John sat on a long metal dining table beside Nathan with his own small buffet of food. Eight different plates, full of a little of every buffet station’s cuisine, were laid out in front of John. They glistened, beckoning him for a taste. He did not hold back and stabbed fork after fork into the various dishes and plopped them into his mouth.

After a while, Nathan just sat and did bother eating anymore. He spectated at the sight as if watching an episode of a food streamer, chowing down on some grub. Seeing John gobble down five plates of food easily and moving on to the next, Nathan couldn’t help but comment with a flabbergasted face.

“Where does this all go?! That has to be at least five to seven pounds of food alone already! Jeez, John. You’re going to get a stomachache.”

John pulled up a cup of unsweetened iced tea and washed down his last bite.

“No worries. I can eat so much because I’m making up for years of starving.”

Suddenly a familiar low voice chimed in over from behind John’s shoulders. “No wonder you did not puke. All that food got sucked away into that starved skeleton body of yours, Johnny boy.”

John turned around in horror. The sergeant’s eyes went wide, seeing John’s battered face but made no comment. Out of instinct, Nathan immediately stood up and saluted Sergeant Jay.

“Greetings, sergeant!”

Jay swatted away Nathan's formal greeting but showed a small smile nonetheless. “At ease, Nathan. Your training days are over. But I appreciate you still following military protocol.”

“Of course, sir! You're still my superior, and you have saved me multiple times on the field. Thank you, sir.”

“Aw, stop it, Nathan. You makin’ Jay blush.” Corporal Sam laughed at the dangerously glaring sergeant.

“I will see you two later, sergeant, corporal,” Stan said, starting to walk off with a tray of food in hand.

Jay quickly placed his tray next to John’s and pulled Stan back. “Not so fast, Stan. Almost all of us military personnel are here. Sit. We are not skipping dinner together. We always stick together.”

John gave Jay an odd look. From the way Jay said it, he almost thought they were all one family.

Stan looked back at the others who looked at him with a hopeful gleam in his their eyes. He sighed and looked at John but furrowed his eyebrows.

“I’m not even in the military anymore.”

“Me neither. But we once were, Stan. Come on, let’s eat. This is my new roommate, John,” Nathan said, seeing the glaring eyes that shot at his new roommate.

“We met,” John coldly added, glaring back at Stan.

Stan smirked. He was surprised John roomed with Nathan. And now being part of their group, he felt his place being taken by the civilian. He would not let John replace him. He walked back and slammed his tray down in front of John and took his seat.

“That’s right, Nathan. Taught your new roommate some combat moves. You picking them up yet, newbie?”

“Kinda. I have a zealous teacher. I was able to demonstrate with a kick behind your knee. Hopefully, that didn’t leave you bruised.”

“Nothing. No worries. My skin is thick and sun worn. I don’t bruise from tickles.” Stan lied. John’s kick left a deep purple bruise and a slight limp in Stan’s gait.

“Oh. Then maybe you can stand tomorrow and let me demonstrate more of what you taught me. I learned a lot today as you can see.”

“Panda,” Nathan said.

Jay could no longer hold it in and burst into laughter. The intense heavy atmosphere lifted, as the others laughed and John pouted. Stan grunted, trying to hold back his laughter, but an awkward smile stretched across his once-serious face.

“Dude! Why did you have to say that!? I’m not a panda.” John took out his furry and embarrassment by ruffling Nathan’s dark brown hair into a mess.

“Ah! Forgive me, John. I just blurted out the first thing that came to mind when you said that.” Nathan looked back and tried to console John. “Trust me, they look better than raccoon eyes.”

Jay couldn’t help but burst again into laughter while pointing at the pair of black eyes on John’s face. John gritted his teeth, but oddly he could not be mad at the full-belly laughter coming from Jay. Even the others around were shocked at the bootcamp-instructor-from-hell’s outburst of charming laughter.

Stan saw a different side to Jay that he never saw before. They all did. Stan looked at Jay, confused by his off demeanor. It wasn’t a bad feeling, seeing his superior laughing wholeheartedly. But the cause annoyed him. He glanced at John and narrowed his eyes. Everyone seemed to have a good time around John except for him. Worse yet, compared to John, he did not evoke such a happy effect on his group of people.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“My bad. My bad. Haven’t laughed like that in a while.” But soon the laughter ended, replaced by a serious icy cold atmosphere. “Stan, did you hit John in the eyes?” It wasn’t so clear from the dirt and grime on John’s face while training, but after being cleaned, it showed, black as night.

Stan froze and stopped glaring at John. He looked down, not knowing what Jay’s reaction would be when he told him the truth.

“No. I fell on the way back.”

Everyone looked over at John in surprise. Stan especially jerked in John’s direction. They all knew he lied. Complicated thoughts flew through Stan’s mind.

The hell, bastard? You trying to help me now! I never asked you! I can handle my own problems!

“No, sergeant. It’s not true. I disobeyed orders and hit him.” Stan fully admitted.

“And why did you do that?”

Stan gritted his teeth, being out on the spot. He blamed John, but he could only blame himself in the end.

“Because.”

“Because?”

“I- I don’t have an answer, sergeant.”

“Some deeper self-reflection is needed, Stan. And I think you also owe John an apology.”

Stan nearly snapped, but he held back the dam that almost burst from his exploding emotions.

John cut in. “Thank you, sergeant. But he was training me. Instead of an apology, he can pay me back with proper training next time. Right, Stan?”

John’s meddling only further infuriated Stan. He only saw it as John trying to get back at him, which he was partially correct. John did not want empty words for an apology. He wanted Stan to show it. But Stan did not reply to John, only glaring and shaking in anger at John.

