saving my life. I wish you luck on the raffle.”
“Thank you, sir. Have a nice day.” We both went back to our jobs.
After dinner, all of the ladies went to enter the hot water chips into the raffle. Meredith asked me to go with her even though I was put on the on-call schedule for three days a week for the next three weeks thanks to Alex’s new rules. She was going to buy her savings worth of chips and enter them all. The other ladies were doing the same. I had no savings and one chip. I said, “No, you go. I’m on call and besides I might need this for something better. He said there would be more raffles.”
“What could be better than being a royal?”
“I guess I’ll find out.”
She just shook her head and went on her way. Alex returned with a new mobile call phone. I said, “You better pick five royals. These women spent their savings on more chips. This better not have been a plan to force me into royal life or you are not the man I thought you were.”
“I didn’t expect you to be on call. Was that my fault?”
“I’m a troublemaker and the new rule is more on call for troublemakers. Alex is your raffle rigged in my favor? There are so many other people who need this.”
“You didn’t enter your chip, did you?”
“No, I’m saving it for the other raffles.”
“Your spot is already yours. You don’t need to win a raffle to claim it. I was giving you a choice or rather easier way to do so. My raffle’s not rigged. I am truly choosing five new royals, and this was my way of doing so on merit. I guess they found a loophole with the savings, but that is what it is. Have a nice night Rose.”
“You too, Alex. Don’t be up all night.”
He told me he wouldn’t. I prepared the nightly call cart and got ready for another night on call.
Chapter 18
Prepared for Anything
With my cart all set, I was prepared for anything, or so I thought until Sally and my supervisor came in holding my employee evaluation sheet. The supervisor said, “Today was your last trial date on this job. I have never seen someone with so many notes in their first week. I honestly do not know how you are not in jail. Your peer tried to convince me you are making progress, but your report simply does not reflect that. If anything, you’ve progressively gotten worse. In the morning, you will report to central processing. They will place you in a new job and we will rehome you. You will not be on call tonight so you may return to your bunk.”
He left and Sally said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t think they would… I thought with all of this chaos…”
“It’s okay. You were just doing your job. I hope my replacement is less stubborn.”
She looked so sad and frustrated at the same time. As I was walking out the door, I said, “For the record, I really enjoyed this job and working with you and the ladies. I hope one of you becomes a royal, because all of you deserve it.”
I walked out of the room with tears in my eyes. It’s funny how in the beginning of that week, I pretty much hated it, but in that moment, I didn’t want to leave it. I didn’t want to leave the people.
I got the courage to walk away, but I decided to go visit Alex’s office since I had already been fired. I stood outside flipping my single entry to the royal lottery in my hand. It was about more than this tiny electronic chip. I thought about how much I grew in the past week and about the people I met. I also thought about the royal life. I almost felt bad for them since it was so boring. They didn’t do any of their own stunts… they weren’t living their own life. I couldn’t live that way, so I put the chip back in my pocket as a reminder of that week and the woman I knew I was in my heart.
Alex was watching me. He looked like a football fan after their team messes up a big play when I put it back in my pocket, but I knew what I was doing. I left without talking to him because I knew he would have been able to guilt me into changing my mind for him and not for me. I continued my rule breaking streak and went to Conner’s room. He was very surprised to see me, but invited me in.
“Did someone complain about me?”
“No, I’m just here to talk to you.”
“Oh, you need some royal advice. I can show you the dance I am teaching Sky. Would you like some tea?”
“Sure, wait, why would someone complain about you reading a book and making tea? How exactly do you make your tea sir?”
He laughed. “I use a gong and thank each of our home moons. There’s twenty of them. Then I do some chanting to the sun, not your sun though, so I have to be really loud.”
I laughed. “So, what are you reading?”
“Do you want to read it? It’s about aliens and their pale skin.”
I laughed. “Is it really?”
“No, it’s a science journal. I was going to be a doctor. I mean, my older
brother would be king, so I had to do something to attract the ladies.”
“What’s this journal about?”
“Treating insomnia, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder… or at least my planet’s equivalents of such things.”
“So, what stands out?”
“Music and dancing and laughing.”
