Worth a Shot

"Jade said you were just discharged from the army" John stated. "Where were you stationed?"

Jake looked surprised that he brought it up. "Jade didn't tell you?"

John shook his head.

"I was stationed in Iraq" Jake replied. "Though only for the last portion. Before that I was all over Europe and Asia"

Rose frowned slightly. "What were you discharged for?"

"I served my time" Jake replied simply. "It was an honorary discharge. Honestly I would have tried to stay in longer if I hadn't started getting letters from Jade"

Rose nodded again. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know" Jake admitted. "I wasn't even expecting to be discharged when I was."

"Are you going to try going to school? There's plenty of good colleges in the area."

Dave reached into his pocket for his phone, brushing against Jake's leg.

"I actually have a degree already" Jake admitted. "In Archaeology and the like"

Rose smiled her approval. Dave looked up at him. "Really?"

Jake looked to him. "Yeah. I'm actually half way through another in world history"

Dave sat up straighter, moving his foot away from John's feet. "I've considered doing Archaeology when I get to college. But I don't know. Maybe Morturary Scienes would be cooler?"

"Mortuary science sounds rather interesting. It would be a good tie in if you decide to try for both. If you were to actually be in the field and found remains then you would be able to determine things about them, such as the conditions in which they expired, age, and the like" Jake pointed out

Dave eagerly nodded at him. "You really think so? Because that would be so cool if I could do something like that!" He was slightly bouncing in his seat. Rose giggled quietly as she watched him. Jade grinned at the two besides her. "Looks like you've already made a friend, Jake."

Jake turned to grin at her. "Easier than I thought" he chuckled before turning back to Dave. "I do, but it varies upon what you really want to do with your life. For example, I want to travel and explore, being an archaeologist with a degree in world history would help greatly in my travels"

Dave nodded again, getting slightly shy again. "What will you do when you get a girlfriend? Will she travel with you?"

Jake's face flushed and he turned away suddenly, covering his mouth in embarrassment. "I, um, I'm not really all that interested in girls" he mumbled

Dave's cheeks tinted a light pink. "Oh." He was fiddling with his hands in his lap, staring at the table. Rose shrugged slightly. "It's quite alright, Jake. Will your boyfriend be traveling with you?"

Jake let out a slightly hysteric laugh. "Boyfriend. Well, Haven't had one of those in a while. Don't really have to worry about it"

Rose raised a brow at him. "I'm sorry to hear that. I take it you don't want to talk about it."
"I'm sorry," Dave mumbled. "I'll just be quiet now."

"You know what, Jade likes telling this story. Why doesn't someone tell me where the bathroom is, then she can tell you" Jake stated

Rose shook her head. "We don't need to talk about this. Let's talk about something else."

"Oh no, its a friggin hilarious story." Jake replied "I just get a little emotional about my blasted luck is all. I really would like to go to the bathroom though"

Rose pointed to the restroom sign. "Over there."

Jake nudged Jade. "Move please"

Jade got up, winking at him. "Don't fall in."

Jake rolled his eyes playfully as he got up and walked away.