A New World Begins

Charting the course

'To find a man's true character, play golf with him.'

Immediately after tea on the first day back at college, Nathan gathered the guys around for the weekly Orders briefing. The mood was light hearted, with the excitement of the Thanksgiving holiday still not having fully run its course. As had become usual, Kyle was present but sat at his desk studying rather than being involved directly in the running of the dorm. That was now definitely Nathan’s role.

The Orders were mainly just the routine administrative instructions which Nathan ran through relatively quickly but then he reached a point under ‘Sports’ and paused for emphasis before reading out the relevant item. “The Commandant is pleased to announce that approval has been given for the re-forming of the College’s Golf Society. All those interested in joining should attend a meeting being convened by Cadet Captain Davis in the Commandant’s Dining Room immediately after dinner on Tuesday evening.”

Nathan lowered the paper and smiled at Shane. “That’s down to you, Shane. Jackson will probably want you to say a few quick words at the meeting about why you think it’s good to re-form the society. And, if I were you, I’d think about volunteering for election to one of the club offices rather than just joining to be a player. The club will need things like a Membership Secretary and a Treasurer, stuff like that. It’s be good for you to get involved and be seen to be taking on some responsibility. Have a think about it. We can go to the meeting together; I’ll be joining too. Travis, Noah, Will, if you fancy it, you should go along too. You don’t have to be a good player already, there’s always space for beginners.”

Travis grinned. “I think I’ll give it a miss. I’m not sure I’d look good in those checked trousers or a bright yellow sweater.”

“You don’t look good in lycra, Travis, but that doesn’t stop you wrestling,” laughed Will.

“Okay, guys, settle down,” smiled Nathan. “Just remember the offer is there. Anyone can join the Golf Society, even if they only plan to pop along to the country club to train on Saturdays and make use of the facilities there from time to time.”

Nathan flicked through the rest of the printed Orders and then put the papers down on the admin desk. “That just about sums everything important up guys, you can read the rest if you want to when I pin them up on the board. The other thing I want to talk about before you bash on with Private Study is the Military Training on Saturday mornings. We’re still ahead on that, and I have some plans to keep it that way.”

Shane looked at the guys, then at Nathan. “So do we, Nathan. Craig gave us an idea when we chatted to him yesterday. We called him from Travis’s plane and showed him the survey cameras.”

“And he gave us an idea,” added Will enthusiastically. “We made a flight over the woodland and training area on our approach to Pittsburgh and ran a photogrammetry survey. I’ve got all the data downloaded to my laptop. Craig said he’d show us how to do a terrain analysis if we set up a link to him one night. It would mean skipping tea one day, to fit in with his time zone, but…”

Travis leaned forward ready to add his opinion but Nathan was ahead of him. “No worries, guys. We can do that. And yes, Travis, I will authorise somebody to pop over to the kitchens and get us some pastries to eat here in the dorm while you do your, err, ‘Geography Study’. You okay with sorting that, Noah, if I write you a note?”

Noah smiled and nodded. “Yes, Nathan, I’ll collect us some pastries.”

“Right,” said Nathan, “If there’s nothing else, everybody back to your desks and you can get on with Private Study for an hour.”

Kyle stood up and picked up an envelope from his desk as everyone else returned to their own bedspace and started to get out their worksheets and text books. “I just want a quick word with Shane, Nat. It won’t keep him long.” He walked over and sat down on Shane’s bed, smiling as Shane sat at his desk and turned to face him.

“This came for you in today’s post, Shane. It’s from mom and dad. My mom and dad that is.”

Shane took the envelope and opened it.

“It’s a passport, Kyle.” He flicked it open. “It’s in my name. I’ve never had one before.”

“It’s a full adult passport, issued in your name under the ‘Exceptional Circumstances’ provisions, and agreed to by Mary, your case worker at Child Protection Services. She said that it was appropriate given your circumstances. Otherwise, it could have taken a long time and needed a court hearing to get you a passport if your parents had refused to sign a consent for you to have a standard juvenile passport.”

Shane was still turning the passport over in his hands, smiling as he flicked through the crisp new pages. “Even the photo of me looks good.”

