were. He always seemed to keep to himself and I let him be because I knew what a shock this was since I was living it too.
I kept my head down. I really didn’t need the trouble. Anyone who had been hazed before just kept getting it over and over, until finally they broke and just couldn’t deal with it anymore. That’s what happened to most of the guys I knew who didn’t make the cut. I had worked so hard to get through this; I didn’t need a bunch of dumb fucks ruining it for me.
Their so-called leader, Jim, walked in front while six others followed. He walked slowly down the middle of the hall, looking at everyone he passed. My turn was next. I kept my head down as he slowed down to check me out, but as he was right in front of me, I couldn’t help but veer my eyes up and make eye contact with him. He stopped short, almost causing a pile up of jerkoffs behind him. I did my best not to laugh at his idiot followers.
Jim was somewhere around 5’11,” with a strange build. He looked like he lifted weights because he had muscular arms, but he didn’t work out in any other way. His stomach was skinny, along with his legs. He gave me a bit of a dirty look and didn’t seem to be moving forward. Here we go, I thought.
I pushed my chair back and stood up slowly. My head passed his stomach, his chest, his head, until I towered over him. Then I tilted my head down to look at him again. “Jim.”
“John,” Jim said. “Is there a problem?” His puppets started to circle me. I guess their leader wasn’t man enough to do his own fighting.
“I was going to ask you the same thing.”
“Nope. No problem,” Jim said. “We’re just looking for someone.”
He stepped back and turned, continuing walking past with his followers no more than a footstep behind him. I sat back down and grabbed the book I had been reading. I kept glancing up to watch what was going to happen next. They made their way to the end of the mess hall where Joe Reed was hanging out with a few guys. I put my book down and watched. I felt bad; Joe was a good guy. We had done a lot of training together already because we were bunked together. He came into boot camp weak and shy, but I could already see him changing. He was working out on personal time to better his chances, and he was also going out of his comfort zone to interact with people. I considered him a friend, I guess. Jim walked over to Joe, who was sitting. They guys around Joe all got up and walked away.
What the fuck, really? I thought.
Joe kept his head down until Jim kicked his foot to make him look up. The hall became silent. I could hear everything now.
“Look up at me, Reed,” Jim demanded.
“Now what?” Joe asked.
“I’ll tell you now what,” Jim yelled. “You were supposed to take over latrine duties for Charlie here.”
“Yeah, you told me to do that yesterday,” Joe said. “But you don’t outrank anyone, Jim, so have Charlie go do it himself like his DI ordered.”
Jim’s voice grew angry. “The problem with that is the Drill Instructor saw nothing was done and now Charlie has to clean them all, the whole fucking base.”
“I can’t see how that’s a problem,” Joe snickered. “He’s a piece of shit so he’ll be in his element.”
Jim stepped back, while his groupies surrounded Joe. I couldn’t believe that Joe not only had the balls to stand up to them, but he also didn’t seem scared, either. What was I doing? Joe was about to get jumped, and I was just sitting there.
Fuck this! I stood up and quickly walked to the end of the hall. Some of the other recruits began to get up and follow me. I reached them at the same time Joe stood up to face them. Jim started with throwing a punch, which Joe easily blocked. He took Jim off his feet with a leg sweep. Four of the other six jumped on Joe and started punching. I rushed in and grabbed two of them by the backs of their shirts. I lifted them up with one arm each and tossed them over the mess hall
I kept my head down. I really didn’t need the trouble. Anyone who had been hazed before just kept getting it over and over, until finally they broke and just couldn’t deal with it anymore. That’s what happened to most of the guys I knew who didn’t make the cut. I had worked so hard to get through this; I didn’t need a bunch of dumb fucks ruining it for me.
Their so-called leader, Jim, walked in front while six others followed. He walked slowly down the middle of the hall, looking at everyone he passed. My turn was next. I kept my head down as he slowed down to check me out, but as he was right in front of me, I couldn’t help but veer my eyes up and make eye contact with him. He stopped short, almost causing a pile up of jerkoffs behind him. I did my best not to laugh at his idiot followers.
Jim was somewhere around 5’11,” with a strange build. He looked like he lifted weights because he had muscular arms, but he didn’t work out in any other way. His stomach was skinny, along with his legs. He gave me a bit of a dirty look and didn’t seem to be moving forward. Here we go, I thought.
I pushed my chair back and stood up slowly. My head passed his stomach, his chest, his head, until I towered over him. Then I tilted my head down to look at him again. “Jim.”
“John,” Jim said. “Is there a problem?” His puppets started to circle me. I guess their leader wasn’t man enough to do his own fighting.
“I was going to ask you the same thing.”
“Nope. No problem,” Jim said. “We’re just looking for someone.”
He stepped back and turned, continuing walking past with his followers no more than a footstep behind him. I sat back down and grabbed the book I had been reading. I kept glancing up to watch what was going to happen next. They made their way to the end of the mess hall where Joe Reed was hanging out with a few guys. I put my book down and watched. I felt bad; Joe was a good guy. We had done a lot of training together already because we were bunked together. He came into boot camp weak and shy, but I could already see him changing. He was working out on personal time to better his chances, and he was also going out of his comfort zone to interact with people. I considered him a friend, I guess. Jim walked over to Joe, who was sitting. They guys around Joe all got up and walked away.
What the fuck, really? I thought.
Joe kept his head down until Jim kicked his foot to make him look up. The hall became silent. I could hear everything now.
“Look up at me, Reed,” Jim demanded.
“Now what?” Joe asked.
“I’ll tell you now what,” Jim yelled. “You were supposed to take over latrine duties for Charlie here.”
“Yeah, you told me to do that yesterday,” Joe said. “But you don’t outrank anyone, Jim, so have Charlie go do it himself like his DI ordered.”
Jim’s voice grew angry. “The problem with that is the Drill Instructor saw nothing was done and now Charlie has to clean them all, the whole fucking base.”
“I can’t see how that’s a problem,” Joe snickered. “He’s a piece of shit so he’ll be in his element.”
Jim stepped back, while his groupies surrounded Joe. I couldn’t believe that Joe not only had the balls to stand up to them, but he also didn’t seem scared, either. What was I doing? Joe was about to get jumped, and I was just sitting there.
Fuck this! I stood up and quickly walked to the end of the hall. Some of the other recruits began to get up and follow me. I reached them at the same time Joe stood up to face them. Jim started with throwing a punch, which Joe easily blocked. He took Jim off his feet with a leg sweep. Four of the other six jumped on Joe and started punching. I rushed in and grabbed two of them by the backs of their shirts. I lifted them up with one arm each and tossed them over the mess hall
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