Reaching for the Stars

chapter 2

July, 1942

Shirley had just made it to Camp Toccoa, she started to feel slightly uncomfortable with all the men staring at her.

"Have y'all never seen a girl before or what? I'm sure you wouldn't look at your mom like that!" Said Shirley fairly annoyed. "I'm here for the same reason as you guys so if you have a problem with me being here, just tell me, I'm sure we can sort it out!" Everyone stayed silent, looking slightly nervous. "That's what I fucking thought." She huffed throwing her bag onto her cot. She sat down on the cot and pulled out the book she had been reading, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. As she began to read a voice spoke to her. There were three men next to her cot where she was sitting.

"Hey, pretty, so what is your name? I'm Donald Malarkey, but you can call me Malarks if you want. Oh, and these two hooligans are Skip Muck and Warren Penkala." The voice belonged to a nice-looking man around her age. "I'm Shirley Martin, thank you for being so nice to me. It's a pleasure to meet you boys. Can I call you Don? I won't if you don't want me to." Shirley started rambling at him. "You can call me whatever you'd like to. Wait did you say you're a Martin?" He questioned much to Shirley's confusion. "Yeah I am, why?" She asked.

Shirley's POV

"Johnny! Come over here!" The guy, whom I assumed was Johnny, came jogging over to where we were looking about as confused as I.

"Johnny, this is Shirley , and Shirley this is Johnny. Do you know each other?" Why the fuck would I know this random guy? "You guys share a last name!"

"I don't know about you, Malarks, but I have been here for about 5 minutes, how do you expect me to know him."

"Hey! Don't bite my head off! I was just curious! Where are you both from?"

"Ohio," said Johnny with a deadpan expression on his face.

"South Philly!"

"Well, all I'm saying is you might be related! So I don't know, do a family tree or something so I don't have to die curious." with that he walked away to grab a piece of paper from his small, leather journal.

~~~
"Don, I think you are a genius!"

"Well, thanks, but why?"

"Look here! So my dad and Johnny's dad are cousins. His grandpa and mine are brothers, so I have found my long lost cousin!"

"See? I knew it! I'm basically amazing is what you're trying to tell me?"

~~~
"You people are at the position of attention! Private Perconte? Have you been blousing your trousers over your boots like a Paratrooper?" Came the bark of none other than Captain Sobel.

"No, sir."

"Then explain the creases at the bottom?"

"No excuse, sir."

"Volunteering for the parachute infantry is one thing, Perconte, but you've got a long way to prove you belong here. Your weekend pass is revoked."

"Name?"

"Luz, George."

"Dirt in the rear side aperture, pass revoked."

"When did you sew on these chevrons, Sergeant Lipton?"

"Yesterday, sir."

"Long enough to notice this. Revoked."

He came down the line towards where I was stood, but came upon Don first.

"Name?"

"Malarkey, Donald G."

"Malarkey? Malarkey's slang for bullshit, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Rust on the butt plate hinge spring private bullshit. Revoked."

He walk toward me.

"Name?"

"Martin, Shirley A."

"A girl, huh? How'd you get let in here? Your collar isn't creased correctly and your hair is falling into your face. How do you think the men here will get anything done with the sight of a woman here? Revoked."

"Yes, sir." What the fuck is this guy thinking?

He continued down the line till he saw his next victim.

"Name?"

"Liebgott, Joseph D., sir."

"Rusty bayonet, Liebgott. You wanna kill Germans?"

"Yes, sir."

"Not with this." He walked to the front of the battalion. "I wouldn't take this rusty piece of shit to war and I will not take you to war in your condition. Now thanks to these men and their infractions, every man in the company who had a weekend pass has lost it."

"Change into your PT gear, we're running Currahee."

~~~
Please leave comments on who you'd like Shirley to end up with. I know it is the beginning, but I can write better if I can see how I'd like it to end!
Thanks to all who have waited patiently for this, I will be better about posting chapters (actually this time).
Love you all ❤️