chapter one — maverick
[ jasmine. ]
"queen bees are the star of the hive, the true heart and soul, pivotal to everything that happens in it." -unknown.
i wandered toward the rows of desks, in no hurry as i piled a spoonful of strawberry honey into my mouth. a gift from natasha. i was almost halfway through by the middle of the morning, and i wore my other uniform with a neat low bun sitting on the back of my head.
i noticed reuben had an empty seat beside him, so, i ambled into the exact spot. "morning, honey." he noticed me. "hi there." i replied happily, stirring around my honey as i turned around to natasha, "phoenix, this is the best honey i've ever had." "i'm glad you think so. stole it from my brother." "oh, how sweet." i smiled, noticing bob, who was fixing his glasses. "hi, bobby."
he pushed his glasses up his nose at an unnaturally quick pace, making eye contact with me. "uh— hi." i gave him another smile before turning around and placing the honey jar down beside my desk.
we all chatted, making sure we each got a good sleep and no hangover. soon, we were called, "attention on deck !" i hopped up suddenly with a very straight posture. it was like some sort of trauma trigger.
"morning," warlock greeted us, "welcome to your special training detachment. be seated." i fell back into my chair as admiral bates stepped up to the podium in front of the largest american flag known to america.
"i'm admiral bates, NAWDC commander. you're all TOP GUN graduates. the elite. the best of the best." reuben and i looked to each other and slightly smirked. "that was yesterday. the enemy's new fifth-generation fighter has leveled the playing field. details are few, but you can be sure we no longer possess the technological advantage. success, now more than ever, comes down to the man or woman in the box."
i saw hangman look at natasha, and she merely flipped him off while itching her head. i glanced back at her the other way around, and i made a quick silly face. she tried not to smile and failed. 'we got it,' she mouthed. i turned back around, satisfied.
"half of you will make the cut. one of you will be named mission leader. the other half will remain in reserve. your instructor is a TOP GUN graduate with real-world experience in every mission aspect you will be expected to master. his exploits are legendary. he's considered to be one of the finest pilots this program has ever produced." i felt natasha slap me on the back, and i immediately turned around to see—
"maverick." i whispered under my breath.
maverick was famous at TOP GUN. if you didn't know maverick, you didn't know this place. anecdotes were always floating around this place about maverick, and i had heard enough to know that maverick was... well, a character.
"what he has to teach you may very well mean the difference between life and death. i give you captain pete mitchell. call sign : 'maverick'." i glanced at reuben, and we gave one another the same look. the white man got up to the pedestal, and we all waited for him to speak. i let out a loud breath in the quiet half-room. "good morning."
no one replied, but reuben sent him an embarrassed smile and nod. "he was the guy we threw overboard," he whispered to me, and my jaw dropped slightly.
the captain held up a large booklet, "the F-18 NATOPS. it contains everything they want you to know about your aircraft. i'm assuming you know this book inside and out."
"damn right." "damn straight." the men around the room responded. "only way we can get into that death wish." i mumbled. captain chuckled in response to my comment. then, he slammed the booklet into the trash can.
"so does your enemy."
i felt a shoe nudge at my right foot, and as i realized it was hangman's, i harshly kicked his foot away. "but what the enemy doesn't know your limits. i intend to find them, test them, push beyond." i crossed my arms, "sounds cozy." i heard bob scoff out a chuckle that was covered up as a coughing attack. i smirked, amused.
"today we'll start with what you only think you know. you show me what you're made of."
✯✯✯
dogfights.
now, those were my specialties. i used to make bets with my peers that if i could beat them in a dogfight, they would have to buy all my rounds.
i never paid for a single drink until i graduated.
i threw my helmet up in the air before catching it, throwing and catching, throwing and catching. my helmet was a golden yellow with bees all over, two white stripes from the right side all the way to the left and sharp black lightning bolts.
"this'll be no sweat for you." reuben joked, nudging me with his elbow. "what do you mean?" coyote questioned, looking down to me. surprisingly, bob spoke up. "she's never lost a dogfight. she was tipsy for most of naval academy from how many drinks people had to buy her."
i can't believe he remembered.
he looked at me with a cheeky smile, and i pointed to him with a laugh, "hey, hush your mouth !... at least, that's what you tell any authoritarian figure." the people around us laughed.
"you two went to naval academy together?" natasha raised an eyebrow. "yeah, we did. worst four years of my life with bobby here." i teased, shoving bob forward as my accent thickened just then. "yeah, could say the same." bob rolled his eyes at me with a sure smile.
i felt my cheeks heat up, my skin luckily too dark to tell. i looked at reuben instead, redirecting my attention.