“Mom and dad hoped you’d like it. You see, you’re going to need it soon. They’ve got two weeks holiday leave due to them this Christmas, way more than usual. They’ll be coming home for Christmas, but they have suggested that after that we should spend a whole week on holiday together over New Year. They’d like you to help us decide where we should go. They have a couple of suggestions, but your opinion matters too. They’d like to take us to Europe.”

“Europe? Like France or Italy or Spain? For a whole week?” asked Shane excitedly.

“Yes,” smiled Kyle. “We’ll spend Christmas itself at home, but then we can fly to Europe and be there for the New Year. See the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower perhaps, or go skiing in Switzerland, or be at the New Year’s Day concert in Vienna. You get to have a say, Shane: if there’s somewhere you really want to go, let mom and dad know.”

Kyle paused for a moment, then spoke quietly so that only Shane could hear. “We haven’t forgotten your parents, Shane. We know it’s important to you. Dad’s already made another application for you to be allowed to visit them at Christmas, but, well, we don’t want to get your hopes up.”

Shane nodded. “I know, Kyle. They have to agree to see me too.”

“London could be on the list too, Shane. Mom said she wouldn’t mind London again. That’s where she and dad first met, when they were both at the Embassy together. Buckingham Palace. Stonehenge. Big Ben and London Bridge. All those castles, too. Charles Dickens and Shakespeare. Think about it, no great rush. Just let me know if somewhere particularly appeals to you. Maybe we could go and visit good King Wenceslas in Prague, or do you fancy watching the chariot racing at the Colosseum in Rome?”

Shane burst out laughing as Kyle stood up then leaned over and ruffled his hair like he sometimes did. Just like an older brother.

“I don’t think they still do that, Kyle,” he chuckled. “Something about health and safety rules I think…”

As Kyle wandered back over to his own desk, Travis leaned across and gave Shane a playful poke in the ribs. “Europe? You lucky rat. We’ll just be flying down to Aspen again. Can you smuggle me inside your suitcase? I have my own passport and you could teach me some Spanish words…”

* * *

In the ante-room, before dinner, the guys from the dorm found themselves the centre of attention, particularly amongst the other freshmen, many of whom wandered over to them to enquire about particular details of their Thanksgiving trip, news of which, perhaps a little exaggerated in some cases, had spread far and wide.

“I hear you’re pretty good at axe throwing, Shane. Is it right you got lessons from Sitting Bull’s great grandson? Can you show us? We can buy some axes in town and paint a target on one of the trees in the wood.”

“They’re tomahawks, guys,” corrected Travis. “If you need throwing lessons, I can help out with that.”

“Is it true that Will flew your plane, Travis?”

“I heard you flew under the radar at Ellsworth Air Force Base, Will. Landed in Travis’s own back yard too. Undetected. Like a stealth plane.”

“Was the mountain lion attack scary? What would have happened if Noah hadn’t scared it off?”

Nathan and Kyle, who were both chatting with some of the other dorm seniors nearby, smiled at each other. People were beginning to look at Bensinger squad, their squad, in a whole new light.

* * *

Jackson glanced around the Commandant’s Dining Room and, deciding that the flow of people squeezing in had now diminished to a trickle, called the meeting to order. The room was packed.

“Okay, thank you all for coming. I’m sure I don’t need to go into a great amount of detail as to why we are all here. The Commandant has given us permission to re-form the College’s Golf Society. I know a few of you are quite good golfers and that’s important: as a College we like to make sure we aren’t just there to make up the numbers in anything we compete in. There’s an expectation that we’ll win some silverware to add to the prize cabinets in the sports hall and gym.”

A murmur of agreement ran around the room.

“Obviously, to be taken seriously, we need a course of our own to host matches and good training facilities. No doubt you’ve all heard the rumours and so, yes, it’s true: I’ve been working with Governor Bauer, that’s Sergeant Bauers’ father as I am sure many of you know, and secured a deal to use the facilities at the Allegheny Heights Country Club for the next five years.

“That’s awesome. It’s a listed club on the Masters’ circuit isn’t it, Nathan?”

Nathan smiled. “Yes, we’ve hosted a tournament or two over the years.”

“As you know, there used to be a Golf Society here until a few years ago but it waned and eventually got disbanded. We don’t want that to happen again, so it’s important that we have a committee to run it well and that we have plenty of fresh blood rising through the ranks to keep it thriving. That means there will be a need not just for players but also people that are good at organising things. That back-room effort is just as important as the half dozen or so people selected for the team on any given match day. Everyone clear about that?”