“Were you trying to treat me? It worked, but I feel slightly like a guinea pig.”
“I’m lost on that phrase, what?”
“I feel like a test subject, a lab animal.”
“Oh, well I actually wasn’t. I was just being myself. I’m a happy and fun person once I let my guard down.”
“I get that.”
I was still holding my hot water chip in my hand and Conner noticed it. He said, “You came for more advice about whether or not you should do this didn’t you? That’s the raffle chip Alex gave you right?”
I couldn’t figure out how to tell him I wasn’t doing it, or at least not yet. “No, it’s my future… I lost my job about an hour ago and I’ve been carrying this around trying to decide. I even went to the box outside of Alex’s office and then chickened out… got scared. I am being replaced and rehomed in the morning. I will probably never see you guys again.”
Conner spit his tea out and I couldn’t tell if it was hot or because I caught him off guard. “Go talk to Alex.”
“Conner, he doesn’t want someone like me on his court. Besides, I’m not sure I want this type of life. You guys don’t get to live your own lives. Someone is always doing it for you.”
“The spot is already yours. Alex said he wants someone exactly like you. I made my own tea and I’m reading my own book and sitting here talking to you. I think there’s much less freedom in your life.”
“Alex said all of that before I lost my job.”
“Rose, your job doesn’t define you. I am going to miss you too much. Please just go talk to him.”
“There’s nothing I can say to him that would make my job come back. This was my calling. Conner, I came to say goodbye.”
“The fact that you lost your job after saving the royal family and the high prince just proves how much the people need you. Please Rose.”
I just hugged him and left. He tried chasing after me, but I ran too fast. I was crying again, so I am glad no one else was out there. I left without saying goodbye to Charlie. I couldn’t face him. I couldn’t say goodbye to him after everything we had been through. I loved him too much and would’ve stayed for him. I got on the elevator and headed towards my bunk.
To add insult to injury, Malerie just happened to get on the elevator. She had a bunch of comments about the new rules on the royals. I just ignored her and made it to my floor. Conner and Charlie were standing outside of the elevator waiting for me. I swear they must’ve transported themselves, but we didn’t actually have that technology back then. Malerie got off of the elevator and started her normal flirting with Charlie. Another reason I couldn’t live the royal life is I couldn’t watch Charlie get pushed around by this girl. I couldn’t watch such an amazing man live with a tucked tail because of an image. Charlie surprised me and actually stood up for me… kind of. He told her he had something important to do and he would talk to her later. She stormed off in normal royal fashion.
I tried to walk past Charlie and Conner, but Charlie said, “You are not giving up. Not after everything we’ve been through. You are going to Alex’s office to put that chip in the box and you are going to be a royal!”
Malerie came back and was furious he acknowledged me. She just stormed off again in the opposite direction. Before I had a chance to respond to Charlie, the elevator opened behind me and the little boy who always wets his bed wandered out all alone. He grabbed onto my dress. I picked him up and said, “He belongs upstairs. Can one of you take him back up with you?”
Charlie ignored me and Conner said, “I’m a royal. I don’t go near small children. They are sticky and dirty. Besides, that is so not our job.”
We all got back on the elevator and I took the boy back to his room. Sally was hysterical, thinking she lost a tiny royal. She was frantically tearing the room apart looking for him. I sat down with him on the bed and read him his favorite nighttime book. He had thrown it at me once, which is how I knew he liked it. I told him the story and he drifted off to sleep. I tucked him in. Sally and the boys just stood there watching me. I decided to check on all of the nightly call kids. I checked for monsters with Jaisy and Jenna and I visited the little toy thrower. I told them all a goodnight story. Sally and the boys just followed me around watching.
Eventually, Sally looked at Charlie and said, “Please tell me you can get her job back. She is the most detailed staff member we ever had. I made a mistake, but my staff cannot lose her.”
“Unfortunately, I already used my input to get her the job. I’m not the prince she needs to speak to, and she knows that. She’s just being stubborn.”
