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I didn’t answer him because the thunder was so loud that it broke through the sky.
“Great,” he said in a sarcastic tone as the rain fell hard on us. “This is your fault.”
I really did laugh.
“How is the rain my fault?” He must have known how silly he sounded by now.
“It’s not your fault that it’s raining; it’s your fault that we’re stuck in it.” He stopped yelling and turned his head all the way around to look away from me. He coughed. “your… um… the rain and your top.” He said this in a low, almost shy voice.
I looked down at my white top. It was completely see-through because it was wet, and this was the one night I chose not to wear a bra.
The fabric stuck to my skin, making everything very clear. My nipples were stiff from the cold, and the small metal bars that went through each one rubbed against the wet material.
Mason let me see his back, but he wouldn’t look at me at all. He acted like the devil was going to kill him for accidentally seeing my boobs through my T-shirt.
I said to him, “You’re a grown man; they’re just nipples.” He took off his jumper and held his arm back for me to take it.
“Put this on; I can’t take you back like that. People will see.” I smirked and didn’t take his hoodie.
“Maybe I shouldn’t put it on at all. Then you’ll come back without me, and I could go back to the bar and your favourite commander will never know.” He shook his hoodie at me, but he still kept his whole body facing away.
“Put it on now, Rivers,” he said in a commanding voice, as if we were back on the pitch.
“I was going to take your hoodie because you were trying to be a gentleman, but now that you’re basically telling me to do it, I really don’t think I will.” I bit down on the side of my gum to keep from laughing.
He turned around, and his whole face showed how much he didn’t like it. He didn’t look at me; he kept his eyes straight ahead like a soldier. I think I heard him say “so help me God” in a low voice, but I’m not sure.
“Rivers,” he growled, sounding like a warning. He waved the hoodie at me again when I stuck out my chest. “Put it on,” he said through clenched teeth.
This time I laughed but didn’t try to move.
“Okay, fine. If you say please, I’ll do it.” His temples moved as his jaw muscles tightened.
He said, “Riley,” in an annoyed tone. I guess we can call each other by our first names again. He took a deep breath and said, “Put it on… please,” with great reluctance.
And that’s how Lieutenant Mason died: he asked me nicely. He died from it.
“Well, since you asked me so nicely,” I said, “Nah.”
He ran up to me, lifted one of my arms into the air, and pulled the sleeve down it. Then he did the same thing with the other arm, getting me dressed.
I couldn’t stop smiling at him, but he wouldn’t look at me because he was trying to keep his eyes away from my breasts.
He looked more at ease once my breasts were covered, and I wondered if his fear of my body came from his promise.
We walked onto the bootcamp grounds, and he kept going past the staff quarters, where I thought the commander would be.
“Because it’s your first real day, I’m going to assume you didn’t know not to leave campus. Instead of taking you to the commander, I’ll just give you ten extra laps tomorrow and tell you never to leave the grounds again. But I’m serious, Riley, get your act together or you’ll be thrown out.”
I nodded my head. I really didn’t want to do extra laps tomorrow, but at least I was happy that I wasn’t going to jail for another day.
He walked me to my room and then stopped outside and hovered. “Oh right, your hoodie.” I remembered while he stood there awkwardly. I grabbed the bottom of his hoodie and started to pull it up.
“No!” he yelled. “Not here,” he said in a panic. “Just keep it,” he said more calmly now.
I laughed and said, “I’m not keeping it.” “Come in and I’ll change into something else.” He looked at the wooden door of the shed and then back at me.
“Without warning and for no good reason, I shouldn’t go into the soldiers’ quarters.”
“Oh, it’s fine. No one is here,” I said without thinking.
“What?!” he yelled as he ran past me and pushed through the door.
I went inside after him, feeling bad for being so dumb. He quietly looked around the room, as if he thought everyone would jump out and yell “surprise.”
“Where are they all?” he asked, turning to me, but he knew as well as I did where they were.
I made my face look like it was hurting again. “Is this going to get me in a lot of trouble?”
“Twenty more laps,” he said coldly.
“Twenty!” I yelled.
“Thirty!” he yelled.
I took off his hoodie right in front of him, and his eyes got big as he saw everything that was available. He turned away, red-faced, after a moment.
“I think you should go now before I lose my legs.” He took the hoodie and turned around, keeping his eyes straight ahead.
“You have no idea how bad this is getting. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I won’t let it go on like this; there needs to be a line drawn.”
I nodded to show that I understood, but I really didn’t know what he was talking about.
People must have snuck out, talked back, and refused to follow the dumb bootcamp rules. We are criminals, after all.
Mason walked to the door without looking back. I lay down on my bed, closed my eyes, and let the silence of the room take me away.
The scariest sound ever made my ears hurt and burned me from the inside. I pulled my head under the itchy blanket and grumbled into my sheets.
“Get up or you’ll miss your shower time,” Amber said under her breath. I waved her away with one arm out from under the blanket.
“I’ll shower later, when the water is warm and the blow dryer works.” She laughed.
“You’ll get caught,” she said as she left. But I wasn’t going to get caught. I’m careful, and why would the staff shower at night when they can do it during the day when they have hot water all day? I closed my eyes and enjoyed the extra hour of sleep.
At five in the morning, I heard the sirens again. I didn’t want to get out of bed, but I did and put on my camouflage pants, green T-shirt and combat boots. I walked to the field while still fixing my belt.
Everyone was already doing a drill for marching. Before I looked up at the soldiers, I spent a few seconds messing with my belt.