Gasoline | Ben Parish

19

TANK'S replacement is announced the next day during Q&A. Reznik doesn't tell us anything besides a name: Ringer.

Naturally this gets everyone hyped because Ringer is kind of a bad ass name. And because of the hype, we don't go to extra practice. I don't mind all that much. A lot of the PT we did today was through mud; I need to clean my boots.

As I'm sitting on my bed doing just that, I overhear Nugget ask Zombie, "What's a ringer?"

"Someone who you slip into a team to give it an edge," he explains. "Someone who's really good."

Teacup perks up from her spot beside me. She's got her rifle strewn across her lap, carefully taking the pieces apart and the reassembling them. Her brown eyes are curious as she listens to our squad leader.

Sometimes I wonder if she wants to be treated like Nugget. Babied and all that. But then I think that she's much too tough for that kind of treatment.

"Marksmanship," Flintstone hops in, giving his guess as to what our new member will be good at. He seems excited. "That's where we're the weakest. Poundcake's our best. I'm okay, so is Oompa. Croak, you're-" he stops and considers his words for a moment. "Improved," he decides. I incline my head slightly. "But you're terrible, Zombie. You and Dumbo and Teacup suck. And Nugget can't even shoot."

"Come over here and tell me I suck!" Teacup shouts, messy head of hair craning to glare at Flintstone. If I were Flint, I'd choose my words a little more carefully when Teacup's armed.

"I'm not Tank, Teacup. I'm not going to pick a fight with a little girl."

She growls. "I'm not a little girl. I'll kick your ass."

Nugget raises his tiny head. "You shouldn't say that word, Teacup."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Teacup whirls on him now. "I'm older than you."

"So?" Nugget asks, eyes wide and innocent. "You still shouldn't say it."

"Croak says it."

Dumbo sighs. "You don't want to do half the things Croak does, Teacup." Then he glances over at me quickly. "No offense."

"None taken. You're right." I shrug.

Flintstone crosses the room to Tank's old bunk. He stands there for a second, staring at the empty mattress. We all watch him closely. Then, suddenly, in one movement, he rips the sheets off and yanks away the pillow case.

Zombie sits up from his slump on his bunk. "What are you doing, Private?" he asks sharply, on edge. He's probably thinking that Flintstone is finally going crazy or Dorothy or whatever the hell. I know that's what I'm thinking.

"Washing the sheets." Flintstone says simply, tossing the fabric into the washing machine with our jumpsuits. "New guy's going to need a place to sleep, right?"

"I think you're a little in love with this guy," Dumbo quips.

Teacup crosses her small arms. "How do you know that it's a boy?" She asks stubbornly. "It could be a girl. You thought Croak was a boy, but she wasn't. She's a girl."

Flintstone smirks. "Yeah she is." His eyes go to my bare legs, crossed underneath my nightshirt. I send him a dirty look.

Like lightening has struck him, Nugget sits bolt upright. He moves so fast his head pops Zombie's jaw. "It's her!" He yelps.

"Gah, Nugget..." Zombie groans, rubbing the tender area. "What's her?"

"Sorry," Nugget settles for a brief second, eyes filling with worry when he sees the pain he caused his squad leader. Zombie gives him a lazy smile and drops a hand on his head affectionately, as if to assure all is forgiven.

This is enough to get Nugget to reveal his thought process: "Ringer! Cassie is Ringer!"

Zombie's face drops. His hand falls from its place in Nugget's hair. His expression is clear: not this shit again. After a quick look around Barracks 10, it's clear that the rest of the squad feels the same way.

Slowly, Zombie says, "I don't think Ringer is your sister." His every word is cautious, like Nugget is a tear-bomb that might go off any moment and fill the room in an ocean of his sadness.

"You don't know she isn't, either." Nugget places his small hands on his hips and makes a victorious face. Zombie sighs and meets my eyes. I know what he's thinking, because I'm thinking the same thing: tomorrow, when Ringer shows up and Nugget sees that it's not Cassie, he's going to pitch a bitch fit.

Which is exactly the opposite of what we need right now.