Dust Devils - A Girls Und Panzer Story

Chapter 2

Once her room was thoroughly blanketed with the sun's rays, Valarie awoke. She reached for her phone on the nightstand, which reported that the time was 8:17 A.M and let out a soft yawn. Seven hours of sleep during the weekend was pretty good by her standards. While she would typically remain in bed, browsing on her phone while reading about, unsurprisingly, all things related to tanks, as she waited for her mother's call for breakfast, for today, Valarie was already out of bed. She grabbed some towels and had a warm shower, slipped into some new clothes, and felt refreshed and energized, precisely the mood she needed to be in for what she planned for today. Valarie sat at her desk back in her room and got straight underway to complete all of her assigned homework. Usually, she'd procrastinate on her homework, with Sunday nights typically being a frenzied rush to finish all of it, her writing sloppy, and her mother looking on, being wonderfully encouraging.

"If only you had forty-eight hours to do homework, where you could pace everything out and not rush through it. Oh well, I guess it can't be helped."

That made four comedians, four too many.

The homework load was, much to her relief, light. She was finished within an hour and felt incredibly good and happy to see that her writing was legible and not an embarrassment. Her homework was stowed away, and now, she could right down to business for the school's new tankery team. Officially, the team only had two members, herself and Emma. Ray and his friends would sign up after school, which brought the total to six. Not a bad start, but more was always better.

"Who else do I know could I convince joining?" she pondered.

Some people she knew in her classes would join the team without a second thought, as they wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to give the Earth a few more craters. For others, she felt iffy about. They were the type of people who don't enjoy going out of their comfort zone and being in a tank, shooting, and being shot at is quite a departure. Of course, as proven by yesterday, surprises can come from anywhere and anyone. Though, even if one hundred students joined up, it would mean nothing if they had no tanks. The IS-3 was a great start but a team isn't one tank. They'd have to find more, and soon, or else people will start to lose interest and leave.

"Breakfast is ready!" yelled her mom.

The aroma of cooked food briefly interrupted her train of thought, and she raced off to the kitchen. At the table, she found a large plate of fried bacon and scrambled eggs. A simple meal but an unrivaled American classic, so she had not a thing to complain about. As eggs were eaten and pieces of bacon cut, Valarie was in deep thought. Where can more tanks be found and acquired? They were dealerships, but they were hopelessly expensive, only perused by the more well-to-do schools. Concern spread within her, something her face showed, and her mother noticed.

"What's wrong, Val?" she asked.

"I don't know where to find tanks for the team. We just have one so far."

Her mother finished her breakfast and set down her fork. "Well, the only tanks I've seen are in museums, and I doubt those people are gonna let you take 'em," She rose and grabbed her plate and Valarie's, putting them in the sink. "You've been in this town all your life, but do you really think you've been everywhere?"

Valarie absorbed the words her mom said. They rang true, she hasn't been in every acre in town. She mostly stayed in the same areas, her neighborhood, the school, and the shopping plaza. Only when she and Emma hung out did she explore more of her hometown, though they did often go to the same place every time, where all teenagers typically congregate; the mall.

This gave her some confidence, as not every stone in town has been turned. The weekend was spent preparing for Monday, where she composed a list of things to do to get the tankery team up and running. Late Sunday evening, while Valarie was finalizing what she wrote, her mother called her. She went to her and was presented with a plastic bag.