Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ What If ❯ Is that CLEAR! ( Chapter 6 )

“Let me make this clear to you. I am not about ready to repeat myself. I am one of your commanding officers. You will do as I say when I say it, how I say it or where I tell you too,” he said.

At that point in time the new girl was done with her push-ups and had got back up. She hurried a bit more about getting into place but still had a look on her that said try me. I did notice her name though. That would make it easier on us I guess. But, anyways her last name was McGregor. That would explain the temper. This did not stop the soldier from talking he went on like nothing had ever happened.

“Now when me or any other higher ranking soldier walks through that door you better be where you are right now. Standing at attention at the ends of those beds. Or I will make your life a living hell. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes drill sergeant,” we all said.

“I can't hear you. I said do I make myself clear!”

“Yes Drill Sergeant!” we yelled in chorus.

“That's better, now remember that. You have fifteen minutes to prepare yourselves for dinner. When those fifteen minutes are up I expect to see you outside, in lines, ready to go.”

“Yes Drill Sergeant!”

“You will be given thirty minutes to eat. When you are finished form your lines again outside the mess hall. You will be given a complete tour of the base and orientation.” he finished and walked out of the building.

I think that was when I let out my first breath of air since he came into the building. Fifteen minutes we would get our next encounter with our commanding officer.

I looked around and people were straightening beds. Others were checking their uniforms or brushing their hair. A few went to the latrines. I took a deep breath and walk toward the door. The fading sunlight hit my face with warmth. I just stood there with my eyes closed taking in the warmth.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

I jumped with shock. “Oh my god, you scared me. I did not hear you come up on me Stormy.”

“I bet. You were just standing here blocking the whole door.” Stormy said sticking out her tongue.

“Sorry I guess I should move out and get ready.”

“Yea, but what's on your mind. It looked like you was thinking awful hard.”

“I was in a ways.”

“Come on, you can tell me.”

“Just thinking about home. I have not been here a day yet and I already miss it. Sound's stupid huh?”

“No, not really. I miss home too. But I look at it this way. This is my new home for a while. I am needed here. And to think about it I will have new friends and nineteen sisters.”

“You know, I never thought about it like that.”

“Well, you girls like blocking the door way or just scared of the drill sergeant.” Jaclyn snickered.

We all laughed at the comment and walked down the steps. It didn't even take any of us the fifteen minutes to be ready. The rest of the bunker came out shortly after we did. We filed out into two lines and waited. The drill sergeant was already standing there waiting on us. The look of disgust on his face was worse than ever. But I can see why. Some of the girls came out like long lost friends giggling and laughing like schoolgirls. Then I thought about that and was ashamed at myself. Jaclyn, Stormy and I had done the same thing.

“Now if you petty little school girls are ready. We will head down to the mess hall for dinner. You will have thirty minutes to eat before the tour of the grounds.”

“Yes Drill Sergeant!”

The walk to the mess hall was a long one. No one spoke in line, just looked around. I saw many soldiers both men and women in strict uniform lines. They all stepped in the same way wore the same expression. How were we going to be as uniform as these other people? Would we be as good?

There were so many questions that were unanswered, so many things, going through my head at that precise moment. So many……… ugh I was so hungry.

The line in the mess hall was not a long one at all. It reminded me of the school cafeteria back home. Except for lunch ladies, we had men in hairnets. Mean looking men in hairnets, they did not speak; their looks spoke for them.

Just like the Drill Sergeant they had the same look of disgust on their faces. We were not wanted here. A mans world, and now women were invading it. Men got up from their tables, taking their half eaten food and throwing it away. Others turned from us and spoke under their breaths.

I took my tray over to a corner table and sat down. Others followed my example. Stormy, Jaclyn, and Serena sat down at the table with me. We sat there for a few minutes. By this time I had lost my appetite. I was so starving and here I was not being able to eat a bite. It really bothered me to sit here. I was being stared at like I was scum on the bottom of a pond.

“Your not eating,” Serena, said through a few bites of food.

“Um, no I lost my appetite.”

“Ok? So it is not the best of food but you have to eat.”

“Do you realize people are staring at us?”

“Just ignore them hun. You have to eat.”

“It's hard to ignore them Serena,” Stormy said.

Serena laughed, “Yes you can. Just think of it as boarding school.”

“For your information this is nothing at all like boarding school.” Britney piped out. “I bet you never even seen a professional boarding school.”

“It's just a figure of speech Barbie doll.”

“Why you…” Britney growled as she got up from her table.

“Oh great, here we go again,” mumbled Stormy.

I got up from my table with such force I knocked my seat to the floor. I was not going to let this fight happen. We were all here and we all had to work together and live in the same barracks. This was enough of this petty bullshit.

“Britney sit down and shut up. That is enough of this petty bullshit. I don't care if you went to boarding school or what ever you did with your life. As of today we all have a new life a fresh clean slate and on equal terms. That also goes for the rest of you.” I stated.

