i sat the first interview, it was laid back and relaxed, lydia just asked me a few questions about my back ground and skills, my training and experience. it was nothing i couldn't handle, i'd been interviewed many times and acquired various strategies to use depending on the environment but the ones that worked effectively was telling the truth and being as honest as possible, failing that flirting had always proved a fail safe plan b, or if it was a male grilling me i would assume the submissive position, metaphorically speaking, and let them assume they knew much more than me. i had survived this long by people under estimating me, this was another fail safe strategy and had always worked when applied under the correct conditions. yes it was slightly manipulative but in an interview situation you need an edge. i had the experience and background but always needed an edge and i enjoyed pitting my wits in a challenge like this. i was adept with the human condition, power and control game, it exists through every level of society and no matter how evolved you think you are there's usually some power and control issue lurking in the background. however lydia was smarter than your average clinical psychologist, flirting would never work with her, so i defaulted to honesty.
the second interview was something else.
lydia sat with o hare and another person, a dr.fox from the management committee. he was a strange looking cat, obviously retired and somewhat frail, he had thin lips and bright blue eyes. they sat on one side of a conference table, i on the other. the questions this time were situational. if i am honest yes, they were confronting but not unexpected. i answered honestly because anything else would make me look ridiculous.
'what would you do if one of the boys in your care told you he had been raped by his step father?'
this had actually occurred in several other jobs i had held so i was quietly confident with my answer.
'i'd ask if he wanted to talk about it while informing him i would have to follow a notification process that would mean informing the service manager and the social services and very likely the police would be involved. i would have to follow the disclosure process and then notify. i'm sure you have a policy on this, i'd just follow that.'
'what would you do if one of the boys in your care was masturbating while you were running a recreational activity?'
'hang on, i haven't finished answering the first question.'
'sorry, continue,' fox said, looking slightly surprised.
'well i know that the child would need to feel safe and also be aware that i am bound by law to inform the joint investigation team, they would then take over and establish if there was any substance to the claim and then i would ask him or her to..'
'this treatment facility is for boys.' o hare said quietly, it was the only time he spoke.
'... well i guess i would just follow the procedure anyway. i hope the service charge the father with sexual assault.'
'okay have you finished.' the dr enquired?
'yeah.'
'the masturbation question?'
'ah yeah, well i guess i'd ask the boy to stop. ask him to do that in private i guess.'
'you walk into a bedroom and two boys are having sex, what do you do?'
'shut the door. i'd shut the door and wait for them to exit the room, i think. i dunno, how old are they?'
'one is sixteen the others eleven.'
'jesus fucking christ! sorry father o hare, i don't think that's legal is it? it's rape or something?'
'don't worry, it's unlikely to happen but it's a consideration, we need to know your reactions, if you were not shocked or disgusted we would be worried,' lydia said.
'yeah well it is disgusting, eleven years old, that's just far to young.'
'some of the kids will be eleven years old mr. mission. they will have committed crimes you can't even conceive. it's appropriate that you are disgusted.'
'so your testing my responses not the answers?'
'something like that. shall we continue?'
i took a deep breath.
'one of the boys goes missing. what do you do?'
i sighed.
i'm not sure if lydia noticed but i felt very tired.