Kyle had no appetite. His only goal now was to get through the days ahead and make his way back to California. Since his airframe was only in two places, he deduced his first duty station was to be Beale Air Force Base.
Avery wasn't Kyle's only roommate. He had another roommate who had been there longer than he had. He knew this because the occupant had his belongings situated in the room before Kyle or Avery even arrived.
"'Sup. I'm My. That's Avery."
"Reeves."
"A man of few words."
"Naw, I just got off duty, brother," said Reeves. "Just trying to wind down."
Reeves wasted no time undressing and popping on some civis.
"You know, I've been here longer than y'all," said Reeves. "Only thing I gotta say is don't be a DBA."
"…DBA?" asked Avery.
"A Dirtbag Airman," said Reeves.
"Sure, Reeves. We're good people," said Kyle.
Kyle spent the next few days focused on his training. He did have trouble concentrating from time-to-time, but it's not like he wasn't learning the material. It was pretty straightforward. Oddly enough, Kyle had trouble on his first quiz. He was used to quizzes and tests being more complicated so he ended up overthinking the answer. He chalked it up to his mind still being occupied by Jeni.
"My, I need to speak with you," said the Instructor.
The two exited the class and stopped about six feet away from the door. The Instructor wanted a little privacy.
"Yes, sir?"
"Is there something going on?"
"No, sir. Not that I can think of."
"I'm not sure why you're scoring what you're scoring then. I ask you any question in class, and you're able to answer in almost a textbook like fashion."
"Maybe, I'm just not a good test taker."
"I don't want this to be something that holds you back. You have to pass the exam to continue."
"I understand, sir."
"If there's anything I can do…"
"Will do, sir."
The Instructor dismissed Kyle, and he went back to his seat. Maybe Jeni was affecting him more than he thought she would. He just didn't understand the timing. Maybe that was haunting him more than anything else.
The day ended and Kyle marched with Avery back to their dorm. It only made sense since they were roommates that they would march around together. It made going back-and forth easy. They changed and had dinner in the Chow Hall with the other U-2 members then made their way back to their dorm room. Kyle was exhausted and turned in for the night.
Kyles phone started buzzing. He wondered who could be calling him in the middle of the night. He looked down, and it was Jeni.
"…hello?"
Kyle could hear the sound of laughter in the background.
"Hello?"
"Um, we were just wondering…" said Jeni.
More laughter ensued.
"Why your nose is so big?"
Laughter pangs sounded in Kyle's ear.
"What the hell, Jeni?"
"We're looking at your basic training photo!"
"Are you drunk?"
"Maybe…"
More laughter.
"Jeni, I don't have time for this shit!"
"Ok, ok, ok… just one… one more question…"
Kyle was the butt of her joke. She called just to ridicule him—with her friends no less. That was it. He really was done with her.
"Leave me alone, Jeni."
Kyle quickly hung up the phone and went back to bed.
A short time later, Kyle heard some rustling. Someone was at the door while Reeves was getting dressed.
"You look tired, bro."
"This fucken guy," muttered Reeves. "Arguing with some bitch last night."
"Damn… you still wanna go?"
Reeves nodded and left the room with his visitor.
Kyle got up and went through his day like normal and returned to the dorms in the early evening.
"What the fuck, My?" asked Reeves. "Dirtbag Airman."
"What are you talking about?"
"Brother, arguing with your girlfriend last night woke me up," said Reeves. "I told you not to be a dirtbag."
"My bad, dude. I didn't think she'd ever call, again. We broke up when I first got here…"
"Dirtbag…"
"Dude, I apologize. I blocked her. It won't happen, again."
"All right, brother," confirmed Reeves. "If it does, I know what you are…"
The conversation annoyed Kyle so much, but he tried to ignore it and just finish his evening. There were only a few weeks of training left. Orders were supposed to drop for him and his fellow maintainers.
Kyle saw Joe around the base from time-to-time. The last time they talked, Joe had given up on being with Cyn. It wasn't a surprise to Kyle that Joe was supposedly dating another Airman in the dorms; however, Cyn, Joe's wife, also hung around the dorms. She actually became a good friend of Kyle's.
"What do you think Joe is doing?" asked Cyn.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yeah, don't answer that."
Kyle knew that Cyn wasn't going to give up. She thought that if she gave him enough space and let him maybe have his own affair that he would see that people make mistakes, and they would be able to move on in marital bliss.
"Didn't you have a girlfriend, My?"
"I did. We split."
"Do you ever think about her?"
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't."
Cyn frowned.
"I'd also be lying if I didn't say I know the reality no matter how much I miss her."
Cyn continued to frown.
"Cyn, why don't you go home? You probably have family that miss you."
"I'm not going home without my husband."
"Fair enough."
There was a moment of silence.
"Listen, I gotta head back soon. Need my beauty sleep and all."
"Awww… my pretty little My."
Kyle and Cyn parted, and he went back to the dorms.
The next fewweeks flew by. Since the course at Shepard was a general overview of maintenance, there were other students other than the ones assigned to the U-2 in Kyle's class. The classes consumed the bulk of their day, but unlike basic training, their off-duty hours were theirs to do as they please.
Kyle pressed on and participated and studied for the exam as best as he could. He didn't want what happened in the first quiz to happen, again. The exam crept up, and before he knew it, he was taking the final exam for his time at Shepard. He was ready. He knew it.
Kyle pressed submit on his computer.
And, he failed. He failed? This can't be right
End of Chapter 4