...okay, i sorta, maybe, kinda had a crush on bob. okay, i totally did. but it's not like anyone knew... okay, maybe reuben did, but i made him pinky promise that that secret went to the grave with him. i had secretly liked him since we had first talked in naval academy, when i had found him in the corner of the bar on a random friday night in our freshman year. bob and i had always had a lot in common, and i just never had the nerve to bring it up to him.
so, i didn't, pushed those feelings down, and pretended i treated him like i would any other guy, like a friend.
"never lost a dogfight, huh?" coyote looked at me with a bold smirk. "from the first time i flew." i shrugged happily, my accent swiftly thinning back to it's normal american accent. "then i think it's time you lost." i cocked my head to the side, "first to fall covers the other's drinks for the night?" "deal." we strongly shook hands, and my body suddenly vibrated with even more adrenaline, like it was injected into my veins.
i wish i had had more honey.
as i started to turn on the plane, making sure everything was in check, i glanced over at brad, who was still conversing with captain, then over at natasha's plane. and instead of seeing natasha looking back at me, i saw bob staring at me. i slightly smiled and sent a small wave, but he quickly turned around before i could finish waving.
huh.
i was first with payback and fanboy. soon, i was in the pilots seat, getting adjusted. i popped on my helmet and grinned widely before taking off.
up in the air, i was laughing. i was always laughing, but i laughed the most up in the air. it was wonderful. if my microphone was always on, there would be constantly giggling going on in the background.
"good morning, aviators. this is your captain speaking. welcome to basic fighter maneuvers." i pulled on my oxygen mask as captain mitchell spoke in my headphones. "as briefed, today's exercise is dogfighting. guns only, no missiles. we do not go below the hard deck of 5,000 feet. working as a team, you have to shoot me down, or else."
"or else what, sir?" i heard reuben practically taunt. "or else i shoot back." mitchell concluded. "piece of cake," i mumbled, pressing a few buttons as i cruised on the same level. "if i shoot either one of you down, you all lose." i could live with that.
"how about we put some skin into the game?" reuben proposed. oh, god. "what'd you have in mind?" "whoever gets shot down first has to do 200 pushups." "guys. that's a lot of pushups." mitchell commented. "you two are idiots." i pitched in with a chuckle. "they don't call it an exercise for nothing." mickey added. "you got yourself a deal." mitchell concluded. "god, you guys are stupid." i sighed, putting on my yellow-tinted glasses. "flights on. let's turn and burn."
brad had stayed silent the whole time.
as we all communicated, i was trying to get him in target so i could get an easy shot. soon, his plane shot up between brad and i's plane. "woah, betsy !" i shouted, quickly dodging the captain's plane, going under reuben and mickey's plane.
"holy shit !" reuben screeched. "tally, tally, tally ! mavericks' coming in ! break left !" "yo, payback, where is your wingman?" brad asked. "rooster, where are you?" i asked incredulously, swerving my plane to try and get a shot at mitchell. missed. damn it. "it's alright, i got your back, hang in there !" brad said, swinging right. "payback, break right !" i warned the man. "breaking right."
i had to wait for the perfect moment to get him.
mitchell finally spoke up through the headsets, "honey just saved your life, fellas. but it's gonna cost her." "oh, like hell it is !" i spun around, shooting down to the ground. i wasn't gonna lose now. no way, no how. "rooster, if you don't get after him now, i swear to god—!" "on it !" and though he tried to shoot at mitchell, he couldn't aim for the life of him, "can't catch a shot !" "god, do i have to do everything by myself? you men are incompetent !"
i swung my plane around while still dropping down towards the ground and began to aim. and seconds later i— "got 'em ! and that's dead." i shouted in victory. "honey, turn back up, you're about to hit the hard deck !" i heard fanboy yell in my ear. i shot back up, making sure i flew under mitchell's plane.
i heard him sigh, "honey, return back to base. you won't have to do your 200 push-ups." "yes ! come on down, fellas, it looks like i'm gettin' tipsy tonight." i said, knowing coyote wouldn't have been able to get mitchell as fast as i could, or even get him in general.
like i said, i was a winner when it came to dogfights.
as i took off my helmet and laid in my seat, i looked over to see brad doing... 200 pushups. even though he didn't have to. i pushed open the door, hopping out without the need of help from the stairs, and ran towards the three guys watching brad push up and down. "jaz, hurry !" "i'm comin' !" i laughed, making it just in time for yale to aim the selfie with all of us grinning and brad exercising in the background.
again, i loved this place.
