Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Here's my gift to you! :D It's a little shorter than usual, but I think it's an interesting chapter.
Chapter Eleven: It's Miller Time
Luck ran out the day before Christmas.
The first week at Camp Barkeley focused on marching and classroom training sessions. Each day started at six o'clock, several hours of training, and ended with a meal, a shower, and lights out at nine o'clock. The training sessions and meals sailed by smoothly. The showering part, however, became a problem.
Still showering at eight-forty-five, when most of the soldiers were already finished, Suzie kept using her towel to cover herself. Nobody paid her any heed the first few days until the Friday of Christmas Eve. The usual four to five men who showered at the same time as Suzie must have considered Suzie's actions weird and decided to confront Suzie's behavior.
In her defense, Suzie never caused any problems. She kept to herself unless instructed to interact with her unit members by Stone or Hassen. She worked hard during the training sessions, ensuring she did not stand out in any way. Uncle Henry suggested falling in the middle of the group, not to draw attention either by becoming accomplished and talented or struggling to complete any request by higher ranking officials.
Despite all her efforts to remain an average soldier, some of the soldiers in her unit noticed Suzie's showering habits—the one time Suzie stood out.
Instead of reporting the "strange behavior" to Stone or Hassen, two of the five regular men who showered around the same time as Suzie cornered her in the shower building Christmas Eve.
After drying off and changing into her sleepwear, Suzie gathered her belongings and started to head to the door when Walter Lemay and Dennis Garcia, the two oldest recruits in the unit, jumped in front of Suzie. At six feet four inches—two inches below the minimum height requirement for the army—Walter Lemay leaned his bulk up against the door, blocking that building's only exit.
Dennis Garcia, who stood a few inches shorter and several pounds lighter than Lemay, stepped closer to Suzie, his brown eyes gleaming with excitement. Running a hand through his short, dark hair, Garcia licked his lips and grinned. His pearly white teeth shone against his honey-colored skin.
"So, Barnes," Garcia said, rolling his shoulders back and nodding at Lemay behind him. "We've noticed how you've been acting."
Raising an eyebrow, Suzie took a step away from the two, her heart rate picking up speed with each passing second. Glancing between Walter "Hillbilly" Lemay and Dennis "Perfect Teeth" Garcia, it seemed like the odds were not in her favor. Sure, she could handle herself in a fight, but between Lemay's hulking form and the outline of abs on Garcia's bare stomach, Suzie did not stand a chance.
Staying silent, Suzie waited to see what Garcia and Lemay planned to do. Lemay crossed his large arms against his broad chest, letting Garcia take the reins. Garcia kept walking forward, to the point where the back of Suzie's legs bumped against a bench, causing her to sit unexpectantly on the wooden bench.
"What do you want?" Suzie asked, moving to stand up. With a rough shove, Garcia forced Suzie back down while Lemay strode over to tower over Suzie.
"You need a little reminder that we're in the army," Lemay said, his deep voice rumbling in the empty room.
"And in the army," Garcia added, "we act like men, not like some broad. Your towel business is making us look bad. The army doesn't let some man-loving, broad-acting, fathead join. We're not letting you off the hook for the way you've been acting."
Unable to keep her mouth shut at the insults flying from Garcia and Lemay, Suzie fired back: "You've been watching me shower? Maybe you're the man-loving, broad-acting, fatheads."
If they were characters in the Looney Tunes show, smoke would have shot out of Garcia's ears. Lemay stepped forward, grabbed Suzie by the front of her shirt, and pinned her against the wall.
"Wanna say that again?" Lemay growled, his other fist raised. He glanced over his shoulder at Garcia fuming behind him. "Whaddya say, Denny? Should we beat the sass from 'em?"
Garcia nodded and cracked his knuckles. He wound up for a punch and nailed Suzie right in the stomach before she could react. Wheezing, Suzie struggled to break free of Lemay's grip. She ducked as Lemay's meaty fist sailed at her head. The impact left a few cracks in the wall where Suzie's head was a few seconds earlier.
Breaking free from Lemay's grasp by scratching his arm with her fingernails, Suzie blocked another punch from Garcia only for Lemay to kick her in the side by Lemay, sending her sprawling across the floor. Two thick hands grabbed her by the back of her shirt, hauling her to her feet for Garcia to sock her in the jaw.
Spitting out a wad of blood, Suzie retaliated by knocking one of Garcia's pearly whites from his mouth. The tooth tumbled to the floor, earning Suzie another blow to the stomach. Doubling over, Suzie dropped to her knees, unable to stand on her own. The sudden motion unbalanced Lemay, who pitched forward before correcting himself and dropping Suzie to the ground.
Lemay stood over Suzie and raised both his fists, intending to slug Suzie in the back. Before Lemay could strike, Suzie rolled over and kneed him right between the legs. Groaning in pain, Lemay dropped to his knees, clutching at himself.
A small grin spread across Suzie's face, only for Garcia to wipe it off with a right hook. Stars flitted across Suzie's line of vision as she caught herself from falling onto her side. Struggling to remain upright, she aimed another kick at Lemay's groin. However, a thick arm suddenly wrapped around her neck, cutting off her airway.
Gasping in shock, Suzie redirected her attention to the arms choking her. Against the increasing black spots spreading from the edges of her vision, Suzie tried to remember how to escape a headlock. Too stunned to think properly, Suzie bared her teeth, dug her fingernails into Garcia's forearm, and posed to bite him when a voice suddenly shouted "STOP!"
That caught Garcia's attention enough for Suzie to wiggle out from his loosening chokehold. Lemay glared up from where he still kneeled on the floor. Through her sputtering, Suzie saw the ginger who slept next to her in the barracks standing in the doorway.