With this I picked up my tray and walked to the door. I dumped it in the trashcan beside the door and walked out. Outside I just stood there. Took in the sights, watched men walk past and eye me like I was a spy. This done nothing but infuriate me even more. Only one other thing in my life had made me this mad. Being told by fellow peers I could not do something.

“You're not like us Catherine, give it up and go home,” the kids would taunt.

No, I wasn't like them. They blamed others for their mistakes. No I was wrong, they blamed me for their mistakes. Anything that went wrong was because I was there. If we lost a ballgame it was because I was on the team. I had learned the hard way growing up the way people could be.

I walked over to the end of the building and leaned against the corner. Somehow I needed to get rid of this anger. None of this was my fault that I was here. I need not take it out on the others either. That is what I had been doing since I got here. Like I said in the mess hall we had to work together, live in the same building, we couldn't be fighting amongst ourselves. None of us was happy about the situation. But we could do nothing about it either.

I could hear the others start to make their way out the door. I went over to join them in ranks. I did not realize that I had stood there for so long of a time. Not a person said anything we just stood there waiting for the Drill Sergeant. But it wasn't much of a wait.

The Drill Sergeant looked us over to make sure we were all there. He then proceeded to tell us about Camp Cobra. It was a newfound base built in the year of 2003. The army built the base because of older bases not being up to standards. This allowed the soldiers to have the most up to date training. But another reason it was built in this area was because of the land. In this proportion of Texas the army base sat on hills, had a desert terrain, a corner on the gulf, and some flat wasteland. This allowed us to experience most kinds of terrain in war.

He also explained to us that we were not the only women's unit on the base. That there were a total of four units; each unit contained three companies in it. We would meet up with the rest of our unit the following day. We would continue on for the remainder of the eight weeks with them. At the end of the eight weeks we would go through what was called a victory forge.

“This would be when all the miles have been marched and all the obstacles left behind. A 3-day field outing in which they apply all that they have learned. This is the true and final test of the recruits' skills and spirit - when they prove that they have what it takes to be a U.S. Army Soldier.” the Drill Sergeant spoke proudly.
He did not stop but continued on to tell us about more.

“The winning unit is not finished with just their unit victory forge. The outstanding unit in both the men's and women's would then face off.” he said and added. “This would mean that the women would take on the men for final triumph.”

This ended our tour of the camp and all of the places we could go and could not. We stood outside of our building and waited.

“I am your Drill Sergeant Wes Black. You have one hour before lights out. You are now dismissed,” he said in finalization.

Everyone knew what that meant and we hurried about it. There was not much time before the scheduled lights out. Some went to the latrines others started changing in the room.

I sat down on my bed and took out a sports bra and pair of shorts and started to change. I know I was not thinking of what I was doing but going through the motions. That is when I heard a giggle from Stormy's bed. I looked up just as she asked me.

“Your not really going to wear them like that, are you?” She giggled.

I looked at her strange then looked down at what I had done. In just a few moments of not thinking, I had put on a sports bra backwards and the shorts inside out. That was it I could not hold back the stifle of laughter.

“Um yea, I think you may have a point there.” I said as I shook my head in disbelief of what I did.

“Talk about having nervous jitters now,” Jaclyn piped in.

“Ok, so I am not the brightest rock out there.” I said as I stuck my tongue out at them.

 

The night drug on and seemed never ending. I stared at the ceiling most of the night while occasionally glancing at the clock above the door. I don't think anyone slept much that night. No one new, what to expect at that moment, not even myself. The endless hours of not knowing what was coming up next. The anxieties of first day jitters were setting in.

“Catherine, are you awake?”

“Huh, oh, yea. What do you need Stormy?”

“Nothing, I just couldn't sleep.”

“I don't think anyone can.”

“Ughhh, what time is it?” moaned Jaclyn

“About two-thirty girlfriend.” Serena added with a moan.

“Might as well get up. They will be here at three to wake us up anyways.” Cheyenne said as she sat up in bed.

Many moans and groans came from across the room. I sat up in bed and looked around the room. I could see that everyone else was doing the same thing. No one was ready for this morning. But everyone did the same thing. Lockers were being opened, clothes pulled out. Others walked to the bathroom for morning rituals.

Watching everything that happened that morning was like watching a movie. The only problem with that theory was that I was also in the movie. I was still thinking this was all a bad dream. Hoping that I would wake up in my own bed back at home.

I scooted over to the edge of my bed and opened my locker. I sat there and stared at my clothes. I let out a sigh and grabbed one of my new physical training uniforms out of the locker. My boots were at the end of the bed so the only other thing I needed out of my locker was my socks. Today was going to be one of the roughest days of my life and I knew this.

With a faint sigh and no words said I slipped on my shirt and walked to the latrines. I took a long look in the mirror at myself. Here I was at the beginning of my new life in the army. A civilian turned soldier, ready to be formed into a soldier of fortune. I walked back to my bed and finished dressing. We all knew today was the day we all knew we had a hard trek ahead of us