“Got that, Captain.”

“Now, you might expect that with the college year well under way, we’d just spend the remainder of this year setting up and making sure we are in a position to join the Pennsylvania Schools’ League next year.”

Again, there was a murmur of agreement around the room.

“That’s not what I intend. I want us to hit the ground running, to make our presence known right from the very start. I’m sure you all share in that view.”

Nathan smiled as he watched Jackson expertly playing the room, whipping up enthusiasm. Steering the agenda.

“I’m proposing that we start the training process right away. Identify who we have already that is a good player, and identify those who can develop. It’s too late for us to be accepted into the league for this year, but we can still make our mark. Nathan here assures me that it’s within our capability to host a couple of challenge matches and even win one or two of them. Invite some of the leading schools to come and play against us this season. Let it be known that we’re here, that we’re serious. That next season, we’ll be the college to beat. Is everyone happy with that?”

The room was unanimous. Jackson allowed the students a few moments to enjoy the excitement then began to speak again.

“Good, that’s decided then. We hit the ground running. To do that, we’re going to have to move fast. Put good people in place right away. I’d like to see us elect the club officials tonight. We can take longer of course, organise a proper paper ballot and give volunteers time to come forward and make their cases at a proper stump as to what they can offer and why they should be elected. Or…” he paused for effect, “We can be fast and agile. Does anybody object if we were to elect officials here and now by a simple show of hands if volunteers come forward, really get the momentum going?”

A babble of enthusiastic chatter broke out, everyone eager to see things move along quickly.

“Okay, I’ll take that as an agreement then,” said Jackson. “First of all, we’ll need a President to be the club’s head. The President’s job will be to represent the club, sign off on all the admin details, chair the meetings of the Committee, to report to the Commandant, be the formal host when other schools visit us, finalise the terms of the agreement we have with the Country Club. It’s not an easy job, and the President probably won’t get much chance to play. Would anyone like to volunteer for the role? On the positive side, it’ll just be an interim role for the remainder of this year to get things started. Next year we can have a proper election for the role. So, who is volunteering?”

There were lots of glances around the room, then Jayden tapped the table in front of him to focus everyone’s attention on himself.

“It looks as though there aren’t a lot of volunteers for the role. I can understand that: it’s a difficult one and whoever does it won’t get to play often. It does need to be done, and done by someone with influence. So, on behalf of us all, I’d like to ask Captain Davis if he’d consider taking it on. It would be a great favor to us, and you already seem to have made a good start with Governor Bauer, Jackson. Would you consider it?”

“Well, if nobody else is set on doing it,” said Jackson, seemingly reluctantly. “And on the understanding that I will need to be replaced at the end of this year…”

Nathan raised his hand. “In that case, I’d like to formally nominate Captain Davis as our Founding President. Will anyone second the nomination?”

“I will.”

“Me too.”

“And me.”

Nathan nodded. “Okay, that’s sorted and properly nominated. All those in favor, raise a hand.”

Everyone in the room raised a hand.

“That looks pretty unanimous,” said Nathan. “Looks like you’re elected, Jackson.”

Jackson smiled. “Well, if that’s what you all want. But now we have to elect the important roles. We’re going to need a Team Captain to select and lead the team, and then we’ll need a Membership Secretary, a Fixtures Secretary, a Treasurer, an Equipment Secretary. Have I forgotten anything? Oh, yes, maybe a Hospitality Secretary.”

“An IT and Communications Secretary would be good too,” said Will. “You know, to help keep track of stuff, scorecards, set up a database, organise the accounts ledger for the Treasurer, run a website perhaps.”

There was a murmur of approval. Jackson smiled. “Okay, we’ll make that a position too. I hope somebody steps up to do it though, I don’t want to get stuck with that role as well, being President will be hard enough. If nobody does step up, I may just use my Presidential power to delegate the role to you, Artilleryman Brooke, so be careful what you wish for…”

Jackson waited for the laughter to die away, then called the room to order again.

“Okay, the next role to be elected is Club Captain. Ideally, I think that should be someone who is a good golfer of course, but also who carries some influence too as he’ll be representing the college at a high level. I know he won’t put himself forward, so I’ll throw him into the spotlight and nominate Sergeant Bauer for the role, assuming he’ll accept the nomination.

