She saw few men on her walk towards easy company's barracks. She was told most of the men were at the mess tent finishing their lunch. Those who were fortunate to have weekend passes were out enjoying the town and would be back tomorrow afternoon. The barracks were empty when she walked in. The walls were made of wooden planks and there was a red barrel by the door and one at the very back wall, with the word BUTTS printed on them in white letters. Single man cots lined both walls of the barracks, seven down each side. Each cot had a shelf above it with a bar to hang extra uniforms. Each shelf was labelled with a soldier's name. She made her way down the row of beds until she found what she was looking for. The name Elsie J. Montgomery identified her assigned cot, dead smack in the middle of the row - go figure.
Elsie knew when she signed up she wasn't going to be welcomed with open arms. Her meting with Lieutenant Sobel had confirmed that. He made it clear when they left Colonel Sinks office that she didn't belong there.
"Women do not belong in the army. You will fail this," he snarled. He was supposed to show her to the barracks but pointed in the direction instead, then walked away.
Unfortunately, he was not the only person who wanted to see her fail. It wasn't easy getting into the army, even with her connections. They pulled all their strings and used all their favors to get her in. After that it was her job to prove what her abilities were. She trained in a private camp for three months to prove that she was physically fit enough to join the 506. She chose the parachute infantry - it sounded terrifyingly exciting. She figured she was only granted permission to join because it was said to have the most strenuous training, and nobody thought she would succeed. Well, nobody except Colonel Sink, Tony and James. They knew how capable she was both physically and mentally. They also knew how stubborn and determined she could be.
The door swung open and three dark haired men walked in. Here we go- she thought. The men stopped just inside the door, each had their eyes on her.
"I don't fucking believe it!" The man who spoke had a heavy accent, and strong jaw line. "The rumors are actually true?"
"A fucking broad in the army." This voice was low and raspy. His dark eyes narrowed as he looked her over.
The third guy just clenched his jaw and walked to the last cot on the opposite side of the barracks. He laid down on it and rested his hands behind his head. The two men who were still standing were now in front of her cot.
"What the hell is a broad doing in the army?" The first guy asked with a fixed gaze. His wide stance was meant to be intimidating- and might have been to someone else. She however was indifferent. She knew well enough he wouldn't hurt her, not physically any way. But even if he tried to, she was confident enough in her fighting ability.
Her god father taught her basic hand to hand combat when she was fifteen. He wanted to make sure she could protect herself if he wasn't around. She was grateful for the lessons even if she's never had to put them to use. She hated feeling vulnerable and weak- it was a feeling she knew firsthand and she vowed never to let herself be defenceless again.
"Same thing you're doing I suspect," She said dryly. "Training to fight the war."
"No offense sweetheart, but you aint gonna make it to the war." The man with the raspy voice spoke again. She noticed the names on their uniforms. Toye- raspy voice, and Guarnere- strong jaw. She just snorted and eyed them up.
"You think otherwise?" Guarnere derided.
"Absolutely." She wore a small smile as she walked past them towards the door. Her dark blonde hair swayed in her ponytail as she exited the barracks.
She walked around Camp Toccoa taking note of where everything was. Eyes followed her everywhere she went. The whispers -and not so quite comments- floated around her with every step she took. The wind of remarks coming from the men didn't bother her, she expected nothing less. She'd dealt with this sort of treatment since she decided to sign up for the army. The doubt, the anger, the shock or the snide comments were nothing new. She'd prove them all wrong.
She'd walked around for at least forty-five minutes and had found the mess tent, the latrines and showers and -her favorite part- the obstacle course. She eyed it happily. She knew without a doubt she would beat the men, at least on the course.
"I don't think I've ever seen anybody look happy to see that," A strong voice said coming up beside her. She turned to face two men, and - noting their rank- saluted them.
"Reminds me of home, sir." She smiled.
"God, I'd hate to live there," The same guy said with a wide grin. He had a round face and prominent eyebrows.
"Nobody could hate it there, sir." Her eyes twinkled.
"You must be private Montgomery," The second man said. He had a soft smile and kind face. "I'm Lieutenant Winters, and this is Lieutenant Nixon."
"It's nice to meet you sir," She smiled. "Are you both with Easy company?"
"Yes, we are," He replied. "So, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask."
"Unless it's a running buddy for that thing." Lieutenant Nixon nodded towards the obstacle course with a mischievous grin. She let out a small laugh.
"Have you met any of easy company yet?" Winters asked ignoring his friend's comment.
"A couple of them."
"Did everything go okay?" Winters was concerned.
"Yes sir."
"Good to hear it." The concern didn't leave his face, but he did smile.
She made her way to the mess hall for dinner, anticipating what could happen. A lot of the tables were empty and she remembered most men were away for the weekend. There were a handful of men, what looked to be almost a full company, sitting at the far back corner. She chose to avoid them.
