"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step and a lot of bitching."
~ Rusty Bradley
Blaze
"Fucking hell," I muttered as I pushed myself up from the final, hundredth pushup. I'd been training for years for when my time finally came to be at the Academy, but arm strength had never but my strong point. At least I wasn't the last to finish.
"I know we need to be in top physical shape," Cassie began, taking a swig of her water, "but I am regretting my life choices right now."
"Should've gone for that international relations degree," I joked.
"And be on the fast track to becoming a politician? No, thanks. I'd rather do the peacekeeping than talk and preach about it."
"Cadets, up!" our instructor barked. Keeping our groaning as silent as possible, we stood at attention. Captain Hardman, aptly named, strode up and down our ranks, surveying us, analyzing us. "You have joined the greatest Air Force in the world. We have the best planes, the best technology, and, most importantly, the best pilots."
I bit my tongue, knowing now was not the time to debate the fact the Belka still probably had the best pilots, and their technology was on par with Osea's, if not better. The last thing I wanted to do was get on Hardman's bad side on my first day at the Academy.
"Each of you will be assigned an academic mentor to ensure you don't slack off in your studies and responsibilities," Hardman continued. "They were chosen for you based on your strengths, weaknesses, and goals. They will come get you from your dorm room at noon. You are to stay in your dorm room until then. Dismissed!"
Cassie and I, along with the other exhausted cadets, meandered back to the barracks, our bodies already aching despite it being only nine a.m. and having only been up for two hours. I couldn't wait to sleep tonight, but that was so many hours away.
"Hey, babies!" a fourth-year greeted, running through our ranks and ruffling the hair of as many cadets as he could reach. The two of us narrowly dodged him.
"See you in a bit," Cassie said, reaching her room. Mine turned out to be a few doors down. Entering, I took a dismayed looked at my suitcases. I had so much to unpack and so little time, not to mention I wanted to shower. I'd been so exhausted arriving last night that I hadn't bothered. Deciding I didn't want to smell in front of my mentor, whoever they were, I took a quick shower, but I would need to utilize as much time as I could afterward to unpack and straighten up my room before our first inspection. I heard their first impression of your room would determine how much the inspectors liked you for the rest of your days there. I wanted to be on their good side in case I ever needed anything.
Within an hour and a half, I had showered, dried my hair, curled it, and done my makeup. I then set to work unpacking, quickly losing track of time as I dove into organizing all my belongings. How did I pack so much in two suitcases? Surely this was some sort of special talent!
A knock sounded from my door. Glancing at the time, I saw it was noon on the dot. That had to be my mentor! Anxious to meet them, I leaped up and bounded to the door, throwing it open.
A familiar, handsome face greeted me. "Well, well, well, you actually made it."
"Alvin," I said, blinking in surprise. Reality soon settled in. "Oh, I'm so screwed."
He laughed and, in a high-pitched voice, said, "Hi, Chopper! Nice to see you! How are you?" He continued in a voice much deeper than his regular one, "Well, I'm good, Elizabeth. It's great to see you too!"
"Sorry," I apologized sheepishly, pulling him into a hug. He wore a new cologne, even better smelling and more intoxicating than the one he used to wear. As grateful as I was to have a familiar face as my mentor, it was going to be hell having my childhood crush be around me twenty-four-seven when I couldn't do a bloody thing to change how he viewed me. My brother would kill me. "I was just thinking about how I was the one who was always helping you with homework in high school."
"I know, I'm just messing with you. If it makes you feel better, I'm the top of my class right now, so you're in good hands."
"Wow, turning a new leaf, are we?"
"I had to be good if I wanted to be a mentor."
"Speaking of which, I know the decision is random, so how'd you pull off becoming mine?" I asked, moving aside to let him in my mostly-picked-up room. At least I didn't have any undergarments showing.
Chopper took a seat in my office chair, propping his feet up on my desk. "I figured out who was assigning the cadets to us and sweet-talked them into letting me be your mentor."
"If anyone could pull that off, it'd be you," I said, tossing a pad of sticky notes at him. "Put that in the top right-hand drawer."
Chopper obeyed. "I also promised your brother I'd keep an eye on you here."
"Seriously?" I demanded in annoyed exasperation, my shoulders sagging at his words.
"Yeah."
"You two do know I can hold my own, right?"
"I do. Genette still sees you as his baby sister. Besides-" Chopper stood up and stretched- "as long as people know you're associated with me, you won't have to worry about holding your own."
The 'humble' brag didn't go unnoticed by me, but rather than giving him the satisfaction of asking him why I wouldn't have to worry, I simply ignored it and said, "What's on the agenda for today?"
"Opening ceremony is at 1230 hours, a tour of the campus after that, a one-on-one with your mentor, and then dinner. The evening is free for whatever shenanigans you want to get up to because tomorrow, the real work begins."
"What are your plans for tonight?"
"Thought I'd hang out with you."
I gave him a skeptical sideways glance. "Why?"
"Can I not hang out with you?" he countered, raising a challenging eyebrow at me.
"You can; I just thought you'd want to hang out with the cooler, older kids, and not some rookie freshman."
A mischievous sparkle, one I recognized all too well, flared up in his eyes. "Who says I can't do both?"
I was probably going to regret asking this, but I took the bait. "What do you have in mind?"