Before Nathan could say anything, Jayden had formally seconded the nomination and there had been several other expressions of support too.

“Well, if you all agree,” said Nathan, “I’ll stand for election. But only on the condition that I only do the job for the rest of this year to get us going. I’m already on the committee for the water polo team and might make Captain there next year, so I think it would be unfair to hold two roles. So, if I am Golf Captain this year, I want to stand down and let someone else take over next year when the club has got into its stride. Is that okay?”

“Yes, that’s fair.”

“I agree with that.”

“Good decision, I’ll support it.”

No other candidates put themselves forward and so with a quick show of hands Nathan was soon confirmed as the Club’s first Captain. The Membership, Fixtures and Equipment Secretaries’ positions were soon filled too with several volunteers coming forward to offer themselves for each and thus prompting a genuine election for those posts. Nathan smiled to himself. In some cases the candidates were clearly keen to take on the role for its own sake, but in others he could see they regarded it as a good stepping stone to replace Jackson and himself at the end of the year.

“Now,” said Jackson, “The Treasurer. This is another important one. Whoever takes it on will be responsible for managing our budget and ensuring we spend it wisely. Obviously, it needs somebody who will be able to stand up to the Equipment and Hospitality Secretaries and keep them within the budgets they are allocated. And to prepare the accounts for the Sports Committee and then the Commandant to check each year. Anyone going to step forward?”

Glances were exchanged around the room. Several hands were half raised, then lowered again.

“No-one?” asked Jackson. “It really is an important role. You don’t have to be good at golf to do it.”

Jayden smiled. “In that case, I’ll volunteer. But I’ll need replacing at the year-end of course.”

“I’ll nominate Jayden,” said Shane.

“Seconded.”

“A show of hands please,” said Jackson. “All in favor. Good. Now, anyone against? Tough luck, Jayden, it’s unanimous. You’re elected. See you in Barbados at the end of the year. Don’t forget to bring the loot.”

Jackson allowed the laughter to run its course then spoke again.

“Finally, we need the Hospitality Secretary and the, err, what was it, Brooke?”

“IT and Communications.”

“Settle down, guys, this is just as serious as the Treasurer role. And I don’t think Hospitality Secretary means being allowed to get your hands on Governor Bauer’s wine cellar. It’s about making sure visiting teams are looked after, get fed, helping them book accommodation if they need it. Basically, you have to play the role of Mr Nice Guy to the opposition even as we’re beating them. Help out the Captain too, be his right hand man, ensuring all arrangements run smoothly so the Captain can concentrate on winning the match. So, who is going to volunteer to be the enemy’s nurse-maid?”

A ripple of laughter ran around the room.

Nathan raised his hand. “I’d like to nominate Cadet Lundgren. I think he’d be perfect for the role. He’s as committed to making this club a success as anybody here, and has all the qualities needed to be a great host to the visiting teams. I know he’s only a freshman, but trust me, he’ll be great at the job. Will you accept the nomination, Shane?”

Shane looked startled, a little unsure of himself. Before he could say anything, Jackson spoke.

“I’d be happy to second your nomination, Shane, if you’ll accept it. I think I ought to make it clear to everyone that it was you who came to me with the idea of re-forming the Golf Society. You convinced me it was a good thing to do, and argued that it would be successful. Gave me the information I needed to convince the Commandant we could make it work. Will you do it? You can always step down at the end of the year and let someone else take over, but just for now, we need someone to get us underway. It would be good to have a freshman on the committee, it shows continuity planning.”

Shane found himself nodding to accept the nomination as several people offered their support. A show of hands later and he was confirmed in the role.

“Now, that just leaves the role of computer geek to be filled,” said Jackson. “Do we have any volunteers for it or shall I just use Executive Power to dump the task on Brooke here and teach him to think before he opens his mouth?”

Will smiled. “I’ll volunteer, if it helps,” he said as the room roared with laughter and everyone raised both hands.

* * *

As everyone dispersed after the meeting, Nathan walked back over to the dorm with Will and Shane.

“Thanks for nominating me as Hospitality Secretary, Nat,” said Shane. “I hope I don’t let you down. I really did think about volunteering for something, but I wasn’t sure about it. I’d be happy just playing.”