Most of them were watching her and talking quietly amongst themselves. She recognised Toye, Guarnere and the other man, Martin, from the barracks. Some of the others she'd seen on her exploration of the camp. There was only a couple of men left in the line up for food. The men ahead of her, as well as the ones dishing out dinner, eyed here suspiciously. Thankfully no one said a word.
She sat at an empty table farthest away from the big group of men. She might have expected some sort of conflict, but it didn't mean she wanted one. She figured it would happen sooner or later though, until then the silent treatment was welcoming.
While she ate, she daydreamed about how she would prove these men wrong. How they would accept her when she got her wings, or at least respect her. She didn't expect them to befriend her. It would be too weird for them- befriending the woman who was as strong as, or stronger than them. Her brain started turning. What if they hated her even more when she proved her strength? What man would want to be out done by a woman? These were things she hadn't thought about before. It hadn't been brought up by anyone else either. Maybe because nobody expected her to be better than the men.
All the debates against her had to do with her strength and whether she could emotionally handle being at war. She was a woman after all, and to most people that meant weakness- both physically and mentally. She was so lost her thoughts she didn't see Guarnere and Toye sit across from her.
"Haven't seen ya in a couple hours princess, thought maybe you left already," Guarnere taunted. She looked up as he spoke. She was hoping she would be out of there before the confrontation took place. No such luck. She just smiled instead.
"Not a chance," she replied uninterested in the conversation. She knew they wanted her out, but tough, she wasn't going anywhere. A couple more guys joined their table.
"well she's delightful," a dark-haired man muttered sitting next to her. "What's your deal anyway?"
"She's here to fight the war," Guarnere answered for her, with a humorous smile. All the men at her table- there were five of them now- snorted or laughed. They were mocking her, she just smiled. An altercation was inevitable, but she could at least delay it a bit longer. She shrugged her shoulders in agreement with Guarnere's comment while she checked the names on each of the new men's uniform. Talbert sat on her right, Liebgott on her left and beside him was Tipper.
"No offense or anything, but a woman has no place being at war," Talbert said. He didn't say it with anger, he sounded more concerned. Probably thinks I'm gonna get them killed or something- she thought. She just shrugged it off.
"You're not very talkative," Liebgott stated with a smirk.
"Sure I am." She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. "When the conversation is worth it."
"You don't think this conversation is worth it?" He was still smiling.
"Look, I could go into detail about why I'm good enough to be here but what's the point? Those words don't mean much around here I expect." She finished the last bite of her food. The men were waiting for her to continue, so she did.
"You can judge me all you like, but until you see what I can do," She stood up with a smile, "keep it amongst yourselves."
She didn't look back as she walked away but she heard them laughing. She was on her way back to the barracks, hoping they would be empty, and she could have some peace before everyone shuffled in with all the questions. She didn't even make it halfway.
"Montgomery!" Someone shouted from behind her. She turned to see two men walking towards her. She groaned inwardly. First thing she did when they got there was check the names on their uniform. Who ever thought of that idea was a genius. She returned her focus to the men, Luz and Hoobler.
"What can I do for you?" she asked calmly.
"We just wanted to introduce ourselves. I'm George Luz." He was the shorter of the two and had sweet puppy dog eyes and a friendly smile. "That's Don Hoobler."
Hoobler's smile was boyish and welcoming. But any charm she thought he might have had flew right out the window when he asked "How'd you get in to easy company?"
"Real subtle Hoobs," Luz said when Elsie rolled her eyes. She turned and started back towards the barracks. However, she wasn't alone. Hoobler and Luz were right on her tail.
"Hey sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything, but." Hoobler started but she stopped walking and cut him off.
"Yeah yeah, women don't belong in the war. You're not the first person to say it and you won't be the last. But whether you think I'm fit for war or not is irrelevant." She smiled softly. She expected to hear these questions a lot. How'd you get in? Why are you here? She would just grin and bare it.
She continued her walk back to barracks. This time Hoobler and Luz decided not to follow, which she was thankful for. Her luck was looking up when she arrived to an empty room. She plopped down on her cot and relaxed. She soaked in all the silence, knowing that she wasn't going to get a lot of it any time soon.
Soon enough men started trickling in. Tipper and Liebgott were first, shortly followed by Talbert and a man Elsie hadn't met yet. Liebgott sat on the cot next to hers and kicked his boots off. Tipper did the same on the cot next to his. Liebgott was looking at her smirking. She rolled her eyes and looked away. She gave her attention to the man who stopped at her cot. She propped herself up on her elbows and raised a single golden eyebrow.
"I'm Mo Alley." He said. His smile was cute, in a devilish sort of way. "I just thought I would introduce myself since we're sharing the same barracks."
"Elsie Montgomery." She smiled back politely.
"I know." He said before heading to the last cot in their row. He struck up conversation with Tipper but she wasn't listening. She rested her head back on her small pillow. She felt like she was being watched but she didn't look around to see who it could be. Moments later the door opened and in came Luz, Hoobler and three men she didn't know. Damn this room was filling up fast. She got up to leave but was stopped by Luz.
