hairdresser and on her feet all day would have prepared her for the exertion, but as she peered down at her muddy shoes still tied on her feet, she realized she didn’t even have the energy to take them off, though they would need to be cleaned before inspection tomorrow. All she could think about was sleep, even though the mattresses were wafer thin, and it was only six o’clock, she knew she could probably drop off quickly.
As she lay drowsing, she reflected back over the two weeks of activity. She and Lizzie had cemented their friendship. Lizzie had an enormous heart and a wonderful sense of adventure but Diana had continued to sense something else in her new friend. A deep sadness that she glimpsed now and again when Lizzie’s guard was down, in moments when she was unaware that she was being observed. Diana wondered about it, and whether their friendship would become close enough for Lizzie to open up, and feel safe enough to let her share in whatever it was that hid just behind her smile. But apart from that small observation Diana had been grateful to her new friend, who would always jolly her along when things were getting tough.
Since they’d arrived, it had been a whirlwind of ceaseless activity. Their commander had had them marching up and down the compound all hours of the day and night, and they’d hardly had any food to eat. Last night had just been a small pie and gravy. At the end of every day, Diana wavered between feeling hungry and exhausted. To get them used to the pressure they could feel once bombs started dropping, they were often roused in the middle of the night, lights flicked on, and had to race to their stations. They had to get dressed quickly. Sometimes to save time Diana slept in her stockings so she didn’t have to put them on when she was bleary-eyed and disorientated. There was also further discussion about the final units they could be assigned to. And though she was exhausted, she felt excited about the prospects of what she would be doing in the WAAF.
Diana was nearly asleep when, all at once, the door to the room opened and in came Lizzie. She yipped, gushing, ‘Diana, a whole night off!’
‘Aha,’ Diana mumbled, not even opening her eyes. ‘I’m going to stay right here and not move a muscle until tomorrow morning. I’m not even sure I have the energy to get undressed.’
All at once, she could sense Lizzie leaning over her. ‘Can’t waste a night sleeping, Diana. We need to get out. We haven’t even seen London yet.’
Diana forced her gritty eyes open. Lizzie’s face was inches from her own.
‘Come on, let’s go dancing or see a movie or something. One of the girls has to do a delivery in town, and she’s offered to give us a lift in.’
‘I can’t even feel my feet,’ groaned Diana, ‘never mind go dancing.’
Lizzie sat on the edge of the bed. ‘Look, I know it’s been a hard couple of weeks, but we’re so close to London. We don’t even know what we’re missing. I’ve never been to a big city. I’m so excited to see it. Before we know it, it’ll be tomorrow, and they’ll have us marching up and down again for another week. This is the only chance we’ll get. I promise we won’t be out late – Scout’s honour. We’ll just look around, see the town, maybe watch a film, then we’ll get straight back on the bus. You can be asleep by ten o’clock. You know they like us to go out in pairs if we can.’
Diana forced herself into a sitting position. Her whole body felt the ache again. ‘All right,’ she said as she stretched her back. ‘Give me a minute, and I’ll try to remember what it feels like to be a human being again.’
Placing her feet on the ground and heaving herself up, Diana shuffled across the floor as she stretched her back once more and rubbed her neck. And she had to admit, even though she was tired, it would be fun to see London for a couple of hours before she went to bed. It would make a change from just the barracks, the parade ground, and the canteen. Making her way into the communal bathroom, she started to wash her face and get ready.
As she put on her own clothes again, she was amazed to