I'm an awful person. I totally missed this Saturday's update and the holiday weekend should be no excuse. I was away from home and my computer, so I was unable to post and I'm so sorry. Here's the chapter I meant to post and I'll put up an extra long chapter this Saturday cause I feel super guilty.
We ended the poker game with Luz and I up $300 combined and Guarnere and Skip a good $75 dollars in debt to me, each. Toye and Malark had quit while they were ahead, which was much smarter.
"I'll get my goddamn money back, I can promise you that," Skip was swearing as I laughed and counted my money in front of him.
"I'd like to see you try, Muck," I laughed, moving to stash the bills in my footlocker, which was thankfully just as it had been when I packed it.
"I still think you cheated," Luz said, stashing his own cash.
"Hey, you should be thanking me. I'm the reason you have that cash. You got what I gave you, I coulda just as easily cleaned you out. If I cheated, it was in your favor," I told him and he scoffed, but didn't bother trying to argue anymore.
Just as I stood back up from putting the money away, the door to the barracks swung open and three men quickly stepped in.
"You will all stand at attention at the foot of your bunk!" The first man barked, and everyone scrambled to follow his order, but apparently not fast enough. "Come on, ladies, I don't have all day!" I clenched my jaw at the way he said 'ladies' as if it was a slur, but kept my mouth shut as I stood stiffly at the end of my bunk. I looked out of the corner of my eye at the man. He was tall, very tall, with greasy black hair and beady eyes. His uniform said he was a 1st Lieutenant and his name was Sobel, but his face said he was an asshole.
The two men behind him seemed much more agreeable, but that I couldn't be sure.
The one on the left, who's uniform clearly displayed he was 2nd Lieutenant Winters, had blazing red hair visible under his cap and deep set laugh lines that gave me hope that my time here wouldn't be total hell.
I couldn't get a clear look at the third man's uniform from where I stood without turning my head or trying to lean to look around the man in my way, but from what I could see he had dark hair and a smirk that had to be permanently carved into his face judging by its presence even in this serious situation.
"I am 1st Lieutenant Sobel and I will be your CO for the course of your training to be paratroopers. Behind me are 2nd Lieutenants Winters and Nixon. You have all been assigned to my company, E Company, otherwise known as Easy Company. But, do not for one second believe that your time here will be easy. I intend for this company to be the best in the entire 506th and I will not tolerate weakness, is that understood!" 1st Lieutenant Sobel barked, walking down the row of men, turning his head from left to right to survey us. As he passed me, he turned to look at the man across from me, the guy I'd had a spat with earlier named Liebgott, but I knew I wouldn't be as lucky for very long. Suddenly the Emperor coming. Up in my tarot spread made a lot of sense. This jackass hopped up on testosterone was in complete power and he was already drunk on it. I knew he was going to make my life a living hell the second he spotted me. I listened to him drone on about how he would make Easy the best of the best of the best and nothing would get in his way, that he would break each and every one of us to make us the perfect paratroopers and would not stop until he was satisfied.
But, his tirade was cut short when he turned on his heel al the end of the row and caught sight of me. Marching over with heavy bootfalls, he stopped directly in front of me. Keeping my eyes straight ahead, I was looking right at the knot of his tie. He was fucking tall.
"Who the hell are you?" He demanded.
"Private Ricci, Aishe P., sir," I told him firmly, not moving an inch.
"What the hell do you think you're doing in my company, woman?" He spat. I made no move to wipe the spit from my face from when he had spoken and kept my anger at his use of the word woman like it was a disgrace internal.
"I've been assigned to E Company, Second Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment by Colonel Sink, sir," I told him, keeping my voice level and empty. The last thing I needed was to his him any more reason to hate me than he already did.
"We'll see about that," he said, his voice low and obviously a threat, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. I blinked once, and he continued on his way after a beat. He started up his rant once more, this time making an obvious point to address us as "men" as if I was not of importance or I wouldn't be there long enough for it to matter.
I'd show him. If there was one thing about me, it was that I never backed down from a challenged. I wasn't going to wash out. I was going to be one of the best damn paratroopers of the 101st if it killed me.
After what felt like hours, the 1st Lieutenant finally left with a last order that lunch was in an hour, we were expected at dinner at 1700, and we would be starting training tomorrow at dawn. The two other officers watched him leave but didn't follow. Instead, Nixon shut the door and they both relaxed from their stiff posture.
"At ease, gentlemen. Lady." 2nd Lieutenant Winters called, taking off his cap. At his recognition of me, a few eyebrows raised, including my own, but the men relaxed none the less. I relaxed my shoulders, but continued to stand with my hands clenched tightly at my sides. Turning my head, I was he'd as 2nd Lieutenant Winters walked down the line, much more slowly and casually than the 1st Lieutenant had.
"As the 1st Lieutenant said, my name is 2nd Lieutenant Richard Winters. That there is Lewis Nixon. I guess all I've got to say is I look forward to serving with you men. Hopefully everything will run smoothly," he said. He was eloquent, and the wry smile he had us showed he obviously didn't believe Sobel would allow our time here at Toccoa to be smooth in the slightest. When he reached me, he stopped and turned to face me. He was tall as well, but I looked up to meet his gaze and didn't feel as small in front of him as I did with the 1st Lieutenant.
"Private Ricci," he said, meeting my green eyes with his blue ones. He didn't seem hostile the way Sobel did.
"Lieutenant Winters," I responded respectfully, holding his gaze.
"I know it's not my place, but I apologize for the 1st Lieutenant's behavior, Private. We were briefed on your arrival and were ordered to treat you no differently than the men. He had no right to act in such a way," he said gently and I raised an eyebrow.
"Permission to speak freely, sir?" I asked and he nodded.
"Granted," he replied.
"I didn't expect anything less, sir. I'm a woman in a man's world. To be honest, your treatment of me is what I find surprising. J expected to be flirted with, smacked around for my gender, and spit on for my heritage, and everything in between, but the last thing I expected was for one of my superior officers to treat me in any other way. I thank you for your kindness, sir, but I'll be fine. I'm a big girl, I didn't come all the way here from San Francisco to let the opinions of my CO, and even the men I will be serving with, stop me from being one of the best, sir," I told him firmly. He seemed shocked, but smiled.
"I'm glad to here it, Private," he said before moving on. I looked around at the men to see varying emotions ranging from disgusted to impressed, and both Toye and Guarnere were looking at me with what looked like pride for some reason. What suck out though, was the broad grin Lieutenant Nixon was giving me. I raised an eyebrow at him and he stopped, going back to the smirk I correctly assumed never left his face.
After another minute, they left together and we all went back to lounging around.
"So you're from California?" Guarnere asked as he thumped back down on his bunk. I nodded as I dug through my bag for my book.
"Yup. Always have. Three generations back on my mama's side and five or six back on my dad's. Ain't never lived anywhere else," I told him, finally getting my hand around my book in the depths of my bag.
"That's nice. Ya know, I hear it's real sunny out there," he said, and I nodded as I finally managed to wrestle my book out from under my cards and my tightly bundled jacket.
"Yeah, it's real sunny out in the Bay, but when it rains, it rains," I told him, sticking another cigarette in my mouth. After that Lieutenant, I needed it.
"Yeah, I bet. Me, I'm from Philly. South Philly," he told me, starting to go on and on about his city, his family, his girl named Frances, and more while I pretended to pay attention and cracked open my book. I listened as he spoke, nodding and speaking every so often to let him know I was still engaged, but most of my attention was in my book. 45 minutes until lunch. Hopefully army food had improved since the days of my father's horror stories.