Chapter 11
Disclaimer: Nothing's my own.
A/N: This is week 3 at Boot Camp for Tucker
Sunday
I woke up and did my early morning routine and then ran to the mess tent for breakfast. After breakfast we all went to chapel, then I got called in to see the head drill sergeant. On my way there, I stopped and did some laundry. There's so much here that I have to do it at least three times a day for the whole week.
The head drill sergeant told me that he was impressed with my progress, but that I still had a long way to go before I stopped being a sorry sack of embarrassment. He said that to ensure that I did better on the obstacle course at the end that he was going to extend my extra training an hour for the rest of the time that I'm here. That means that I'm going to have three extra hours of training instead of just two. That's just terrific! It makes me want to drown in my own tears.
I didn't mean to, honestly I didn't. I actually thought that I was talking in my head. Apparently I wasn't. I said, "Figures you'd think of something else to make me miserable. You stupid jerk!" A sentiment best left in my head. I don't blame him, but he got very mad. He made me do 1000 pushups, then run five miles. I was late to lunch so I had to only do dishes. That was quite a disappointment. After lunch I did some more laundry.
Then I went to training. The head drill sergeant came around a lot. Every time I had to do something kind of ridiculous, such as running five miles, doing 300 correctly done pushups, then run another three miles. Now that I can do the pushups correctly he said that tomorrow I'm going to have to start doing one handed pushups as another part of my punishment. I did apologize, but that wasn't good enough. Not only that, but I heard him tell the other drill sergeants that I needed a lot more work so they were to work me at least three times harder than they already were.
I usually don't mind gross things, but the dirty uniforms are disgusting. I almost feel like wearing gloves just dealing with them because they're so covered in dirt, sweat, and grime. We do get worked really hard, me more than the rest. The head drill sergeant followed me to the laundry facility and made me clean the whole thing from top to bottom.
Then he followed me into the kitchen for dinner. He made me clean that whole place up as well with bleach. After that he said that all week he was going to make me clean random things and that by the end of the week came those rooms should look like they'd never been dirty before. Of course I had to go get him so he could inspect it to make sure I did it all properly before I could move on to my next chore or whatever. The kitchen passed inspection; however, the laundry room I had to do over twice because since nobody was in there he messed it up on purpose so that it would be dirty again. I'm thinking that he hates me.
After doing all the crazy things he wanted me to do plus my training plus the laundry plus cooking plus my regular cleaning and chores it was after midnight when I finally got to bed. I did my nightly exercises anyways and went right to sleep.
Monday
I was hoping that the head drill sergeant had forgotten about my severe punishment or at least waited until after lunch, but I wasn't that lucky. He found me just out of the shower. After he was done with me I felt like I needed another one. He kept his word on the one handed pushups. He did give me some good advice though. He said that I should switch hands in the middle, like if I have to do 100, then 50 with the right and and 50 with the left because if you switch more than once you get tired out more easily and if you only do one hand you'll feel one-sided for the rest of the day. I really appreciated that tip. I would've told him that, except I figured he'd think I was mouthing off and think of some more torture for me.
I've been noticing something else today, I think I'm starting to go through puberty or something. All day long my voice has been cracking and going up and down. The drill sergeants have told everybody to shut up about it, but I still hear a few snickers when I have to talk. It's completely embarrassing and having to go through it at boot camp totally sucks. At least I'm not in school because that would be ten times worse I'm sure. I'll say something, having my voice crack in the middle, and then clear my throat and try it again only to have the same result. At least with all of the punishment this week, I'll mostly be enduring hard manual labor instead of talking. That's one thing I'm definitely not sending home to my parents in my next letter.
Another thing the head drill sergeant is having me do is polish all of the drill sergeants shoes. Why? They're just going to get dirty again the next time they go out since we train in dirt and everything. Well, he got that covered too. I have to polish them every night this week. This week is gonna suck. Not only do I have to train with everybody,but then also for three hours by myself, not to mention doing laundry three times a day, I also have to cook three times a day, which is my favorite part, but I wisely keep that to myself, and have to polish at least fifty shoes a night. Then all the crazy things that the head drill sergeant wants me to do.
