Project: High School

Chapter 8 - "What do you find so funny, Katy?"

- Flashback to the brainstorming -

"Remind me why you're going all out with this idea of yours" Richerson sighed as he shifted in the seat that he had been sitting in for 2 hours. The whiteboard was filled with what looked like gibberish to anyone who were not part of the conversation.

"Because, despite what many other people would think in this kind of situation, I don't want any one of your men to decide that they should fix it themselves," She paused and looked over to Richerson over the fake glasses that she had pulled out. "After all, do you want a repeat of the Barbos incident?"

He froze, his eyes wider than dinner plates. "We promised to never speak of that again."

She held her hands up, stepping away from the board and plopping down next to him with a sigh, "I'm just making a statement. After all, neither of us want a repeat of that incident and you were asking why I was spending so much time on this. So..."

"I really hate it when you make a point to provoke me."

"Ya-da-ya-da. We're wasting daylight, let's get back to work."

- Back to Present time -

Bill and Carlos cross the finish line mere seconds apart and both flop down onto the ground together. Katy tosses them the cold water and sits down next to them. The other platoon members cluster close to the three as they wait, rather impatiently, for her to announce the losers punishment.

Katy glances over to the crowd of men, makes a face and turns toward them.

"For goodness sake, give the poor men time to catch their breath. They just spent an hour and twenty minutes doing an excruciating, full-body exercise, putting their bodies under a lot of strain. So," Katy waves her hand toward the course. "Shoo. And if you need something to do while you wait, run the course yourself."

A few choice words can be heard, along with mild protest, as the group disperses throughout the course and back toward the sidelines to hang and trade gossip.

Richerson looks down at the men laying on the ground. He watches them for a moment before sitting carefully down next to Katy.

She glances over at him for a second and shifts so that she's using him as a back rest. The four of them are quiet as they watch the other men make their way through the course. The silence remains comfortable for a few minutes before Katy starts to laugh.

Bill and Carlos look at each other uncertainly before looking toward Richerson, who is just as confused as the two of them.

"What do you find so funny, Katy?"

Her laughter turns into a light chuckle as she shifts to face the three men, "I just had a weird moment of, like deja vu. But then it kinda turned into something really weird, almost as if I could see someone else who wasn't there."

Bill pinches her arm gently, "You good?"

Katy shakes her head slightly to clear it, grinning widely. 

"Yeah, I'm okay. Though," Her grin turns into a genuine smile. "It sounds like you're concerned for me. That's progress."

Bill quickly moves back away from her with an expression of disgust on his face.

"C-concern," He splutters. "How dare you suggest that I care whether or not you're sane! If I could care less, I wouldn't be here, sitting on the ground completely exhausted because I got my ass handed to me by a 17 year old who has a higher rank than me!!"

He shoots to his feet and storms off, his face the color of the skin of a Dragon Fruit. Carlos watches him for a moment before turning to face Katy. He stares at her for a second, looking very confused.

Katy meets his gaze, notes the slightly distance look in his eyes, and turns to talk to Richerson.

"Have any idea what that was about?"

"Nope." He responds, popping the 'p' and making himself chuckle.

"Tch. Oh well, I guess we've rested long enough."

She gets up off the ground, takes a deep breath, and yells "Get yo asses over here!" so loud that it echoes down the entire course, catching the attention of all the men.

It takes a few minutes for all the guys to make their way down to the finish line, some of them deciding that they would go through the course to get back to the finish line.

Katy watches the men who have decided to do this with unmasked frustration and a little bit of contempt as they ever so slowly make their way back. It takes a while, but once every one is crowded around her, she takes a breath and clears her throat.

 "As you all so desperately want to know, I will now be announcing what Bill and Carlos will be having to do seeing as they lost," She takes a second to look Bill and Carlos dead in the eye. "The two of them will be cleaning up the Mess after dinner tonight. The duration of this punishment will just be for tonight."

Groans of disappointment are heard from many different people throughout  the crowd. Richerson rolls his eyes as Katy leans in closer to whisper in his ear, "Aren't they bloodthirsty. Glad I chose this instead?"

"You can stop rubbing it in, Katy. I got your point. You were right and I was wrong, okay?" 

Katy blows a raspberry in Richerson's face, "Fine, fine, I'll stop rubbing it into your face."

She turns back toward the crowd of men, "In addition, they will clean up by themselves. None of their friends from other platoons are allowed to help them unless I deem it necessary." 

She looks over the two platoons, taking in all their expressions and looking carefully at Carlos and Bill, their faces a mask of disbelief and frustration. She can't help but smile gently.

"Don't worry boys. It won't to bad if you keep an open mind from now on, but if you can't seem to keep your mouth shut when it comes to talking about me," Her voice drips to a raspy whisper. "You'll have to deal with your fellow men. And they won't be as forgiving."

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I'm finally on schedule, yippee! I'm glad that the story is starting to go somewhere. Happy holidays, folks

After an unsuccessful harvest, why did the farmer decide to try a career in music?

Because he had a ton of sick beets.