Page 2
Story: Orders and Obsessions
“Ladies toilet block.” I looked again to see where he was pointing.
“And last but not least, the staff quarters, which are completely off-limits to criminals.”
“Criminals?” I asked, looking up at him with a smile on my face. Yes, that’s exactly what we were, but I never thought he would say it so openly, especially since he had been so professional up to that point.
“Soldiers.” He corrected himself, and then his face hardened again. “You just earned yourself ten more laps tomorrow for looking at me and questioning me. Eyes down, soldier.”
I hated him so much.
He opened the door to the shed and walked in. The room was long and empty. There were eight single beds in a row, two on each side wall. There was a brown fibre blanket on each bed that looked like it would be uncomfortable and itchy.
There was a girl at the foot of each bed. They all wore the same clothes: camouflage pants, a green T-shirt, heavy black boots and a thick belt. They stood still and straight, staring blankly at the space in front of them. None of them looked at us with their eyes. They put their hands on their foreheads to show respect.
The lieutenant came into the room and stopped in front of each girl for a second to look her body up and down before moving on to the next. Not a single girl moved or looked him in the eye. Not a single one of them stood up to him.
He yelled at the last girl, “Your boots need to shine more, Rodgers.”
“Yes, sir,” she said right away.
He then stood at the back of the room, raised his own hand in a salute, and yelled, “At ease, soldiers.” The girls dropped their arms and relaxed, but just barely. They still kept their eyes on the front.
The Lieutenant told them in a loud voice, “Riley Rivers, the newest recruit.” He took a stack of freshly folded uniforms off the bed and gave them to me. “Uniform. Bed. See you at five hundred hours.”
I saw him almost march out the door and slam it shut behind him.
At that point, everyone looked at me.
“Um, hi.” I waved awkwardly at the room.
As soon as I was alone with these girls, their postures changed completely. Some took off their boots, others untucked their T-shirts, and some took off their bras. They all relaxed.
A few of them flopped back down on their beds and started talking again, showing no interest in my arrival.
“Riley, I’m Sierra. Do you need help unpacking your things?” asked the girl in the next bed. She had small features and dark hair that made her look cute. I was about to say something when another girl cut me off.
“Don’t let her help; she’s a known thief. I’m Raven.” She reached out to shake my hand. Her shake was strong, and her hand and fingers were covered in tattoos. “What are you doing here?” she asked as she flopped down on the bed next to me.
I thought about not telling anyone my story, but then I decided to do it anyway because everyone, like me, had to go to this bootcamp by law. They probably understood better than anyone else because we had all done something wrong.
“I was sort of involved with a gang, narrowly escaped jail because my uncle is a cop and was friends with the judge. Instead, I got sentenced to two years of bootcamp followed by two years of community service.” I didn’t say much and just shrugged as I unpacked my things into a big trunk next to my bed. I didn’t have a lot because I wasn’t allowed to bring a lot.
“So this is your first time at boot camp?” Sierra asked as she looked over my things. I nodded. “You can tell by what you’ve brought.” She admitted with a small laugh.
I brought a lot of clothes, including makeup and different outfits. In short, I packed for a vacation camp, not a boot camp for people who are in trouble.
Raven said, “For future reference, bring one pair of pyjamas or comfortable clothes and a whole suitcase of snacks. The food here is awful, and the activities will make you wish you were in jail.” Sierra nodded in agreement.
I sighed as I remembered that the good-looking Lieutenant had added fifteen more laps to the track, whatever that meant.
I didn’t go to the gym or eat healthy, on the other hand. I would watch a lot of Netflix and eat way too much food.
I was sure that this bootcamp was going to be the last nail in my coffin.
“I already got fifteen extra laps from that robot,” I said through gritted teeth.
Sierra asked in a high-pitched voice with a flirty smile, “Mason? The Lieutenant?” I nodded again.
“He is so f*****g hot. It’s such a shame,” she said with a sigh.
“Why is it such a shame?” I asked, now that I was interested.
“Too bad he’s such a jerk. He doesn’t like people in general, and they made him promise not to f**k any of the recruits,” another girl yelled from across the room.