He was right, they all were. I was being stubborn and letting fear keep me down. I took what little confidence I had and marched up to Alex’s office. I put my chip in the box on my way in and ran into his office without knocking. He had just taken a bite of the nutrient bar I had given him and spit it out. He laughed and said, “That was not very princely, was it? I’m sorry you had to see that. What can I do for you?”
“Was the offer you made to me dependent upon my employment?”
“No, it was a free-standing offer. Why do you ask?”
“I was just fired. I was in a trial period, and I took too long to get the hang of things. They are rehoming me in the morning. I figured you wouldn’t want someone who got fired from a job working around royals to become one herself.”
“I’m sorry. I know how much you loved your job, but maybe they will place you somewhere better.”
“I doubt it. I think it was pretty much my calling.”
“Maybe you have a second calling, maybe the wrong number was dialed by the first job. I would offer to get your job back, but I don’t think that’s why you came to talk to me. I think it has something to do with those two guys out there. Just give this week a chance to play out. I will come and find you on Friday. If you hate the new job, you can become a royal on the spot and be announced at dinner.”
Part of me wanted to argue with Alex why I did not want to become a royal, but he was leaving the choice up to me, so I just agreed to his terms and went to my bunk. The guys must’ve thought I said yes to royal hood because they left without any pushing. They just hugged me and went to bed. The possibilities of where I would get sent kept me up like a spotlight was in my eyes. I trusted Alex, but I was worried I would disappoint everyone else. Eventually, I fell asleep.
Chapter 19
Another Monday
Iwas awoken by the lights at five am and got ready to go to central processing. I had only been down there once before this and it was one of the scariest places on the ship. It was in the deepest part, right above the engines. It was so dark and loud down there that I couldn’t even hear myself think, but I definitely heard and felt my heart pounding. I arrived just after the employees that worked down there and sat in their lobby. I was the first one there, so they called me in first even though there were about twenty people there. The office was dimly lit by a small lamp, but the old computer screen gave off more light. The man behind the desk looked like the bags under his eyes went down to his bones and all that was left was tiredness. He took my identification card and pulled up my file. He wrote some small notes on a sheet of paper on his desk.
Then his attention turned to me and I could feel his disappointment. “You’ve been lucky with your last two jobs. They were probably the best on the ship. It’s a shame you messed them up. I see here that on earth, you were trained in biology-the study of life. It’s also apparent by your destruction of our uniforms that you don’t mind getting dirty. I have one job that might work for you. I should warn you it is rated as the worst job on the ship. They wanted me to
break you with one of these bottom tier jobs. You will be working in the health clinics around the ship. You should know most people don’t make it through their first week due to injuries which I believe are self-inflicted. You will report to the medical supply closet which is located here.”
He handed me a map and my new identification card. I walked down the long dark hallways of the deep parts of the ship and eventually found my destination.
There was a man seated at a desk behind a mountain of paperwork. I didn’t want to interrupt him, but I also didn’t want to get yelled at for standing around. I said, “Excuse me sir, I was sent here from central processing.”
He took my identification card. “Uniforms are on the shelves out there. You can take inventory and reorganize my shelves until one of our doctors returns for more supplies and takes you with him.”
He handed me an inventory sheet. I put on the new uniform, which was just a sleep uniform and white sneakers. I put my old uniform in a dirty bin that was next to the uniform shelf. The medical supply room was set up very similarly to the service staff supply room. I took an inventory of everything on the shelves and straightened them up, so the newer things were at the back. I was just finishing the inventory sheet when a duffle bag smacked onto the floor next to me. I looked up and there was a man covered in all kinds of colorful liquids changing into a clean uniform. He threw his dirty uniform into the dirty bin.
Then, he noticed me and ordered me to my feet. “I am Jackson. I guess you are my trainee for today. Don’t worry about the inventory sheet. There’s not enough of anything, anyway. Just set it there and I will fudge some numbers later. There’s a list of things we need taped to the underside of the lid of my bag. You get those, put them in the bag, and I will get out next placement information… Actually, give me the inventory sheet and I will work on it while I’m getting the other information.”
“Actually sir, I finished it.”
He looked at me like I had four heads. “Like completely? Did they tell you about our job at all, like the retention rate?”
Queen of the Stars Page 7
