My Soldier Mate

Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:

NALA POV:

When I was with Alex, Jason and Julia, we were about to watch a movie. When Kelly went into the room and asked if she could watch the movie with us, Jason said “sure.” I knew she wouldn’t be able to stop watching me. I know for a fact she was trying to get me to slip up to get me into trouble with the First Sergeant. But I am not that stupid. I knew I was exhausted. And I know I have been pushing myself a lot more than I used to. And all of my training has been proven to be positive, because at one point, the commander and the first sergeant were going for a walk when it was really early in the morning, and they found me training before all the other privates. I remember that conversation.

FLASHBACK…. I was training myself with the moves that they had taught me and the moves that I had taught myself when I heard a voice coming up behind me. I looked behind me and saw them both walking my way. They looked really confused. The first sergeant asked, “Private Ashton, what are you doing this early?”

I replied, “I am just training.”

The commander said “Okay, but why? "You need to rest because you will burn out fast if you don’t sleep and relax just a little bit.”

I answered, “I barely sleep. I am used to this schedule, because of what I have been through in my home life with my mom and stepfather. And I can barely relax because the nightmares will wake me up anyway because of what they put me through. So training helps keep my mind off of the memories that I am trying hard to forget.”

The first sergeant said, “I get that, but you need to rest. "I know for a fact that talking about what is bothering you will help ease the pain and start to help you sleep and relax.

I replied “I understand that. But I don’t trust people very easily because of what I have gone through. I mean yeah, I have made some friends that I am close to, but I just can’t let my guard down. My brain refuses to let me. I hope one day I can talk about what I have gone through.”

The first sergeant said, “Well, if you need to talk about anything, please come to me. Even if it just needs someone to train with. I will be happy to be there for you. I lost my daughter when she was sixteen to a drunk driver. And I see that same spirit in you that my own daughter had. So please don’t hesitate to come to me about anything okay. And please be safe.” I smiled and then they walked away. And I went back to training… END OF FLASHBACK…

And when I started to doze off, I knew I was exhausted because my body immediately started to shut down just for a little bit. I was around people, so the nightmares hadn’t come yet. But when I was really starting to fall asleep, someone bumped into my chair. That is when I reacted, and I put them to the ground. I then realized it was Kelly. I got off of her and started to walk out the door. Even though Alex and Jason both wanted me to stay and finish the movie. I just couldn’t, I wouldn’t be able to relax after that. And that is when I ran into the woods, to start training again, because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to really sleep. I knew I heard someone coming close to me. I knew the smell. It was Alex. I smiled at myself while I was doing my own thing. He was wondering what was going on and what was happening. He was making sure I was okay. I know he wants to know about me, but I just couldn’t trust him yet because he is still new to me. I know I will eventually tell him, Jason, and Julia about what has happened to me in my life. Once I was done training. I looked at my watch, and it said 1251 in the morning. So I decided to go back to my room and take a shower and try to get some sleep for tomorrow. So I don’t look like a walking zombie. So I started to jog to the room, when I felt like someone was watching me. I literally slowed down so they could get closer to me. I remember people's steps and how they walk. Once they got closer to me, they were so close they could literally tap me on the shoulder if they wanted to, but I didn’t give them a chance. I quickly turned around and I saw Kelly. She was right behind me. I asked, “What do you think you are doing trying to come up behind me?” I already knew you were behind me before you even got close to me. "So what do you think you are going to do?”

Kelly replied “You got my best friend discharged from here. Now I am going to get you back for that.”

I replied “Amanda did that on her own with not following the rules put in place. And how are you going to do that? Because, in like a day and a half, we are leaving training for our deployment.”

Kelly replied, “I have my ways, so don’t worry about it.”

I laughed and said “I am going to bed, Kelly, tonight. I suggest you do the same thing, because tomorrow we have a test to make sure we are ready and, if we are not, we will go home. So tonight. And don’t follow me, or I will put your ass back on the ground like earlier and every time I spar with you. Because you are not as tough as you think. So night.” With that I turned around and walked away. I started to jog back to my room. Once I was inside, I closed my door and locked it and went to the shower. I took a fast shower and went to get dressed and went to set my alarm clock. I laid on my bed, and I finally fell asleep.

The next morning, my alarm went off. I got up. I realized that I actually fell asleep, and I didn’t have another nightmare. It felt so nice to actually get some sleep. That is when I finally got up and got ready to go to training. When I left my room, I was greeted by Kelly, who was sitting next to my door asleep. I decided I would not wake her. I don’t feel like getting treated like crap, and it is not my problem if she is late. That is all on her. So I decided to just walk right past her and went to training. I was like the tenth one there. I have noticed that Alex, Julia, Jason, the first sergeant, the commander and a few other trainees. Once everyone except Kelly was in training, we started training. We started off with warm-ups, and we were about to start running when I saw Kelly coming in her uniform, not neat. Her hair was in a messy bun. Which was not regulated. First Sergeant Matthew Bell saw her and yelled “Cadets halt.” We did as we were told and Kelly was finally coming into the training. The First Sergeant asked “Private Finch, why are you late?”

Kelly replied, “I was sitting outside Private Aston’s room and I fell asleep, I guess, and I didn’t set my alarm. Private Aston should have woken me up to be a teammate.”

The First Sergeant turned his head towards me and asked me to step up. So I did as I was asked. The First Sergeant asked “was she outside your door?”

I answered, “Yes sir. Honestly, her dorm was in my dorm room. Her dorm is across the quad. Yes, she was asleep, but I didn’t think it was my job to make sure she was up and ready to go, because that is not my job. My job is to make sure when we are in the field we will be able to work together and be a team. And Kelly has admitted to me that she is trying to get me disqualified and sent home because her best friend Amanda was sent home because she couldn't follow the rules. So she did everything in her power to make sure I was sent home. So I was tired of making sure she was not going to do anything that would mess up my spot here in the United States Army.”

The First Sergeant replied “You are right, You are not responsible for making sure she can make it. Private Finch, you best be one of the first ones across the finish line, or you are going home. "Okay everyone, let's start the run.” We all got into the running stance, and we heard the whistle, and we started to run. I was in front. I was always faster. Next to me were Alex, Julia, and Jason. I knew I was getting weird looks from Alex, Julia, and Jason. And I couldn’t really understand why. But we just focused on what we were doing. I was the first one across the line. Kelly was the ninth one crossed. The commander said “Pair up, we are going to spar.” I paired up with Jason. Jason smirked and asked, “Are you sure you want to fight with me?”

I replied, “You are no bigger than Alex, so it doesn’t matter unless you are nervous about fighting me.” We both smiled at each other because we knew we were just messing around when I got tapped on the shoulder. I turned around and saw Kelly there. Kelly asked, “Would you mind if I joined your group?” I looked at Jason and he nodded his head. I replied “sure.”

Jason asked, “Okay, since we are a group of three. Who is against whom?”

Kelly replied “How about Jason and me against Nala? Then we can switch.”

I replied “sure why not.” Jason nodded his head. And we all get into our fighting stance.