Chapter 2 ~ Farwell party
I don't know how she did it. But she succeeded.
Just an hour ago she stormed in my room like a wrecking ball, ignored my protests because I was already wearing my pyjama, opened my wardrobe and threw some clothes in my face.
"You have ten minutes and then you'll be ready!" With those words she left me alone, stunned. This woman is always ready for surprises.
I actually thought that I made myself clear that I don't want to go to that party. I would rather stay in my room, read a book and enjoy that for once the infirmary doesn't have any patients.
And now I'm here. Sitting at one table in the dining room with a glass of beer in front of me.
Somehow, they managed to get a record player that plays happy music in a corner of the room. It's not too loud so you could still talk to each other, but I know that once the alcohol starts to flow, the music will get louder and people will start to dance.
Hopefully I'll be gone by then.
"Now that I have all of my favourite people here, the party can start!" I hear Hanji's voice right beside me and a loud thump. "Oh, you already have something to drink, nice! Let me get something for Shorty and me too." Who's Shorty?
Turning my body to look and Hanji, I see that she's already gone to get drinks. So, I'm left alone with… Shorty.
Damn.
That's possibly the angriest person I've ever seen in my life.
His eyes are clouded and turned a dark shade of grey, his lips are turned upside down with a frown and his whole posture tells me to not fuck with him.
That is one of Hanji's favourite people? Who is that guy? I know for sure I've never seen him at the infirmary.
And then it clicks.
How often did I listen to conversations between my patients and their friends that the Captain is to harsh on them, that the Captain is made of stone and often the reason they're at the infirmary? How many cadets had to get a vitamin shot because the Captain made them run until they can't walk anymore?
Surely, I heard the stories about humanity's strongest, the man who can't be killed by anything, who is a killing machine himself.
I guess, that's the Captain beside me.
"Stop staring, brat." Excuse me? Did he just call me brat? Well, I shouldn't be surprised that he would call me that. He doesn't seem like the nicest person or the person with the best manners. Who calls someone you just met a brat? That's just plain rude.
But instead of saying something I just turn my head and stare at my glass. I hate parties. I hate social contact. I hate that Hanji dragged me here.
I'm socially really awkward and usually I don't know how to talk to people. Especially if they seem angry and rude like the good Captain here.
"Ah, I see you didn't kill her yet, that's a good sign. Nona, this is Captain Levi. Shorty, this is Nona." Hanji takes a seat in front of me so she can look at me. One of the two glasses she gives to the Captain and the other is hers. I know that Hanji is crazy, but does she have a death wish as well? Calling the man, who looks like he's ready to kill any second, Shorty? Oh boy.
Looking at the Captain, I smile a little at him, but he's ignoring me. Manners, Captain, do you even know that word?
"Isn't it nice to come out a bit, Nona? I mean, your infirmary is some kind of cage for you now! Humans need social contacts, you know?"
"I have social contacts. And my work space is not a cage."
"Ah well, stitching people and putting bandages on them does not count! But now you will have some fun with your friends." I shift on the bench uncomfortable. Friends? What friends? I've been alone most of my life and just because Hanji told me the name of that guy besides me doesn't make him my friend.
The Captain seem to think the same because he just grunts unhappily and takes a big gulp of his beer.
"That dress suits you." Hanji smiles at me and I know she's trying to make me more comfortable. Well, if she wants me comfortable, she should have left me in my room.
But I have to say, that she's right about the dress. Not that I look good in it, but it feels nice to wear a dress again and I haven't worn this one in what feels like ages.
"Thank you. How's it going with your studies? You haven't said anything about in a while."
Levi just grunts annoyed besides me. What's his problem?
"You're not really interested in Shitty-Glasses stupid tests?" He sounds disinterested, doesn't even look at me. What a moron.
"Excuse me, but yes I am. And don't call her that." I clench my fists under the table. In no way I'm going to hit the Captain, he would probably stomp me into the ground with one kick, but I'm frustrated when someone insults my friends. I can dream about punching him. I've known him for like five minutes and he's already frustrating me. He even made me swear a few times and I usually don't do that!
"I call her however I fucking want."
Before I can answer (and probably sign my death contract with that), Hanji interrupts me with a smile "It's okay, Nona. My theories are quite easy, but I need a test subject to proof them…" and so she starts to rant on and on about her newest stuff in her lab. I try to listen to her, usually I'm really interested in this kind of stuff, but Levi just infuriates me in a way that I can't focus. How can someone be so rude to his comrades? He doesn't have the slightest interest in whatever Hanji is talking about. He doesn't look at us and just scans the room and looks like he wants to be somewhere else really quick.
