Captain Lee nodded in agreement.


    Gossip thrives wherever people gather, and soldiers were no exception. They kept talking, but Yvonne had heard enough.


    She instinctively ducked away from them, quickening her pace. As she hurried down a short flight of stairs, she wasn''t watching where she was going and crashed head- on into Rachel, who was heading for the restroom.


    "Ow!" Rachel yelped as the impact sent her tumbling down the steps,nding hard on her bottom.


    "Yvonne, don''t you watch where you''re going?" Rachelined, grimacing in pain as she sat on the floor.


    "Are you okay?" Yvonne asked, extending a hand to help her up.


    "I''ll live," Rachel grumbled, dusting off her pants. "What''s the rush? You got a ghost chasing you?"


    As she said it, she craned her neck to look behind Yvonne.


    As fate would have it, she saw Bet descending the main staircase, dressed in a sharp suit and carrying a man folder.


    The moment Commander Reed and the others saw Bet, they scattered like mice from a cat, instantly silencing their conversation.


    Rachel, however, looked as though she had just uncovered a massive conspiracy. She pped a hand over her mouth dramatically. "So that''s why you were in such a hurry! Were you just having a secret rendezvous with Mr. Thompson? Yvonne, are you insane? He has a girlfriend! You''re really trying to steal the mayor''s daughter''s man?"


    Yvonne just stared at her.


    She felt like she''d been thrown into a muddy river with no way to prove she was clean.


    "Cat got your tongue? Don''t think I didn''t see you two flirting on stage. I''m not blind," Rachel dered, pointing to her own eyes for emphasis.


    "I really don''t have the energy for this," Yvonne sighed, turning and walking toward the dorms.


    When she got back to her room, the other three were already there.


    Marina, her hair still wet from a shower, was on the balcony drying it. Seeing Yvonne, she smiled warmly. "You''re back. The cafeteria was about to close so I brought you back some dinner. It''s on the table."


    "Thanks, Marina," Yvonne said.


    Daisy was already lying on her bunk, legs crossed, humming a tune. She seemed to be in a particrly good mood.


    Doris sat at her desk, head bowed, lost in thought.


    Neither of them acknowledged Yvonne, and she certainly wasn''t going to start a conversation.


    Yvonne sat at the table, opened the food container, and began to eat.


    The mess hall food was standard military fare-not great, but not terrible either.


    After she finished, she cleaned up the container and was about to get into bed. She pulled back the covers, only to find the sheets soaked with red ink.


    A foul stench rose from the bed it seemed the ink had been mixed with urine and feces.


    "Oh, my, Yvonne, did you get your period?" Daisy called down from the top bunk her voice, dripping with


    malicious glee. "And what''s that smelt? Did you shit the bed? That is so disgusting."


    Yvonne shot her a cold look.


    These were the same pathetic bullying tactics Daisy had used on the original Yvonne. If she was still pulling these stunts, it meant thest couple of beatings hadn''t been severe enough.


    Yvonne didn''t waste words. She walked over to the bunk and yanked Daisy down


    from the top bed.