Chris' P.O.V.

After that comment to Martin, he loved calling me son just to tease the hell out of me. Guess he took the mama thing to him. Plus he managed to make me the butt of the joke. Good on him. After a few more weeks with Sobel, I also discovered the cornol Sink was lovely. Whoevers sadistic idea it was to have us crawl full pack through what Skip called pig guts, I did not know which of them to hate more. I loved the boys, cracking jokes all day, having some fun when the officers looked away. Which Nixon and Winters seemed to conveniently do when it came to us. Like when George and I decided to trade with one of the guys from the kitchen, apparently their were low on smokes. So while George and I had to cut down our smoking for a week. Which was harder for him than me. It was worth it to put food coloring in Sobers toothpaste. His teeth was slightly blue for a week.

We were marching 12 miles in the pitch dark in full pack on a friday. I imagined what else I could have been doing tonight, I could have been watching a movie, maybe gone dancing, or just gone to a bar with my friends. Dog company was leaving to enjoy their night when we were getting ready.

"Hey easy, don't worry, we can entertain your broads while you're marching." One of the men said earning a laugh from the others. We all rolled our eyes, they might have it easier (making our company name ironic), but when we were dropped into battle, we were gonna be prepared. We were easy company, the best god damn company of the 101st airborne. Once again I had one of those moments where my mouth decided to speak before I could think. Which was extra stupid considering that I had not been in a fight before, was particularly smaller than most of them, and really did not feel like being beaten up before marching 12 miles. Yet I could hear myself saying:

"What? Your boyfriends have other plans tonight?". This earned me a lot of support from easy company, but the rest of dog seemed ready to jump me.

The guy grabbed me by the collar, while the rest of the guys on each side was ready to fight for their respective comrads. I wanted to seem masculine to not blow my cover. But I also did like my face like this. So I was not looking forward to getting my ass kicked. And possibly losing face with the men.

Then I heard a throat clear behind me. There stood my sergent, and at that moment, I loved Lipton. Normally I wanted to be a girl of honor who could fight for herself, which I could, with my words not my fists.

"Private, if you could let go of my solidier please. Some of us have somewhere to be." He said walking closer to us.

"Also don't you have some dates waiting for you?" He said and he snared at me but let me go with a shove and took his friends walking away.

I looked up at Lip and smiled thankful at him. I straightened out my uniform, and he started walking me following him.

"You know Private, you're gonna have to fight someone eventually. Can't have you looking at the Krauts like that." He said and I shrugged.

"I guess. But I think their boyfriends would be upset if I hurt their face." I said trying to keep up my facade. Lip smiled but wiped it away quickly and told me to get in line.

I hurried backwards standing beside Luz who high fived me. But also looked at me weirdly. He was joking around, like we always did while marching. However he seemed to go quiet every now and then. Had I upset him or something? I did not know what I could have said or done. Maybe he was still just grumpy from his lack of smokes the last week. Yeah, that was probably it. Abstinences.

We came back from the march tired as hell. I felt bad for Christiansen having to walk it all again. It was barbaric having us walk around with canteens when we were not allowed to drink from them. But that was Sobel in a nutshell, the worst things he could come up with, we would be put through it. And while I hated to admit it, it made us become the best company in this whole ETO.

George had not quit looking at me since we got back, and I was getting annoyed. I when we got back we had some time to ourselves before lights out. It was hot inside our barracks, plus it smelled like something had died in there. For once I felt like being a little feminine and went out for a little walk, plus getting some fresh air. George decided to follow me.

"Nice night out. Too bad Sobels march had to ruin it for us right? Poor Christiansen had to walk it twice." I said trying to break the silence, it was awkward walking, Luz still did not take his eyes off me. Like he was looking at a puzzle trying to figure out a missing piece of it.

"Yeah. Hey what does Chris stand for?" He blurted out, almost ignoring what I had said. I stopped and he took out a pack of smokes lighting one, we then kept walking.

"Christopher." I answered trying to sound casual about it.

"Christopher. Weird name for a broad." He said, I stopped in my tracks looking at him confused.

"What?" I asked in disbelief, how could he tell? Was I that bad? Did anyone else know? I could be lined up against a wall and shot, which I had come to terms with when I joined but shit, I did not expect it so soon.

"I mean you're parents must have really wanted a boy to name their daughter Christopher, and send her off to war dressed like a boy too." He said casually. I tried to shield my panic, and have it look confused, maybe he would drop it.

"I'm not a fucking broad." I said trying to sound convincing.

"Really? Then why don't you whip out your dick and take a piss?" He said, looking me in the eyes, we stood still in the middle of camp.

"No. I don't need to pee right now." I said and he stood there looking smug at me.

"You're teasing me aren't you? Too far Luz. Calling me a broad." I said punching his shoulder lightly trying to pull it off as a joke.

"You can trust me with this you know. I won't tell anyone, I know you can be killed for that sort of thing." He said smiling genuinely at me.

Shit he did know. Maybe it was better to befriend him with this, maybe the secret would be easier to keep. And the damage was done anyway, if he knew why try to deny it. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.

"Fine, yes, I'm a girl. My name is Christina, not Christopher, so my parents did not want me to be a boy. My mother would have a flip if she saw me here actually." I said trying to maintain a casual tone.

"Ha, I feel ya, my mom hated when I signed up, but it kept the rest of my siblings out of the army so she was a little glad as well I hope." He said smiling at me, I could see that he felt awkward, while he brought up the topic of my gender, I knew he must have felt weird knowing his new best friend was actually a girl. Would be weird for anyone.

"So how did you figure it out?" I asked genuinely curious, also because I needed to learn what to do different so more of the men would not find out.

"Small stuff, first I thought the showering was weird. And I did not buy the small dick lie you told, mostly because you can't be that confident and have a small penis. Then there was other small things. Like you scrunch your nose sometimes, at things that men wouldn't. The real kicker was tonight with the dog solidier. I have seen my little brothers get threatened, and I have seen my little sister get threatened, only girls flinch like you do." He said taking a drag of his smoke.

We kept walking and talking, nothing serious. But it was nice to have a somewhat serious, yet not serious conversation with Luz. He was a great guy, and just what I needed after a hard march, and a minor panic attack from being figured out by one of the men.

The rest of our time at Currahee I spent beside George. He was a big help, usually hitting my arm when I acted a little too girly. We stayed together. Jump training was hard but great.

The worst was when Sobel decided we should run Currahee while puking. Probably to teach us a lesson that the enemy would not respect our dinner times during the war. But while I was running feeling like puking the entire time, I was thinking of other things. Things I should not put into writing because that is not very lady like, and those curse words could also offend some people. I ran in the middle part of the men, luckily Sobel had had his fun with our part of the group and moved forward. He was currently yelling at Bull to make up give up, or motivate him to keep going, I had given up trying to figure out Sobel's game. But then I heard it.

"We pull upon the risers, we fall upon the grass." That sentence made me feel like a part of something, but also motivated me to keep going, because I was an easy paratroper, and the krauts or the japs and not even Sobel, would ever make me give up.

We pull upon the risers, we fall upon the grass

We never land upon our feet, we always hit our ass.

Highty highty christ almighty, who the hell are we?

Zim zam, god damn, we're airborne infantry!