"Hey where ya going?" He gave her a toothy smile.
"For a walk."
"Didn't mean to scare you away," one of the men joked. He had red hair and a goofy smile. According to his uniform, his name was Malarkey. She just snorted as a reply.
"Don't go, we're going to start a poker game soon as everyone gets here," Luz informed her. "You should join us."
She grinned but declined. They were being nice and she didn't believe for one moment it was real. They were up to something and she wasn't going to be an easy target to pick on. As she was leaving she ran into Guarnere and a large, muscular blond man. When he spoke, Elsie noticed an Arkansas brawl.
"I'm Randleman." He smiled and held out his hand for her to shake. He was probably the least intimidating man here, despite his size. "Most people here call me Bull, though."
"Elsie Montgomery." She returned his smiled and hesitantly shook his hand.
"I know who you are."
"I think everyone knows who you are princess," Guarnere said. Why was everyone smiling at her? It was unnerving. "You joining the poker game tonight?"
"No," She said simply.
"Aw c'mon doll, it'll be fun," Guarnere insisted as Bull walked into the barracks.
"You guys already don't want me here, I can't imagine what you'd think if I took all your money." She let one of her genuine smiles slip out. She had a fondness for the game, and it was something she was good at. He let out a bark of laughter. She left him laughing outside of the barracks.
It was still early, and she had plenty of time to explore more of the camp before curfew. She still didn't know where the classes were held, and she need to figure it out before Monday. She weaved around the buildings, most of which were barracks belonging to other companies. Few men lingered outside, most of which either stared at her with shock or lust. Few however were brazen enough to whistle or make vulgar remarks. All of which Elsie expected.
Elsie's godfather didn't object to her joining the army, especially if she was under Colonel Sinks watchful eye. His only concerns were about the other men and how they would treat her. He knew she was strong, but he didn't want her past to be repeated. The way he saw it, she was walking into the lion's den. She understood what he was saying, but it was her choice to make.
"you seem pretty popular." Came a familiar voice. She turned around and saluted.
"Knock it off." Nixon's smile and teasing demeanour was comforting. "What are you doing walking around all alone anyway? Didn't you make any friends yet?"
She snorted, then remembered he was a lieutenant and said "not yet sir."
Nixon let out a hardy laugh. "You don't have to be formal with me when there's no brass around. Call me Nixon, or Nix or Lew. Just anything but sir. It's weird."
She smiled at him, still uncertain if she should be herself around a lieutenant. She was contemplating what to say but he took her silence as a go ahead to say, "You didn't answer my question, what are you doing walking around here?"
"I felt like going for a walk sir, er Nixon." She corrected herself. "I thought maybe I would find were our classes are held."
"Jesus, didn't you get a tour?"
"No, but I found most places this afternoon though."
"Well come on I'll show you around."
Lieutenant Nixon did just that, first stop being the building that held their classes. He also showed her the medical tent and the officer's barracks.
"In case you ever need to find me or Dick." He explained.
"Dick?" a single eyebrow rose.
"Sorry, Lieutenant Winters." He smiled. After showing her a few more places around camp he asked, "So why did you joined the army?"
"I wanted to make a difference."
"That's it?" he questioned. "I mean you could have made a difference doing something else, less dangerous."
"I want to really make a difference, not push papers around." She scoffed.
"You could have been a nurse or something."
"I have terrible bedside manner," she said after letting out snort of laughter. After a moment she continued. "I've learned a long time ago that not everyone has the means to fight for themselves. I want to be the type of person who will fight for them, to protect them."
"That's very noble of you."
"Why did you join?" She asked, then added quickly, "If you don't mind me asking."
"Why would I mind?" He asked rhetorically, then winked. "I joined for the excitement."
It was her turn to laugh. They talked a bit longer then she thanked him for showing her around before headed back to the barracks. There was still an hour left before curfew but she was in a good mood after her talk with Nixon and figured that even the weird behaviour of easy company's men wouldn't bring her down.
She walked in and the room went quiet. Typical -she thought. All the men were gathered around the back left-hand side of the room. They had a makeshift table (a couple of wooden crates and planks) set up in-between the last two cots. Some were sitting on the cots, and some were sitting on extra crates. There were more men than cots in the room and most of them she didn't know. She shrugged it off and b-lined for her bunk. The game had momentarily paused all eyes on her. She grabbed the book off her shelf and looked up. Again, a single eyebrow rose.
"What?" This elicited a few sniggers and multiple smiles.
"You sure you don't want to play?" Luz asked holding up his cards.
"I already told you, she thinks she'll take all our money." Guarnere laughed.
Elsie grinned but didn't say anything. She sat on her bed, took off her boots and placed them neatly at the foot of her bed. She then laid on her stomach and began to read, ignoring the chatter that started back up.
