She saw few men on her walk towards easy company's barracks. She was told most of the men were at the mess tent finishing their lunch. Those who were fortunate to have weekend passes were out enjoying the town and would be back tomorrow afternoon. The barracks were empty when she walked in. The walls were made of wooden planks and there was a red barrel by the door and one at the very back wall, with the word BUTTS printed on them in white letters. Single man cots lined both walls of the barracks, seven down each side. Each cot had a shelf above it with a bar to hang extra uniforms. Each shelf was labelled with a soldier's name. She made her way down the row of beds until she found what she was looking for. The name Elsie J. Montgomery identified her assigned cot, dead smack in the middle of the row- go figure.
Elsie knew when she signed up she wasn't going to be welcomed with open arms. Her meting with Lieutenant Sobel had confirmed that. He made it clear when they left Colonel Sinks office that she didn't belong there.
"Women do not belong in the army. You will fail this," he snarled then walked away.
Unfortunately, he was not the only person who wanted to see her fail. It wasn't easy getting into the army, even with her connections. They pulled all their strings and used all their favors to get her in. After that it was her job to prove what her abilities were. She trained in a private camp for three months to prove that she was physically fit enough to join the 506. She chose the parachute infantry- it sounded terrifyingly exciting. She was granted permission to join because it was said to have the most strenuous training, and nobody thought she would succeed. Well, nobody except Colonel Sink, Tony and James. They new how capable she was both physically and mentally. They also new how stubborn and determined she could be.
The door swung open and three dark haired men walked in. Here we go- she thought. The men stopped just inside the door, each had their eyes on her.
"I don't fucking believe it!" The man who spoke had a heavy accent, and strong jaw line. "The rumors are actually true?"
"A fucking broad in the army." This voice was low and raspy. His dark eyes narrowed as he looked her over.
The third guy just clenched his jaw and walked to the last cot on the opposite side of the barracks. He laid down on it and rested his hands behind his head. The two men who were still standing were now in front of her cot.
"What the hell is a broad doing in the army?" The first guy asked with a fixed gaze. His wide stance was meant to be intimidating- and might have been to someone else. She however was indifferent. She new well enough he wouldn't hurt her, not physically any way. But even if he tried to, she was confident enough in her fighting ability.
Her god father taught her basic hand to hand combat when she was fifteen. He wanted to make sure she could protect herself if he wasn't around. She was grateful for the lessons even if she's never had to put them to use. She hated feeling vulnerable and weak- it was a feeling she knew all too well. After what happened she vowed never to let herself be defenceless again.
"Same thing you're doing I suspect," She said dryly. "Training to fight the war."
"No offense sweetheart, but you aint gonna make it to the war." The man with the raspy voice spoke again. She noticed the names on their uniforms. Toye- raspy voice, and Guarnere- strong jaw. She just snorted and eyed them up.
"You think otherwise?" Guarnere derided.
"Absolutely." She wore a small smile as she walked past them towards the door. Her dark blonde hair swayed in her ponytail as she exited the barracks.
She walked around Camp Toccoa taking note of where everything was. Eyes followed her everywhere she went. The whispers -and not so quite comments- floated around her with every step she took. The wind of remarks coming from the men didn't bother her. She expected nothing less. She'd dealt with this sort of treatment since she decided to sign up for the army. The doubt, the anger, the shock or the snide comments were nothing new. She'd prove them all wrong.
She'd walked around for at least forty-five minutes and had found the mess tent, the latrines and showers and -her favorite part- the obstacle course. She eyed it happily. She knew with out a doubt she would beat then men, at least on the course.
"I don't think I've ever seen anybody look happy to see that," A strong voice said coming up beside her. She turned to face two men, and - noting their rank- saluted them.
"Reminds me of home." She smiled.
"God, I'd hate to live there," The same guy said with a wide grin. He had a round face and prominent eyebrows.
"Nobody could hate it there." Her eyes twinkled.
"You must be private Montgomery," The second man said. He had a soft smile and kind face. "I'm Lieutenant Winters, and this is Lieutenant Nixon."
"It's nice to meet sir," She smiled. "Are you both with Easy company?"
"Yes, we are," He replied. "So, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask."
"Unless it's a running buddy for that thing." Lieutenant Nixon nodded towards the obstacle course with a mischievous grin. She let out a small laugh.
"Have you met any of easy company yet?" Winters asked ignoring his friends comment.
"A couple of them."
"Did everything go okay?" Winters was concerned.
"Yes sir."
"Good to hear it." The concern didn't leave his face but he did smile.
She made her way to the mess tent for dinner, anticipating what could happen. She wondered whether there was going to be a confrontation. A lot of the tables were empty and she remembered most men were away for the weekend. There were a handful of men, what looked to be almost a full company, sitting at the far back corner. She chose to avoid them.
Most of them were watching her and talking quietly amongst themselves. She recognised Toye, Guarnere and the other man from the barracks. Some of the others she'd seen on her exploration of the camp. There only a couple of men left in the line up for food. The men ahead of her, as well as the ones dishing out dinner, eyed here suspiciously. Thankfully no one said a word.
She sat at an empty table farthest away from the big group of men. She might have expected some sort of conflict, but it didn't mean she wanted one. She figured it would happen sooner or later though, until then the silent treatment was welcoming.
While she ate, she daydreamed about how she would prove these men wrong. How they would accept her when she got her wings, or at least respect her. She didn't expect them to befriend her. It would be too weird for them- befriending the woman who was as strong as, or stronger than them. Her brain started turning. What if they hated her even when she proved her strength? What man would want to be out done by a woman? These were things she hadn't thought about before. It hadn't been brought up by anyone else either. Maybe because nobody expected her to be better than the men.
All the debates against her had to do with her strength and whether she could emotionally handle being at war. She was a woman after all, and to most people that meant weakness- both physically and mentally. She was so lost her thoughts she didn't she Guarnere and Toye sit across from her.
"Haven't seen ya in a couple hours princess, thought maybe you left already," Guarnere taunted. She looked up as he spoke. She was hoping she would be out of there before the confrontation took place. No such luck.
"Not a chance," she replied uninterested in the conversation. She knew they wanted her out, but tough, she wasn't going anywhere. A couple more guys joined their table.
"well she's delightful," a dark haired man muttered sitting next to her. "What's your deal anyway?"
"She's here to fight the war," Guarnere answered for her, with a humorous smile. All the men at her table- there were five of them now- snorted or laughed. They were mocking her, still she didn't react. An altercation was inevitable but she could at least delay it a bit longer. She shrugged her shoulders in agreement with Guarnere's comment while she checked the names on each of the new men's uniform. Talbert sat on her right, Liebgott on her left and beside him was Tipper.