Rob threw his mobile onto his bunk. He jammed his fingers through his hair. Becky had seen it. Sherry's stupid, fucking, Facebook tag. Now she knew he'd been lying. Fuck! He had no idea how he could fix things; Becky kept dismissing his calls.

As that thought went through his mind a text message notification bleeped. Rob quickly picked up his phone and swiped the screen. His mother. Becky says she can't talk at the moment because she's in a tutorial.

Really? She'd never had a tutorial on a Saturday night before. Rob sighed and sat heavily on the edge of the bed. If that was true and she wasn't upset with him then why hadn't she sent him that text? Because she knew the truth and was shitty with him.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Rob looked up at Brett who was standing with his hand on the door architrave. He didn't answer. Couldn't. In fact he actually thought he might vomit.

Brett stepped into the dorm. "Come on, man. We're waiting for you."

"Yeah. Give me a minute."

"Did you have a fight with your girlfriend or something?" Brett sat on the bed across from Rob's. "Did she go off about the Easter weekend?"

"No." Rob stared at his phone and sighed again.

"Well what the fuck are you moping for?" Brett slapped his thighs and stood up. "Come on. We want to get on the piss."

"She won't answer."

Brett laughed and pistol pointed at Rob. "You really need to give up wasting your time on that girl. My money's on what Sherry said."

"And what's that?" Rob lifted his head to stare at Brett.

"She's fucking someone else." Brett laughed again and started thrusting his hips. "She's probably on all fours as we speak."

Rob shot to his feet, grabbed Brett by his shirt front, raised his fist and yanked Brett forward so they butted up against each other as he growled, "Don't you ever fucking talk about my girlfriend like that again!"

"Oi!" Calvin rushed across the room and pushed against Rob's upper chest. "What the fuck's going on?"

"He's talking shit about my girlfriend." Rob jerked Brett backwards and forwards. "You do it again, prick, and I'll..."

"Alright! Alright!" Brett grabbed Rob's hand and tried to get him to let go of his shirt. "You're going to rip my fucking shirt."

"I mean it, Brett." Rob gave him one last shove and released him. "You wouldn't say that shit if you knew her."

"Fuck!" Brett stumbled backwards and landed on the bed behind him. He stood up and thrust his face at Rob while he straightened his button up. "I was just fucking with you, wanker."

Rob took a step forward but Calvin jumped in front of him and shook his head. "What's going on with you, mate?"

"He's making jokes about my fucking girlfriend!" Rob stabbed the air in Brett's direction.

"We all make jokes about your fucking girlfriend." Calvin scrunched up his face and stared at his friend. "I don't get it. We're always telling you that you're whipped. What's going on?"

"Well... whipped doesn't imply that my girlfriend is being fucked up the arse by another guy."

"I didn't say that!" Brett held up his hands and shook his head. "It was a joke." He tucked up his shoulders and smirked nervously. "I was meaning doggy style."

Rob growled, lifted his fist and took a step. Calvin shouldered him backwards and stood firmly with his arms folded over his chest. He glanced at Brett. "Get the fuck out of here. You're not helping."

"Yeah." Brett nudged his head with a sneer on his face and snarled, "You're a fuckhead, Rob."

"Ah..." Rob made a move to grab Brett again.

Calvin was too quick. He shoved Rob backwards as he yelled, "Fuck off, Brett!"

Brett straightened his shirt again and smoothed his hair back. "I don't want to be near that crazy bastard anyway." He moved toward the door as he said, "You fucking touch me again, Jarvis, and I'm going to kick your arse."

Calvin was ready. He just knew Brett wouldn't keep his mouth shut. As Rob moved Calvin shouldered him again. "Don't fucking do this, Rob. That piece of shit isn't worth getting hauled up in front of the disciplinary board. If it went before the DFM you could get six months and ruin your career."

Rob stepped back and nodded. "You're right." He dragged in a lungful of air as he sat down on his bed.

"So what's going on?" Calvin sat opposite him. "I've never seen you lose your cool like that before."

"Becky won't answer my calls."

"So..." Calvin laughed. "You're gonna punch Brett's head in because your girlfriend won't answer your calls."

"Don't be a dick, Cal." Rob sneered over at him. "He said that he bet she was on all fours with another guy."

Calvin shook his head and scoffed, "Rob. Brett reckons my mother makes porn." He chuckled. "And you've seen my mother. Have I ever gone off like you just did?" Calvin cocked his head in question. "It doesn't mean I don't love my mum. She's the best. It just means Brett is one sick puppy. Sex in all of its forms, is all he ever thinks about, hence why he's struggling with the work load."

"Sorry." Rob couldn't help but grin. Calvin's mother looked like a seventy year old nun.

"What's really going on?" Calvin asked.

Rob sucked in a big breath, looked up at the ceiling, and then back at Calvin. "Fucking Sherry posted a thing on Facebook about Melbourne and the Easter weekend. She tagged me in it."

"Ah..." Cal nodded his understanding. "So you've just had a big fight with your girlfriend over it."

"No." Rob shook his head. "She won't answer my calls, which means she's seen it. I told her I couldn't get to Adelaide over Easter because we were being sent out on training." He sighed and said, "Now she knows I lied to her. I've never lied to her before." Rob looked over at his friend, and then covered his eyes with his hands. "I am such an idiot."

"Why did you lie?"

"What?" Rob dropped his hands and peered at Calvin.

"Why did you lie? You can't blame Sherry for posting it and you can't take it out on Brett. You're the one who lied so why did you?"

"I don't know." Rob shrugged, and then said, "It sounds like fun. I've been cooped up here for three months and I wanted to hang with my mates, explore Melbourne, get on the piss, party with the girls. You know. Be part of the group."

"And what does that tell you?"

"What?" Rob yanked his head back and scoffed, "Are you my shrink now?"

"Just answer the fucking question." Calvin shook his head as he scowled. "If you can be swayed away from a weekend with the girl of your dreams by a mob of mates then you aren't fully into this girl like you say you are."

"Not fucking true!" Rob stood up and paced. "This girl is my all and I've just fucked it up."

"Rob. Can I be completely honest with you?" Calvin leaned forward and put his forearms on his knees as he looked up at his friend.

"Sure. Why not?" Rob sat back on the bed and grinned over at Cal. "Brett's just told me I'm a fuckhead so go for it."

"You're nineteen. "You've got four years of heavy duty training. You're going to be shifted around to multiple cities. Becky is what, eighteen?" Calvin opened his hands in question but didn't wait for Rob to answer. "She's got four years of hard study in what sounds like a really tough course. The reality is that one of you, or both of you, are going to find it hard to..." He sat up straight and continued, "Stick to the plan. It ain't going to be easy sailing." He shrugged and offered his open palms to the air. "You've made the first fuck up." Cal took a breath and peered at Rob before continuing, "And, Rob. I've seen the way you look at Genevieve."

Hmm.... I think Calvin might be onto something.