"Parade! A...tten...tion!"

Rob slammed his arms against his sides and looked straight ahead with the rest of his squadron.

"Gen...eral... salute!"

Right hands flew to foreheads. Rob winced as he caught his head with the edge of his palm.

"Left... turn..!"

Each cadet moved with precision timing waiting for the next command.

"Par...ade... dis...missed! Quick march...!"

Rob couldn't wait to get around the corner and out of sight of his squadron leader, Commander Farley, but as he rounded the turn he heard.

"Jarvis! My office! Now!"

*****

Genevieve watched Rob get up from the mess hall table and walk out the door. He hadn't spoken to her since before the Easter long weekend. The truth was he hadn't spoken to any of them in any real sense of what could be considered a conversation.

He had disappeared from the bar with a pink haired girl and when they'd seen him next on parade the following Tuesday, his face and knuckles were battered and bruised. They knew he'd been called into Commander Farley's office, reprimanded, fined and warned for fighting as the air force took such behaviour seriously.

Calvin had told them that Rob and his girlfriend had broken up so Genevieve sensed he was in a lot of pain. She wanted to help him but after the look he'd given her when he saw her sitting with the Uni student at the bar, she didn't think he'd want her anywhere near him.

Today was different. She'd made up her mind that she was going to reach out to him. Genevieve followed him out through the door. She caught up with him around the corner of the chapel. "Rob!" He stopped walking and turned to face her so she trotted up to him. "Hey."

"Hey."

He stared at her stony faced, which made her nervous and unsure of what to say. "I'm... I'm just wondering if you wanted to come into town with me on Saturday night." Genevieve waited for him to answer but when he didn't she added, "There's a movie on. The new James Bond. I've heard it's intense and wondered if you'd like to come and see it." She paused before saying, "With me."

"Why would you want me to come?"

Genevieve drew in a long slow breath. He wasn't making this easy. "You... you haven't... ah... I just thought you might need... ah... might like to ah... come with me. That's all." She'd wanted to say she thought he needed a friend but the tension he was emitting told her she might be over stepping the mark and it wouldn't have been the correct thing to say.

"Again, Genevieve. Why would you want me to come?" Rob held out his palms. Fucking girls. They could never answer a simple question. Always skirting around trying to pretend they were nervous or cute and innocent. He'd have to spell it out for her. "Just say what you really mean, Genevieve, because I'm sick of the bullshit. Everyone avoiding what's blaringly obvious. Hedging around me like I'm a bomb about to go off."

"Alright then." Genevieve didn't like the tone in his voice. Not many people ever pushed her bitch button but this arsehole was going to get what he asked for.

She jammed her hands on her hips and shoved her face out at him. "You're being a real prick. I have no idea what went on with you and your girlfriend. To be honest, I don't give a shit about that but what I do care about is my friends and how they are being treated."

Her ripcord had been pulled and her parachute had fired. She stepped forward and jabbed her finger in his chest. "You're right. Each and every one of us has been walking around on eggshells when we're near you and enough is enough. You have good friends here. Fucking awesome friends to be honest and you're treating us like we're dog shit. I for one will not take it any longer. If you don't want to be a part of us then go sit somewhere else in future when you eat."

Genevieve took a breath and hissed at him, "Every time you sit with us we all shut up because we're worried we're going to say something to upset you. In the end we talk about stupid shit that no one is interested in. It's time to grow up, Rob. Your girlfriend broke up with you. Boohoo. Suck it up and look around you. There are plenty more girls, really nice girls, waiting for a chance but, not while you're being such a prick!"

There. She'd said it. Genevieve couldn't believe she'd let that fly. She took a step back and willed him to look at her. For him to see that it was she, who was waiting for that chance.

"What about man bun boy?"

"What?" Genevieve jerked her head back. She had no idea what the hell he was talking about.

"Easter weekend." Rob put his hands in his pockets; looked from her and at the ground, and then back at her. "In the bar. You were sitting with a guy wearing his hair in a bun."

"You mean Sebastian?" She gave him a questioning look.

"Oh... Sebastian is it?" Rob couldn't stop disdain from lilting his voice.

Genevieve let out a sigh but inside there was a mini her doing a dance in her stomach. Rob was jealous. "What about him?"

"Are you sure you don't want to ask him to go to the movies with you?" Rob wanted her to crawl. If she wanted him to go to the movies with her he was going to make her beg. No girl was ever going to play him again.

"Stop being ridiculous," Genevieve scoffed. "You know I'll never see him again."

"Poor Sebastian. Have you got a belt that you cut marks into each time you chew up and spit out a guy?"

"What the fuck?" Genevieve's jaw dropped. "You know what. Forget it. Go fuck yourself, Rob." She turned on her heels but before she could go anywhere he grabbed her bicep and pulled her into his arms.

"Sorry," Rob exhaled the word in her ear. "I'm being an arse." He chuckled and whispered, "I'd rather fuck you."

"Get off!" Genevieve shoved him backwards. "So you think this is funny. Is that right?" She shook her head. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You want to know what's wrong with me!" Rob guffawed and pointed at his chest. "Here's what's wrong with me."

He pointed an accusing finger at her. "I took an interest in you, enough of an interest to lie to my girlfriend so I could spend time with you. Something I wasn't comfortable doing, I might add, but I still did it, to then discover my so called girlfriend was fucking someone else anyway and, all the guilt I was feeling was for nothing. To then turn up in Melbourne, after nearly killing myself to get there, to find the girl who I thought was... maybe... just maybe interested in me, hooking up with a guy wearing a fucking man bun."

Rob took a step back and threw his hands behind his head to gasp in a breath. He pinned her with his stare. "That's what's fucking wrong with me." He let his hands drop and murmured, "Trust is a myth. It doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned so I'm going to play the game differently from now on."

"So relationships are a game, are they?" Genevieve glared at him.

"It would appear so," he shot back.

"Fine!" she fired and then added, "So are you coming to this movie with me so we can get this fucking game started?"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

They stormed off in opposite directions.

Please don't think I hate man buns. I actually love the Viking look. ♥

Photo copyright RAAF Base Wagga Magazine