Barely Survived World War II

Chapter Two

I woke up just a day before we left for camp. It was a Friday morning, and it was also a school day. I guess I slept in late, because Mama walked into me and Jojo's room and said, "Mädchen, hol deinen Hintern aus dem bett!" Which means, "girl, get your butt out of bed!"

"I'm up! I'm up!" I yelled.

"You're going to be late for school! Hurry up!" Mama lectured.

I got to the front door, where Jojo was waiting. He smirked at me.

"Oh, du wirst es bekommen, wenn wir heute Abend nach Hause kommen." Said Jojo. Which means, "ooh, you're gonna get it when we get home tonight."

I rolled my eyes, and we walked out the door.

Our home room teacher, Herr Grassy, was replaced with Fräulien Rahm. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I also didn't exactly care. I'm not a very big fan of that teacher. She got me in all kinds of trouble. Aileen says it's because of my, 'schlechtes Verhalten.'

I do not have bad behavior! She's just tryna piss me off. Well it's not working!!

But anyway, I may or may not have gotten in a little trouble that day. I don't understand what teachers have against cracking jokes in the middle of class. It's just... whaaat?

Fräulien Rahm was teaching us about the Jews. She called on me, who wasn't paying any attention the entire time she was yapping away. I guess she noticed that I wasn't paying attention, so she smirked at me.

"Jessica." She said.

"Hmm." I said.

"Can you repeat back to me what I just said?"

"Uhm.. blah blah blah... Jews, blah blah blah." I said.

Jojo and Yorki held back a laugh, and I smiled.

So, long story short, I got into a bit of trouble when we got home that night.

The next day, was camp, and Jojo and I were standing in front of the mirror. I had a weird feeling in my stomach. It seemed fun, the way Jojo described it. But, there have been some instances where he will tell me about something, and right then, it sounds like fun. But then, we go and do that thing, and it's FREAKING boring.

I looked at him, and asked a question.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah." Said Jojo.

I just looked back at the mirror, and sighed.

We had to wear uniforms. They were a beige shirt with a collar, where our ties were supposed to go. There was a hat, with red lining parts of it. The ties were black, and I had to wear a black skirt that went barely past my thighs. Jojo and I have long legs, which is very unfortunate for us because the boys' shorts are supposed to stop at the knees, and Jojo's shorts are like my skirt.

We looked at our imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler. He was pacing around our room, looking like he was in deep thought. I tilted my head at him. He noticed, snapped out of his trans, and walked towards us.

"Okay, you two are training to become Nazis, loyal to myself, and the rest of Germany. Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yes." I said.

"Recite the chant."

"I swear to devote all my strength, and my energies to the savior of our country. Adolf Hitler. I am willing, and ready to give up my life for him. So help me God." Jojo and I both said.

Adolf nodded his head, satisfied.

"And one more thing. You two need to get over that separation anxiety. Seriously." He said.

We've had separation anxiety since we were three, and Jojo got sick. He had to be quarantined, and we almost lost our minds.

I turned back around, and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My strawberry blonde hair was in a low ponytail, with some lose strands that were too short to go up. Unlike Jojo, who's hair is curly all around, mine is only curly at the end.

I just looked at myself, disapproving, until Jojo grabbed my hand, and dragged me out of the house. We ran down every street, Heil Hitler-ing everybody we saw, making our way to the camp grounds.
We met our friends, Yorki and his cousin, Veronica right outside the gates.

"Heil Hitler!" Me and Jojo shouted in unison.

"Heil Hitler, Jojo." Said Yorki.

"Heil Hitler, Jessica." Said Veronica.

"Are you guys ready for the best weekend ever?" I asked.

"Yes we are!" Yorki and Veronica shouted.

The four of us ran inside. The tall, dewy grass making Jojo and I's knees wet. The consequences of having long legs...

There was a group of girls, that was led by Annalise. Instead of learning "Important Womanly Duties," we get to train for war. The group is called the Wildcats. Veronica, Aileen and I are in that group. At least we weren't learning how to get pregnant. Ugh, I hate to just say that word.

The field we all sat in, was split into three groups. The Wildcats were somewhat next to the boys, and the other group of girls were behind us. Captain Klenzendorf, you know... the best man at Fredrick and Annalise's wedding? Yeah, him. He was our teacher.

Klenzendorf walked up onto a big stage, took a bite out of an apple, and threw it across the field. He lifted his hand carelessly.

"Heil Hitler, guys." He said.

"HEIL HITLER!" We all cheered.

"Jungfolk. I am Captain Klenzendorf, you may call me Captain K."

Finkel walked up, to take his jacket and put it up. Annalise clapped, and said, "Captain K! Woo!"

For some reason, Klenzendorf thought that it was just oh so necessary to tell us his life story. Like, how he lost his eye in a "totally preventable enemy attack." I've always been fond of the man, but... Jesus Christ.

He also said that the boys would learn: marching, bayonet drills, map reading, gas defense, camouflage, grenade throwing, ambush techniques for games, firing guns and blowing stuff up.

All of the boys cheered when they heard this.

The other girls were learning: dressing wounds, making beds and learning how to get pregnant. I hate that their making girls learn things like that. We deserve just as much equality as the boys.

Us Wildcats were learning almost the same things as the boys. Minus the bayonet drills. 

After Annalise dismissed us, we ran to our training grounds. I looked over at what the boys were doing, and they were playing some kind of team game. One team had red sashes on, and the other had green. I'm pretty sure Jojo and Yorki were on the green team. I don't know, I couldn't tell. Either way, I cheered them on, and every time they looked over at me clapping, they'd smile.

When they had to move farther away from us, I sighed. But, the good thing about this was, Fraulien Rahm was teaching everybody more about the Jews. So, Veronica and I met up with the boys. For some reason, Yorki and Veronica  worry about us. I think that just because of a certain anxiety, doesn't mean that Jojo and I aren't just like any other group of twins.

Fraulien has drawn a picture of a Jew. He looked kinda like a fish. But, eh. What do I know?

A girl from our group raised her hand. When she was called on she said, "serpent tongue."

Rahm drew it on the board, and called on Veronica.

"Scales." She said.

"Scales. Yeah. Because one upon a time, a Jewish man mated with a fish. Legend says that they are more advanced, and civilized than any other race." Said Fraulien.

I snorted into Jojo's shoulder. He, Veronica and Yorki were all giving their full attention to Rahm.