In the Army IV

There was a female nurse that came to her as soon as she got in.

- Hi! A new face in here!

Kris smiled and lifted her hands.

- What have you got there? Let me see those hands! Ooh… what happened?

- Some broken jar on the floor.

- I see. – The nurse said looking at her. - You still have some pieces of glass here; I’m sorry but it’s gonna hurt!

Christine didn’t answer, her mind was somewhere else.

- What’s your name? – She finally asked the nurse.

- Gloria! – She seemed happy just for the question itself and showed a big smile. – And yours?

- Tollman… Christopher.

- Nice to meet you Christopher.

Christine thought that was strange, she was just using their first names.

- So… Gloria, how long have you been here?

- Around two years… two and a half!...

- Do you like it here?

- I love it! Everybody’s nice to me, I help you guys while you’re here, I get to know lots of people… it’s very nice!

Christine was glad that everybody had a different taste.

- There! It’s cleansed! Let me protect those wounds now! … You have nice hands, you know?! – She said smiling. – And you’re nice too!

- …Thanks. – Christine thought she was smiling a bit too much at her. And somehow she seemed too close to her. She felt uncomfortable with that.

- Do you have a girlfriend? – She asked.

- … Not really, no!

- Really?!

She nodded looking at the wounds kind of trying to remind the nurse what she was there for. But she kept on with that kind of questions and behaviour. Although impersonating a man Christine wasn’t ready for that and she had to do something about it.

- Are you flirting with me, Gloria? – Christine dared to ask.

- Would you like that? – She smiled.

- You wouldn’t want to!

- Why’s that?

- Trust me on this!

- Well, that’s up to me, isn’t it? – She continued showing her claws and teeth in a figure of speech. To Christine it felt as if the nurse was ready to jump at any time, not to attack – well, not in that way – but to ask for something else, something inappropriate.

In the meantime, Kane was picking on a recruit, for a change, when another sergeant suddenly came to him.

- Where is Tollman?

- The first aid station.

- This one?

- Yeah, why?

- Isn’t Gloria in there? She’s not in the second!

For some reason they laughed.

- Go back to training, private! – Kane said to the soldier he was picking on and that was still close to them.

- Yes, sir!

- She wouldn’t tell, would she? – The sergeant asked.

- She won’t tell, she has orders not to.

- Even under pressure? You know how… convincing Gloria can be!

- To men, yes, I agree. – He said smiling.

- Let me put it this way: you know how… persistent can Gloria be sometimes! Our girl – he said in a lower tone of voice and looking around for someone close – may not like it at all!

Kane looked at him, thinking. He seemed to have understood what the other sergeant meant with that and was imagining the possible scene. Although he felt somehow amused with those pictures, he was trying to decide whether to do something about it or not.

- I think it’s better to check it out. – The other said.

- I’ll go! – Kane finally said. – Stay here and keep an eye on them.

Meanwhile Gloria was still showing her claws to Kris.

- I hope you don’t have to come here again for any cuts or bleedings but I do hope you come and visit me!

- …

First sergeant Kane entered at the right moment.

- Well, well, well! Look who’s here! Can I take care of you, sergeant?

Christine was thinking Gloria just liked being that way, provoking them. She was being a woman in the middle of all those men, just like the first sergeant have said. Now she understood that comment wasn’t about her – she caused no trouble – but about other women like Gloria.

- I’m fine, thanks Gloria! And how are private Tollman’ hands?

- Ooh! – And she said lowering the tone of voice, joking about it – You must be good! If first sergeant Kane comes here for a soldier… hmm… he must have you under his wing. I wonder why!?... You must be good here! …Even better…! – She said turning to Christine who felt herself… dislocated again.

- Gloria, you behave now! Are you finished with him?

- Wanna come next? – She said smiling.

- Gloria!

- Yes, sir! I’m finished with his hands but he’s hurting, the poor thing - she said looking at her – and doesn’t let me take care of him. Have you been fighting or something? – She finally said with a concerned tone on her voice

- …

- Well, Gloria, - Kane intervened again in her rescue – if you’re finished with the visible wounds of private Tollman here, he has to go back to his training. So, hurry up.

- Yes, sir!

And he left.

Christine was puzzled.

- Why does the first sergeant call you by your first name? – She asked Gloria.

- Everybody calls me Gloria! – Answered the nurse not understanding the question. – Why are you asking?

- I just think it’s strange! Everybody calls everybody by their last names in here! But not you!

- Well, I guess it means they think I’m different! That’s good, isn’t it? – And there she was smiling and flirting again.

Christine was thinking there was no chance she wanted that role for her. They thought she was different, alright. She was a woman. But then again, her behaviour didn’t help to change that. Was her behaviour a cause or a consequence? Right then, she just wanted to get out of that play!

- What about other women in here?

- What about them?

- Is it the same with them?

She thought for a while before answering the question.

- Well… yes! Never thought about that before!

She kept thinking about it and then her voice changed a little.

- Maybe it’s because we’re women! But then… we are different! – And then she got back to her look and smile, flirting.

- I have to go back now, Gloria! – She said hurrying herself out. – Nice to meet you.

As she was getting to the training field, Kane was talking with the other sergeant and saw her.

- Tollman!

- Yes, sir! – She answered getting close to them.

- Although we all had a good time watching you two fight, and although you are both good fighters, that’s not what we do right here. And I hope it doesn’t happen again. Is that clear?

- Yes, sir!

- Good.

- So you met Gloria, huh? – The other sergeant couldn’t help interrupt and ask it.

- Yes, sir!

- Was she nice to you? – He asked keeping himself from laughing.

She understood what he meant but didn’t play along.

- …She seems to be a nice girl, sir!

- Good. Now get back to work! – He said.

- Wait, Tollman! Go back but no more rope climbing for today!

- Yes, sir!

At the end of the day, back at dorm, Thorn seemed like a wounded animal, with a wounded pride and few words to share. The guys could be mean, saying he was beaten by a girl but they could also be companions, telling him what a great fighter he was – well, that they both were.

Although doing one or another exercise in her room, Christine didn’t go to her nightly workouts for a couple of days, since she was still hurt inside. Kane felt her absence outside and by day, he kept his eye on her.

The following days were all very quiet for her, without Thorn nagging her but soon she couldn’t help to notice that first sergeant Kane was picking on her again. She could have guessed, it was all too soft. At least they stopped imposing limits to her training! Concerning the first sergeant, well she kind of liked that attention from him. Maybe he really had her under his wing. She wouldn’t mind that, she thought. She smiled thinking about it while at formation. He was 3 men away when he saw her smile and got back to her, stepping in slowly.

- What is so funny, soldier? – He got her by surprise and she startled. - Something I was saying?

- No, sir!

- So what?

- Nothing, sir! – But she couldn’t stop feeling amused for her mental pictures and didn’t feel the least disturbed by that.

- Let’s see if you keep smiling. 60! On the floor!

- Yes, sir! – And so she did.