"Go away, Miller," Garcia hissed, his accent seeping into his voice.
"I don't know what's going on, but I've seen enough," the ginger said. Motioning in Suzie's direction, Miller added: "He's done nothing to bother you, so leave him alone."
"If you're with him, why don't you join the fight," Lemay added, wobbling to his feet.
Miller's pale face turned the same shade as his hair, blotting out the numerous freckles dotting his pale skin. "Don't make me get Lieutenant Stone. In fact, he's right around the corner," Miller threatened. "I'm sure he won't be happy to hear that you almost killed a fellow soldier."
Lemay's eyes widened but Garcia's narrowed. Scoffing, Garcia spat a wad of blood at Suzie's feet, jeered as he gathered his belongings, and nodded for Lemay to follow.
"He's not worth it," Garcia said. As he passed Miller at the door, Garcia jabbed a finger into Miller's skinny chest. "If you ever interfere again, you can join Barnes in the infirmary."
Spewing insults, Lemay ripped the door handle from Miller's grip and slammed the door shut, shaking the hinges and leaving Suzie alone with the skinny ginger.
Finally alone, Miller stepped closer to Suzie and knelt beside her. "Are you okay?" Miller asked and offered a handkerchief.
"You didn't have to do that," Suzie choked out, wincing as she took the handkerchief and started cleaning the blood from her face.
"Why not?" Miller asked, helping Suzie to her feet. "Garcia was going to kill you."
Stifling her groans of pain, Suzie hobbled over to the showerheads, turned one on, and ran the handkerchief underneath the water. Behind her, Miller hovered against the wall separating the showerheads and the benches to watch, making sure that Suzie did not fall.
"You should see a doctor," Miller said, leaning against the wall. His eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"I'm fine," Suzie spat out. In truth, a stinging sensation ran across her face from a black eye forming on her right side. Her bleeding nose was probably broken, and bruises had already appeared on her midsection. Breathing hurt from the contusions encircling her throat.
"What did they want anyway?" Miller asked when Suzie finished cleaning off her face. He offered a hand when Suzie headed for the benches but she brushed him off.
"They didn't like the way I showered," Suzie muttered and eased herself onto a bench.
"What? With your towel thing?" When Suzie raised an eyebrow, Miller added: "We shower around the same time. I've noticed that you use a towel for privacy but it's none of my business. If you wanna use a towel, then that's your choice. You're not hurting anyone and I'm sure you've got a good reason to do so. It's not against any rules, so why does it matter to them?"
Suzie shrugged, wincing when it brought pain racing up her spine.
"They're bullies," Miller continued. "They'll probably end up in jail after the war. What they did now definitely broke several laws in the army."
Suzie tuned out the ginger as Miller went into a spiel about the laws Garcia and Lemay broke, even listing the specific passages and repercussions that pertained to their actions. Struggling to her feet, Suzie raised a hand to stop Miller midsentence.
"Why do you know so much about this?" Suzie asked. "We didn't go into that much detail in class."
Miller shrugged, a nerdy grin spreading across his face as his strikingly green eyes lit up. "Oh, I'm studying to be a lawyer." His excitement faded a bit and his shoulders sank. "Or was studying, before the army and whatnot. But it's okay. One day I'll be an amazing lawyer bringing justice to the world and sending jerks like Garcia and Lemay to jail!"
He paused a bit to revel in the prospect of sending jerks to jail in the future. Blinking in realization, he grinned again. "Oh, I haven't officially introduced myself," Miller pointed out. "We do sleep right next to each other, but I can see you're not the most talkative type, so we haven't really interacted much. I'm Richard Miller; you can call me Richard or Richie or Miller, I don't mind which one."
Miller extended his hand, waiting for Suzie to shake it. Not wanting to be rude, Suzie shook Miller's hand with a small smile. "Barnes. Suz-Riley Barnes," she corrected, hoping that Miller wouldn't notice the slip-up.
The ginger either didn't notice or didn't care. Instead, he went on another spiel, explaining that he's from Springfield, New Jersey and that he missed his girlfriend, Helen—the "most beautiful and stunning woman in the whole wide world."
Halfway through Miller's speech, Suzie held up her hand again. "Look, Richard, we've got five minutes until lights out and it's gonna take me the whole five minutes to walk back to our bunks. So, if you want to help me, could you please keep an eye out for those two hooligans?"
Richard nodded, matching his pace to stay in step with Suzie's trudging. Once they reached their barrack, Richard helped Suzie sit down and offered to tell Lieutenant Stone about the fight.
"Save it for tomorrow," Suzie replied, too exhausted to care. "It's too late to do anything tonight."
Pausing, Richard thought for a moment before perking back up. "Hey, tomorrow's Christmas. We get the whole afternoon off, so why don't we go see a movie or something?"
"Sure, why not?" Suzie muttered through closed eyes. Lying on her back to ease the pain, she sighed and pulled the covers up to her chin.
"Great!" Richard said, lying down in his own bed. "Good night, Riley."
"'Night," Suzie whispered. After Lieutenant Stone turned the lights off, Suzie rolled to her left side and whispered in the dark. "Oh, and Richard?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, pal."
The first episode of Looney Tunes aired in the 1930s, so Suzie could have seen a few episodes. Also, if you read the original story (since this is a rewrite), you probably remember Richard Miller. He's named after a student teacher that I had during my junior year of band. Some people called him Richard, even though that's not his actual first name. The real-life person also looks and acts nothing like the character, but everyone liked Mr. Miller so he earned a fictional character (kind of) named after him. Lemay and Garcia are just random characters I made up. Any references to actual people are purely coincidental.
The next chapter will be soon! :)