“Wait, have people tried to f**k him?” I sat down on my bed, which felt like spring. I knew I would feel every lump and bump in the thin mattress.
“Many. They get sent to prison, three times, and you’re taken away. Maddie is right; Mason is so far off the radar that it’s almost not worth wanting him,” Sierra told me.
“Name one girl who doesn’t want him. He’s hot and scary, and that authority makes me wetter than the Great Barrier Reef.” Another girl joined in on our conversation in a rude way.
“I don’t,” Raven said in her defence.
“Yeah, because you’re as gay as they come,” the same girl yelled. Raven just nodded in agreement.
“Sometimes, when we’re on the pitch and he’s yelling at us like that, I like to picture him naked. I bet he has a really long one, skinny and long,” Sierra said. I tried not to smile as the girl from the Great Barrier Reef came over to our bed.
“No, long and thick. Who wants skinny? It’s all about the girth,” the girl said, making a wide circle shape with her hand. Raven shook her head in disbelief.
“I think of him naked too,” she said. “When he’s really mad and making you do extra because he says you didn’t try hard enough, I picture him with a small p***s.” She wiggled her little finger at us.
There was laughter all around the room, even from the girls who didn’t want to talk to us.
“Seriously, Riley, there are a lot of bad boys here in bootcamp who would love to sneak around with you. Some of the lower-ranking privates will even fight you if you want to. But the Lieutenant won’t let you get close, and don’t even try. You’ll be taken away in a police car before you can say ‘guilty.’ By the way, I’m Amber.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said softly.
A bell rang outside our shed, and everyone got up.
“It’s time for dinner. Get dressed quickly.” Sierra fluffed her hair in a blurry mirror and walked to the door.
I quickly put on the army trousers that were given to me. I couldn’t make them look nice or even a little bit better, but I put on my black tank top and ran to the cafeteria before the dinner bell rang.
There wasn’t much in the big hall.
There were blue tables all over the floor, and men and women were sitting at them eating white slop off of plastic plates. I quietly sat down next to Sierra and picked up my spoon.
I asked, “What is this?” as I let the thick paste fall from my spoon a few times before I was brave enough to take a bite.
“And last but not least, the staff quarters, which are completely off-limits to criminals.”
“Criminals?” I asked, looking up at him with a smile on my face. Yes, that’s exactly what we were, but I never thought he would say it so openly, especially since he had been so professional up to that point.
“Soldiers.” He corrected himself, and then his face hardened again. “You just earned yourself ten more laps tomorrow for looking at me and questioning me. Eyes down, soldier.”
I hated him so much.
He opened the door to the shed and walked in. The room was long and empty. There were eight single beds in a row, two on each side wall. There was a brown fibre blanket on each bed that looked like it would be uncomfortable and itchy.
There was a girl at the foot of each bed. They all wore the same clothes: camouflage pants, a green T-shirt, heavy black boots and a thick belt. They stood still and straight, staring blankly at the space in front of them. None of them looked at us with their eyes. They put their hands on their foreheads to show respect.
The lieutenant came into the room and stopped in front of each girl for a second to look her body up and down before moving on to the next. Not a single girl moved or looked him in the eye. Not a single one of them stood up to him.
He yelled at the last girl, “Your boots need to shine more, Rodgers.”
“Yes, sir,” she said right away.
He then stood at the back of the room, raised his own hand in a salute, and yelled, “At ease, soldiers.” The girls dropped their arms and relaxed, but just barely. They still kept their eyes on the front.
The Lieutenant told them in a loud voice, “Riley Rivers, the newest recruit.” He took a stack of freshly folded uniforms off the bed and gave them to me. “Uniform. Bed. See you at five hundred hours.”
I saw him almost march out the door and slam it shut behind him.
At that point, everyone looked at me.
“Um, hi.” I waved awkwardly at the room.
As soon as I was alone with these girls, their postures changed completely. Some took off their boots, others untucked their T-shirts, and some took off their bras. They all relaxed.
A few of them flopped back down on their beds and started talking again, showing no interest in my arrival.
“Riley, I’m Sierra. Do you need help unpacking your things?” asked the girl in the next bed. She had small features and dark hair that made her look cute. I was about to say something when another girl cut me off.
