𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙊𝙉𝙀
—𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦—

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙍𝙀𝙂𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙀𝘿 𝙉𝙐𝙍𝙎𝙀 pushes past the many others, her attention focused solely on the clipboard in her hands. Just this morning, she had come to work surnning on a single cup of coffee to find a letter from her boss. Evelyn tilts her head to the side at the sight of her new patient, swaying as Bryce passes her.

"I've been signed to Hawaii," Bryce tells Evelyn, placing her clipboard on the designated rack near the corner of the nursing room. "I have little to no information on the deal, but I leave tomorrow."

"I make number two," Evelyn gives her a soft grin. "I guess we'll be some of the few that actually get to go. After registering the boys for flight, we finally get to watch."

"You made their dreams come true, darling," Candice, the blonde head nurse, chimes from beside the two. "Of course you get to watch them fly. They're preparing for something soon, don't you think? Why else would we be recruited?"

Candice was an overextravagant person, to say the least. And she demanded perfection in every situation, which was hard to come by at most times. But here, in the workplace, it wasn't too surprising. Bryce was sure that Candice woke up extra early in the morning to tease her blonde hair extra high, and to make sure she put on a third layer of the cherry-red lipstick that had all the women crazed.

And to say that she was extremely happy when she got her recruit letter to Hawaii— was the understatement of the century. Candice had gotten it a day earlier than everyone else, and had brought in a three-layered chocolate cake that had all the nurses cheating on their diets.

Bryce didn't expect it this early, to say the least. Even if Candice had gotten hers— it didn't mean that Bryce thought she would get one, too. They had only finished their work with the pilots a few days ago, and were already hearing of their new positions. The brunette wasn't disappointed, but couldn't manage to get past the bit of confusion that simmered in her chest.

"Maybe for the opening of a new hospital on the harbor," Evelyn suggests. "You never know— maybe they just need us on board with the sailors as a helping hand."

Something in Bryce's chest told her otherwise, even though she couldn't be sure. But, from the way the letter was worded, she suspected nothing less than a dutiful job, like usual. This time, since the demands were so urgent, she'd have to start packing immediately.

"Pearl Harbor," she mutters, glancing out of the sky-view window across from them.

It was a beautiful place, and she knew that from experience. Several years ago, before her grandmother passed away, her grandparents used to live there. Bryce used to spend her summers there as a teenager— only to rise early in the mornings to see the crack of dawn, and to stay outside later to watch the sunset. Back then, she knew everything her life would consist of.

Bryce Dylan was always a planner, who normally kept a journal with her. She had schedules for every day of the week, then for the month. Every holiday was on a spreadsheet, the events inscribed inside her favorite floral calendar. Her notes were more important than all of that, seeing as it held the unsuspected things that went on each day. Those were the days that mattered the most.

Even now, the brunette was sure to plan things perfectly. It got her this far, so why quit? But now, most of the information was charted on a clipboard that was hung on a wall in her kitchen. Easily enough, it was forgotten about every now and then.

"I wonder where they're stationed at now," Evelyn says quietly, tapping her nails against the files in her hands.

"What?" Bryce glances to her, snapping from her trance. "Sorry, I got a bit sidetracked."

"The pilots," she replies steadily, giving Bryce a slight smile. "Don't you ever wonder where they get off to?"

In fact, Bryce did that pretty often. It wasn't a surprise when she was in some kind of fantasy world, daydreaming about her past or something ahead of her. And sometimes, when she would hand over a file to a pilot, she would imagine the places they'd go and the people they'd meet. Other times, Bryce wanted to be as fearless and confident as they were— to fly above normality, and risk their lives for a country they believed in.

In a way, she was doing just that. Bryce was helping in a way most others didn't— by putting others first and fighting for their lives. And that was something to believe in.

"More often than not," Bryce says to Evelyn. "Maybe we could see the sky like they do . . . someday."

"Big dreams can get you places," the raven-haired woman shrugs. "Not all dreams are for succers."

