The Glory Days

“C’mon ladies, you can do it,” the instructor, Anna, encouraged, pushing the dancers to their limits, urging them to give it their all. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!” She counted along to the music that came from the phonograph, clapping her hands to help them keep time.

Their bodies gracefully swayed upon the smooth, hardwood floors, their eyes watching their forms diligently in the mirror before them to check for any flaws in their movements, and their hearts pounding from the passion they were putting into each step. Their instructor’s words only added to their vivacity, their swift kicks flying higher and their chests puffing out as confidence swelled within them.

“That’s what I’m talking about, girls! You’re dancing for your country!” Their teacher gave them a round of applause and beamed at them all in praise. “I don’t think there’s a need to carry on with practice, you’ve all got this performance down to the last detail. Let’s all go home early. We’ll do a full run-through when we meet on Monday, and then it’s show time!”

Everyone smiled and congratulated one another on a job well done before heading over to where their belongings were and packing up. The brunette tiredly began to change along with everyone else, exchanging her sweaty dancing dress for a clean, streetwise one.

“So what do you think this guy is going to look like, huh?” Catherine, one of the more gossipy dancers, questioned no one in particular. “I hope he’s a dream!”

“Oh, me, too!” Janice squealed aloud in agreement, her black hair bouncing about as she jumped giddily in anticipation.

“Please, Janice, you’re already engaged to Matthew!” Catherine retorted. “Save the other men for us single women!”

“But what if he doesn’t come home from the war?” She questioned, appearing sincerely distraught at the thought of it. As much as Janice joked, everyone knew that she was dedicated to her future husband, Matthew, who was away like every other able bodied man, doing his part to put an end to the Second World War.

“Then you should have just married and done the deed!” Catherine replied nonchalantly, slipping on her shoes.

“I wouldn’t want to risk the possibility of pregnancy,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t think I could handle raising a child all on my own.”

The air became glum and tense as the conversation entered the war and the prospect that all their loved ones might not return home. Immediately it was changed by everyone, their topic once again becoming about the man they would be performing alongside.

“I bet he’ll be a brunette!”

“No way, no how! He’s going to be a ginger!”

“What do you think, Bridget?” Janice inquired, noticing her friend wasn’t putting her two cents in.

The brunette quickly finished tying her shoes, sighing as she looked over at them all. “I can’t say, Jan,” she admitted. “I’m sure he’s going to look all-American, though.”

Janice mulled over her words and snapped her fingers. “Blonde hair and blue eyes, maybe?”

The girls eagerly began to debate over the man’s possible appearance, Bridget deciding to stay out of it. It didn’t matter much to her what he looked like. To be completely honest, she wasn’t even feeling interested in men at the current point in time, and she thought she had a pretty good reason why. She wouldn’t want to become attached and for them to be taken so brutally by a thing like war. It would be much too traumatic for her; she wasn’t ready to take the risk.

Silently excusing herself, she was the first to leave the dance studio and step back out onto the damp streets of Brooklyn, New York. Though deep down, she, too, was contemplating what this guy would look like, her curiosity getting the better of her. She wanted to know what this “Captain America” would be like.

Notes

So I'm starting a new Captain America story in hopes of getting some inspiration for my other one. I've been writing this story for a while now, and as you can see, it's set during the Second World War.

I'll let you know right now that this is going to be a fast-paced story, meaning that it won't go days at a time, but weeks and even months at a time. This is because Steve's mostly away fighting Hydra for the majority of the film so I'm trying to stay true to that, but don't worry, there's going to be some time between the two characters.

This story is actually complete and I'll be uploading it every day or so. Please comment, rate, and subscribe!