July 21, 1915.

10-year-old Jenna walked into her classroom. It didn't look like a normal classroom at all. It was her first day at Maple Leaf School of Military. Military. Maybe that explained why her classroom didn't look like one. There were hay stacks, punching bags, guns and other dangerous-looking things et cetera. She was surprised. And terrified. She might have been tough and brave but she had never held a gun before, let alone shoot something with it. Truth is, her mother was a Bishop and her father was a Battle Mage. Therefore, it was only logical she had magician blood in her. She wanted to be a high-level Fire Mage herself. The only things she carried in her bag were her staff and a bottle of water.

"Ah, welcome, welcome, Janelle Edwin!" her 'teacher' cried out enthusiastically and dramatically at the same time as she walked into the classroom. The 'teacher' was an elderly man with a slightly long white beard. Jenna silently walked in, a small smile pasted on her face, and stood beside the man. She felt like a midget standing next to the extraordinarily tall old man.

"There's no need to feel so shy, child." He cooed in a way adults pacify babies, thinking that it would make her feel better. It didn't. In fact, it worsened her nervousness. "How about you introduce yourself to the class?" he boomed cheerily, cutting through her thoughts.

"S-sure." Jenna squeaked. She softly cleared her throat as the whole class stopped training to stare at her as if she had grown another head. "Hi. I'm Janelle Edwin. You can call me Jenna. I'm 6 years old, uh, just like the rest of you. I hope you all will be my friends."

With that, she ended her short introduction and went silent again. "Now, wasn't that a very clear, enthusiastic introduction, kiddos? Try to mix around with Jenna and be her friend, okay?" the old man said. Jenna could have sworn she saw a twinkle in his eyes. He slightly bent down and whispered to the 10-year-old auburn haired girl.

"You can call me Mr. Martin. I'm your instructor. Not teacher, okay? Instructor." Jenna nodded and he smiled his oh-so-famous grandpa smile. "Go on and have fun making new friends. We only start the real learning tomorrow. Today's sort of like…meet-friends day." Mr. Martin explained as Jenna continuously nodded like a retard.

"Sir, you mean…everyone here is new?" she asked softly. Mr. Martin seemed surprised and glad that the girl had finally opened her mouth to say something after so long. "Yep. But you're the newest, alright. These kids have been here since last week." He said as he ruffled her hair, leaving the room. Probably to get some equipment, Jenna thought in her head as she looked back at the kids in the classroom.

She quietly walked around, observing what the others were doing. She was so sure she wouldn't make any friends. She was the quiet type anyway. When she got tired of walking and her legs felt wobbly, she found a comfortable-looking stack of hay and sat on it. Suddenly, two boys came crashing into the hay stack, disturbing her peace.

She jumped up in shock as she covered her mouth with her small hands. The two boys were sprawled onto the hay stack, fidgeting horribly. The blonde one got up on his knees and brushed the dirt off his body. "It's all your fault, Roy!" he yelled at the other black-haired boy, "I'm not playing with you anymore!" and with a huff, he stormed off angrily.

Jenna watched as the black-haired boy slowly stood up, wobbling a bit. He brushed some hay out of his hair and caught her eye. "Uh, hi." He said softly. Jenna could tell he was a quiet one. "Hello." She greeted back politely, "What happened?" Whatever, she was curious to know. Was it a fight or were they just acting?

"Oh…that guy. He's a bully. He bullies everyone. He chased me just now. I was scared and I ran into this stack of hay to hide. Now he's mad at me. I don't like him." The boy explained. Jenna understood him clearly and nodded in agreement. She didn't like bullies either, and she was definitely not one of them. She understood that bullies enjoy picking on the quiet, weaker ones.

"I don't like the looks of him either. He's yelling at everyone. Look." She said, pointing at the blonde who was now yelling at a group of boys and girls, stomping his feet. The boy sighed. "Yeah. So, hi. I'm Roy." He suddenly said, totally changing the subject.

Jenna switched her gaze from the scary bully to the boy she was conversing with. "O-oh. I'm Jenna. Nice to meet you." She replied softly, running her hand through her red waist-length hair. There was a long awkward silence for about a minute or so until Roy finally spoke. "I like your hair. Red's my favourite colour."

"Thank y-you." She stammered. Roy was the first person who had ever complimented her. Well, maybe second. From her parents. Before Jenna could open her mouth to compliment in return, a group of guys called and waved frantically at Roy from the other side of the classroom. He waved back as he turned to face me.

"My friends are over there. I'll see you around. Bye, Jenna." he said as he ran off to meet his friends. I didn't even get the chance to say 'bye'. He was quick. Well, at least he had friends. She felt like the loneliest person in the world. The lonely feeling went away almost immediately when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was soft and warm. She spun around, her red hair bobbing up and down.

"Hello." Said a quiet squeaky voice. Jenna looked at the girl standing in front of her. She was quite tall for their age and, she admitted, quite well-built. Her arms were muscly and strong. She had a crew cut hairstyle, but she looked very pretty in it. "Hi." Jenna mumbled back. "I-I'm Elizabeth Stanley. Lizzy." The girl softly introduced herself.

Jenna wore a wide smile on her face, hoping to make the girl feel comfortable around her, "Nice to meet you, Lizzy. I'm Jenna!" she grabbed Lizzy's hand, which was about twice the size of hers, and shook it. Lizzy widened her eyes but didn't pull back. "Hi…Jenna." She muttered shyly. Jenna beamed at her new friend.

