My Name Is Naomi

Chapter One

U.S. Military Boot Camp

Dcember 1917 WWI

"Did I tell you to stop?!" the sergeant shouted in his face.

"No, sir!" David said, sweat dripping off his brow. His arms were shaking and no matter how badly he wanted to, he couldn't find the strength to do the extra push up.

"Why have you stopped?!"

"I'm tired, sir!"

"I don't care if you're tired! I said I wanted forty push ups! Did you give me forty?!"

David didn't answer. Right now, he felt like lying down, right there in the mud. He felt like dying. The sergeant pushed on his head and shouted the same thing again. David complied, "No,sir! I did not, sir!"

"Then give me another set!"

David groaned, yet again lowering himself to the ground.

"I did not ask for your complaining! I did not ask for half given efforts! I want forty push ups, soldiers! Am I understood?!" the sergeant shouted.

The tired men grumbled a couple of yes sirs under their breath. The sergeant growled, "I said am I understood!"

"YES SIR!" they all shouted back.

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"You had Sergeant Wilkes practically choking your neck today," David's buddy Jeremiah clapped him on the back.

"He's always on me about doing those forty push ups," David replied, drying off his wet hair from the shower.

Jeremiah shrugged nonchalantly and smiled his crooked smile, "You'll get it, buddy. I'm sure you will."

"And if I don't?"

"You'll just have Sergeant Wilkes chasing you around for the rest of the summer." Jeremiah laughed at David's expression.

"No thank you." David shivered with repulsion.

"Hey, you up for playing cards tonight? I heard Branson is bringing his poker chips for a game." Jeremiah slipped on his combat boots, studying him with big, green expectant eyes.

"Nah. I want to stay here and finish up my book." David fell back onto his bed.

"Robinson Crusoe, huh? Tell me about it when you finish." Jeremiah clapped his shoulder before leaving the room.

David smiled at his retreating friend and cracked open his novel. Robinson Crusoe just had a run in with the cannibals, and David wanted to see what he would do next. After nothing else exciting happened for the next couple of pages, he started to slowly drift off to sleep.

............................................................................

"David get up!" Jeremiah said again, shaking him.

"I'm up, I'm up," David raised his hands, yawning.

"You slept in!" his friend said frantically.

That got him awake. He shot up from the bed and shoved on his boots. A glance at the clock told him it was four fifty-seven in the morning. He still had three minutes. A glance at Jeremiah's face told him he had better get his butt out the door. He really only had one minute. Sergeant Wilkes was not okay with tardiness. David ran out of the room with Jeremiah at his heels. They skidded to a halt outside in the line up. David stood straight, trying to calm his breathing and act as if he had been standing there all along. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, that Jeremiah was trying to do the same.

The door to Sergeant Wilkes's cabin slammed open. He began to march down the line, observing each of them. He stopped when he reached David, studying him closely. David forced himself not to swallow or blink or even move and inch. Eventually, the sergeant moved on. He felt a breath of relief escape him, not realizing he had been holding it.

"I want ten laps around the camp! Now move!"

A/N
I decided I'm going to go through and do some editing before I put out the first chapter of the sequel next week!

Thank you all for your patience and support!
-Rosanna
Copyright © 2016 by Rosanna Parker

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