I don't understand humans like him. Doesn't he feel anything? Right now, it doesn't seem so. He looks around stoic like a stone, annoyance the only emotion in his face and the way he talks tells me that he doesn't give a damn about what others think about him. We knew each other for not even a minute when he first insulted me. I don't know many people, but he is at the bottom of my 'I like them'-list.
"Do you wanna dance?" Hanji looks at me excited and I realize that the music already got louder and some of the cadets started dancing and swaying a bit. I was so sunken in my thoughts that time just went flying.
"You know that I can't dance." Lie. I love to dance, but I'll need a lot more booze to do it in front of that many people.
"But your skirt swings so lovely when you turn! Promise me, that you'll dance next time!" With pleading eyes Hanji stares at me and folds her hands in front of her like she's saying a prayer.
Sighing I think for a second and then stare into her brown eyes "If you survive the expedition, I'll dance at the next party." I just want her to promise me to be careful. I know that she has a weird and obsessive love for titans and can be ridiculous reckless once she's outside, but she'll never break a promise.
"Absolutely! That means that's you go to the next party voluntarily! Yeah!" Happily, she claps her hands, then starts to look around, searching for her next dance-victim. She seems to see someone because she stands up with an excited gasp and runs off.
Nice. Left alone with Mister Unhappy. He must be drinking his third or forth glass of beer, so he's way ahead of me. Not that I'm planning on getting drunk tonight. Well, I didn't even plan on going here tonight so maybe I can get a little drunk. It would be a little break for my aching and never stopping head. Just to relax and let the alcohol fix every problem. That would be nice. Actually, that would be fabulous!
"What's your position here?" His stoic voice interrupts my thoughts and plan to get a little drunk. Oh well, there goes my plan.
"I'm the head nurse." I'm surprised he doesn't know that. He sends enough cadets to me, so he should at least know who I am! I admit, I needed a few seconds to recognize him to, but in the end I did. But it's also really stupid not to recognize humanity's strongest soldier. "Guess, you don't know me because you're never in the infirmary." I say with a weird smile. Well, that's uncomfortable. Was I trying to make a joke? Hopefully not, because that was just awful.
"Tch" is the only thing he says and then he shrugs his shoulders. He must have one of the most amazing immune systems ever! I mean, how long has he been in the Survey Corps? How long have I been? And I've never seen him once in my infirmary! Not for a broken bone, a gash or even a cold. He must be indestructible. There are some amazing people out there in the world. Even if they're assholes.
Suddenly someone taps me on the shoulder.
Turning around in surprise I see the girl from the infirmary yesterday. The one where I wrote down that she has a concussion.
"Excuse me, Miss. You're the nurse, right?"
"Yes, we've seen us yesterday." I'm a little surprised she approached me here. Is something wrong with her head? Does she have a real concussion? I didn't do her check this morning, it was one of the other nurses who doesn't live at the HQ and come in from the town every day.
"Yeah, right." She looks nervous, rubbing her neck with her right hand. She still has a little band aid right over her eyebrow. "I wanted to ask if we could change the medical certificate."
"What?" I'm stunned? Change it? To what? Does she want some more days off? I don't think I can give her anything more than a mild concussion, anything else would be suspicious.
"You know, I was really looking forward to this expedition. It would be my first one and I wanted to fight side by side with my friends. I would feel useless here inside the walls."
"What?" I can't say anything else. Captain Levi must think that I am an idiot. But apparently, I am.
She wants to go out there? She wants to fight with her friends? She's not happy to stay a few days in the HQ, save from the titans? Is that the beer talking? Or is she serious? I do hear a slight slur in her voice, but she doesn't seem totally drunk.
"I joined to fight and that's what I want to do." She salutes in front of me "You said, that my head wouldn't be too bad and that I won't have a concussion. So, I ask you to change the certificate, that I can go on the expedition." No, she's not drunk. She's totally serious.
But I don't understand. Scanning her, I first look at her body, her fist that's in front of her heart and her stern look at me. I see the fire behind her eyes. The fire, that wants to burn outside the walls. She's not ready to break yet and hide in here.
Does she break once she's outside? It's possible. I've already seen the terror and fear behind her eyes. But in times like these, don't we all have a little fear in or eyes? She seems so determined that I can't change her opinion.
"I look what I can do." My voice lacks emotion. The girl smiles now, nods her head and goes back to her friends.
"She doesn't look like she has a concussion." The Captain says beside me. I look at him, still stunned from whatever happened right now. Is he a secret nurse now or what? When did he do his training?
"She doesn't have one." I admit almost to quiet to hear in this noise. But he hears it and one of his eyebrows goes up in question "I wanted her to stay inside the walls. She's young."
"They're all young." is all he says. And he's damn right. They are all young and most of them won't get older than twenty. It's a shame.
But that fire behind her eyes told me that she was ready for whatever was behind those walls.
A/N
Thank you for reading! Like I said before, comment or write me a message if I do something wrong :)