Sickness

Part One

"Soldier 42561."

I step forward from our line up. "Vala Mininger. Soldier 42561. Present."

"Soldier 42557."

I step back into line up as Gale steps forward. "Gale Mathesin. Soldier 42557. Present."

Evening roll call comes to an end around 9:30 and the guard on duty says, "You are dismissed."

Myself and the other soldiers in training make our way out of the main hall and disperse into puffs of people heading towards bunkers. I follow Gale to his, and examine for guards before entering. Being in the bunks of the opposite sex was one hundred percent prohibited.

Once inside, Gale climbs to his bed on the top bunk, while I make myself at home on the bottom. "We're going to get caught." he mumbles, "I just know it."

I shake my head, even though I know he can't see me. "We'll be fine. They won't find out. You don't have a bunkmate, and the girls I room with are too busy getting lost in their reflections to notice whether I'm there or not. It was a set up arranged by the Gods."

"Why do you rag on all those girls in your bunk? They can't be that bad."

I lean over the side of the bed so he can see the dumbfounded expression on my face. "Who's side are you on?!" I grumble and lay back down. "You're just defending them because they're girls."

"Well you're a girl, aren't you?"

"AREN'T I?!"

He snickers, "Sorry."

"Mhm."

And with that, I rolled over and went to sleep.

~*~

The next morning, I get up an hour before the bunker check to head over to my assigned cabin. I sneak in and climb to my bed on the top as quietly as possible. But the second I close my eyes to go back to sleep, the light flicks on. "Vala. What are you doing?" my roommate Vivien asks.

Vivien is an all or nothing kind of girl. Far less annoying than 90% of the girls I am stuck with around here. She works her butt off to succeed in this place and she settles for nothing less than great. The only thing I didn't like about her, was how cocky she was and the fact that she flirted with Gale all of the time. It irritated me that she messed with Gale, but she was the closest thing I had to a girl friend around here.

"What do you mean 'what are you doing'?" I growl quietly and put the pillow over my face. "Turn the light off before the other girls wake up."

She turned it off and came to the side of my bed, looking up at me with her giant brown doll eyes. "Did you sleep over at Gaaaaaaaale's cabin again?" she asked in the girliest voice imaginable.

"Shut up." I growled. "I'm only over there because I can't stand the girls we bunk with. Constantly up and down all night."

"Mhm." she winks at me, "Oooooor, maybe you got the hots for him."

"He's my best friend Vivien."

"Your hot bestfriend."

"SHUT UP."

The bunker check alarm rang loudly, and we all dragged ourselves from our beds. When the alarm goes off, you have 10 minutes to get your room in order and stand in front of your bunk until one of the female officers came to dismiss you to the showers.

Once we were cleared to leave, I grabbed my clothes, boots, and towel and headed to the shower house. I was talking to Vivien when Gale ran up next to me. "Hey. I got a letter this morning telling me that I was getting another soldier to come room with me for saftey reasons or something."