School garage, 10th of September 2015, Day time:
Fort Nelson Academy High School, 10th of September 2015, 1300 hours:
The sun was shining up high in a 12 o'clock position, and all the members were gathered, waiting for the instructors, as the headmaster said yesterday, to arrive today. Alisia, meanwhile, just came back from the principal's office with a cart, filled with boxes, with the content yet unknown.
"Hey... When are we going to start? Where are these instructors anyway?" asked one of the students.
"I don't know... But it's getting a bit hot now." Said the other.
Alisia looked at the students; all of them were getting burned by the sun, except for herself, who had been indoors for the past few minutes. She released a short burst of air in frustration. "Where are these instructors?"
Just as the students were about to complain more, three men came in wearing a service dress, one of them in the middle, and then began to speak, "Ah, good day, students. Now get up, please!"
The students then looked at the three men in khaki service dresses before standing up, their attention now on them. The leading man then continued. "Alright, sorry for the delay; you all must be sweating right now. Sorry for that."
"What took you so long?! We've been waiting here for hours!" One of the students shouted, which is Isabelle, in an annoyed tone.
"Well, we were just testing your readiness for us and how long it is." Said the men to the right, looking relaxed, but Isabelle glared back at the statement.
"Isn't that just some lame excuse that you guys are late?" Isabelle was cut short by the man on the left, who was glaring at her with a sharp look. He stepped closer to her before he began talking in a stern and authoritative tone.
"Spoiled, I see?" He stared closer, causing Isabelle to freeze in place, unable to move a limb, as if something pierced through her soul. The man continued. "Too bad you have such parents; I wonder what if I were your parent instead." His hands clenched, Isabelle stared, and cold sweat dripped down her skin.
"Oi, knock it off. We're here to teach kids, not torture them." Said the middle man, before he looked back at the students, where they were frozen in place with the aura around the man that just stared at Isabelle, it was before the other man that was staring at Isabelle stopped.
There was a short moment of quiet before the middle man talked. "Well, anyways. I am Captain Charles Morrison, and this is Lieutenant Lee Blais and Lieutenant Thomas Dionne from the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, which will be assisting in your training." The captain said it in a stern yet still relaxed tone, which eased the tension. He then continued. "Now, before that, is there anyone here by the name of Alisia Harlington?" The captain asked as he started looking around.
It was all quiet. Before then, Miyuki pointed at Alisia, still near the cart, causing her to give a look of confusion. "Eh?" Alisia was confused before she realized it and responded back. "Y-Yes... I'm here."
The captain looked down at Alisia and said, "A bit too short, eh? Oh well, what should I expect from high schoolers'? Anyways, congratulations on becoming the leader, or commander, should I say?" The captain then looked at the cart full of boxes near Alisia. "Are those boxes from the headmaster?" he asked.
Alisia nodded. "Yeah, I don't know what's in it, though."
"Well, those are uniforms inside; open it up." The captain ordered.
Alisia then looked at one of the boxes and opened it, and inside are plastic bags with khaki uniforms and pairs of black boots packed inside each bag. She opened another box to reveal a bunch of Broady helmets with ear protection in each bag. The students approached the bags to take a closer look.
"Those uniforms look old-fashioned... But it appears that it has been recently made." One of the students remarked:.
"Woah, these are real thin hats like the one from the town's museum! I never thought I'd wear one!"
"What are these helmets for?"
"Probably for protection against shrapnel; maybe when we take a peek outside while under fire or something?"
"The clothes almost look like the scout's uniform."
The students looked at the uniforms; some took one to take a closer look, and some appeared to not like the uniform at all. Captain Morrison smirked at the sight. "Look at those excited faces, kind of like when we first enlisted, eh?" Lieutenant Morrison smiled, feeling somewhat happy.
"Eh, minus the going to war part, they're lucky that they're just fighting harmless fights, while we're stuck in real ones." Lieutenant Blais said in an unhappy tone, still staring at the students who were busy looking at the contents of the boxes.