As far back as Bryce could remember, her father hadn't said anything that referred to her dreams. Instead, he had insisted that she make goals, then try to achieve them through hard work and long nights. Dreams, during Bryce's childhood, simply didn't exist. Her parents didn't mention dreams, nor did they want for her to fight for them. It was as if the only thing that mattered was making something of yourself, and make sure that your life mattered.

Nursing school seemed to be the only thing Bryce could focus on, other than how much she really wanted to take flight with her father. He, like her grandfather, was a pilot for the airforce. And her mother; a nurse practitioner on the battlefield.

And despite the fact that he was sometimes harsh, Bryce was mostly attached to her father— who always came home with a new story to tell. He would save them for her bedtime, when he came to tuck her in at night, so that she would have dreams about them when she slept. Those were the only dreams he cared for.

"I heard you found someone through the register," Bryce narrows her eyes at Evelyn. "You didn't think you were going to keep it a secret, did you? I have eyes and ears everywhere."

"Rafe," Evelyn breathes, the biggest grin breaking out on her face. "He's amazing, Dylan, you'd love him. Rafe is everything I could ever ask for."

"But you couldn't keep him," Bryce frowns, "could you? He left for work yesterday morning."

"He'll be back." Evelyn says, biting her lip. "Sooner than later, I hope— but it'll only be a couple weeks at the most. We've made plans for when he gets back from Europe, and we can rest easy for a while."

"I heard England's Royal Air Force is a big deal," the woman grins. "Big mission, I suppose. And what is it that the two of you will be doing when he gets home?"

"He'll be stationed in Hawaii like the rest of us," Evelyn tells her, pulling a jar of morphine from the cabinets behind her. "So boating, perhaps. We went out on the lake a couple days ago, the night before he left. It was magical."

"Lucky you," Bryce shakes her head. "Not all of us can find love during register hour, Evelyn. You hit the jackpot with this one."

"Maybe you'll find someone," Candice enters the room, joining the conversation as she places a hand on Bryce's shoulder. "You shouldn't be such a downer all the time. Who knows, you could have a man waiting for you outside."

"Or maybe he'll be the next man to walk through that door." Evelyn suggests, gesturing to the entrance of the off-course hospital. "Who knows, Dylan? Hope isn't over-exaggerated in the least, so it's best when you hang onto it."

But by then, Bryce and Candice weren't quite paying attention anymore. The hospital door had opened, revealing a familiar face. Bryce stepped forward, tilting her head to the side as she moved towards him.

Danny— a man that had been at her registering station— was standing ahead of her, fidgeting as he met her gaze. Candice let out a giggle behind her, causing Bryce to blush the slightest shade of pink.

"May I help you?" Bryce clasps her hands behind her back, raising an eyebrow.

It was obvious that Danny was nervous, just by the way he shoved his hands into his pockets, then pulled them back out again. He bit his bottom lip, his brown hair deshiveled as if he had run his fingers through it a thousand times. But, nevertheless, he looked handsome.

"Uh," he clears his throat, stepping forward to hold out his hand. "I don't know if you remember me, but you registered me for flight a couple days ago. I'm Danny Walker."

"I do remember you," Bryce nods, flashing her pearly whites as she places her hand in his. "I'm Bryce Dylan."

She looked pale compared to his tan complexion, and her hand was small when it was in his. A spark contracted when they touched, but they both decided to ignore it. Meanwhile, Evelyn and Candice were gripping each other's arms near the back of the room, looking excited for Bryce Dylan.

"I wanted to thank you for clearing me for flight," he swallows, once again showing his nervousness. "I know my grades weren't too high, but . . . "

"Just because someone isn't too high in one department doesn't mean they aren't in another," the brunette says plainly. "I don't regret what I did, Danny."

"And I was thinking that, to make it up to you, I could take you out sometime," Danny stands a little taller, his eyes meeting hers.

In Bryce's twenty-two years of living, she had never been asked out before. But it was clear, as she stared up into those chocolate brown eyes, that this would be her first, but definitely not her last date.

"Yes," she begins, the edges of her lips curling upwards. "I'd really like that."

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