Out Of Place

Edwin fell silent with flickering eyes. He looked down at his food for a while and then looked back up at Arianna who was waiting expectantly.

After a while she exhaled. "If you don't want to talk about it then you can forget I asked."

"It's not like that," Edwin tapped his finger on the table. "I just don't know how to talk about it."

He glanced at the other soldiers who were walking among the recruits. He eyed them for a while then retracted his gaze. His story was very stupid and he feared it would make anyone who heard it laugh at him.

"When I was young, I had an elder sister. She was my role model. She was near perfect in my father's eyes." Edwin began with a distant gaze.

"She was strong, determined and fearless. She wanted to join the military and even at a young age she had been taking combat lessons and shooting exercises. This gave her an advantage in the military training camp.

"My father was proud of her and my mother too. She was a star in their eyes and they would often praise her while I was left mostly alone.

"My sister seemed to be the only person who understood my dilemma. She would take me out for strolls and tell me great stories about soldiers and military. I liked it. She taught me a bit but I could barely catch on.

"It was going well until she and my mother had an accident on the day she got enlisted. They died leaving my father heartbroken and hurt. He would often look away whenever his eyes landed on me and I knew that he wished it was me instead.

"I knew he wasn't proud of me. He felt that I couldn't follow in his footsteps and become a soldier. I was determined to be like my sister. I started trying to train though it was hard. I looked for motivation and came across Colonel Richard Brad.

"He inspired me a lot so I wanted to emulate him. My father seemed displeased when I told him I wanted to join the military. Almost like he didn't believe I could make it. My resolve was strong and he was surprised when I passed the academy's exam and enrolled.

"It's only here, with the harsh treatment, that I've realised that maybe I wasn't really cut out for military life."

He stopped and observed Arianna's serious expression. His sister's advice floated back into his head. 'Don't expect others to look at you every time,' she had said. 'You don't really need everyone's approval.'

After a while, Arianna exhaled again. "That's pretty sad."

He nodded, "sad but I'm determined to go through with my decision."

"You should be a soldier because you want to be one and not because you want to please you father or honour your sister's memory. You're doing it for yourself."

"I know but I just feel the need to prove him wrong. I want him to see that I can do great things."

"Let's eat." Arianna nodded and gestured to the food. "Lieutenant Macaroni is here."

Edwin chuckled lightly. "It's not a wonder that he hates your guts."

"What can I say?"

….

Dwayne's Medical Centre, Misthill

Priscilla sat opposite Donald who held a file in his hand. He read through the file with great seriousness. It was good to see that he was back to being his old playful self.

Priscilla had a smirk on her face as she observed him up close. She had decided to drop by this morning to check on her patient before stopping by at the military HQ.

Her heart still fluttered and flushed and beat faster whenever she thought of the events that happened the previous day. Her mind was filled with Richard's strong muscles enveloping her. It took her great effort to clear her head and realise that it was only a bet and it meant nothing.

"Why do you need my help on this one?" she asked after a while of studying Donald.

Donald handed her a paper and she read through it carefully. "This patient, Walsh, has kidney stones. The severe kind."

Priscilla nodded and continued to read. "What were your recommendations?"

"I recommended an Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy."

"Let me guess," Priscilla touched her jaw gently. "The ESWL didn't work, correct?"

Donald nodded then looked back at the file in his hand with a serious expression. He didn't notice Priscilla's mocking gaze that was on him.

He looked back up and met her eyes. "So?"

Priscilla laughed hysterically. "I never thought the day would come when you'd ask me to assist you in such a small case as kidney stones!"

It was hilarious.

Donald's face twisted a bit. "Stop laughing."

"I'm just surprised that the 'best graduating surgeon' can't remove tiny stones by himself!" she mocked him further.

Donald's face darkened a bit but he smirked. "You're jealous because I graduated top of my class!"

"That's bullshit!" Priscilla grinned. "That only happened because I transferred school. Back in high school and early days in college, I was picked for awards several times."

"True," Donald agreed. "I came up better than you in the end."

"Mind you I also graduated top of my class!"

"Is that you telling me you're afraid of 'small stones'?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"I'm a surgeon, Donald. I fear nothing." She replied.

"We'll see about that," he smiled wickedly. "Though I wonder if you transferred school because you were afraid that I'd beat you in the end."

Priscilla scoffed and blew at her hanging hair. "You wish. I had my reasons for leaving."

"Those reasons keep me awake all night!"

"Fine," she put the paper down. "I wanted to see less of your face and look for men as muscular as Richard. Their toned muscles, solid frame…it makes me want to have him on my operating table…naked in full glory!"

Donald shook his head with a sad look. "And now I wonder who the pervert really is."

"…Not to mention the kiss we shared yesterday."

Donald didn't notice when the book fell from his hand. He snapped at her with a heated gaze.