Oh Suzannah, Don't You Cry For Me

Chapter Seventeen: 3, 2, 1...Fight!

In honor of Bucky's birthday on the 10th, here's another chapter! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ;*:･ﾟ✧

Chapter Seventeen: 3, 2, 1...Fight!

The tournament, it turned out, forced each unit in the camp to volunteer three soldiers to compete. Hundreds of soldiers would compete in the tournament, so not all the nurses picked a soldier to keep the tournament within a month. Commanding officers refereed each fight that occurred on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The select few nurses who picked the soldiers "sponsored" the soldier and took care of any injuries. The randomized tournament brackets spread the men throughout the units.

The three soldiers in Suzie's unit were Miguel Vazquez, Walter Lemay, and Suzie. When they heard the selection, Garcia caught Suzie's eye and sent her a death glare. Lemay, ever-present beside his friend, dragged a finger across his throat and grinned at Suzie over Garcia's shoulder.

At least Alice gave her a heads-up about the tournament. Chances are, the men Suzie competed against would not be as savage as Lemay and Garcia.

"I wish Bucky was here," Suzie lamented. They were in groups of two learning hand-to-hand combat. The first set of drills two days ago focused on breaking grips and chokeholds. The second set of drills yesterday went over how to flip someone. Today, they learned how to dodge attacks and flip their opponent.

"Your brother?" Richard asked from the ground. He scrambled to his feet and took a swipe at Suzie. She blocked his attack, grabbed his wrist, hooked a foot behind his, and swept his leg out from under him. He fell with an "oomph" and rubbed his backside.

"Yeah." Suzie extended a hand to help Richard to his feet. "He used to do boxing in high school."

"Was he good at it?" Richard spread his feet to a fighting stance and waited for Suzie to attack. He copied the motion Suzie did to him and sent Suzie tumbling to the ground.

"He did win three championship titles."

Impressed, Richard whistled low and helped Suzie to her feet. "You'd probably make a good boxer, too; you fight kinda dirty. Did you do any sports in high school?"

"Not really." Sure, Suzie practiced copying Bucky's moves whenever he trained for his fights. That only happened when they had the gym to themselves. She also practiced fighting with the pocket knife that she bought on her fifteenth birthday. She focused on her fighting skills. It made more sense to learn something practical instead of playing organized sports. Although, Lemay and Garcia's strength overpowered any of the skills she learned.

She did not look forward to this tournament.

"What about you?" Suzie asked. She flipped Richard over and waited for his response after he landed.

"I was on the debate team if that counts." Richard wheezed and rolled onto his stomach to push himself up with his hands. He braced himself for Suzie's attack and held his breath as he went flying over Suzie's shoulder. "I'd lose in the first fight if I was in the tournament. Besides, I'm not much of a fighter, as you can see." He gestured at himself sitting on the ground again.

The sullen expression on Suzie's face must have caught Richard's attention because he stood up, clapped her on her shoulder, and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, pal. You'll do great!"

/\/\/\/\/\

The first match-up did not look...terrible, she had to give it that.

The man paired against Suzie stood only two inches taller than herself and did not appear as strong as she expected. Like fighting Travis instead of Bucky, she had a better chance of winning against the former. Her opponent matched Travis's height and weight more than Bucky. Not to put her brother down, but Suzie hoped that the man also matched Travis' skill set. Considering that Bucky won three championship titles in his high school career, Suzie did not want to face someone with Bucky's skill.