The Girl and The War

Chapter Ten- Sam

The rest of the week flew by, and before I knew it, it was Saturday. Sargent Redwall gave us the whole day off because of this special occasion. I woke up to Charlie arguing with a Private with black hair, who he was trying to convince to trade him a bottle of whiskey for a bottle of vodka. According to Margo the recruits tried to get as wasted as they could on ball days. In normal circumstances I would have been one of them, but since I was taking Kayla to the dance, I thought that would be inappropriate.

I thought about what I was going to wear tonight. I had a tux from my old man, but the thing was dirty and outdated. I went through my bag to see how much money I could muster together if at least to try to buy a new jacket, but I only had about ten dollars, which I was sure would not be enough. I looked back at Charlie who had finally convinced the poor guy to trade him the bottle, mostly because he wanted to end the conversation. Charlie walked up to me with a smile on his face. He opened the bottle and took a large swig.

"Man this shit is good, reminds me of home." He said while wiping his mouth. He held the bottle towards me but I declined.

"You have something to wear tonight?" I asked him wondering if he shared a similar predicament.

"Yeah I got my old mans tux except he was about a foot shorter than me so it's a little small." He was about to say more but Margo rushed in. She was holding a sparkling green dress. She threw it at me.

"Thanks, but it's not really my color." I told her while holding it up.

"Give it to your little girlfriend," she said "I don't want her gifts."

"Don't be a bitch Margo just be grateful you have something new to wear." Charlie said while taking another swig of whisky. I handed the dress back to
Margo.

"I'm sure she was just trying to be nice, besides you will look great it in." I told her, trying to balance the harshness of Charlie's words. This seemed to loosen her up, as her shoulders relaxed a little. "Besides," I continued, "I would kill for a new tux, mine is older than me." Charlie patted my back,

"Don't worry man, I'm sure Kayla will think your dazzling." Somehow he was already wasted.

"Thanks." Was all I said in reply. I excused myself from Margo and Charlie and I decided to take a walk around the base. For a second I was tempted to go back to the dungeon, to find out more about the man and woman trapped there.  Of course that was a terrible idea. I ended up just walked down random hallways for awhile until I ran into Lieutenant Streeter.

"There you are." He said after finally seeing me.

"Lieutenant." I said, "I'm sorry, you were looking for me?"

"Yes, I was trying to find you so I could give you this." He handed me a hanger with a protective covering. I unzipped the covering and it was a brand new Tuxedo, in perfect mint condition. "The General wanted you to wear something nice." He continued.

"Oh wow, send him my thanks will you?" I said in disbelief. This must have cost at least a thousand dollars. Never in my life could I afford something so expensive. Lieutenant Streeter nodded and put his hand on my shoulder.

"You better behave yourself tonight." He warned me. I swallowed hard.

"I will sir." He squeezed my shoulder and then patted me on the back.

"Good. Glad we don't have any issues then. You better get back to your dorms and get ready." He said. All I could do was nod and then walk off. I was already nervous enough about trying to impress Kayla tonight, and now I had to worry about the Lieutenant and the General breathing down my back. Nevertheless I was grateful for the tux, because now I wouldn't look like a clown next to Kayla.

I rushed back to the dorms where every one was either getting ready or goofing off. I quickly showered and did my hair and put on the new tux. It fit perfectly. For the first time in my life I looked expensive. Like I actually came from something, instead of nothing. I walked out back to where Charlie and Margo were waiting. Charlie wasn't lying when he said the his tux was small. The sleeves ended at his forearms and it was so tight you could see his muscles  show through the arms. Margo, however, looked absolutely stunning in the green dress. It balanced with her hair perfectly.

"Damn Sam, I don't know what you are talking about that Tux is sick." I forgot to tell them that it was a gift and quickly explained my short conversation with lieutenant Streeter to them.

"Of course," Margo huffed and rolled her eyes. "Why wouldn't she dress you up like her toy."

"I don't think Kayla had anything to do with it Margo, what's your problem with her anyways?" I told her. I was tired of her constantly hating on Kayla.

"I don't have a problem Sam." She mumbled then grabbed Charlie and dragged him out the door. I looked at my watch that read 5:45pm, I decided to head over to Kayla's a few minutes early.

I walked up to the same suite I had gone to when I asked her a few days ago to come to the dance with me. I knocked on the door three times. A few seconds went by and the door opened.

Kayla was standing there. She was absolutely perfection. Her dress hugged her body perfectly, her hair was half up half down and completely straight. Her makeup accentuated her already perfect bone structure. I was speechless.

"Wow, you look..." was all I could say. She laughed.

"Alright I hope?" She said.

"You look perfect." I finished. She smiled.

"Well you look very handsome. Do you want to come in? I still have to grab my shoes." She asked

"Of course." I replied and followed her in. Her home was massive for it being in a underground base. The entire area was bigger than my house back home. She saw me looking around and spoke:

"Sorry, it's a little messy, I haven't cleaned in a week." I couldn't tell of course, it looked perfectly fine to me. Before I could answer I heard a little bark. A tiny golden retriever ran out of the other room and started jumping up on my leg. "Moby!" Kayla shouted "get down, that's rude." She picked up the little dog and gently put him in a crate and locked it. "Sorry" she said her face blushed.

"Don't be, I didn't even know there were animals on the base?" I asked. I had yet to see an animal while I've been here.

"There aren't, but my father kind of snuck him in as a present." She smiled. "Let me grab my shoes." She disappeared into one of the rooms and came back about three inches taller. I couldn't see her shoes cause the dress she was wearing was floor length. Despite the added height they gave her she was still nearly a foot shorter than me. "Ready?" She smiled.

"Yes," I responded holding out my arm for her to take. We were about to exit the door before she stopped in her steps.

"Oh shoot," she said "I forgot to put this back," she was holding a photo in her hand.

"What is it?" I asked curiously. Her face darkened a little. The first time I probably had ever seen her look a little sad.

"It's a photo of my biological parents, they...they died in war when I was five." She said staring at the picture.

"Mine died too." I told her. She looked up at me and gave me a sad smile.

"I hate war." She said. "I know that's probably sacrilegious to say, with my dad being who he is, but I do."

"I hate it too." And I did. It took my parents. We stood their silently for a few moments. "Can I see them? The photo I mean." I elaborated.

"Oh, of course." She handed me the photo and as soon as I saw the picture of her parents, my heart skipped a beat. I had seen them before. A few days previous when I stumbled into the dungeon by mistake.