Courtney POV

Courtney made a face, trying to pronounce her 'Th' sounds. But it kept coming out like a 'D' sound. "Ugh!" she exclaimed in annoyance.

"Okay, do what I do," Duncan instructs. He puts his tongue in between his upper and lower teeth and blows out a sharp exhale of breath to make the 'Th' sound.

Courtney sticks her tongue between her teeth and blows, but her cheeks just ended up puffing out. Duncan laughed and she put her face in her hands. "I must look silly," she moans.

"No, no, no," Duncan denies, wrapping a hand around her wrist and gently tugging her hand away from covering her face. "You're trying."

"I can't do it! My W's sound like V's, my V's sound like F's, my Th's sound like D's, my D's sound like T's, and my Ah's sound like Eh's! I'm terrible!" Courtney continues.

"But that's only your pronunciation. You know so many words. Your father must have taught you a lot, right?" Duncan asks.

"Whatever," Courtney replies, but it was pronounced 'Vetever,' proving her point even more. "He taught me some, but mainly my mother helped me."

"She did good," Duncan compliments. He smiles at Courtney, and she shyly smiles back. She opens her mouth to say something, but suddenly, Travis and that second American from the alley and two other guys from Duncan's troop bursts into the hospital tent.

"Duncaaan!" the second American cheers, waving around a bend-up deck of cards. Jennifer shushes him from across the tent, where she was surveying the sleeping patients. "Wanna go out and play some poker, buddy?"

"I don't know of I can…," Duncan replies, looking towards Courtney for permission.

"Let me check," Courtney answers, crossing the tent towards Jennifer. "Is Duncan allowed to go outside? For poker?"

"Sure. But you have to go with him everywhere to supervise to be sure he doesn't kill himself," Jennifer says, rolling her eyes.

"Why would he kill himself?" Courtney asks, shocked.

"It's an expression."

"But your face didn't move…"

"Not a facial expression. Just don't let him out of your sight."

Courtney knew no other meaning for the word 'expression' so she stands there confused. But Jennifer just scoffs and walks away, so Courtney goes back to Duncan and his friends. "You can play, but I have to go with," she reports, helping Duncan to sit up. From then on, he was able to do things without her help. But still, Courtney followed. She didn't want him to die if she stopped watching him.

The soldiers took seats on their own helmets or turned-over buckets that were all positioned around a crate. "Sit here, lil lady," said the second American, who set his helmet on the ground for her to sit on.

"Thank you. What is your name?" Courtney asks, taking a seat.

The American chuckles at her bluntness. "I'm Thomas. So, do you know how to play poker, babe?" he asks, shuffling the cards on top of the crate.

"I know Texas Hold'Em…"

"Good, cause that's what we're playing," Thomas replies, dealing out the two 'hole' cards to everyone. "But we're also playing for cigarettes. Anybody have any cigarettes?" He takes a few wrinkly cigarettes from his pocket and sets them in front of his cards.

"Just got some today," Travis says, putting down a whole pack of cigarettes in front of him. Duncan had a few from his pocket too, as did the other two soldiers. Travis takes three cigarettes from his pack and hands them to Courtney. "You owe me." She nods and smiles gratefully.

"Do you love life? Then do not waste time,
for that is the stuff life is made of."
- Franklin

"Don't look at your cards yet," Thomas warns, though they all already know how to play, "Time for the ante." The soldiers set one or two of their cigarettes, depending on how much they had to begin with, in the center of the crate. Courtney wasn't sure the English terms for poker, but she guessed that was the starting pot of the game.

Courtney sets out one of her three cigarettes in the pot, then once everybody has bet, they all peek at their cards. Courtney had a nine of diamonds and a nine of spades. Once everybody has looked, Thomas flips over three 'board' cards, called the 'flop.' They were a nine of hearts, queen of clubs, and ten of spades. So far she had a three-of-a-kind, which okay, but not great.

Courtney quickly scanned the solders' faces around her. Travis and another American had a pretty good poker faces, but Duncan was rubbing his stubbly jaw with one hand, which showed he was thinking hard to come up with a good grouping of cards. Thomas was biting his lip, which was also a bad sign. The other American had a good poker face, but his eyes were too shifty and bright. Courtney was sure he had a good hand; she had to beat him.

After the flop was another round of betting. Courtney threw another cigarette into the pot, mainly to make the others nervous. The shifty-eyed American and Travis also put in another cigarette, but the others left their bets as is. Thomas flipped over another card next to the other three that were already out, and that was called a 'turn.' It was a five of clubs.

There was a third round of betting after the turn, and Courtney put out her last cigarette. The shifty-eyed American was now looking at her suspiciously, but Courtney's father had helped her perfect her poker face. Thomas put out another card, called the 'river,' and now five cards were set out. The fifth 'board' card was a nine of clubs.

A shiver went up Courtney's spine, but she didn't move. She had a four-of-a-kind, the third-highest hand one could get in a game of Texas Hold 'Em, right after a royal flush and a straight flush. There was another round of betting, but Courtney had no more cigarettes to bet.

Then they all flipped their cards over to see who got the best hand. Courtney's well-trained eyes quickly skimmed over everybody else's cards, and found her four-of-a-kind to be the winning hand. She smiles and reaches for the pot, but Thomas grabs her wrist. "No, I got a full house," he tells her slowly, tapping his cards with his pointer finger.

