Oak Ridge Military Academy: A Cadet's Account

Day 1: Arriving

As I drove through the gates of my new school, I couldn't help but realize how lonely my life was. No one had been at the airport to say goodbye.

I guess I should've expected it. My parents sent me to the place anyway. They never cared before, why should they care now? I could have asked Grandfather to come. I wonder if my father ever told him I was leaving.

It didn't matter then, because I was already there. I strolled into the building, putting on my confident smile that was part of my familiar façade. I forced myself to keep moving, though every part of me was screaming 'run away!' I knew I couldn't.

I flipped through the packet of information that had been given to me until I found the Dorm I was assigned to. I awkwardly maneuvered through the door with my bags. There were more out in the car. Back in Hartford I wouldn't be carrying these. But now I was my father's delinquent son, and I had to do all the dirty work the hired help would do for me.

"You must be our new cadet. This is Oak Ridge Military Academy. I'm Matt. Your room is over there" he said pointing to a hallway. "Get settled in then head to the mess. Dinner starts at 18.00. Then you have clean up with the other newbies. Get used to it too. Until you prove yourself, your stuck at the bottom of the pile."

I started to walk towards the hallway I assumed led to the bedrooms.

"Hey, Kid"

I turned around and looked at him.

"Be up n' ready at 5 tommorow."

The reality hit me like a brick wall.

I wasn't the King anymore, ruling the Chilton Hallways with an iron fist. I couldn't buy my way out of this. People wouldn't yield to me when they found out who I was.

I was so far out of my element that it freaked me out. And I didn't like that one bit.

There was a common room with a kitchenette, sofas and TV, a community bathroom and four bedrooms with three bunks each, top and bottom. I wandered until I found mine. There was no one in the room so I began unpacking. I found some sheets, but my lack of experience left me clueless as to what to do with them. After a good twenty minutes of attempting to put the sheets on properly, I finally figured it out.

With just my navy sheets, my bed looked plain compared to the other bunks. I looked around at my roommates' bunks. Some had posters, some had letters, but all of them had pictures tacked up on the wall.

I looked at the photos on the bunk on top of mine. There was an entire family, hugging and laughing on the beach. Genuine smiles adorned all of their faces. The next picture captured a father hugging two boys holding trophies in their baseball uniforms.

I wished I had that, but moments like those were only real in my dreams. I would laugh and walk away if you told me my parents were proud of me. It's all an act in my life.

I admired the rest of the photos until the last one caught my eye. One of the boys stood behind a girl, hugging her and kissing the top of her head as she looked at the camera.

I was quickly becoming jealous of this boy who had all these healthy relationships. I had a new girl everyday it seemed, but none of them wanted to be with me, they wanted to be with my image and my name. No one cared about who I was, if I was nice or if I would treat them right. I never asked for that, it was merely expected of me. If daddy dearest was happy, I'd get a new toy or car or whatever I wanted, as long as it was expensive and required little effort on my father's behalf.

I snapped out of my reverie as the door to the room opened. Three rather large boys entered the room, one in front of the other two. I could tell I wasn't going to be getting a warm welcome from these guys. Probably more like getting a pair of black eyes and a fat lip.

The obvious leader of the group looked me over.

"Who are you and what are you doing in our room?"

"I'm new and apparently I'm stuck in this room too."

"Fresh meat, huh. Well get used to hell cause that's where you're stuck. I wonder how long you'll make it, pretty boy. I'll bet you never worked for anything in your life. Things are gonna be way different from your world around here."

"Markson!"

I looked up and saw a man about two inches taller than me, four inches taller than the dude yelling at me.

"Colonel Redding wants you in his office. Something about neglected mess duties."

"Yessir" the three boys mumbled as they made their humble exit.

"So, Cadet, who are you?"

"Umm, Tristan DuGrey."

"Well Cadet DuGrey, welcome to Oak Ridge Military Academy. I'm Lieutenant Jacob Gaines. You can call me Jake."

"Uh, Thanks"

I turned around to face my bunk. This guy clearly had a good deal of influence around here, judging form the way the other boys reacted to him. I wasn't sure how to act around somebody who was so obviously my superior. I was usually dominant in my relationships.

"Don't let Dana and his cronies bother you. They're all talk."

I turned around to see the guy sitting on the bunk I was observing before I was interrupted.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

"You're new, I'll take it."

"Obviously."

"You know, you're not gonna get very far here with your attitude"

"Gee, thanks."

"Kid, you've gotta shape up right now, 'cause after that you're on your own. No one here needs to be your friend so you might want to take the chance to get on the good side of someone while you can."

"You wanna shut people out, go ahead, but you aren't going to make it here alone."

No one had ever talked to me like I was bellow them before and since arriving at the academy it had happened twice. I was pretty sure I didn't want it to happen again, and I was pretty sure there was nothing I could do about it.

So, I sucked up my pride and apologized.

"No problem kid. Now I'm gonna catch dinner in the mess. You comin or not?"

"I guess so."

I didn't realize it then, but that was the beginning of the best friendship I would ever be a part of.

AN: Ok this is just an idea i had. i know its kinda similar to alot of other stories out there, but hopefully by the end i'll be able to put my own twist on it.

let me know what you think!