Dark Chronicles of Nooria 18

"Ok girls," CO says, "now the news. This isn't optional, everyone is in it. Over the years, the British Army has been very generous with us. Equipment, obsolete to them, but still good and usable for us, like classroom or mess gear. Our British friends have asked for our help. Doctor, if you will."
Doctor licks her lips nervously, "this manual is conspicuously missing one item, effects of cannibalism. They're thinking of including a chapter in their next edition. Look around the world, there really are not a lot of people who can speak from experience. Every girl here will have a medical and psychological examination. Two British doctors, both women of course. Every minute of your medical, either myself or a nurse will be present. They want things like hair sample, urine sample, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, weight, height, measure body fat and the like. Absolutely nothing will be injected. Only pain, you will give a blood sample, but small." She looks around, sees the shock. "I would point out proprieties will be respected. No touching or examination of any improper parts. No one gets out of underwear." Looks of relief.
"As for the psychological exam, no they aren't being cruel. They won't ask any of the nitty-gritty nasty stuff. In fact, a nurse will be present during these interviews. She has authority to delay or stop any interview, if she feels you are too stressed out. Now here's what they really want. Only 2 questions relate to the cannibalism itself. One, how long ago was it. Two, how long a duration were you involved in it. Beyond that, it's your current state they want to know. Nightmares, lack of sleep, concentration in school, relationships. They want to see how well you bounced back from it."
"But ma'am," I query, "suppose a person were not too mentally healthy before it. Would that not throw out their results?"
"Not actually, both are extremely well-versed in spotting underlying disorders, building it into their calculations. I would repeat the nurse is present every minute of your hour or hour and a half. For some, she'll be interpreter. But for all, she has final authority. She tells the doctors to stop, they do."
CO starts again, "would be nice if I could offer inducement. Can't, rumor has it we are near to bankrupt. But think of this. The French give sufficient funds for 1,300 girls. The other 700 are here because we are good at squeezing budgets. So, your help in this, 700 girls thank you for helping keep this school alive. Any questions?" None. "Nooria, over here."
She leads me outside, "no easy way to say this. Forget a short interview, that's for the others. You're the star of the show, 3 1/2 or 4 days."
"Why ma'am?"
"Rest did it easy, 10,000 foot elevation and such. You, way above the oxygen line. You defy every medical calculation on every chart. You'd need some 6,000 calories a day, equivalent to British Army Arctic survival rations. Mathematically, she should be dead a dozen times over. Yet here you are, physically healthy, and an awful lot more sane than many of the members here. So they intend to focus on you."
I feel numb, wish I could crawl into a corner and die.
"Cheer up, same rules. Can't ask you gruesome questions. It's just they'll spend a lot longer on your current state. Things like your relationships with the sgt's and teachers."
"Oh."
"You aren't just doing us a favor, getting equipment. Your help could end up saving a lot of British lives in an emergency."
I groan inwardly, but what can you say?
"You see Nooria, you really are a very unusual person. Seems a lot more destiny swirls around you than the rest here. As if God has a specific file with your name on it."
That is supposed to cheer me up? "Ma'am, do they get my counselling file here?"
"No, they ask their own questions, make their own diagnosis."
Thank heaven for small favors.

The medical is far more thorough than in Canada. But exactly as our doctor stated.
They are both polite, friendly. One has a girl my age, other has one a year older. They show me photos, tell me of their daughters.
As we get down to business, one says, "we decided to skip the embarassment of asking you the 2 hard questions. So, AAW simply provided us with a list of the dates you were involved." Gentle smile, "now you, you simply defy every medical odd. One thing we often run into, with such people, is a very strong religious background. Some overpowering belief in God which keeps them moving more than the others. So, how do you see yourself in relation to the other B14 girls? More religious? The same?"
"Ma'am, I would be the least religious of the lot."
Smile, "right, now let's look at your relationships. I understand you and the sgt's here get on well. Tell me more about that."
"Ma'am, there is this sgt Amina, she and I go on the same patrol and ...."
"I see, so things are like a mother-daughter relationship?"
"Yes ma'am."
It goes on, everything from officer cadet meetings to Parvana's jokes on patrol to Shauzia's job of suicide watch to playing the swinging gay cavalier in Dari class. I like these people, kind, patient. The nurse never finds it necessary to intervene.
They laugh over things like my 2 visits to the CO's office. "How very like the British Army!"
They give several written exams.
After 4 days, one sums up, "defies every medical rule in the book that you are alive. Further, your ordeal of all this unpleasantness was thrice as long as anyone else. Further, as the most recent arrival here, you've had less time to recover. You are doing great, far better than anyone could ever expect. I mean, except for the Asperger Syndrome. You ah have been informed of that?"
"Yes ma'am."
"That you carry for life. Everything else, going well." Mock serious look, "now you tell me. How am I going to go back, try and tell my CO of things like lottery ticket odds?"
A line from the sgt's comes to mind, "ma'am, with all due respect, that's what you get the big money for."
Loud mock groan, "I'm not exactly sure how we'll handle it. There are probably all of 3 people in the whole British Army with as much aplomb as you."
"Ma'am, your soldiers can say anything they like. It's not till you have to do it, that you'll know. Now my guess, 9/10 of them could do it, if their backs were really against the wall. God willing, they'll never have to find out for real."
"We're not allowed to ask any questions of your past. But maybe one item. That is a very Canadian accent. Did you have English instruction somewhere else before here?"
"Yes ma'am, teacher was Canadian."
"Amazing, you have more ability to mimic than anyone here."
I leave with a sadness. We became friends during the journey.

MP sgt grins, "lemme guess. Rubber hose? Third degree? Like the Gestapo? KGB?"
"Not even close. Friendly, polite, classy. Went out of their way, way out of their way, to spare me pain, embarassment."
Now me, I'm the only one the Brits had spotted who had already dealt with the counselling issue. They provided our counsellor here with a list of names and possible issues.

Their farewell was pure kindness, a pizza party. They went into the kitchen, made pizza, taught one of the cooks in the process. The doctors, nurse and all B14 girls attended.
I was nearby, overheard our nurse ask, "the girls, well-behaved? I mean, compared to your usual patients."
Both laughed. The reply, "the average British soldier is deathly afraid of giving hair samples. Can spot drug abuse over time. As for interviews, most of ours would rather wrestle a grizzly bear than talk of feelings and such. Your girls were open, helpful, cooperative."
I see relief on the nurse. Obviously been under conflicting pressures. One, make the doctors toe the line. Two, don't offend them while doing it.
Doctor smiles, "you ever do hair samples on your members?"
Drily the nurse replies, "we are understaffed, no time for that. Besides, I'm not sure we'd like the results."
"Ah yes, I suppose some things transcend borders, cultures. Some things are almost universal to the human condition."
Nurse, "so I've thought."