I am sitting in the enrollment facility with Steve waiting to be seen by the doctor. Steve and I have been going all around the state hoping that one doctor will approve us to join the Army. Steve hasn't been getting chosen because he has a bunch of medical problems. I on the other hand haven't been chosen because I am a female.
As we are waiting Steve is reading the newspaper and says "Boy, a lot of guys are getting killed over there" I look over and it is talking about how the Nazis are winning. But that doesn't deter me. I want to do this. I want to join the military.
"Rogers, Steven. Bailey, Morgan." The doctor at the front calls Steve and I up.
As Steve walks up the man gives him a look of disapproval. Steve is a very small guy for his age standing at 5'3 and is really skinny. He can't weigh any more than 120 pounds and is skin and bones. "Rogers. What did your father die of?" he asks Steve
Steve stands up straight with pride of his father. "Mustard gas. He was in the hundred and seventh infantry. I was hoping I could be assigned..." Before he can finish the doctor interrupts him.
"Your Mother?" he asks without looking up from his papers
"She was a nurse in a TB ward. Got hit, couldn't shake it" Steve says sadly
As he is talking I can tell that the doctor is looking at Steve's medical history. "Sorry, son." he tells Steve but I know Steve won't give up "Look, just give me a chance," Steve begs. But the doctor won't budge. "You'd be ineligible for your asthma alone." the doctor says.
Steve begs one more time "Is there anything you can do?" he asks the doctor
" I'm doing it. I'm saving your life," he says as he stamps Steves papers
As Steve walks away I walk up. The doctor looks at me and rolls his eyes. Unlike Steve I am in great physical condition standing at about 5'9, I work out a lot so I have abs and I am pretty muscular. I have brown hair that is cut to shoulder length.
"Ma'am, women are not allowed to enlist in the military." the doctor tells me before I can say anything.
"But doctor, if you give me a chance I would be just as good as any of these people in this room," I say to plead my case.
"If you want to help out in the war go to a factory. Be lucky they let you do that," he says dismissively.
"But sir-" before I can try to change his mind he interrupts me
"Next!" he yells over my head
As I walk away from the podium Steve gives me a sad smile. "Wanna go to the movies?" He asks me to try and cheer me up.
"Let's go," I say so that we can get our minds off of the rejection we just received.
"War continues to ravage Europe. But help is on the way. Every able-bodied young man is lining up to serve his country. Even little Timmy is doing his part collecting scrap metal. Nice work, Timmy!" The commercial about war says as I and Steve are sitting in the theater.
"Who cares? Play the movie already!" this jerk says to the screen.
Steve looks at the guy and whispers "Hey, you wanna show some respect?" but the guy couldn't hear him, as the commercial kept playing.
"Let's go! Get on with it! Hey, just start the cartoon!" the jerk yells again.
"Hey buddy, you wanna shut up?!" me and Steve yell at the guy at the same time.
This causes the guy to stand up and look at us and before we know it we are outside fighting the guy.
He punches Steve and I hop on his back hoping to distract him from Steve. He punches Steve again and tries to swing me off but I hold on tight and start to punch him in the head. I get him for a while until he tosses me off of him and onto the ground.
"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" he tells Steve
Steve gets up and grabs the lid to the trash can to use as a shield, "I can do this all day" Steve says. He tries to punch the guy but he blocks it and hits Steve again.
Before the guy is able to get another hit off Steve I see Bucky walk up to the guy and throws him away from Steve and say "Pick on someone your own size.'' The guy tries to throw a punch at Bucky but he dodges it and Bucky punches him and kicks him in the ass and he runs away.
Bucky helps me off of the ground then goes to Steve and helps him up. "Sometimes, I think you like getting punched." he says to Steve "and anywhere he is there you go right along with him," he says to me.
"I had him on the ropes." Steve lies to him even though Bucky already knew what was happening.
Bucky picks up Steve and I papers on the ground and sees that they are enlistment papers. "How many times is this?" he says as he reads the paper. "Oh, you're from Paramus now? You know it's illegal to lie on the enlistment form. And seriously, Jersey?"
"You get your orders?" I say changing the subject.
"The one-o-seventh. Sergeant James Barnes. Shipping out for England first thing tomorrow." he looks at Steve and I sadly knowing we would die to be in his shoes.
Steve and I look down dejectedly wishing to be him "We should be going," Steve says as we start to walk away.
"Come on, man. My last night! Gotta get you cleaned up." Bucky says as he wraps his arm around our shoulders and walks up out the alley. "Why? Where are we going?" I ask which calls for Bucky to show us the newspaper in his hand.
"The future."