He's also making me stretch before making me run for multiple miles so that I won't cramp up and can do more junk for him. This is going to be the worst week of my life so far.
I'll say this though, there is a good side to all of this. Since I'm too busy doing things at all hours of the day that I don't have time to think. Why don't I want to think? Are you crazy? I'd just think about how I have no friends, how Danny and Sam have each other and don't need me, how my voice cracks every time I talk, and how much more I'll be bullied because of it if it doesn't go away by school time, and any other thing of my life right now that sucks.
Also I'm not quite as wimpy as I was. I mean I can actually do pushups the boot camp way, still working on the one handed ones, but come on before I couldn't even do the ones I had to do in P.E. I'm thinking I'm not going to fail gym this year that's for sure.
Tuesday
I swear the head drill sergeant hates me. I keep apologizing, but that seems to make him angrier. Apologies are apparently for wimps and he must work it out of me or something ridiculous like that.
One good thing about doing everything for all of the drill sergeants is that I go past the plans for the next few weeks. For the things that they decide on a whim or whatever is added in red ink. I saw that in like two weeks we're going to start jump roping. I just know I'm going to need to practice because I don't want to embarrass myself in front of everybody again. I mean I think that they're starting to see me as less of a wimp especially in target practice.
I got a jump rope and tried it out. I was right to think I needed to practice by myself first. I kept catching myself on the rope. I couldn't even get around myself once because I'd either jump too early or too late. A few of those times I got tangled up in the rope and fell over. Thank goodness nobody was around for that. Now I have another thing to add to my daily list because I'm going to have jump roping mastered before I have to do it in front of everybody.
At least everybody's uniforms look amazing first thing in the morning because I'm becoming quite the laundromat person or whatever. Another thing to not brag about when I get home for fear of being more of a loser. Man I'm going to be the biggest loser of Caper High when I get back. So not going to tell anybody about my cooking and cleaning skills. I can just imagine what they'd say about that.
Wednesday
I thought that this week would just suck the whole entire time. I was basically right, however; we're starting to learn restraining maneuvers which are really cool. We're also practicing with how fast our reflexes are and how to improve them. That one kind of hurts because I'll tell you my reflexes leave much to be desired. I am pretty good at the restraining part, just not the reflexes. We get to practice on each other and on the drill sergeants. That part is so cool. Of course they're like made of steel or something, you know completely muscle, so it's harder work restraining one of them then it is another non-drill sergeant.
Maybe by next week I'll actually be able to jump rope without falling over. I can finally make it around five times before I fail completely. Oh boy! I'm becoming quite the tough guy! Yeah right.
I can do pretty much everything on the obstacle course now without falling over. The only thing I'm still having a lot of problems with is the swimming. I mean even if I'm first in everything else on the obstacle course, then the pool is going to seriously slow me down and I'll probably end up being last again. Hopefully by not so much this time.
Thursday
This week is so crazy. I'm still totally liking the whole restraining thing. I think I'm getting pretty good at that one.
Guess what else has been added to our unending regimen of pain? Chin-ups and pull-ups. Why? Are we going have to lift ourselves off the ground by doing a pull-up or chin-up in order to save our lives? Doubtful. Sometimes I think that the higher-ups whole goal in life is to make us all miserable. That and they get paid for it to straighten out us hooligans.
Well I guess there are two groups of us really. One group is here because we got into too much trouble and our parents are fed up with us and want us to learn discipline.
The other is the ones who want to be here and are at this tough six week boot camp to prepare for the longer boot camp before they join the military or whatever. I am so glad I'm not in their group of training because I would slow them down so much. I mean I'm in the 'got into trouble' group and I slow them down so imagine how much more damage I'd do to the other group. They'd probably kill me without meaning to.
