‘No, honestly, I couldn’t. You all go if you want.’
‘Not going to tell on us, are you?’ Dilys demanded.
‘Of course not,’ Bobby said. ‘I’ll try to cover for you if anyone asks questions. Still, I wish you wouldn’t. We only just got here.’
‘She’s right, you know.’ Carol, to Bobby’s surprise, came to her aid. ‘I wouldn’t half feel small if I got put on a fizzer my second day. Being absent without leave is a damn sight more serious than smuggling Jerry leaflets, and it’d go on our records too. Our dad’d wear me out if he heard about it.’
‘And Stewpot might lock you in for even longer as punishment,’ Bobby pointed out. ‘She might even confine you to camp for the whole training period.’
Carol nodded. ‘I bet she would an’ all. Rubbing her hands with glee while she fastened on the manacles.’
‘How can she rub her hands if she’s fastening manacles?’ Mike asked.
‘All right, clever clogs. It’s a figure of speech.’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ Dilys muttered. ‘The old cow looks like she’d be jankers-happy. Oh, but two weeks without a single dance or date! I swear I’ll actually die of boredom.’
‘It’s all right for you, Carol,’ Mike said, glaring at her. ‘You’ll be waiting on the officers, won’t you? Have them all to yourself while we’re locked up here in our sackcloth and chastity knickers.’
Carol grinned. ‘Don’t worry, girls, I’ll be sure to save the best talent for us. I’ll give you a full report tomorrow night and tell you which ones I’ve earmarked for each of you. As soon as we’re free, we’ll have dates ready and waiting while the other lasses are scrabbling for our leftovers.’
‘Very kind, but I’ll waive my share of the favour,’ Bobby said, smiling as she waggled her engagement ring.
‘Oh, comeon,’ Dilys said, rolling her eyes. ‘You’re not going to be a spoilsport about everything, are you? You’re as bad as Stewpot, with her “great and glorious pride of the WAAF” crap.’
‘I’m not going to be a spoilsport. I can’t go on dates, that’s all,’ Bobby said, flushing as she remembered the picture on the leaflet. ‘I know you see it differently than I do, but I won’t judge you if you don’t judge me.’
‘That’s fair enough,’ Mike said to the other women. ‘Still, Bobsy, I don’t see why you shouldn’t get yourself a little camp boyfriend to keep you company. You don’t have to do anything, if you’re absolutely convinced the fiancé’s keeping himself pure for you. A dance and a flirt is the least a young woman deserves. It’s necessary for our self-esteem – and our purses, come to that.’
‘You said it,’ Carol agreed. ‘An innocent fling never hurt anyone. You need an officer to pay for stuff with a training wage of one and four a day.’
‘And what if this officer expects payment in return?’ Bobby asked, raising an eyebrow. ‘You know what I mean.’
‘Just make sure you’ve got your blackouts on,’ Dilys said with a grin. ‘They’ll quench his ardour.’
‘Ha bloody ha.’
Carol shrugged. ‘You can tell him to sod off if he tries owt. He can’t make you, can he? Well, he can, but he won’t. Us three would look after you.’
Bobby smiled, touched. She knew she was the outlier in this new group she had somehow become a part of. She knew they had adopted her more for reasons of proximity than fellow-feeling. She knew that Dilys, at least, didn’t like her, and tolerated her only because of her admiration for Mike. She half-suspected that the nickname they had given her, Bobsy, was at least as mocking as it was playful, especially given it was Dilys who had started it. It was nice to know that Carol, at least, saw her as one of the gang.
‘I really don’t want a date,’ Bobby said. ‘But I would like to have some fun when they let us out. I’ve got no intention of sitting by myself every night for the next six weeks, and I don’t see why I need a man on my arm to enjoy myself.’
Mike grinned. ‘That’s the spirit.’
‘I’m still going to pick you out an officer tomorrow though,’ Carol said, flopping back on her bunk. ‘Just in case you change your mind.’
Chapter 32
Bobby continued feeling wretched with homesickness over the next few days as she learnt the routine of her new way of life. The weather remained stormy and wild, which matched her mood, and route marches and outdoor drills were suspended in favour of indoor parades in the gym.
She began to get used to the sight of herself in her new military attire, and to hear herself addressed as ‘airwoman’. She learned how to drill, march and parade; how to salute, and who and when to salute; how to take care of her kit; a great deal on the history of the Royal Air Force in the rather tedious lectures they were forced to sit through, and a huge amount of RAF slang.
Some she knew already thanks to Charlie – she was aware, for example, that square-bashing was parading, an erk was someone with the lowest rank of aircraftman or aircraftwoman, and to be put on a fizzer was to be placed on charge – but Bobby soon found there was a lot more to learn. Her cutlery items were known as irons, recruits were called sprogs, Mae Wests were the inflatable life vests worn by aircrew, muftis meant civilian clothing, the Waafery was the women’s quarters, jankers meant being confined to camp, and there were many, many others. It was like learning a whole other language.
Bobby acquitted herself well in her new role – at least, she avoided getting a ticking off from any officers or NCOs. And yet she still had that lingering feeling of outsiderness. She felt like she was forever on the edges, not belonging: a civilian in WAAF’s clothing. She hoped this feeling would disappear in time, but all the other women seemed to have found their places after a few days to settle in. Bobby couldn’t understand why it wasn’t happening for her.
She felt, too, like she was becoming a whole other person in this strange new world, short time though it had been. She had understood herself in Silverdale. There, Bobby Bancroft was ‘the lass from t’ paper’ – someone people recognised and respected. She had had a job to do and she had taken pride in the fact she was good at it. Here, she was just another rank and number. It felt like all the confidence she had built while doing a man’s job in a man’s world disappeared overnight, leaving a nervous, trembling girl in its place.