“Don’t let her help; she’s a known thief. I’m Raven.” She reached out to shake my hand. Her shake was strong, and her hand and fingers were covered in tattoos. “What are you doing here?” she asked as she flopped down on the bed next to me.
I thought about not telling anyone my story, but then I decided to do it anyway because everyone, like me, had to go to this bootcamp by law. They probably understood better than anyone else because we had all done something wrong.
“I was sort of involved with a gang, narrowly escaped jail because my uncle is a cop and was friends with the judge. Instead, I got sentenced to two years of bootcamp followed by two years of community service.” I didn’t say much and just shrugged as I unpacked my things into a big trunk next to my bed. I didn’t have a lot because I wasn’t allowed to bring a lot.
“So this is your first time at boot camp?” Sierra asked as she looked over my things. I nodded. “You can tell by what you’ve brought.” She admitted with a small laugh.
I brought a lot of clothes, including makeup and different outfits. In short, I packed for a vacation camp, not a boot camp for people who are in trouble.
Raven said, “For future reference, bring one pair of pyjamas or comfortable clothes and a whole suitcase of snacks. The food here is awful, and the activities will make you wish you were in jail.” Sierra nodded in agreement.
I sighed as I remembered that the good-looking Lieutenant had added fifteen more laps to the track, whatever that meant.
I didn’t go to the gym or eat healthy, on the other hand. I would watch a lot of Netflix and eat way too much food.
I was sure that this bootcamp was going to be the last nail in my coffin.
“I already got fifteen extra laps from that robot,” I said through gritted teeth.
Sierra asked in a high-pitched voice with a flirty smile, “Mason? The Lieutenant?” I nodded again.
“He is so f*****g hot. It’s such a shame,” she said with a sigh.
“Why is it such a shame?” I asked, now that I was interested.
“Too bad he’s such a jerk. He doesn’t like people in general, and they made him promise not to f**k any of the recruits,” another girl yelled from across the room.
“Wait, have people tried to f**k him?” I sat down on my bed, which felt like spring. I knew I would feel every lump and bump in the thin mattress.
“Many. They get sent to prison, three times, and you’re taken away. Maddie is right; Mason is so far off the radar that it’s almost not worth wanting him,” Sierra told me.
“Name one girl who doesn’t want him. He’s hot and scary, and that authority makes me wetter than the Great Barrier Reef.” Another girl joined in on our conversation in a rude way.
“I don’t,” Raven said in her defence.
“Yeah, because you’re as gay as they come,” the same girl yelled. Raven just nodded in agreement.
“Sometimes, when we’re on the pitch and he’s yelling at us like that, I like to picture him naked. I bet he has a really long one, skinny and long,” Sierra said. I tried not to smile as the girl from the Great Barrier Reef came over to our bed.
“No, long and thick. Who wants skinny? It’s all about the girth,” the girl said, making a wide circle shape with her hand. Raven shook her head in disbelief.
“I think of him naked too,” she said. “When he’s really mad and making you do extra because he says you didn’t try hard enough, I picture him with a small p***s.” She wiggled her little finger at us.
There was laughter all around the room, even from the girls who didn’t want to talk to us.
“Seriously, Riley, there are a lot of bad boys here in bootcamp who would love to sneak around with you. Some of the lower-ranking privates will even fight you if you want to. But the Lieutenant won’t let you get close, and don’t even try. You’ll be taken away in a police car before you can say ‘guilty.’ By the way, I’m Amber.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said softly.
A bell rang outside our shed, and everyone got up.
“It’s time for dinner. Get dressed quickly.” Sierra fluffed her hair in a blurry mirror and walked to the door.
I quickly put on the army trousers that were given to me. I couldn’t make them look nice or even a little bit better, but I put on my black tank top and ran to the cafeteria before the dinner bell rang.
There wasn’t much in the big hall.
There were blue tables all over the floor, and men and women were sitting at them eating white slop off of plastic plates. I quietly sat down next to Sierra and picked up my spoon.
I asked, “What is this?” as I let the thick paste fall from my spoon a few times before I was brave enough to take a bite.