One-by-one, Kyle's classmates finished and the Instructor came by to verify their exams were successfully passed. Kyle wanted to wait. He was embarrassed to fail.
Another Airman, Adams raised his hand.
"Sir, I don't know what happened. My screen went blank," said Adams.
"Let me see," ordered the Instructor as he made his way to Adams' screen.
The Instructor looked over the screen, and sure enough, there was no test score to verify.
"Did you do something different?" asked the Instructor.
"No," proclaimed Adams. "I just did as you said."
"Wait here," commanded the Instructor.
The Instructor left the room. As soon as he did, Adams turned over to Kyle.
"I just skipped the screen cuz I didn't pass," whispered Adams followed by a small chuckle.
Kyle looked at him with disbelief. Here he was with a failing grade on his screen, and this guy had the audacity to lie and admit it.
"Adams," addressed the Instructor. "We have to look into this. For now, you're dismissed."
"Yes, sir!" acknowledged Adams.
The Instructor made his way to Kyle's computer. Kyle backed away as he was anticipating some remedial training or extra weeks of training to delay his departure from Shepard. He wondered if they would just kick him out of the military for this. It was, after all, only a general overview. If he couldn't grasp basic concepts of maintenance, would he be fit for duty?
"This can't be right," said the Instructor. "I know you know this stuff, My."
"I don't know what happened."
"I'll be back. Hang tight."
Did this Instructor believe in him? Kyle just assumed that everything was black-and white and that the worst would happen.
A short while later, the Instructor returned with a Sergeant of short stature, balding with dirty-blond hair and light wire-framed glasses.
"And, I'm telling you there's something wrong," said the Instructor.
The Sergeant looked Kyle up-and-down. He proceeded to ask Kyle questions about general maintenance. Kyle answered every question perfectly.
"See what I mean!" exclaimed the Instructor. "Does this sound like an Airman that should be failing these tests?"
"No, it doesn't."
"What can we do?" asked the Instructor.
"Just pass him. You know better than anyone here. Hell, you probably forgot more about aircraft maintenance than this young Airman will ever learn!"
Kyle shifted a little.
"What is it, son?" asked the Sergeant. "Spit it out."
"Adams… sir, he failed the test."
The sergeant paused.
"Are you sure?" asked the Sergeant.
"Yes. He told me once it was only he and I in the room."
"Thank you, Airman, for your honesty," said the Sergeant.
The sergeant turned away and left. Kyle felt a little guilty—like he was a rat, but he shook off the feeling. He realized that maybe—just maybe—not everyone who joined had integrity. In any case, Adams' fate was his to answer for and not Kyle's.
"Get on outta here. Congrats on passing," said the Instructor. "Become a great maintainer."
Kyle made his way back to the dorms. He still marched as if he had a partner. He wasn't supposed to march alone, but he had little choice since there was no one else left. He made it back to his dorm without incident.
"Damn, My. Where you been?" asked Avery.
"Dude, I thought I was gonna fail and be kicked out."
"They wouldn't do that… maybe keep you longer but not kick you out."
"I wouldn't be too sure…"
"Whatcha up to now?"
"Grab some chow, laundry, get ready to head out after we receive our orders. Should be any day now."
"CALIFORNIA!!!"
Avery hopped up and down in excitement.
"I'm from there, dude… not that big a deal."
"Well, I'm excited so…"
Avery continued a little celebratory dance. They both laughed as Kyle got dressed to get dinner and prepare for his departure from Shepard. He got back to his room, grabbed his dirty laundry basket and headed to the laundry room. He spotted Joe in the laundry room.
"What's up, man?"
"Sup, My."
"Nada. Tryna get everything ready to leave."
"You got orders?"
"Not yet, but any day now."
"Any idea where you're headed?" Joe asked with a smirk.
"Hi-larious," said Kyle. "Haven't seen you in a bit. What have you been up to?"
"I think I realized something."
"What's that?"
"After all this goofing around… I really love Cyn…"
"Good for you, man."
"Yeah…"
"So, now what?"
"I gotta just make things work."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Thanks… for being a good friend. Every guy in basic said 'divorce that bitch,'" said Joe. "You—on the other hand—asked me about what I wanted."
"I do what I can," chuckled Kyle.
