Fighting For You

ONE

"Boot camp?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Ugh, please don't ma'am me. I'm only twenty-two."

"I got you by two years. Good to know I'm not talking to a minor."

"Wouldn't want that to go on your military record."

"No we wouldn't."

"So what branch are you in?"

"I thought you didn't want to know about my job?"

"And curiosity killed the cat so tell me."

"They call us the backbone of the military. We can do it all. We're in the sky, on land, and in water. The few. The proud."

"You're a Marine?"

"I am."

"Wow."

"No need to melt in a puddle or send your panties through express."

"You're really full of yourself Phoenix."

"It comes with the uniform. If you ever see me in my dress blues just make sure you bring an extra pair."

"Wow, I'm going to hang up now Mr. Panty Dropper."

"Wait!"

"This is the last time."

"What's your name?"

" . . . . "

" . . . . "

"Harlow."

"That's unique."

"Yeah, well my parents let my grandmother name me and she liked the actress a lot so . . ."

"I like it."

"Thanks . . . Phoenix is nice too . . . I'm hanging up now so goodnight."

"Night."

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Shaking my head I tossed my cell on the nightstand before turning out the lamp wishing that I didn't have to work in the morning at Glamour. My cousin Brianna was the manager and offered me a job as cashier even though I have zero experience in makeup. I knew the basic names. Lipstick and gloss, eye shadow and liner, blush, and concealer. After that I was lost. I didn't know anything about colors or what would go well with skin tone beside black because black went with everything.

Rolling on my back I put my hand on my head letting out a sad breath knowing I had to get up in just a few measly hours.

What kind of name is Phoenix anyway?

I mean Harlow isn't all that common but Phoenix is . . . I don't know. I guess uncommon like mine.

"Why are you thinking about that boy anyway?"

Shaking my head I turned on my side grabbing my cell again and my glasses. Opening the web browser I typed in USMC into Google Images and scrolled through the pictures for a few seconds before adding dress blues to the search.

Phoenix was right. Their uniform was nice. I wasn't sure about it being panty dropping worthy but I've never seen a Marine wear it in person so my answer could always change.

Deleting the search I typed in USMC boot camp and cringed at the images that showed.

So

Much

Yelling

I couldn't imagine what Phoenix had to go through. How long did he have to do this? How often did they get yelled at? Why were they yelling so much? What if they spat on you while they yelled?

I couldn't

"Not my cup of tea."

Exiting out of the images of military torture I searched how long did boot camp last and what all happened during the time. Clicking on a video clip that read Marine Boot Camp Raw Footage, I turned the volume up and regretted it as soon as the video loaded.

So

Much

Yelling

Why would someone purposely want to go through that? Having your head shaved. Being screamed at. Being pushed past your limits. Military life was definitely not for me. I enjoyed my sleep too much and my memory wasn't all that great so remembering everyone's rank wouldn't work. No thank you.

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A/N: How do you all feel about this writing style? The other short story I wrote will be in a different style too but it won't be posted until later