The Happiness You Gave Me

The First Day

*Christa's POV*

I stood at attention as I watched the drill instructor come up in front of us.

"Straighten up pissants! My name is Commandant Keith Shadis, your Senior Drill Instructor! I will be with you every step of the way for the next three soul crushing years! I'm going to make sure I torment you to the point that long after you've graduated you're still waking up screaming and in a cold sweat from just remembering this place! When I am done with you, there will be one question that you should ask yourselves! Am I a fighter,or am I feed!? Will I lay down and be crushed between boulder sized incisors, or am I gonna be the one to bite!" He growled.

He had no hair except for a thick patch of hair on the bottom of his chin, a scary voice, and dark circles around his eyes. I had heard from the other Cadets that he used to be the Commanding Officer of the Scouting Regiment before he retired to become a Drill Instructor in the Trainee Corps, but I prefer not to listen to rumors. I saw him walk up to a guy with a buzz cut that wasn't much taller than me.

"You're up first princess, what the hell do you call yourself!?" He yelled.

The boy hesitated for a moment before rendering his salute.

"Sir, Connie Springer from a farm village inside Wall Rose!" He said.

Commandant Shadis picked Connie up by his head with death in his eyes.

"You've got it backwards Connie Springer. That was the first thing you were taught when you were dropped off here. That salute represents the resolve in your heart to fight those who would see humanity wiped out and defeated. Is your heart on your right side!?" He spat.

I was literally shaking. I didn't know what he was going to do to him. In all honesty, I was afraid of what would happen to the rest of the Cadets. He didn't look to be finished with Connie at all until I heard a crunch. Commandant Shadis stopped yelling and stared in disbelief at a brown haired girl, eating a steamed potato. He dropped Connie on the ground.

"Hey, you there, just what do you think you're doing?" He asked.

Considering that she was eating in formation, she was incredibly calm. She didn't respond, but instead she looked to her left then to her right, then took another bite of the potato. Shadis got right in her face and began yelling.

"You are officially at the top of my shit list! Just who the hell are you!?" He growled.

She quickly swallowed whatever was in her mouth and saluted him with the potato still in her hand.

"Sir, Sasha Braus from Daupper Village reporting for duty, sir!" She said.

He backed away from her a little.

"Sasha Braus, huh? What's that you're clutching in your palm there?" He asked.

She hesitated for only a second.

"It's a steamed potato, sir! It was sitting out in the mess hall begging to be eaten, sir!" She said.

Commandant Shadis didn't yell, and he returned to his normal posture.

"The theft...I understand, but here? Why choose to eat it here of all places?" He asked.

Sasha's actions had obviously confounded our Commandant on an incredible level.

"It looked quite delicious, and it was getting cold. So I gave it shelter in my stomach, sir!" She said.

Shadis still stood frozen.

"Still, I can't comprehend. Why would you eat that potato?" He asked.

Sasha now was the one with a confused expression.

"Are you asking me why people eat potatoes? I'm surprised you don't know, sir." She said.

Are you kidding me!? She's got to be trying to get herself torn to pieces now! She dropped her salute and pulled a piece of the potato off. She handed it to him.

"Here, sir. Have half." She said.

Shadis was ultimately dumbfounded. he blankly stared at the bit of potato before speaking again.

"Have half? Really?" He asked.

Sasha relaxed and smiled. He revoked her meal privileges for the next five days, and then ordered her to run until the sun had set. After he was through with her, we were dismissed.

I fell behind the others as I watched poor Sasha start running. It didn't seem to phase her, but I knew she would probably be starving after running for that long. I decided that once it was time to report to the mess hall that I would sneak her some bread.

*Time Skip*

Later that night

I had the bread hidden under my crop jacket as I walked to the girls barracks to wait for Sasha. I had spent supper time with Ymir since she was my only friend. Well, I call her my friend, but she is honestly more of a protector. I wanted to make more friends, but I'm much too shy for that. I had hoped that maybe bringing the bread to Sasha would be enough of an icebreaker to make her my friend. I was lost in thought when I ran into what felt like a wall.