Chapter 7: SERBIA STRONG/Remove Kebab

Eight days have passed that evening. The girls of Johnston faced off against the Nedić of Serbia. Our school ship made a stop over in Montenegro and we all took a train ride towards Belgrade in Serbia. It was nice to watch the Rebel girls try out their training for once against an opponent for once. This time around I was watching the battle through a giant screen rather than the jeep in my favorite spot. Just listening and watching the Serbs cheer their team on was a spectacle in of itself. Yelling and screaming in their own Slavic language followed by some of the girls playing an accordion did make for an interesting show. It is nice to see a fellow lively culture.

In the match up, the Rebels utilized their Stonewall shield and it was successful for the most part. The first issue came about when the Serbs decided to retreat from the Stonewall and head for the forest. The trees and boulders did not provide much cover nor a real challenge for the southern girls until it dawned on everyone, myself included that there were only two Serbian tanks engaging with them. This tactic allowed the rest of the team to encircle the Rebels and fire without much worry of counterattack. The southern tank force was hit with an impasse; they did take out two of the enemies' tanks but now can't find a flank to escape from. There was one spot intentionally left open but knowing the art of war, Delilah decided not to take it.

The battle certainly looked like it was going to end soon. The Serbian audience certainly thought so. "Mosby" was taken down as well as "Hood" and "Beauregard." Despite that, it wasn't entirely one sided as "Stonewall" kept moving forward towards the firing line. No matter how many shots hit the massive Tog II, it kept moving... At a steady eight and a half miles per hour. It was at this time, a plan went into motion with "Forrest" and "JEB" speeding out and zigzagging each other as they passed the Tog II. In a few seconds, they escaped the encirclement thanks to "Lee" and "Longstreet" eliminating two of the tanks in front of "Stonewall."

The competition went neck and neck after that with the rest of the team leaving the encirclement and the Serbs began to retreat once with the Rebels taking chase, the greater issue then lied upon the flat plain they were all stuck in. No obstacles or hills to utilize. Nothing but chaos erupted in that field. The southern girls were in their home element just like in the practice field. It was unfortunate that homefield advantage like that didn't mean too much. Both sides were losing tanks in the crossfire and not before long only "Stonewall" was left standing against the last Serbian tank. Their battle did last for a good ten minutes, but the Tog II's massive size proved to be the deciding factor as it just absorbed whatever hit it took. And with that, Johnston Academy was the winner.

It took close to three hours for the celebration to start. Both teams were at the campsite, Dixie was at the grill cooking some barbecue while Delilah was in charge of frying chicken. There was enough coke and sweet tea to fill the Mississippi. While everyone's food was getting prepared, each team took a turn singing "O Susanna!" Didn't know there was a Serbian version. It was nice to see some of the girls dance together as food was getting on the tables. It was by that time I walked to the grill and was right beside Dixie.

"Saw you guys out there, y'all did pretty well," I said as Dixie put some pork ribs on a plate to be passed to the other girls.

She turned to me and smiled. "We sure did. Almost thought the Stonewall'd be taken out near the end." It was after she said that I noticed a twitch in her eye.

"You did a good job."

There was a few seconds of silence as she continued grilling. "Thanks."

The rest of the time at the party became what you'd expect. More laughs, shouts, and hollerings as the night continued on. It was well past midnight by the time the Serbian girls went back to their dorms. By this time, most of the girls were out like a light. Only me, Dixie, Ruby, and Delilah were still awake as I was assigned to help with cleaning. It was fortunate that most of my job was to just pick up the paper plates and throw them into a trash bag. The smell of the party was still permeating; burnt charcoal, cooked beef and pork, fried chicken. I would be lying if I said I didn't have fun there, but it was a little too lively for me to truly wish it had lasted longer. A half hour later and pretty much everything was taken care of. The only remaining issue was the sleeping comrades.

"Any ideas?" Delilah asked.

"We could get a wheelbarrow and roll them to the train station," Ruby answered.

"I don't think we have a big enough one for a single trip," Dixie chimed in.

Delilah smirked. "Then we'll do plan B." She then brought her forefingers to her mouth and gave the loudest ear piercing whistle I've ever heard in my life. The whistle was successful in waking everyone up, each groggily opening their eyes and slowly but surely standing up. "Alright ladies! Time to get home!"

After everyone was up, I was about to follow the girls until I felt a tug on my sleeve. I turned and saw a familiar look in Dixie's eyes.

"Uh, Delilah?" I called. "We'll catch up with you in a little bit."