"Oh, come on, Lee, quit being moody; at least from now on, we're not going to wars anymore, just advising teens for a sport." Said Lieutenant Dionne.
Then, after a moment, Captain Charles began to speak again: "Alright, Ms. Harlington, start distributing it."
"Ok, uhh... Line up everyone, please." Alisia raised her voice so that everyone could hear her, but still some nervousness could be sensed in her tone.
"First time leading?" The captain asked.
"Uhh... Definitely... "I was picked with no reason at all." Alisia responded, still nervous.
"Oh really? How so?" The captain wondered.
"Dunno.. using pencil to pick people.. weird..." Alisia scratched her head. "Tradition is weird... sometimes."
The captain giggled. "Oh, well. Traditions existed for a reason, perhaps as good luck."
"Perhaps," Alisia mumbled.
The students began lining up as Alisia began to distribute the helmets and uniforms based on the nametags put on each plastic package. The captain then spoke out to the students. "When you get yours, start changing! After that, we'll continue with making groups. I advise you not to wear the suit now or you'll be swimming in sweat." The captain said in a commanding yet relaxed tone, to which the students then responded back in unison.
"Yes, Sir!"
Soon, after the uniforms were distributed, the students went to the changing room near the gym, where they began changing their clothes.
In the female changing room section, the girls were checking on their pack, looking at it in awe. "This looks manly. Will it be comfy, though?" Chloe wondered.
"Well, it looks soft like our school's shirt, so it should be comfy." Anoki speculated.
The girls began changing their clothes while talking with each other. Miyuki then asked Isabelle a question. "Hey, Ms. Lambert! May I ask? Why do you want to join tankery?" She asked in a cheerful tone, with a look of curiosity.
"Well, I've heard that many girls like those from Japan who played tankery became famous! Being popular just in my class isn't enough for me. I also want to be known outside! I also heard we're the first ever team in Canada, so we will be fighting in other countries!" Isabelle stated.
"Ehh, I see. What about you, uh, Ms. Tremblay?" Miyuki looked at Chloe, curious about her motivation for joining.
"Well, gangs stay together; we never separate from each other." Chloe stated.
"Yeah, that's right." Isabelle smiled, raising her fist. "Gang stays forever! Right? Lea?" Isabelle dragged Lea to her shoulder while giving her a wide grin.
"H-Hey!" Lea covered her chest in embarrassment, as she was still changing her clothes and topless. "I'm still changing you, dummy!"
Miyuki looked at this, now confused, and as Lea and Isabelle were arguing, she then asked. "Gangs? Isn't that illegal in most schools?" Miyuki asked.
"Well... Unlike the gangs in those movies, we're the good ones! Not like we're going to rob banks or stuff, right girls?" Isabelle looked back at her friends. Which they nodded in unison. Miyuki nodded.
"I see..." Miyuki acknowledged.
Meanwhile, Alisia was already wearing her clothes, yet she was struggling to knot her tie, with her hair still braided. Before long, Miyuki noticed and decided to approach her and help. "Here, let me help you."
She then takes and knots the tie, and after that, she hands it over to Alisia. "Oh, well, thanks."
"You're welcome. But may I ask, You don't know how to tie?" Miyuki asked as she grabbed a tie, tying Alisia's hair.
"Uhh, no..." Alisia went quiet before she continued. "All my ties were never untied for that reason."
"Does that mean... you never cleaned your ties?" Miyuki asked in a teasing tone as she finished tightening up the tie.
Alisia gave a small cough, mumbling. "I can't either claim or deny it." Alisia blushed from embarrassment.
"Gross..."
"Hush!"
"Alright, now we're about to make groups; there are 36 of you all here... So uhh... Split up into 8 teams. Two teams will have only three people for now." Said the captain as everyone arrived back on the field.
Alisia was confused; before then, she asked the captain, "Why, though? Are we going to have two different types of tanks?"