"What made you want to join this military school, Lizzy?" she asked, trying to not let silence take over. Lizzy looked down at Jenna. She is so damn tall. I'm jealous! Jenna thought in her head. "I-I…my parents used to be in the military so…I want to join." She replied softly. I nodded, not knowing what to say. Her parents were also in the military but they died in battle. She now lived with her grandmother, her only relative left.

"That's cool. My parents too used to be in the military." Jenna grinned widely as she looked at her friend. Lizzy cocked her head to the side in confusion before finally understanding what Jenna was blabbering about. Did she talk too fast or was she just slow?, Jenna thought. "Oh." Was the only word that escaped Lizzy's plump lips. "So…what do you plan to become next time?" the redhead questioned again.

"General of the Army." She simply said. Jenna gasped. She DID have high hopes. "Wow. Good luck with that." Jenna raised an eyebrow. She didn't mean to sound rude but Lizzy took it the wrong way. "Are you saying I'm weak and I'll never achieve that?" she suddenly lashed out fiercely. True colours, Jenna thought again.

"O-oh, no, of course not! I meant to say…you might just become the most powerful person in the country in future!" Jenna quickly yelped in defence. Lizzy quieted down, returning to her normal dull self. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

Xxx

A few months later

Xxx

Jenna sat alone on a chair in the headmaster's (General of the Army) office. She was getting a little bit worried and worked up. Why did he call her here? Did she do something wrong? Oh, dear, no! She could hear the office door opening from behind her. "Jenna?" a familiar voice asked. She quickly got up and turned around.

"Oh, hello, Roy. Why are you here?" she quizzed before he could say anything. "The-the headmaster called me here. I was wondering what I did wrong…" he trailed off. Jenna raised her eyebrows.

"He called me here too. Did WE do something wrong?" she asked incredulously. A third person walked into the office. The two spun around to face whoever that was. It was none other than Elizabeth Stanley, the crew cut-haired girl. "Lizzy!" Jenna exclaimed as her friend walked over to her.

"What's going on?" Lizzy whispered hoarsely. Her voice spoke fear. Without warning, the headmaster trudged into his office, humming a cheery tune. The three stood straight, stunned, and saluted him. "SIR!"

"Hello, kids. Please take a seat." The man winked as the three scrambled to obey him. As they sat down, the headmaster began his long, draggy speech and words of encouragement. Jenna felt bored and tired but didn't show it. She slightly slouched in her chair, her eyes half open. The word 'Lieutenant' woke her up in an instant.

"S-sorry, Sir?" she squeaked a little too loud. Her sudden outburst woke the rest up from their half-slumber. And as if he could read their minds, the headmaster chuckled, "I'm sorry if I had bored you to death with my draggy words. I said, I'm making you a First Lieutenant, Janelle Edwin. Here's your badge. You'll get your military uniform in a few days' time."

"Oh, crap-" Jenna almost fell back from her chair before quickly covering her mouth, realizing what she had just said, "-I-I mean…oh, wow, thanks?" The headmaster broke into a loud (creepy) laugh, "No worries, dear. And starting from today, Roy Henderson, you will be my new Major."

The black-haired boy widened his sleepy panda eyes. "Really?" "And you think I'm joking?" the headmaster started laughing manically again. The rest kept silent. Was he secretly a lunatic? "Yeah-I mean, no. Sorry, Sir. I'll do my best." Roy stumbled upon his words, not really knowing what to say. The headmaster turned his attention to the quiet Lizzy.

"And you, boy, will be a Warrant Officer. I'm sure you'll be able to go up a few ranks in future." He told the annoyed Lizzy. After what seemed like a moment of silence that lasted forever, Lizzy growled lowly, "I'm a girl." That only made the headmaster laugh more instead of feel guilty, "OH, GOLLY ME, I'm sorry!" he said between giggles. OMG, was he blind? Couldn't he tell by her facial features?

Jenna looked at Roy and Roy looked back at her. They both sighed. "Dismissed." He suddenly said out of the blue, "I'll see you three in your uniforms this Thursday!" the three quickly walked out as if desperate to escape as the headmaster waved. Once they got out and shut the office door close, Roy heaved a sigh of relief. "Sir Henry is mad." Lizzy said, still annoyed.

Now, it was Roy's turn to laugh at this new girl he had just met. "Haha! He mistook you for a boy!" "I'M NOT!" Lizzy yelled at him and smacked him on the back of his head. He brought his hand up to his head and rubbed. "Ow."

"Geez, you all! That General was creeping me out." Jenna shook her head. Roy ruffled his black hair which was now messy with sweat. It had been seriously stuffy in the office. "You look like a jungle tribe." Jenna muttered. "And you look beautiful as always." He complimented, grinning. "I know." She retorted.

"God, stop flirting, you two. I'm leaving. See you at lunch." Lizzy mumbled as she walked away, uninterested in the conversation. "You're just jealous you don't have a guy to tell you you're beautiful every day!" Roy smugly called out to her. Jenna sighed.

"I'm leaving too, asshole. Bye." She mumbled as she walked off the opposite direction. Roy widened his eyes in disbelief. "Wait for mee!"

'First Lieutenant Edwin'. Sounds great!