“I know,” said Nat, “But I didn’t nominate you just because you’re one of my cadets. I really think you can do the job. It won’t be too hard. Everyone will help out with the organisational stuff and you have a natural talent for making people feel easy around you. You’ll make a great host for visiting teams. It’ll be good for you too. People will notice you more, and it’ll also put you in a good position to stand for election as Captain next year when I replace Jackson as President.”

“Me, stand for Captain?”

Nat smiled. “Who else? The Captain needs to be a good golfer, and we’ll need continuity in most of the other posts. So basically, it’ll just be the Treasurer and Captain roles up for grabs. Another senior will take on being Treasurer when Jayden graduates even if they aren’t much good at playing golf – it looks good on the cv of anybody going into a business career – and you moving up to Captain for a few years will free up a role for another freshman or sophomore as Hospitality Secretary.”

Will grinned. “It’s continuity planning, Shane. The succession path all mapped out for the next few years…”

“Speaking of maps, Will, have you set something up with Craig yet? The sooner the better.”

“Yes, all done, Nat. I’ve emailed him some digital images to look at and he’s replied to say he’ll do a worked example for us and talk us through it so we can learn how to do the rest ourselves. He’s suggested Thursday night.”

“That’s good, Will. I’ll try and phone him tomorrow during sports afternoon and confirm arrangements.”

* * *

* Incoming Call *

Craig: Hi Nat! You learning to tell the time at last?

Nathan: I guess so, it’s just before lunch here, after that I’m going to head over to the pool for water polo practice. You just finished school?

Craig: Actually, I finished about an hour and a half ago. I’m just walking home after finishing work. Just been re-arranging all the stock of brake pads in the garage. Absolute pain in the arse, but at least the mechanics will be able to find what they are looking for now I’ve sorted them all out. They just used to put them in the store-room after delivery without sorting them into brand or car type, then whinge they could never get the right ones when they needed them.

Nathan: Sounds like you could do with some slaves to help you out…

Craig: I am the slave! Only the mice below me in the pecking order and they aren’t much good at taking orders and sorting stuff…

Nathan: Will tells me you and him are working on some pictures of the training area to do us one of your teaching presentations, maybe tomorrow night? Something about stereoscopic pairs and line-of-sight analysis, he said. What’s that all about?

Craig: You’ll have to wait until tomorrow and find out, Nat. Can’t have you getting a sneak preview and acting as though you already know it, can I?

Nathan: Ah, I see, hoarding knowledge. Making yourself important. It won’t work you know, one day you’ll be relaced by a silicon chip, just ask Will. 

Craig: Yeah, Nat, but right now you can be replaced with a potato chip!

Nathan: Sounds like I have a revolting slave on my hands!

Craig: Revolting slave? That’s you crossed off my Christmas card list…

Nathan: You mean I was on it in the first place?

Craig: Well, on the reserve list anyway. Right at the bottom.

Nathan: Gee, thanks bud!

Craig: Nat, I was going to ask, how did you get on with my dad? I know he beat you and your dad at golf but he didn’t say much more than that. 

Nathan: He’s okay, I think. A bit scary though. He saw right through my effort to try and get to tell me why you got sent home. Just kind of went quiet and gave me a deadly laser stare. Hey, why are you laughing?

Craig: That’s exactly what you do to people, Nat! I wish I could have seen dad turning the tables on you.  

Nathan: Sent shivers right down my spine. But then, he kind of changed. Just when I thought he was going to give me a real tongue lashing about not being good enough for you, he changed.

Craig: Changed? 

Nathan: Yes. Sort of kind of went easy on me. Actually, he said I might not be bad for you.

Craig: He said that?

Nathan: He said something else too. He said that he didn’t actually send you home, Craig. He said that you chose to go home.

Craig: …

Nathan: Craig?

Craig: Yeah, sort of. It’s complicated, Nat. I didn’t really want to come home. I kind of miss Allegheny.

Nathan: Just Allegeheny?

Craig: Well, I missed the plane ride too. And the tomahawk chucking. And the lion attack.

Nathan: It was only a badger…

Craig: Yeah, I know, Travis said, but lion attack sounds way better. And…

Nathan: Yes?

Craig: I miss the potato chip…