SHARI hinted that it might be a reverse meal during dinner time, she only poured half-full water into her glass from the blue water jug. Renzo had given her a lot of pointers before she started her training. And she trusted her gut instinct.
The reception had just finished, and her body ached so much. Even her stomach started to rumble on starvation. They rolled in the mud on the ground several times, followed by deathly exercises. She forced herself to enjoy the reception since it was part of the training.
And now, her mouth seemed to water with the food on her plate. It was just a cup of rice, a small amount of spinach, and a medium-sized fried fish.
"Reverse meal!" one of the instructors commanded.
Shari raised one brow and looked down to hide her mocking smile. She was darn right!
I knew it.
Pamela beside her frowned hard. Because she filled her tumbler with water, reverse meal means they would first drink all the water they had, followed by the rice, and the viand would be the last. Shari pitied her comrades, who had a lot of water in hand. They would find it hard to eat their meal properly.
Shari burped after her dinner. She was contented when she entered the barracks. While Pamela never ceased cursing since she vomited after eating her food.
"My body aches so bad. I pray we'll have a peaceful sleep tonight." Pamela stretched out her arms and neck.
"I wish. Let's sleep. It's nearly lights-off. We'll be waking up early tomorrow for jogging." Shari was seated on the bunk bed allotted for her.
She had to wake up early to take a shower before everyone. Due to the scarcity of water in the camp, those who woke up late left with nothing. And that would be gross, sweating without taking a shower.
"Sir Levi is so hot, yeah? Snappy and yummy!" Pamela whispered while biting her lower lip.
"Levi, who? I'll tell that to your husband," she teased.
Pamela rolled her eyes. "Hubby won't mind. I love him. And having a crush on Levi Hirsch is normal."
"Hirsch?" Shari nodded her head, realizing the one Pamela was blabbering about. She wanted to agree but remembered how that man made her shower the foot powder on her face and insulted her beauty.
"Your standard is low, Pam. That guy looks like a leader of a syndicate." She giggled.
"That's harsh! But I won't mind the scorching heat if Levi is in front of me." Pamela acted as if something was tickling her. This wench was indeed attracted to that guy!
"Gross, look at you. Swooning on that bastard."
"Even I'm married. I know how to justify if a guy is hot or not." Pamela lowered her tone and went on, "You don't like him?"
Shari shook her head. "No. I prefer Allen. He looks kind." She smiled. She noticed their instructor in Marksmanship. Allen looked approachable.
"Allen is not bad. But how come you don't like Levi? Every female in this batch seemed to like him. He's fuckin' gorgeous!"
"Well, not me. Let's sleep!" She rolled her eyes to dismiss her buddy. She couldn't care less about her impressions of Levi Hirsch.
Levi? No way! Even his name is an anagram of evil.
Shari hated him. Besides, in her eyes, no one beats Renzo.
EVERYONE woke up early the following day. At four o'clock, trainees were all at the formation. And they followed their usual routine of running several rounds into the massive oval surrounding the grandstand. And after jogging, another set of exercises until the sun was fully up.
Shari was used to this, and she realized that among the females in the Delta Company, she suffered the worst sunburn. Even her classmates from the other company noticed it, too. She was visible in the formation because she turned so dark. However, she did not mind it since her complexion would be back any time after the training.
At near noontime, Shari felt her rumbling stomach. She would have to wait two more hours before lunch. She had to think of ways to buy biscuits outside the camp because it was prohibited. But Pamela was on it as well. They were on a fifteen-minute break.
They strolled to the edge of the perimeter, where a small store was located. The height of the concrete fence was approximately three meters, it was the only area having a decent fence since it was near the office building.
Shari already knew the forbidden rule about how to buy anything from them. And this act had an infamous name, 'take life.' Meaning the action of doing things for your comfort but against the rules of the training camp. Like eating while hiding and bringing a cellphone inside.
"Pam, ready for a take life? I'm starving. My knees are wobbling because of exhaustion and hunger." Shari asked Pamela.
"I would love that. Let's go!"
They got a hundred pesos from their pockets and crumpled the money before throwing it outside the fence. They waited a few seconds, and after a while, a long bamboo popped up near the wall where a net was tied on top. It contained two biscuits which they immediately caught.
"Darn! The price of biscuit here is three times compared to the supermarket." Pamela complained when she opened the wrapper.
"What do you expect? They're taking advantage of our needs. This is capitalism!" Shari started to savor the sweet taste of the biscuit. Both of them were in a hurry because once they got caught, all members of Delta Company might suffer the hellish consequences.
This was the risk they had to take whenever they were hungry. And the owner of the store knew it, too. They would throw the money outside in exchange for food.
"Hurry up! We need to go back to the formation. It's time for counting off." Pamela hurriedly placed the wrapper in between the branch of a mango tree. While Shari hid it in the pocket of her jeans, she would put it in the trash bin later.
"Let's go!" Shari scurried, going in the direction of the grandstand. But they immediately halted when they reached the hallway.
Levi walked towards them while his hands were in the pockets of his trousers. His head turned as if looking where they came from.
"Where have you been?" the man asked dangerously. The line in his temple deepened.
"Sir!" Shari smartly saluted while Pamela raised her trembling hand to salute in panic.
"We just came from the comfort room, sir!" Shari said with her head held high and averted her gaze. Levi's dubious face made her uncomfortable.
Shari strengthen her back, making sure to live up to her lie. But on her side, she wanted to kick her buddy because sweats were forming on Pamela's forehead.
Once this guy knew what they had done, the punishment might be unbearable to handle. First, they lied, and second, they did something against the rule. Probably, they might find themselves swimming in the puddle, or worse—they could be dismissed from the service without getting their badges!
"The ladies' room is that way." Levi slightly faced in the direction of the other side.
Shari swallowed hard. She had to affirm her lies even though Levi scrutinized her as if knowing the truth. Of course, he was not stupid.
Levi glanced down, and his eyes were fixed on Shari's jeans. Would he search her to check if she had made a grave violation? Her heart started to beat abnormally. She prayed hard this time.
"Are you sure?" Levi's eyes narrowed.
Shari swallowed again. "Yes, sir!"
Levi hardly shook his head. And slowly, his right hand moved like a slow motion in her eyes before it pointed to her hips. "Then what is that?"
Shari's eyes broadened when she looked at her pocket. The red wrapper was peeking in it!
Damn! She closed her eyes in dismay. She was caught in the act with a piece of evidence!
"Ford!" Shari and Pamela stepped back when Levi's voice thundered.