Dust Devils - A Girls Und Panzer Story

Chapter 51

Thursday, July 25th 2013

At Sea

The day after matches for the Mojave Rose team always consisted of one thing—sleeping in. In the apartment complex, everyone was in their unit, enjoying the warmth and comfort of their beds after spending all day yesterday confined withing their steel machines. It wasn't until 11 A.M when some people roused themselves from their beds to carry out their day. There would be no meeting today nor would there be practice Saturday, as to give the team some well-deserved respite. Though, there will be a meeting tomorrow to repair their vehicles. In on of the units, Valarie was among those people who rose at the 11 A.M. She was tidying up her bedroom as quiet as she can as to not disturb Emma, when she then heard a soft knock at her door. Having a good guess at who it was, she went to answer it promptly.

"Good morning, Madison." Valarie greeted.

"Good morning to you too. Still feeling the high of your victory?"

"High, huh?" Valarie remarked with a small smile. "Hmm, I do still feel pretty good."

"I would think so. Remember what we heard on that radio show?"

"I do, I do. I just try not to think about it because I don't need the pressure. Speaking of the radio," Valarie went to another room and returned with the radio in question. "You left it the other day. Here."

She handed the device to Madison, who rebuffed it.

"Hey, keep it. I got plenty of radios."

"Really? Well...thanks! Wow, is this some mission of yours to spoil me rotted?"

"Mmm, maybe." Madison replied with a telling smile. "Now, one of the reasons I'm here is to remind you that the ship is—"

"Going home." Valarie finished.

"Yes, that's right."

Valarie paused for a moment. "This is the longest I've been away from home, a record that is being broken by the day. When will we reach port?"

"July 31st"

"Alright, just a few days."

"Anxious are we?"

"I am. I want to see my parents."

"Right, right, right. How are they, by the way?"

"Pretty well. My mom told me that they are a lot of cool things happening at the welding shop. Loads of tank-related projects 'cause she tells me the team has become a sort of like local celebrities back home. My dad sent me a photo of the truck he's driving right now. It's one of those trucks that carries cars and it was loaded with sports cars. Man, did they look nice"

"That's great to hear."

"Now...um," Valarie began but stopped briefly to gather her thoughts. "Ah...I want you to come with me when I go to my parents. They need to know about you."

Madison began to sweat a little. "...Um. O-okay."

"Especially since we have the same dad, technically."

They both were silent for several, long moments. Valarie then broke the silence.

"This is all freaking weird, isn't it?"

"Totally. But also kinda thrilling. Anyway, when we tell your parents about, well, me, we have to do this with the utmost grace and tact. I can see this talk going to hell real fast if we don't do this right."

"God...if my mom misunderstands and takes something the wrong way, she'll charge at my dad with a knife."

"That won't be happening. We'll do it right and it'll all be okay."