door open. “Hey!” someone yelled, startling me enough that I stumbled back into my room. It had been a woman’s voice. A second later, Sarah McAllister appeared in the doorway.
“Hey!” I said as she stepped around me, walking into my room like she owned the place. “What the hell?”
“Are you stalking me or something?” she asked.
I felt my face flush. “You’re in my room!”
“I guess we share a bathroom,” she said.
“I guess,” I said. “Weird that they didn’t separate males and females.”
“This isn’t summer camp,” Sarah said, grinning.
“Do we have a shower, then?” I asked, poking my head back into the bathroom.
“Sort of,” Sarah replied. To my right, at the very end of the room, was a square section that looked like the base of a shower. At about knee high, there was a spigot and two knobs. The spigot led to a hose, which in turn led to a shower head, clipped to the wall just above the spigot.
“Huh? So . . . what are you supposed to do, sit down in this thing?”
“I don’t know,” Sarah said. “You could use the spray-hose to wash yourself, I guess. There’s nowhere on the wall above to clamp it, so we can’t use it like a regular shower. Also, there’s no curtain.”
“And what the hell is that?” I asked, indicating another spray-hose. This one came out of the wall next to the toilet.
“It’s for washing your feet,” Sarah explained. “Most toilets over here have them. Local custom is you wash your feet after using the bathroom.”
“What about your hands?” I asked.
“That’s optional,” she said, smiling.
“So this is it, huh? A shower, um, thing with no curtain, a toilet with a spray-hose on it, and a bare tile floor with a drain. Zubaran bathroom technology is a bit wanting.”
“I’m going to take a shower,” Sarah said. “Or I’m going to try. So get out of here. The door doesn’t lock, so don’t open it until I’m gone. Stalker .”
“I’m not stalking you!” I protested as Sarah shoved me out of the bathroom and slammed the door in my face. “Psycho,” I muttered to myself as she turned the water on.
Exhausted, I kicked my boots off and climbed into bed. Pulling the rough wool blanket over me, I rolled over and was asleep in minutes.
I was abruptly woken a short while later. I sat up in bed, startled, not entirely sure where I was at first. Sarah stood over me, wearing nothing but a short pair of gym shorts and a T-shirt. Her hair was wet. She smelled nice; she looked good.
“Hey, Valentine,” she said. “Do you have any toilet paper?”
“Huh? What’re you doing in my room again?” I mumbled.
“ Toilet paper . There isn’t any. Did you bring some?”
“Actually, I did.” I sat up. “I always bring toilet paper.” I reached over and dug into my duffel bag. I handed her a roll that was wrapped in a plastic bag. “Anything else?”
“No, that’s everything,” she said, stepping back into the bathroom. “Nice try, though.” She flashed me a smile before closing the door again.
“You’re welcome!” I yelled at the door before laying back down. I had a smile on my face as I rolled over to go back to sleep.
VALENTINE
February 28
For the rest of the month of February, we remained cooped up in Fort Saradia. We had classes every day on topics ranging from fieldcraft to local history. Gordon Willis made several appearances to tell us what a great job we were doing and remind us of the importance of operational security. He seemed pretty useless, actually.
There was a lot of physical fitness training, too. It had been less than a year since I’d left Vanguard, but I’d gotten pretty out of shape. The first morning they had us running laps around the inside of the compound I thought my heart was going to explode. Tailor was even worse off than I was, since he was a smoker.
What we weren’t getting was any firearms training, which bothered me, but I understood why. Fort Saradia didn’t have a range
“Hey!” I said as she stepped around me, walking into my room like she owned the place. “What the hell?”
“Are you stalking me or something?” she asked.
I felt my face flush. “You’re in my room!”
“I guess we share a bathroom,” she said.
“I guess,” I said. “Weird that they didn’t separate males and females.”
“This isn’t summer camp,” Sarah said, grinning.
“Do we have a shower, then?” I asked, poking my head back into the bathroom.
“Sort of,” Sarah replied. To my right, at the very end of the room, was a square section that looked like the base of a shower. At about knee high, there was a spigot and two knobs. The spigot led to a hose, which in turn led to a shower head, clipped to the wall just above the spigot.
“Huh? So . . . what are you supposed to do, sit down in this thing?”
“I don’t know,” Sarah said. “You could use the spray-hose to wash yourself, I guess. There’s nowhere on the wall above to clamp it, so we can’t use it like a regular shower. Also, there’s no curtain.”
“And what the hell is that?” I asked, indicating another spray-hose. This one came out of the wall next to the toilet.
“It’s for washing your feet,” Sarah explained. “Most toilets over here have them. Local custom is you wash your feet after using the bathroom.”
“What about your hands?” I asked.
“That’s optional,” she said, smiling.
“So this is it, huh? A shower, um, thing with no curtain, a toilet with a spray-hose on it, and a bare tile floor with a drain. Zubaran bathroom technology is a bit wanting.”
“I’m going to take a shower,” Sarah said. “Or I’m going to try. So get out of here. The door doesn’t lock, so don’t open it until I’m gone. Stalker .”
“I’m not stalking you!” I protested as Sarah shoved me out of the bathroom and slammed the door in my face. “Psycho,” I muttered to myself as she turned the water on.
Exhausted, I kicked my boots off and climbed into bed. Pulling the rough wool blanket over me, I rolled over and was asleep in minutes.
I was abruptly woken a short while later. I sat up in bed, startled, not entirely sure where I was at first. Sarah stood over me, wearing nothing but a short pair of gym shorts and a T-shirt. Her hair was wet. She smelled nice; she looked good.
“Hey, Valentine,” she said. “Do you have any toilet paper?”
“Huh? What’re you doing in my room again?” I mumbled.
“ Toilet paper . There isn’t any. Did you bring some?”
“Actually, I did.” I sat up. “I always bring toilet paper.” I reached over and dug into my duffel bag. I handed her a roll that was wrapped in a plastic bag. “Anything else?”
“No, that’s everything,” she said, stepping back into the bathroom. “Nice try, though.” She flashed me a smile before closing the door again.
“You’re welcome!” I yelled at the door before laying back down. I had a smile on my face as I rolled over to go back to sleep.
VALENTINE
February 28
For the rest of the month of February, we remained cooped up in Fort Saradia. We had classes every day on topics ranging from fieldcraft to local history. Gordon Willis made several appearances to tell us what a great job we were doing and remind us of the importance of operational security. He seemed pretty useless, actually.
There was a lot of physical fitness training, too. It had been less than a year since I’d left Vanguard, but I’d gotten pretty out of shape. The first morning they had us running laps around the inside of the compound I thought my heart was going to explode. Tailor was even worse off than I was, since he was a smoker.
What we weren’t getting was any firearms training, which bothered me, but I understood why. Fort Saradia didn’t have a range
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