The trainees who had followed the initial two had frozen when they'd heard the officer yell. Their faces cut red, the recruits sat back down.

Joseph let out a small sigh of relief, glad that the "food fight" was stopped before it began. His real worry was that Zachary would come to the mess hall and punish them for the noise. It probably would've been much worse than what this officer had done, which was practically scolding them and nothing else. He dipped his spoon into the stew once more and stuffed it into his mouth.
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The rest of the night had passed quietly. The trainees were sent to their cabins promptly. Joseph walked into the building, looking around and examining the beds. It looked like the bunks were unusually large but when you looked closer, you could see a small void dividing the mattresses. The beds on the lower parts were all full so he climbed up the ladder and sat on the far side of the bed, waiting to see who would be the one sleeping next to him before he would fall into sweet unconscious.