✯✯✯
[ phoenix. ]
we all sat around as the radio intercepted the communication between reuben, jasmine, rooster, mickey, and maverick during the dogfight. some guys played foosball, and i played close attention to the conversation between the five to see if i could put any of it to use later when i would need it.
bob sat beside me, like a little puppy that needed to go everywhere with his owner. i tried to start conversations with him a few times, and some of them went well, but for the most part, he was shy. maybe he was scared of me. he wasn't as scared of jaz. actually, he was. just... not all the time.
as i inevitably began to zone out from the radio talk, i could hear a conversation between hangman and coyote.
"i bet you i could get a date with her like that," coyote snapped his fingers. hangman scoffed in reply, "oh, please, like she would want you. she needs someone with confidence." "like rooster?" coyote teased. knowing damn well they weren't talking about me like that while i was in the room, i accurately guessed that they weren't talking about me, but the only other girl that wasn't in the room.
jasmine.
and from what i saw when i glanced over to bob, he seemed to have the same guess, too. there was something in his eye i couldn't quite grasp onto. like... anger?
hangman raised his eyebrows, "like me. i could win her over." "i could win her over." coyote guaranteed. just as i opened my mouth to speak, i could hear bob mumble loudly, "she's not something to win." hangman and coyote stopped their conversation, slowly turning to where bob sat beside me. hangman put two fingers to his ear, "i'm sorry, bob, did you say something?" i glanced at bob, slight warning in my eyes, but i was secretly hoping he didn't catch it.
thankfully, he didn't.
"i said she's not something to win." he stood up, now in the mood as to where he wasn't going to back down anytime soon. "and who are you to judge that, huh, bobby? ever felt the feeling of winning?" oh hell no. they used jasmine's nickname for him in mocking, and that was not gonna stand with me. i stood up too, but bob gently pushed me back into my seat. "just because i may not 'know the feeling of winning' doesn't mean i don't know whether a woman wants to be some sort of prize."
"and how do you know what she wants, bobby?" coyote chuckled. "maybe because she talks to me more than she does to you mindless douches." i let out a small laugh at the comment. but then, hangman finally walked towards bob, grabbing him by his collar. over the radio, you could vaguely hear jasmine saying : " come on down, fellas, looks like i'm gettin' tipsy tonight."
hangman looked like he was about to froth at the mouth at any moment, "don't you dare talk to me like that, you little punk." "then you stop talking about her like she's some object !" bob resisted. it was like watching a jock bully a nerd in those high school movies. hangman started to raise bob into the air, and everyone started to crowd the two. like some sort of motherly instinct, i stood up and bolted forward, trying to get between them.
i can't believe bob of all people was getting into a fight about a girl.
"hey, hey !" i yelled over the arguing, "stop it ! bagman, drop bob down, now !" he looked at me for a moment before hesitantly placing bob back on the ground. "i can't believe you two. i—"
suddenly, someone walked in. "hey, what's all the commotion?" we all turned our heads to see the subject of the fight. jasmine. her braids were out and now in a half-up bun, her helmet in arm.
"you guys weren't fighting about who was paying for my drinks tonight, right? because that's totally on coyote." she looked around, noticing how no one was replying, smelling the high tension in the room.
if anyone could smell the amount of tension in a room, it was jasmine.
with how her parents fought and argued, she had quickly learned at a young age the ability to be able to smell the foreshadowing of a fight or the middle of one. she was like a drug dog, one that could smell out any sort of argument, no matter how small.
she looked at me expectantly, and i only stared back at her. i didn't want to say anything. but then, bob came to the rescue. "nothing. just guys being guys." he let out a small chuckle and fixed his glasses, quickly rubbing them against his shirt before putting them back on. "oh," jasmine nodded, "i think you and phoenix are next, then." the crowd dispersed, and bob walked out past her, weirdly nonchalant, "thanks," then hangman behind him.
she watched bob walk down the hall, completely turning her head to probably watch him clean his glass with the nearest fabric.
hangman must've given jasmine some sort of weird look or something because as he passed, she put out her foot, letting hangman walk past her and nearly eat shit as he tripped over her foot.
or maybe it was because she could sense that he had done something.
either way, i snorted.
MELANIE MAIL ! 💌
hi !! i hope you guys are enjoying this. please like and comment, and i'll see you guys next chapter !
eat, rest, hydrate !
-mel.
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