Christa set down one of her many cards, watching Annie immerse herself back into her book’s pages.
"Did you get any cards this year?" She asked, trying to engage the stoic blonde in conversation, which was a strenuous feat on most days.
During her younger days, despite her father's strict rule to limit her relationship with children her age, Annie had used to receive cards, chocolates, and even love confession from her male acquaintances. But truth be told, she had found such actions more troublesome than flattering, for she had never known how to react. Not only had she been unfamiliar with the art of bonding, the flaxen-haired soldier-to-be had also felt uncomfortable when she had not given the reaction those kids had expected.
Even so, there was this one person who always left her a bar of white chocolate along with a red rose year-after-year by her doormat on February 14th. Their identity had yet been revealed by the blonde, but deep down in her heart, she had started counting and secretly expected its arrival on Valentine's day. This year too, those presents were already delivered near the girls' dorm's front door by the time Annie woke up before everyone else this morning, indicating that they must have been from a fellow trainee.
"Not necessarily in the form of cards, no...," the petite female finally put her book down and stared back at Christa, "...but I did get something."
Her pale hand then reached to see the card the other blonde set on the table. "This for me?" she asked as she checked the folded paper, "How thoughtful of you." Annie's lips curled into a wider smile than before, a view she rarely showed to anyone.