"Don't take too long," Delilah said as she shook a teammate who was about to nod off. "We need to be in Montenegro before sunrise."

"Don't worry 'Lilah, we won't take long," Dixie said as she and I began walking down the field.

"How're you holding up?" I asked as we both took a seat on the grass beneath.

Her breath began to shake as she crossed her arms. "I almost blew it."

"What happened?"

"Near the end of the battle, I couldn't make any good calls. The sounds of the shells hitting the tank..."

I noticed her hands began to tremble. "Slow down, it's okay. The battle's over."

She took a deep breath and opened her mouth only for the words to be trapped in her throat. I was about to put a hand on her shoulder when she found her voice. "I think I've become too afraid of tankery."

"I suppose," I said as I quickly put my and back on the ground before she turned to me. "But that doesn't mean it's going to be the case forever."

"Well, yes. But I just wish this didn't happen right as we have competition. I'm going to bring my team down. I know it."

I looked up to the starlit sky. "I don't see it that way."

Tears began to well up in her eyes. "How?"

"Think of it this way. Today was a true test of strength for you. Even when things got tense at the end, you still stuck through and won. There may be crazier challenges later on, but that doesn't mean you can't meet them."

"That sounds nothing like you," Dixie said with a smile.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little. "My sister told me that not too long ago."

"About that-"

"Remember, only one question. That was the promise."

"What happened in that accident?"

I took a deep breath, letting the cool air fill my lungs as I relaxed my shoulders and turned towards her. "There was a pretty bad wreck, the car she was in lost control and crashed into another. Mom and dad weren't there."

Dixie's eyes widened to what she was hearing.

"The crash was so bad that the gas tank was leaking and quickly caught fire. Thankfully, she was pulled out before flames got too big, but, you already know."

I saw Dixie look down as she took all this in. "You were the one who pulled her out, weren't you?" She asked as looked up and directly into my eyes.

I gave no response as I turned my attention back to the stars.

"Do you really think I can get through this?"

"I believe so."

Those three words didn't really do much to help as I could still see the uncertainty growing in her eyes.

"You know," I started, "You don't have to only confide in me. I'm sure some of your tankmates would be more than happy to hear you-"

"No."

"What do you mean 'no?'"

"I mean no. I can't let them know about this. My team depends on me, this match very much proves that. I can't let them down nor let them think I can't make it."

"I think they would be understanding, they know you better than me. I'm sure Delilah'd be more than happy to help out."

"I would rather we keep this between you and me."

"Fine then."

Dixie stood up. "We should probably get going, 'Lilah's gonna get upset." She extended a hand and I took it to help me up.

"Do you feel any better?" I asked as we began walking to the train station.

"A little," she paused as she scratched the back of her head. "I'd love to meet your sister one day."

I smiled. "She really is a wonderful girl to talk to. Going to be visiting her in a couple of weeks. Think you'll be open to come?"

"I think so."

We didn't say anything after that as we continued out walk. I looked to the stars one more time, if only I paid more attention to astronomy class... Maybe I could've had more things to talk about with the constellations and light pollution. Oh well. It didn't take too long for us to reach the train station, Delilah was constantly staring at her watch before looking and seeing us.

"About time!" She yelled as she motioned for everyone to get in a line.

"It wasn't that long," I chimed.

"Still took plenty of time."

All of Dixie's tankmates looked at me as they grouped up with her. I could only hear snickers and whispers and maybe a few giggles. As we all lined up, we had to wait a for at least another half hour for the next train to arrive and during that time, Dixie was pushed by her tankmates to be right beside me.

"Did you need something?" I asked her.

"No, it's just..." She stopped to look at her teammates smiling at her. "It's nothing."

"If you say so."

The train eventually arrived and in single file fashion, we each found a seat. I took the seat at the end to the right only to find that Dixie decided to sit next to me.

"The girls wouldn't allow me anywhere else," she told me.

"It's not too bad," I said as I took my spectacles off and folded them onto my collar.

"No I suppose not."

Both of us sat there as we waited for the train to start moving. While looking at all the teammates, I couldn't help but notice that Delilah was staring at the both of us, almost like she's expecting something to happen.

I paid it no mind as I relaxed my neck and closed my eyes. Only within seconds did I end up falling asleep. It wasn't until we got the ship at sunrise that the youngest member of the "Stonewall" showed me a picture of the both of us sleeping. Dixie was resting her head on my shoulder. I'd be lying if I said either one of us ended up not feeling embarrassed.