Thank goodness there's only two more days to this week then hopefully I can stop doing laundry and my punishment for the head drill sergeant will be over. One can only hope right?
Friday
Will this week ever end? Sometimes I doubt it. I don't even dare ask about when boot camp will end because it feels like it goes on forever. I mean I'm still only in my third week, but it seriously feels like I'm in my third year half the time.
It's official tomorrow's my last day of doing laundry. I really didn't mind it too much; it was just having to do it three times a day kind of sucked. Also cleaning it three times in every possible place that dirt and spiderwebs could get it definitely sucked.
I talked to the head drill sergeant. He said that tomorrow is also my last day of punishment from him as long as I behave. He said that he'd still like me to do one handed pushups however. I can deal with that especially if I don't have to do crazy long mile runs at a moments notice.
I'm getting better at keeping my thoughts in my head instead of them going flying out of my mouth without my okaying it. There were several more times this week that I complained in my head and that's where it stayed. Thank goodness!
This is what I felt like sending to my parents in my letter this week:
Dear Mom and Dad,
I want to die! I can't believe there's still three weeks of this torture to go. It feels like I've been here forever. They want me to do better for the end of the session physical fitness test so they're extending my extra training an extra hour. Please save me! Please, please, please come take me home. I'm begging you. Did I mention that they made me do the laundry for the entire camp this entire week? It was absolute murder!
Love,
Tucker
This is the actual letter that I sent home:
Dear Mom and Dad,
This week has been so crazy. I've done so many things that have taught me responsibility. I've also learned a great deal about respect. I've been here almost three weeks now and at times it feels like three years. I deserve being sent here and I deserve everything that I've been assigned to do. I will not be the same boy that was sent here when I come home. I've matured and grown. I love you.
Love,
Tucker
It seems like I was laying it on a little thick and maybe I was a little bit, but I think for the most part that it's true. Okay, I still have a long way to, but considering where I started from... Well. It took me maybe ten minutes to write that letter so for the rest of the hour I trained by myself by doing sit-ups, pushups – one handed, jumping rope – still working on it, and stomach crunches – the kind we had to do in gym. Then I went for my extra two hours of training. The extra one hour was before dinner.
Saturday
I was told that today was my last day to be in the kitchen. That totally bummed me out. We were all saddened because I actually made some pretty cool friends in the kitchen. I mean it's not like we could go hang out or anything, but we all talked about everything. We became pretty close.
They each gave me a good luck present. They were from the heart and slightly used, but those can be the best kind. I mean we're out in the middle of nowhere so it's not like they can go shopping anywhere and I wouldn't want them to spend money on me anyway. We get the food off of a truck that comes around everyday.
Frank, the guy who gave me the list of vegetarian recipes, gave me some more vegetarian recipes and things that you can use in making things with eggs instead of using actual eggs and according to him tastes just as good.
The rest of them got together and made me a specially cooked vegetarian meal with all of the trimmings to commemorate our last day together. They made the meal for lunch and at dinner they all gave me hugs goodbye. They were man hugs because if they weren't than everybody would probably be a little uncomfortable. The kitchen staff doesn't interact with people who aren't in the kitchen besides the head drill sergeant. That was rather depressing.
I was so happy when the head drill sergeant announced before I was dismissed for bed that it was the last time he'd be giving me punishment as long as I stayed out of trouble. He wanted to make it extra special though so he worked me even harder than before. I had to do 1000 one handed pushups, then 500 pullups, 500 chin-ups, then stretch, then run ten miles, stretch some more, then run another five miles, then 1000 more one handed pushups. All I wanted to do was curl up into a fetal position and never get up again, but I sucked in my pain and didn't let any exhaustion show. I knew that would make him angry, but instead he smiled, which I've very rarely seen him do, and dismissed me for bed. A very weird day indeed.