Military Brat

Making A Friend

AN: The town and military base mentioned are located in Kansas and Alfred is a genius

He showered for a whole seven minutes, dried off, and came to the realization that he had worn his civvies which were now drenched in sweat. He sighed as he put on the fatigues he always carried with him and did up his combat shoes. He had the black undershirt on but hadn't put the jacket on yet when the junior boys entered the locker room. He simply grabbed the jacket, his military-issued bag that he was using as a backpack, and waited by the door for Matthew to hurry up. Matthew was finally ready and they had a free period before lunch. Matthew introduced Alfred to his friends who didn't care. Alfred barely smiled at them, said hello, and was promptly ignored as the friends started to talk. Matthew and his friends forgot Alfred was even there, no one even looking at him. They didn't notice when he slipped away to drink from the drinking fountain. He sighed, reminded once again about how different he was from all the other people in this school. He was contemplating doing his homework for the college classes he was enrolled in and only had a few more credit hours before he'd have another degree to add to his massive collection. Arthur and Francis had no clue about the courses or the amount of degrees he had in multiple subjects and the sheer amount of time he spent so far in his life to schooling and the military. He started to head to the shaded area with benches on the other side of the courtyard before he noticed Natasha sitting alone on one of the benches. He walked over to her, noticing the tears immediately. He stood right in front of her, a few feet away for personal space or something like that. He would never mention the tears because it was rude to do so.

"Hey! You're Natasha, right? We were gym partners today. You were awesome at that jump rope thing! I've never seen something like it or even knew it was possible for someone to do that with a piece of rope! Could you teach me how?" Alfred was rambling and he knew it but the lady needed someone to talk to. He knew what it was like to have no friends. Heck, he still didn't have any. He suddenly realized that he had never had a friend before. Natasha smiled up at him and moved over so that he could sit next to her. He did, placing the bag next to him. He pulled out a small thing of tissues and a bar of chocolate, offering both to Natasha. She accepted the items with a small smile.

"Thanks. Are you new? I've never met you before." Natasha was quiet, wiping her face with a few of the tissues. As the silence lengthened, she looked at him, actually looked, unlike others. "I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't notice the uniform. Are you staying here in Alma for long or being sent out from Fort Riley?" She was blushing and nervously trying to correct what she perceived as a wrong that she had done. Alfred chuckled, causing Natasha's head to whip to face him. He smiled at her after he stopped laughing before he sighed. He looked haunted for a brief moment.

"You didn't offend me, Natasha. I hope you never met me because if we have, then it would be kinda awkward, right? We would've had to have met on a base or in the air. Sorry, I'm bad at social stuff. All I've ever known in the military..." Alfred's face became void of all expressions. He was silent for a few minutes and Natasha didn't push him. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and continued to speak. "I grew up all around the world, always traveling because my parents were in the service. I joined because my parents kinda wanted me to stay in the military until I was old and wrinkled or something. Not sure why they allowed me to join so young. My dad probably talked with the brass. Anyways, I'm staying here until the last remaining family members decide that I'm too much of a burden or I'm too broken for them." Alfred's voice was dull and he stood up suddenly, slinging his pack on. "I hope we can be friends, Natasha. My name is Alfred." He was gone in a blink of an eye. Natasha was sad to see him go.