Slow Learner Read Online Free PDF Page B

Levine," he would say. "Here you are, college graduate, highest IQ in the damn battalion, and what are you doing. Sitting here in the most wretched pesthole in the armed forces, on an ass that gets broader every month. Why don't you go for OCS? You could probably even get into the Point if you wanted. Why did you enlist in the army in the first place?" And Levine would say with a hesitant grin that was neither auite apologetic nor auite scornful, "Well I sort of figured I'd like to stay an enlisted man and make a career out of it." At first the lieutenant would blow up whenever he said this, get incoherent. Later he would turn and walk away and finally he gave up altogether and gave up talking to Levine. Now he said, "You're in the army, Levine. Leave isn't a right, it's a privilege." Levine stuck his hands in his back pockets. "Ah," he said. "Well, okay."
    He turned and walked away slowly, hands in his pockets, over to the tray rack. He got a tray and silverware and went through the line. It was stew again. Thursday always seemed to be stew day. He went over to where Picnic was eating and said, "Guess what."
    "I figured," Picnic said. They ate and walked out of the mess hall and about a mile through sand and over concrete, dragging their feet and not talking, just letting the sun glare and work through the helmet liners and hair to the scalp. They got to the motor pool at a quarter to one and found most of the others already there with six ¾-ton trucks with radio equipment in the back. Levine and Picnic got into a truck, Picnic driving, and followed the other trucks up to the company. At the barracks they got their bags and threw them in back.
    They headed on a southwesterly direction, through swamp and past farmland. As they got nearer to the town of De Bidder they could see clouds to the south. "Rain?" Picnic said. "Jesus Christ." Levine had put on a pair of sunglasses and was reading the paperback again, something called Swamp Wench. "The more I think about it," he said lazily, "the more I think someday I'm gonna give that there lieutenant a punch in the mouth."
    "It's a bitch, ain't it," Picnic agreed.
    "I mean," Levine said, putting the book face down on his stomach, "Sometimes I almost wish I was back at City. And that's bad."
    "Why bad?" Picnic said. "I'd rather be back at the Academy any day than doing this crap."
    "No," Levine said frowning, "you don't go back. I only went back once that I can remember and that was to a broad. And that was bad too."
    "Yeah," Pic said. "You told me. You should have gone back. I wish I could. Back to the barracks, even, and go to sleep."
    "You can sleep anywhere," Levine said. "I can."
    At De Bidder they turned south. The clouds massed up, gray and threatening, ahead of them. Around them swamp would stretch out, gray and mossy and foul-smelling, and then give way to poor-looking farmland. "You want to read this after me?" Levine said. "It's pretty good. All about swamps. And this broad that lives in them."
    "Really?" Picnic said, looking grimly at the truck ahead of them. "I wish I could find a broad in one of these. I'd build me this shack way out in the middle of one of them, where Uncle would never find me."
    "Sure you would," Levine said.
    "I know damn well you would."
    "Till I got tired of it, anyway," Levine said.
    "Why don't you settle down, Nathan," Picnic said. "Find a nice quiet girl and go live up north."
    "It's the army I'm in love with," Levine said.
    "You 30-year men are all alike. Does Pierce still believe all that crap about re-upping?"
    "I don't know. I don't believe it, why should he. But then I might be telling the truth. I reckon I'll just wait and see, when the time comes."
    They drove on like this for about two hours, dropping off trucks along the way to set up relays back to Roach until on the outskirts of Lake Charles there were only two trucks left. Rizzo, with Baxter, in the truck ahead, waved Levine and Picnic down. The sky was completely overcast now and a