The Airbound

He smells like rotten onions

The fat man in front of me smells like rotten onions. We're all standing in our underwear waiting for a doctor to look us over, and tell us we're fit for battle. But this guy. The hair on his back was curly, and had a weird pus lacing them. The doctor called "NEXT!"

Fat pus, starts to walk, well waddle, and disappears behind the blue curtain. For the next couple of minutes I heard a series of rustles, and hushed tones. Then after what felt like a very short time, Fat Pus bursts out from behind the curtain. He bumped me as he walked by, and some pus rubbed onto my shoulder. I quickly whipped it off. As if I would turn into Fat Pus if it stayed.

"NEXT!" Called the doctor.

I strode forward, and pushed by the curtain. Behind it a bespectacled gentleman sat on a wooden chair.

"Up you go, if you please," He patted a padded table.

I hopped up onto it. He then looked me up and down and scribbled something down on a clipboard.

"Raise your arms please,"

I did as he said. He then pulled out some metal instruments, and started pinching my arms, body with them. He then scribbled down another thing on the clipboard. Now he pulled out a rubber mallet and hit my, elbows, and knees with it. Each time my knees, or elbow raised.

"Your in fine shape, 5% body fat, and good reflexes. You may report to warrant officer Maltese outside."

I did as he said, and walked out of the curtained room. I walked by the line. Most of these guys, I recognized from school. There was, Eddy MacDonald, Jacob Enderson, Gary Travis, Julien Baglole, Harold Hutchinson. Do they all have fake ID's, or were they just winging it. I shrugged this off and continued outside. I passed the doorway, and saw Fat Pus talking to an officer. I walked over. As soon as I got there Fat Pus walked off. The officer spotted me and signalled me over.

" I am warrant officer Maltese, I will be registering you into your unit. Now where's your registry slip?"

For a second I had no clue what a registry slip was, but then I remembered the sheet I'd signed. I hastily dug through my pockets and pulled out my registry slip. Maltese looked it over, and looked back at me.

"Ty, not Tyler?" He asked with an obnoxious tone.

"Yes sir,"

"Hmmm, are you interested in the airborne?"

"The what,"I asked, having no clue what the airborne was.

"The airborne, it's a concept that the Americans have been working on. You put on a parachute, and get in a plane. Then that plane flies over the enemy, and... Well, you jump out. Your safe of course."

He said the last bit very hasty, as if I expected them to just make me splat out of an airplane. I thought about it, it did sound interesting.

"Well kid?"

"Yes, I'll join the airborne,"I nodded as I said this.

"Good!" He said, with a surprised tone in his voice.

Maltese then wrote something on my registry slip, and handed it to me.

" Around the corner there'l be four men, report to the one with the American flag patch on his arm,"

I nodded, and started towards the corner. When I rounded the corner I saw the four men. I walked right up the the one with the American patch.

"Yes?" He asked

"Um, I was told to report to you,"

"Oh! Your joining the parachute corps. Good, well uh, registry slip please,"

I handed him my form. He looked it over nodded, and handed it back.

"Alright, Hilton, you see that truck over there?" He pointed to a large truck with a canvas acting as a roof, over the back.

I could see a few other's in a line in front of it.

"Yes sir,"

"Report there for instructions and your uniform," he now looked away from me and greeted another who wished to join the airborne.

I walked to the truck, and stood behind a short guy, probably fifteen or sixteen, with sandy windswept hair. We waited for a few minutes in silence. When suddenly, I realized, where's Tommy.

My question was soon answered, when I looked over at a different truck, about a hundred metres away. And there stood Tommy. Grabbing a regular infantry uniform. He caught my gaze and his mouth fell. He mouthed (what) at me. I just stared at him. A moment later he pointed to a spot in the field beside a tree. I nodded and turned back to the line. Damn it. Why hadn't i insulted Tommy on this airborne thing. God damn it.

The line shrank until me and the sandy haired boy were at the front.

They took sandy hair inside, and a few minutes later he emerged holding a khaki uniform, and a small booklet of papers. Now I was at the front.

"Next!" Someone called from inside the truck.

I clambered inside. It was slightly darker inside the truck then outside, but not much darker. A man was ruffling through a pile of khaki uniforms.

"Hello," he said standing up straight now.

I now noticed that he looked terribly average. He had dark brown hair, and he wore a beige tunic, and formal dark brown pants.

"Arms up and stand in the middle of the truck."

I did as he told me to. He then pulled out a measuring tape, and measured my thighs, arms, leg, head,shoulders etc. He then went to the pile, and started pulled out pieces of clothing.

"Here," he said throwing me some clothes "Try these on,"

I pulled off my clothes, and put on some khaki pants, a light green T-shirt, and a khaki tunic. They were slightly too big, but my movement wasn't constricted also they were comfortable.

"They fit well,"

Now he pulled out the measuring tape again this time measuring my feet. He finished, grabbed some boots, and threw them to me.

I pulled them on, again they felt quite well, and were slightly to large.

"Fine,"

"Ok, well here are your travel instructions, and... you may now go home,"

I then just, walked out of the truck. In full uniform (no helmet), heading towards the tree where Tommy had pointed. As the man in the trucked yelled "NEXT!"