All Things Nice » Band of Brothers

10: Similar

Posey had to be the only person in Easy Company who didn't want anything to do with her weekend pass. Honestly, she couldn't even believe they'd managed it. Somehow, the entire company had gone an entire week without having any of their passes revoked. It was a miracle, really - or a curse, if you were female and underage and had never had a sip of alcohol in your life.

Just like she always did, Posey managed to sneak out of the barracks and into a bathroom stall to change - how no one ever noticed that she did this, she had no idea, but she always liked to joke to herself that she may have made a brilliant spy in another lifetime. She wasn't laughing this time, however, as she changed into her dress greens, which fitted her just as well as every other army-issued item of clothing she now owned, which was to say not at all, and grumbled at the prospect of having to go to a bar. Not going would only arise suspicion but going would likely only end in disaster. She had devised to simply pretend to drink the beer she'd be buying and slip out as early as possible. She could only hope to God that it worked.

When she returned to the barracks, holding her PT gear in her arms, she was swept up in the same whirlwind of chaos she'd managed to sneak out in. Grateful once more for choosing a bunk right next to the door, she packed her clothing into a laundry bag ready to have washed in the morning.

She sat on her bunk and waited whilst the rest of the men got ready. It was a strange thing for her to be going out somewhere that warranted getting dressed up but not spending much time on her hair or having to wear any makeup at all. She wasn't sure whether the minute amount of time it took her to get ready was something she should be enjoying while it lasted or sobbing into her pillow about, so she tried to keep her mind off of it by tuning into the conversation taking place whilst the men changed behind her.

"I am gonna score so many dames tonight, just you watch," Talbert was declaring. "You boys better be ready to watch and learn. I'll show you how it's done."

Posey rolled her eyes and kept to fiddling with a thread on one of her buttons, head ducked as she sat facing the door to the barracks so she didn't get an eye full.

"Sure thing, Tab," Luz replied, his voice dripping sarcasm. "I've been waitin' for a lesson on how to strike out for a while now. Unfortunately, it's never actually happened to me."

"Ha ha," Talbert deadpanned. "You're looking to the wrong fella on that account. Now Lieb, I'm sure, is the guy you're after."

"Fuck off, Tab," Liebgott entered the conversation with the usual level of disdain coating his voice. "The only reason you score so many dames is 'cause you ask out the entire female population. By law of averages alone some of 'em are bound to say yes."

Posey laughed to herself. At least, she thought, if they were all more focused on 'scoring dames' than they were on any alcohol consumption she might manage to make it through the night with her secret and her dignity still intact. She suddenly found herself feeling much more at ease about the entire affair.

"We ready to go?" Guarnere asked after a small while.

His question was met with replies all in the affirmative and Posey made her way out of the barracks along with the rest of Second Platoon.

The night outside was quiet, the air still humid from the heat of the day, though a very slight breeze meant that it wasn't altogether an uncomfortable evening for a walk. The bar they were to be visiting - as chosen by Toye, who had apparently scouted them all out on his way in - wasn't too far from the base. The walk there only took around ten minutes. Those ten minutes were filled with the bubbling excitement of men and boys who hadn't been to a bar in weeks - or, for some of them, ever.

As soon as Posey set foot in the bar she was overwhelmed by the sheer cacophony of sound. People were chatting loudly, shouting over each other and calling out their orders to bar staff whilst music played at full volume in the background. Patrons scattered everywhere wore bright smiles and let out big laughs before sipping their drinks, and for a moment Posey faltered. This was nothing like England had been.