Pitschen ma en gamba - Small, but powerful [A Band of Brothers Story]

Back to School

A/N: Hey guys, as always, thank you very much for your continued support through reads, votes, comments and favs. You're all fantastic :)

In case anybody's interested: I'm working on a new Band of Brothers story which will be titled "Women of War". Basically, I thought to myself that the whole 'one girl joins Easy' plot has been done so many times (not that that's a bad thing, I love those stories), so why not try it with more than one woman?

Anyways, enough about that. I hope you like this chapter.

On 1st November, Ella was awake long before her alarm went off. She hadn't slept particularly well, jolting out of dreams more than once.

At 5 am, she gave up on trying to get any more sleep. Slipping into her running clothes, the brunette silently snuck out the front door and fell into a comfortable pace as she jogged down the road. At this time of morning, most of the city was still asleep.

Isabel, who came home from night shift at 6:30, wasn't surprised to see her daughter in the kitchen, hair still wet from her shower. The young girl busied herself making breakfast, handling multiple tasks at the same time. The way her body seemed to move on its own accord told her mother just how nervous Ella actually was.

Knowing that she had heard her, Isabel simply walked in and put a calming hand on her shoulder.

Ella stopped in her tracks, tension bleeding from her slim frame, and sighed. No words were needed between mother and daughter as Isabel wrapped her in a gentle hug, kissing the crown of her head. Letting go, she smiled at her and said: "Es wird scho guat werda. Du hesh scho viel schlimmers gschafft."

The small brunette nodded despite the hint of doubt lurking in the depths of her eyes. "I weiss", she replied with another sigh. The smile on her lips was faint, and not exactly convincing, but it was there.

Then, it brightened, turning into a soft laugh as she remembered some of the letters she had recently gotten.

"Half the boys said if anybody gives me trouble I can give them my 'Look', put them on their ass, or introduce them to my brothers", she explained, chuckling. Gotta love my boys.

Isabel laughed and replied: "I would prefer it if you didn't have to do any of that. Especially on your first day."

She grinned. "I can try?"

Her mother fondly shook her head. "That's all I can ask for", she smiled, motioning for her daughter to sit down and eat.

***

Trepidation still gripped her as the young girl set foot into Grandview Heights High School that morning. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself, setting her shoulders. Here goes. And with a purposeful stride that told of the quiet, unassuming confidence inside her, Ella walked down the hallway, towards her classroom.

Secretly, she was glad for her ability to blend in. Nobody payed her much attention, most didn't send her more than a passing glance. Still, her heart was pushing against her ribcage by the time she had slid into a seat in the back, right by the window.

Automatically, she had chosen a place that was probably the best position from a strategic perspective: Full view of the room, farthest back from the entry point of a potential threat, close to a possible escape route.

The classroom filled as the beginning of the lesson drew near, small clusters of boys and girls drifting in, chatting among themselves about their weekend, homework and the latest gossip. They were too preoccupied to notice the slim girl in the back who studied every new face with an assessing gaze.