"I don't see what the problem is. You're about to be the last eligible man in New York. You know, there are three and a half million women here" he tells Steve.
I know he was talking to me too but couldn't say it out loud. I like women but it is such a taboo topic that only Steve and Bucky know.
My mom has been trying to pawn me off to any man that offers but I have been able to hold them off for now. Even with my condition, my mom is willing to try and get me married off. The thing about me is that I was born with a penis and because of all the testosterone in my system I am a little bit more masculine.
"Well, I'd settle for just one," Steve says and I nod along with him. I know that me finding someone who would actually want to be with me is slim but I still have hope. I have only ever been with one woman and she told me she regretted it and that she wasn't like me and never would be.
"Good thing I took care of that," Bucky says waving over two women. He looks at me with a knowing look and whispers "Sorry M, I wish I could have found someone for you" I pat him on the shoulder with an understanding look.
As we walk into the building me and Steve behind Bucky and the girls one of them gets excited that the fair has started and grabs Bucky and her friend to the stage. As they are walking away one of the girls turns around and looks at me with a shy look and I decide to be brave and wink at her which causes her to blush.
We arrive at the stage just as Howard Stark walks in and starts to show off his car and how it can fly. As Stark is talking I offer the blond, whose name I now know is Bonnie, some popcorn and she looks at me, blushes, and takes some. I smile at her hoping that she is interested in me.
While Stark is presenting his car starts to go in the air leaving everyone shocked but not long after it crashes down scaring everyone, but he plays it off. After everything calms down I look at Steve and see that he walked away so I go to follow.
We end up standing in front of a mirror that makes it look like we are soldiers hoping one day it comes true. While we are looking at ourselves Bucky walks up to us and starts to give us a lecture on not signing up for the army again.
"Why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs." Bucky tries to reason with us.
"What am I gonna do? Collect scrap metal in my little red wagon?" Steve asks Bucky
"Or work in a factory?" I ask
Bucky doesn't understand not being able to fight for your country. He was given that opportunity unlike us. "I know it may sound stupid to fight for a country that doesn't accept me but I want to be able to make a change and allow people to be who they are no matter what," I tell Bucky and he gives me a regretful look.
"Bucky, come on! There are men laying down their lives. I have no right to do any less than them. That's what you don't understand. This isn't about me." Steve reasons with Bucky. Unbeknownst to us, someone very important was listening in on our conversation.
"Right. Cause you got nothing to prove" Bucky says sarcastically.
Before I and Steve can say anything back the girls walk up to us. "Hey, Sarge! Are we going dancing?" they say.
"Yes, we are," Bucky says to them. "Don't do anything stupid until I get back." He tells us.
"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." Steve jokes. He says as we hug Bucky goodbye, Steve and Bucky calling each other their nicknames for each other.
As Bucky walks off Bonnie walks up to me. "So want to join us?" she asked me. I look at her and I really do want to go with her because it's not every day that I get a chance like this but I know that I should take this final chance to join the army.
"I really wish I could," I tell her, "But I have something very important to do," I say
She looks at me sadly and walks away to join her friend and Steve and I walk away to try and enlist one more time.
As I am waiting in the examination room and Steve in another, a man comes in and introduces himself. "Dr. Abraham Erskine. I represent the Strategic Scientific Reserve." He says, I shake his hand. When he talks he has an accent that I can't place but I know it is not American.
"Morgan Bailey," I say
"Where are you from, Ms. Bailey? Mmm? Is it New Haven? Or Paramus? Five exams in five different cities." he says, reading my file.
"I don't think that's mine, sir," I told him, hoping to not get in trouble.
"No, it's not the exams I'm interested in. It's the five tries. You had to have known that no one was going to let you join the army because you are a woman." he tells me
"I was hoping that they would get desperate enough." I joke. "It's been done before sir. I wouldn't be the first woman to join the military. That honor goes to Ms. Loretta Walsh, 1917 first woman to enlist." I told him. "I want to fight to make a change sir and being a woman in war is a big chance to change things around here"
"Well, there are already so many men fighting this war. Maybe what we need now is to go in a different direction, huh? I can offer you a chance." He tells me
"Sir, I would take anything you have to offer me" I desperately say to him.
He stamps my paper and hands it to me "Congratulations, soldier."
I look at the paper and see that I was accepted.
I walk out of the exam room and I see Steve sitting down waiting for me staring at his file. "Steve you won't believe what just happened" I run to him and I hand him my file
He looks at it and reads it. He smiles at me and hands me his file and sees that it says the same as mine. "I got accepted to. Morgan, we are going to be soldiers together." He cheers
"Steve, our dream is finally coming true."