Kyle finished up his laundry. He decided not to pack because he hadn't received his orders yet. Seemed like another waiting game.
The next morning, Kyle reported to the classroom, but since the final exam had already been taken, the class was waiting for orders—either to go back to the dorm and be assigned filler duties or to actually receive their orders to depart.
"I have a feeling we're getting orders today," said Fern.
"What makes you say that, Iowa?" asked Burr. He decided to call Fern "Iowa," his home state.
"Instinct," replied Fern.
The Sergeant entered the room and the Airman snapped to attention.
"At-ease."
The flight relaxed to an "At-Ease" stance.
"U-2s, your orders aren't coming in today," stated the Sergeant. "In the meantime, report back to your dormitory and aid CQ (Charge of Quarters) in their duties. You will continue to be assigned to your dormitory's CQ until you depart."
"Yes, sir."
"Attention!" ordered the Sergeant. "Dismissed."
The Airman stepped back and performed an "About-Face" movement, got into pairs and marched back to the dormitory.
"How 'bout them instincts, Iowa?" asked Burr.
"No one's perfect," Fern said.
The next couple of days, Kyle and the U-2 crew performed CQ duties as necessary. They were called into a classroom late on their third day of CQ duty.
"Your orders are in," said the Sergeant. "You will report to Beale Air Force Base no later than 14-days from your departure date of tomorrow. Make travel arrangements whether it be by vehicle or by flight. You'll be reimbursed for the travel expense."
One-by-one, each Airman was provided Orders for departure from Shepard.
"Any questions?" asked the Sergeant.
"No, sir," the airman said in unison.
"Good luck on your next assignment. Dismissed," said the Sergeant. He then made his way out of the classroom.
"All right, all right, all right," said Hilson in a Matthew McConaughey impersonation. "How y'all gettin' there?"
"I think me and August are gonna fly," said Fern. "But, I might drive. Depends on flight prices."
"I've got my car so I'll drive," said Stein.
"Me, too," said Avery.
"Burr is comin' with me," said Hilson. "What about you, My?"
"I think I'm gonna fly home. Still plenty of time before we need to be at Beale."
"From here?" asked Burr.
"Let me see what's cheaper."
"Dude, they're gonna reimburse you," said Hilson.
"I know. Doesn't mean I gotta be wasteful."
"Let us know ASAP," said Hilson.
"I'll let you know before tonight."
Kyle made his way to the computer lab to check on flights. He checked on flights from major cities on the way to California. He found a few, but the most economical flight was out of Albuquerque. He thought he should let Hilson know since he was the one with the car.
Kyle walked out of the computer lab when Cyn pulled up to the curb.
"My!!!!!"
"Hey, Cyn."
"Hop in, lets go eat!"
"Sure."
Kyle got into the vehicle with Cyn. He thought about bringing up Joe's decision to stay with Cyn, but he noticed something on Cyn's dashboard—it was a picture of another guy. A guy that was not Joe. A guy he had seen around the base.
"Cyn … what's that?"
"…"
"Are you kidding me, Cyn?!"
"Joe took too long…"
"Really??!"
"Look, I didn't mean to… he was just so nice to me."
"Cyn, it's your life, but Joe is my friend. I have to let him know."
"My, I'll tell him…"
"…"
"Please. It's only right that I tell him."
"If he doesn't tell me tomorrow that you both talked, I will tell him."
"Fair enough."
"…"
"Thank you, My."
"You're picking up dinner."
"Of course!"
Kyle didn't know what to think. Joe just let him know a few days ago he decided to stay with Cyn. Kyle was sure this would be the end of their relationship regardless of what Cyn was planning to do.
The both of them had dinner, and Kyle let Cyn know that he received his orders and had to be at his next base within two weeks. He didn't mention anything Joe had said to him because he knew there would be a falling out.
Cyn brought Kyle back to the dorm after dinner, and they said their goodbyes. Whatever happened between Joe and Cyn, it was far out of Kyle's influence.
Kyle walked back into the dorms to find Hilson.
"Hilson, can you take me as far as Alburquerque?"
"No problem, brother," said Hilson.
"Thanks. What time do you plan to head out tomorrow?"
"Soon as we're done with chow," said Hilson.
"Cool. I'll see you then."
End of Chapter 5