“Will you do so, Stan?”

Stan clenched his fist and reluctantly agreed. “Yes, sir. I will train him. Properly.”

“Good. We all should get along. We need each other to watch our backs. When you all finish training and take on your missions, you will remember my words. Ain’t that right, Nathan? No longer unruly anymore, are ya?”

“Damn, sarge! Why are you picking on me all of a sudden!? I didn’t mess with John or Stan. They’re your problem children. Keep me out of this!”

“You were just like them until I beat you into shape. Now look at you, a fine contributor to our society.”

“Ugh. There you go again, sarge. Guys, could you all imagine if booze were allowed in the canteen? The sergeant would be endlessly rambling if we ever saw him wasted.”

“Don’t cha even start, Nathan. I’m not even gonna think about what cha just said. I get enough of it already! Eat! Stuff y’all mouths with food! What’s all this during dinner time!? You started this Jay! Now make us one big happy family again!”

“Ha. What is family without the once and a while scuffle? I really do pray we get along. No one else will look out for us, except for everyone here.”

“You serious, Sarge? Him too?” Stan asked with disbelief.

“As you already know, Stan. Just because someone is in the military, one cannot automatically qualify as a worthy person for your trust. It is not about where you are or what your title is, but who you are and what you do in a critical moment that determines your character. Only time and difficult experiences can show if you can truly depend on others. You will all have to find out. And you will soon. In two months time, you will find out when you officially begin working for the company.”

Jay suddenly clapped his hands together, making an echoing slapping noise into the surroundings.

“Enough of this. Eat. Just like Johnny over there. He’s already wharfed down five plates. We all got lots to catch up on!”

Everyone started to eat again, especially John and Stan. Stan chugged down his food and chewed his full mouth madly while glaring and racing to beat John. John could not understand what Stan’s problem with him was, but he was not going to give in to the annoying guy. He fought back, shoving fork after fork, and chewed with a mouth full just as crazy as Stan. Sparks flew between the silent feuding duo, but the others at the table only looked on, entertained by the show before them.

“Who do ya think will puke first, Nathan?” Sam asked.

“My bets are on Stan. You guys didn’t see John earlier. The guy was ready to get more plates even after finishing five with three to go. He’s a bottomless pit.”

“I could use a good beer right now. Feels like returning from a mission even though it is just training,” the sergeant said, not really paying the two any mind. He liked the ambiance of them all together while enjoying a meal.

“What about you, sarge? Who do you think will barf first?”

“Hmm? Why does it matter? I’ll make them both yak out all they ate tonight during tomorrow’s training.”

A devious grin stretched across the sergeant’s face.

“Right,” Nathan said, shaking his head.

“Poor fools, they be only digging their holes to puke in tomorrow.”

The five of them ate until the closing of the canteen. Nathan was right. In the end, John somehow stuffed down ten full plates of food. Stan could barely finish his fifth plate. John smirked at Stan with a win, but Stan scoffed back, seeing the small victory when John already lost the battle and ended up with a beaten and battered body.

“6 AM sharp, new recruit, or you will be doing laps until dinner time. See you all bright and early tomorrow. Make sure you rest well and digest all that food, or you’ll be sorry and puking your guts out tomorrow.”

The instructors went their own separate ways while Nathan, John, and Stan waited in an awkward silence inside the elevator all the way up to the tenth floor. The elevator chimed, and Stan suddenly pressed the button to close the door as he flipped the switch to lock the elevator from moving. He then turned around and walked up to John’s face and glared threateningly at him.

“You did something unnecessary down there. I don’t need your help! You may have gotten into everyone’s good side, but I’m not like them. I will never accept you! The Sarge can try all he wants, we ain’t never gonna be buddy-buddy. Got it!” Stan shoved John hard against the elevator wall and went back to open the door.

“Jeez, what the hell is wrong with this guy? Just do as you promised and properly train me. That will be the decent thing you can do as an apology.”

The elevator opened, but Stan jerked back and rushed in front of John again. However, John did not back down, his figure bulked up, and he met Stan eye to eye. Nathan split his arms between the middle and stopped the two before anything further escalated.

“John, enough. No need for anything further. And Stan, you too. At least you will follow the sergeant’s orders this time right?”

Stan huffed and backed off. “Yeah, wouldn’t want to mess with the teacher's pet and get scolded again. Rest assured, Nathan. You're already chummy with that guy. What else can I say if you all gang up on me?”

“Hey! It isn’t like that!” Nathan shouted as Stan stormed off. “Hey! Stan! Jeez, what’s gotten into him? He’s more moody than usual.”

“What’s his damn problem, Nathan? I never did anything to him.”

“Us ex-military here got issues. Me included. Don’t worry about it too much. It’s unfair to take it out on you, but he was kicked out of the military. But it wasn’t entirely his fault to begin with. He’s just a bit jaded.”

“Only just a bit? He seems to be a walking mess of problems.”

“He is, but aren’t we all, John?”

John went silent. He sighed, taking out his frustration at Stan by ruffling his hair into a mess.

“You have a weird habit of messing up hair when you’re frustrated or annoyed. Now we both look like a mess.”

John looked at his previous handiwork on Nathan’s mangled hair and chuckled away some of his built-up stress.

“Yeah. My bad, but you deserved that for calling me a panda.”

“Like I said, I couldn’t help it. You have panda eyes now, but it’s better than raccoon eyes. Come on, let go rest. You've got a long day tomorrow. Stan isn’t going to let this slide. Brace yourself.”

John could only nod his head, dreading to find out what Stan had in store for him tomorrow.