A Soldier of No Importance [ Band of Brothers ] 1

EIGHTEEN

December 23, 1942

Fort Benning, Georgia, USA

Alice liked Fort Benning more than Camp Toccoa, if only because it meant no Currahee. She'd held her own tiny Hanukkah celebration in the last few days of living at Toccoa, and now that they'd moved across the state, she appreciated the lack of that awful mountain more every day. The platoons still roomed together, so when she woke up that Friday morning it was to George on her right and the wall on her left.

"Alice, you've got to get up," Skip Muck said. He finished pulling his jacket. When she just groaned into her pillow, he grabbed his own and threw it at her.

"Hey!" She rolled over on her side and grabbed Skip's pillow. Sitting herself up, she sent it flying at him. All she got for her trouble was laughter.

"Come on. Breakfast time." 

Alice groaned again. They'd stayed up late the previous night, drinking, and she felt it. Without saying a word, she grabbed an outfit, stepped behind a screen, and changed. As much as they hated that Sobel was still around, training here went much better. Sobel didn't teach them, paratrooper instructors did. Every lesson felt exciting. They were doing Jump Training!

Hurrying after the men, she caught up to Guarnere and Malarkey trailing behind. It couldn't have been over 40° and she could see her breath. Before too long, they'd entered the large Mess Hall. Alice grabbed her food and found her spot with the other officers.

"You look like shit." 

"Shut up, Nix." Then she turned to Ron. "Don't say anything."

But Nixon didn't back down. "How much did you drink?" 

Ron hid his smirk with a drink of his water. "Clearly enough to regret it."

The glare she shot him would've made anyone else cower in fear, but Ron Speirs just returned it calmly. The men sat opposite her, Nixon to the left and Ron to the right. As she went to snap at them, Dick sat down to her left. For his sake, she kept her mouth closed.

"You're holding your head like it's going to roll off," Nixon commented a few minutes later. He gestured to her with his fork.

Alice caught herself grasping at her face. She had stopped eating and just closed her eyes. Her throat felt dry. All she could think of was how much she wanted to die right about then. But at Nixon's comment, she straightened up.

Dick looked her over. "What did you do last night?"

"Guarnere and Toye challenged me to a drinking game," she mumbled. Her hand didn't leave her face. "Clearly I lost."

"But not for lack of trying, evidently," said Ron.

Alice removed the hand from her face slowly and sent him another death glare. This time Ron actually sent her a tiny smirk back. She pointed at him and went to respond, but Dick interrupted her.

"Don't take the bait, Alice."

She muttered under her breath in German, picking at her oatmeal. Forcing down her food, she tried to block out the raging noise of the crowds around her. To their credit, Nixon and Dick kept their voices at a decent level, and Ron mostly stayed quiet. She knew it irritated him that his platoon and the rest of D Company had been forced with the rest of the 506th to undergo more physical training before jumps could start, whereas Easy had been allowed to move straight into the second phase, basic jump school.

"What's today?" Nixon asked.

"Friday."

He scoffed at Dick. "No, the date. Not day of the week."