History is Written by the Victor

"Aggies aren't worth shit," sounded from above my head at our SOBC class party. SOBC stands for Signal Officer Basic Course, of course. I looked up to see Tom, a 2nd Lieutenant from Florida State, grinning down at me, an unopened bottle of Jack in one hand and two Dixie cups in the other.

Knowing where this was going, I sighed and looked at Dan, the 2LT who'd ridden with me. "You drink much?"

"Nope."

"You're now designated," I told him, handing him the keys to my Gremlin. The Dixie cup was full now, so I tossed it down, Tom doing the same with the other. Some of our classmates gathered around, and one of the girls said, "This isn't going to end well. It's going to be a mess."

I wasn't sure I could disagree, but I'd been duly challenged. At six-one, I was a couple of inches taller than Tom, but my one-twenty-five-pound frame didn't come close to his one-eighty.

We weren't in a hurry. We talked and ate some snacks between shots. I'm not really sure, but maybe it was a half-hour before Jack was a dead soldier. Tom looked flushed and a bit glassy-eyed, and I felt about how he looked.

Dan tapped my shoulder. "If I'm not drinking, I'm ready to leave." We're Army, but a good wingman is a good wingman.

I staggered as I stood and slapped Tom on the back. "See you at the O-Club tomorrow," then weaved my way behind Dan until we got to my car. I took shotgun there for possibly the first time.

My stomach was rumbling, but I had at least tied Tom in that we were both standing and in relative control of all of our bodily functions when Dan and I left.

I don't remember much about the ride back to our quarters except that the breeze coming through the open window seemed to keep that rumbling in check. Dan made sure I got to my room okay, and it seemed a wise idea to lie down and sleep it off.

Not really. That rumbling downstairs turned to churning, but I did make it to the porcelain goddess before delivering my offerings. After that, the cool bathroom tile felt good enough on my face that I slept there for the next few hours.

It turned out I won. Tom didn't leave when Dan and I did and managed to decorate a large portion of the apartment's bathroom. His story went around our class while I kept my story to myself. The victor controls the narrative, and I did just that.

Gig-em, Aggies! 👍