The next morning, we were harshly awoken to the dulcet tones of Keith Shadis.
"Wake up you maggots! You are all a lot of pansies, sleeping in 'til one in the morning! Real soldiers are awake before they are even born, you little-"
This tirade went on until every last one of us had risen from our beds and gone into the bathroom unit to shower. There, my heart stopped. How the heck was I supposed to protect my identity while showering with all of the boys?!
With Shadis's screams still ringing in my ears, I surveyed the bathrooms, where boys were already dousing themselves in the frigid water, their teeth chattering and arms quivering.
After a minute of indecisiveness, I hopped out of the shower rooms, deciding to shower that evening. I went into the lavatory, brushed my teeth, splashed water onto my face, and made my way over to the mess hall.
Some of the girls were meandering about, getting plates or sitting down. I grabbed a plate, and watched as a glob of steaming porridge plopped onto my plate. A roll was thrown on top, and I was pushed out of line so the next person could receive their meal.
I took a seat in the corner and gazed at the food before me. I began to eat, but nearly vomited when the porridge hit my tongue. I settled for just the roll, and dumped the rest of my dissatisfactory meal into the waste bins.
I bumped into En at the door. He was chuckling with a tall boy with odd, two-toned brown hair.
"Watch it, Smart-Mouth," En grunted as I passed. The tall boy sniggered.
"Shut up," I said, elbowing past, "You're just sore over the fact that you got beat by a girl last night. Literally." I nodded toward his injuries.
En colored deeply. "Shut up!"
"Which girl was it?" the other boy asked, grinning, "Was it that Asian one?"
When En didn't answer, the other boy laughed. "It was totally the Asian one." The boy turned to me. "I'm Jean Kirstien."
"Igor Larsson," I said, then turned and left the mess hall. As I headed down the steps, I heard a shout after me.
"Oi!"
I turned, expecting En to throw another rock of insults.
"Wanna join us?" It was Jean.
"Um...fine. I already ate, though."
"No matter. You look like you could use some company."
I joined the two boys, staying as far away from En as physically possible.
As we sat, the boys started checking out the girls. I did my best to blend in, smiling and agreeing with all of them.
"That short blond," a boy named Bertholt was saying, "Is she a piece of work or what?"
"Annie?" Reiner guffawed, "Bertholt, you've known her since we were kids."
Bertholt blushed and looked down into his gloopy porridge.
"How about you, Jean?" asked En, elbowing Jean.
"I'm not really..." Jean trailed off, stabbing his porridge with a spoon.
"You like Mikasa, right?" Nori was sitting placidly, methodically breaking off pieces of his bread and dipping it into his porridge. He was the only one eating the stuff.
"Shut up!" Jean said, turning red.
"But she rejected you last night," Nori continued, "For that scrawny boy, Eren Jaeger."
There was a round of "oohs" from the other boys, even me. Rejection always stung. I shook myself. Why on earth was I sitting here with all these boys talking about girls? We were in the military, after all.
"So," I cut in, "Where are you all planning to join?"
"Military police." The answer was nearly unanimous.
I raised an eyebrow.
"The military police is for those who are weak!" called a voice from across the room, "Only livestock want to stay trapped inside these walls!"
It was a brunette boy. Next to him were two others, the "Asian" girl and a thin, blond boy.
"That's the boy," Nori whispered, unsurprised.
"You seem so confident that you will make it to the top ten!" Jean called back.
"I'm going to," Eren snapped, "And I'm joining the Scouting Legion to destroy all the Titans!"
Laughs circulated throughout the mess hall.
Jean smirked. "You are going to single-handedly destroy every single Titan? You?"
"And you think you could do better?" Eren said, "Oh, wait, you couldn't. Because you're joining the Military Police, where you'll be safe and sound from any bad Titans who might want to eat you." He gave a jagged laugh.
"This guy is crazy," I heard En breathe.
Jean stood, fist quivering. "I'm not the one who's suicidal," he growled, "You seem to want to die very much."
With that, the bell rang, jolting us out of the squeezing tension. I stood up slowly, passing between Eren and Jean's screaming stare contest. As I went out the door, I could hear Eren's blond friend urging him to sit down. I rolled my eyes. None of them knew what they were getting themselves into. Any of them.