"Uhh, actually three. The Ram, the Churchill, and the Stuart." The captain then handed over a paper to Alisia, listing the tanks and their specifications, which Alisia took and read.
"Right, after you create your team, choose one as your leader, and after that, we'll split again to begin with theory class first." The captain stated:.
All of the students were surprised, not expecting a class.
"What?! Theory classes?!"
"I join Tankery to escape from classes; not getting stuck in a room for hours ends..."
The students continued complaining, some don't, and then Lieutenant Blais broke the commotion with a high and stern voice, "QUIET DOWN!"
Then there's quiet; everyone froze in place as tension went high. Before then, the Lieutenant continued, "You think everything is about doing, finding out, and having fun? You are all lucky that we prohibited you from PTing your arse to death with your attitude. Now listen to Captain! Understand?"
The students went quiet after the outburst, but then the captain spoke again, after releasing a short cough, "Anyways, as said before, We'll split into those teams and members. I will give all of you 5 minutes to form one."
Then, the students began to form teams as instructed before, but many are yet to be in one as many of them have no experience getting into a team before due to their introverted nature.
When Alisia was searching for her teammate, Miyuki suddenly approached her and said, "HHey... Can I be with you...?"
Alisia looked at Miyuki before then asking in a slightly annoyed tone, "Can you not find others who may be more suitable than me?"
"Uhm.. you're the only one who I found... Close... Since you know... You know my native language."
"I barely remember my Japanese," Alisia stated before looking away. "Don't tell my aunty about that, by the way," said Alisia in a low tone.
"Eh?" Miyuki gave a look of confusion.
"Just get others..." Alisia looked back at Miyuki with an annoyed look on her face.
"But... You can at least... Understand some... right?" Miyuki looked at Alisia with a pleading look. "Please...?"
Alisia was about to reject Miyuki's request, but seeing how desperate Miyuki is and her good heart, she eventually agreed. "Fine! But will you please speak English only in the future?"
Miyuki then looked at Alisia with a happy look, like a child getting her birthday gift. "Yoshi!"
Alisia looked at Miyuki, sighing a breath of frustration. "God, please help me."
Then another student approached Alisia and said, "Oh, hey, Ms. Harlington. May I join you?"
Alisia looked at the student, getting a bit nervous, but then she built up her courage again and spoke up, "Sure... What is your name?"
"Im Anoki Starhawk; nice to meet you!" Anoki then reached her hand out for a handshake, which Alisia shook in return.
After five minutes, everyone had gotten into their own teams, and the captain resumed, "Alright, for leaders from each team, please follow me. The rest stay with Lieutenant Blais and Lieutenant Dionne, where they will teach you all about the basics. Right, with me, please."
Then the captain left, along with Alisia and the students who had previously been chosen as their leaders from each group.
As they walked towards the garage for their own separate lesson, the door to the to the garage was closed, and there was a tank in front covered by the dark. The lights go on, and in front is a Mk. III Churchill tank, with its engines lifted by chains above the tank.
All of the students present there looked in awe at the tank. "Woah, a ; I've only seen a Mk. VII before..." One of the students said it in an excited, childish tone.
Some then approached the tank to take a closer look, some touching it, their hands stained by dust, rust, and oil.
"Let me guess. Will this be the commander's tank?" One of the students asked. "It's big, so maybe?"
"Eh, when I was talking with the principal, he said some of the commanders in the past preferred other tanks besides this, although it's up to your commander." The captain answered,
The students then looked around the garage, noticing many flag trophies and medals, along with some certificates and old flags. With the year dating back to the 50's, there were even some old Dominion of Canada flags spotted. The sighting was then interrupted by the captain clasping both of his hands to gain attention.
"Alright, let's get our lesson started. Get your seats and sit down." The captain pointed at the old chairs near the management room for the students to sit on, and soon afterwards, he began giving lessons to the students.