Page 20 of My All American Girl

9

SARAH

Kylee and I collapsed into our seats in the dining hall, our plates piled high with food as we recounted the day’s events. I needed some major calories. The run had left us both exhausted and sore. Our muscles protested against the sudden burst of activity after weeks of summer break laziness.

“God, that run was brutal.” I took a bite of my dinner and grimaced at the tasteless mush in my mouth.

Kylee nodded in agreement, her expression mirroring my own. “Tell me about it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so out of shape in my life.”

I chuckled, poking at my food with my fork. “I thought I was keeping up with my PT over summer, but clearly I was lax. I should have pushed myself harder. That was embarrassing.”

She shrugged, her brown eyes sparkling with amusement. “Freshman year all over again. I remember thinking I was in shape then too. Then they showed us how wrong we were.”

This made us both laugh. During our freshman year, we had been so optimistic and innocent. We got to be the big fish in our little pond for a while and now we were back at the bottom. The newbies trying to get it together so we didn’t look like new recruits.

We continued to eat and exchange horror stories about the run, wondering aloud what torturous training would be thrown at us tomorrow.

“Davis seemed to have it out for us,” Kylee said after a moment of silence. She was using a piece of bread to scoop up the last of her unappetizing stew. “I swear I saw him hide a smirk as we were all heaving by the end.”

I snorted at that. “Maybe you’re right. He did seem unusually satisfied. I’d wager he does this to all the first years. He knew we would be soft after summer break.”

We fell silent for a moment, both lost in thought as we mechanically chewed our food.

“But we did it,” I said. “And our times were pretty good. I have a feeling we’ll bounce back. I’ll be leading the pack. I’m going to blow away any previous records. I might be shorter than a lot of them, but I’ll be faster.”

“Just remember I’ll be right on your heels.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Our conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Captain Davis, his uniform crisp and his posture commanding attention. The chatter in the dining hall fell to hushed whispers as he strode down the aisle, his gaze scanning the room. Most of us had been put through the wringer by him and had a healthy fear and respect for the man.

His eyes landed on us. A slight nod of acknowledgment was all we received before he continued on, leaving a trail of silence in his wake. I didn’t dare complain about PT, not with him in the room. I didn’t care if it was a huge room and he was way on the other side. I wasn’t convinced he wouldn’t catch an echo or something.

“Do you know any good places around base to go?” I asked. “Beyond the approved places. I want to have fun without having an MP drag me to the dorm. I don’t want to have to watch what I say and drink because there is a higher-ranking officer watching me.”

Kylee shrugged. “Not really. I haven’t had much time to explore yet.”

“There has to be a place.” I sighed. “There is always a place off base. It’s usually kept on the downlow. Only the cool kids get to know about it.”

“Are you saying we’re not cool?” She grinned.

“I’m saying we haven’t gotten the chance to show off our coolness,” I replied.

One of the young men sitting at a table behind ours leaned over. “We know a place.”

I looked at him, trying to decide if he was being honest or if he was acting like he was cool just to talk to us. “There is a run-down place pilots like to go I heard about,” he said. “It’s about the only place.”

“Yeah?” I asked. “Where?”

“It’s supposedly the only place around for miles, but I think it might be a myth.”

I leaned in, intrigued by the idea of a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. “A myth, you say?” I asked, a hint of excitement creeping into my voice. I was always looking for something edgy. I hated the rigor of living on a base and going to bed at the right time and keeping everything spotless. I liked to live on the edge, even if I would never cross the line. It satisfied my need to rebel without breaking any rules.

The guy nodded, his eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. “Yeah, it’s apparently down some backroad in the middle of nowhere. A real backwoods place for bikers and strays. And pilots. The kind of place with dirty floors and a sticky bar, but it’s got the best damn beer in the state and a jukebox full of old records. They say it’s so hidden and out of the way, even the MPs don’t bother with it.”

“That sounds like a place we need to go,” Kylee said, her mischievous side showing through. I arched an eyebrow at her. She was more by the book than I was.

“But none of us have been able to find it,” the man admitted, more than a bit sheepishly. “All we’ve got are directions that sound like they’ve been ripped straight from a treasure map. ‘Take a left at the twisted oak and follow the setting sun.’ Nonsense like that.”