"Four-of-a-kind," Courtney replies even slower, tapping her cards too. Thomas pulls away in surprise and the other soldiers burst out in laughter, jeers, congratulations, and gasps of surprise.

Courtney caught Duncan's eyes from across the crate and he smirks at her, chuckling a bit. She smiles shyly and glances down, into her lap. Then Courtney collects the pot and pulls it towards herself, quickly counting her winnings in her head. She won a grand total of sixteen cigarettes, counting the three cigarettes she bet too, each in various states of wear.

Courtney and the soldiers played several more games. Every now and then more soldiers would stop by to join in on a new game and gamble their own cigarettes, hoping to win a few before quitting. By the end of their games, though, the sun was starting to set and a trumpet called from somewhere in the camp.

The trumpet player, whoever it was, started playing a melody that echoed through the camps. All of a sudden, the soldiers around Courtney stood up and started singing. She looked around the camp to try to decipher what was going on, and she saw soldiers saluting or putting their hands on their heart all around the camp; in the tents, out in the courtyard, everywhere. The air was filled with the voice of hundreds of men.

"From the Halls of Montezuma, to the Shores of Tripoli; We fight our country's battles in the air, on land, and sea; First to fight for right and freedom and to keep our honor clean; We are proud to claim the title of UNITED STATES MARINES," the men sing with delight. Courtney heard 'United States' out of the lyrics, and she assumed it was an Army song.

The soldiers continue, "Our flag's unfurled to every breeze, from dawn to setting sun; We have fought in every clime and place where we could take a gun; In the snow of far off northern lands and in sunny tropic scenes; You will find us always on the job - The UNITED STATES MARINES."

"Here's health to you and to our Corps which we are proud to serve; In many a strife we've fought for life and never lost our nerve; If the Army and the Navy ever look on Heaven's scenes; They will find the streets are guarded by UNITED STATES MARINES," they finish, and a large roar of cheers resonates throughout the camp. Now that the song was over, the soldiers start dispersing away from the crate and more towards the mess hall.

Courtney catches Travis' arm before he walks away and hands him four cigarettes as payback for what he loaned her, plus an extra. She had lost a few cigarettes from her first big win, since after that the other soldiers had started playing more carefully around her, but she still got off with some winnings. "Thanks," Travis says gratefully, and continues on towards the mess hall after Courtney nods at him.

Then Courtney sets the rest of the cigarettes on the crate in front of Duncan and states, "Here." Duncan looks up at her, his eyes a mixture of anticipation and confusion.

"What are these for?"

"I don't smoke," Courtney excuses, shrugging her shoulders a bit. Duncan hesitates at taking the cigarettes and she nods in verification. He takes the cigarettes in his fist and shoves them in his pocket for later.

"Thanks," Duncan replies, sure that he'd be able to get Courtney to start smoking by the end of this experience. "So, how'd you get so good at poker?"

"My father."

He nods with his hands in his pockets, even the hand with the hurt shoulder, even though that might be semi-uncomfortable. "I kinda figured that. Got any tips for an amateur like me?"

Courtney wasn't so sure what 'amateur' meant, but since he was asking for poker-playing tips, she could pretty much guess. "I… can't explain much," she excuses, because for what she wanted to say, she didn't know most of the words. But Courtney continued, "You watch their eyes and facial expressions. Look for their body posture, if their hands are trembling, and their attitude. Especially attitude. If they act confident, they have a bad hand. If they act unconfident, they have a good hand. Keep a good poker face."

Duncan nods and glances at the mess hall, which was starting to become packed with soldiers. Courtney looks over his shoulder at the busy place and suggests, "Do you want to go eat? Jennifer says I have to be with you at all times."

"Sure, I'm starving," Duncan replies. He turns towards the mess hall and hears Courtney's footsteps behind him. She follows him up the wooden stairs and through the propped-open doors into the mess hall. Courtney looked around at the ravenous young men in army uniforms and couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. She stuck close to Duncan's side so she wouldn't be lost in the crowd.

As Duncan navigates between the tables that were swarming with soldiers, somebody accidentally bumps into Courtney and Duncan starts getting away from her. "Sorry!" she exclaims to whoever she hit, and she scrambles forward towards Duncan. When she catches up to Duncan, she slips her hand into his so she wouldn't be split up from him anytime soon. His fingers twitch in surprise, but he holds her grip.

Eventually Duncan leads her to the very back of the mess hall, where there was a long cafeteria-style table in front of a kitchen. The chefs were constantly putting out more and more food for the steady stream of soldiers. He hands her a tray and they move through the line. Once Courtney and Duncan had gotten their meal, which consisted of corn beef, a biscuit, and a cup of strong-smelling liquor, Courtney follows Duncan through the crowd once more to find a place to eat.

But then Courtney sees Jennifer among a couple other nurses, all dressed in their stark white uniforms. "I'm going to eat with Jennifer," she tells Duncan, having to speak a louder than usual for him to hear her over the din of the mess hall. He nods and Courtney turns away from him, heading towards Jennifer to try to get acquainted with the other nurses.