A New World Begins

A challenge accepted…

“Okay guys, settle down and listen in. Travis, stop looking at your watch, the sooner I can get started with Weekly Orders the sooner we can finish and you can get over to the gym. Got that?”

“Got that, Nathan,” replied Travis, his face reddening a little as he pulled his shirt cuff back down over his watch and pretended not to notice the smirk on Shane’s face. He’d long ago learned not to try and feign innocence or, worse still, argue with Nathan. It was like Craig had said, when you get caught it was best to just take it on the chin and move on.

It was over a month since Craig had moved on. Well, not so much ‘moved on’ as ‘been moved on’. No-one in the dorm apart from Kyle and, perhaps, Nathan knew why he had gone, and they weren’t telling, but the consensus was that Craig hadn’t had much say in it. The feeling was that he’d wanted to stay. It would have been good if he could have stayed. He’d livened the place up. Been a real spark in the dorm. In short, he was missed by everybody, even if he had been an alien. He’d kind of liked that description of him.

“Travis, just refresh my memory, who’s on trash bagging duty this week for the dorm?”

Nathan was staring at him over the sheets of paper in his hand, the college’s ‘Weekly Orders’ and his own beloved Duties Roster. He’d been caught again. Not paying attention. Twice now in as many minutes. This time he wouldn’t get off so lightly. As he racked his brain, trying to think what Nathan had actually been saying for the past few minutes, he saw Will slyly gesturing towards himself.

“Err, Will is, Nathan. You just said so…”

“Well done, Travis,” smiled Nathan, “for a moment there I thought you weren’t paying attention.” He paused, as much for effect as to take a breath, then looked at Will. “Nice helping hand there, Will. Good to see you being a team player.”

A ripple of half suppressed chuckles ran around the group. Maybe Nathan wasn’t in a bad mood after all. He could have come down much harder on Travis. On other occasions Travis might have found himself pulling an extra duty down at the gatehouse, or, given the season, assigned to a couple of hours of leaf picking out on the parade ground.

“Now, back to the important stuff. That concludes Orders and Duties. There are just two more things I need to cover off before you can all get back to your private study and Travis can pretend he’s already finished his. First of all, we’ve now had confirmation from all your parents that they are happy for you to go and spend Thanksgiving with Travis and his family in Dakota. I’d suggest it would be polite of you all to write a letter, an individual letter, that’s one each, Will, to Mr and Mrs Larson thanking them for the invitation and accepting it. Travis will let you know the address to send it to.”

Will didn’t have time to voice the thought that everyone could clearly see racing from his brain to his tongue before Nathan cut him off.

“Yes, Will, I know an email would be faster. And that you could all copy and paste the same one to save a few seconds worth of effort. But it’s not about that. Sometimes it’s nice to do things properly. To send a letter. To behave like a gentleman.”

Noah and Shane exchanged a sly glance, both looking over to Nathan’s desk where the letter he’d received from Craig a couple of weeks previously was still tucked away, not quite out of view. Why had Craig written to Nathan? That added even more depth to the mystery of Craig’s disappearance.

Nathan was continuing. “And of course, I know none of you will have any postage stamps to hand, so I suppose that, rather than have you all go and hassle Mrs Woodleigh in the office to let you slip your letters through the franking machine, I’ll have to sign one of you a pass out on Wednesday after sports so you can take them to the Post Office in town. Unless of course Will here tells us that he can get them franked online. Will?”

“Oh, err, no, definitely they need proper stamps, Nathan, not just a printed label. Real stamps. We have to do things properly. Like gentlemen. As you said. Someone has to go into town.”

“Okay, there you have it from Mr Technology himself, guys. Proper stamps it has to be,” said Nathan. “I’ll give some thought to who gets a pass out over the next day or two.”

As one, Will, Travis, Shane and Noah all smiled and looked at each other. With a little luck, maybe Nathan could be persuaded to let two of them go into town on Wednesday. Maybe they’d even manage to get a lift with Kyle if he was going in after football practice. He did seem to go into town most Wednesday evenings after sports to pick up parts for his truck. Just on the off-chance he might bump into Lee at his dad’s tyre shop.

“Pay attention guys, I haven’t done yet,” said Nathan, snapping them all out of their reverie. “There’s something else. When I went to collect the Weekly Orders, Captain Davis and the Commandant were just concluding their weekly meeting and asked me to join them for a few minutes. What they said concerns you all.”

Everyone was instantly alert. It was unusual for a Sergeant, even a dorm senior, to be called into the Captain’s Briefing. That wasn’t how things were done. Each Monday, whilst everyone was at tea, the Captain of Cadets met with the Commandant to discuss matters of importance. Once that meeting was over, the Captain of Cadets, this year Jackson Davis, would hold a meeting of cadet officers to relay some of the key points of his own briefing. They, in turn would brief the cadet sergeants and dorm seniors. That was the way it was done. Information and instructions were cascaded down the chain of command.

“It’s been noticed how you have all been racing ahead with your military training, putting in considerably more effort than is required and way exceeding the expectations of what is required of freshmen. I think the head start Craig gave you, not to mention one or two extra opportunities from elsewhere…”

“Yeah, the Humvee driving and shooting lessons were great,” interrupted Travis.

“And the trip to the 109th Field Artillery at Kingston Armory for me and Noah too,” added Will enthusiastically, “Where we even got to learn how to fast rope down from a helicopter. That was awesome, wasn’t it Noah? Even Jackson didn’t get to try that.”

Noah nodded and smiled. He’d clearly enjoyed it too.

“Quiet, guys, let me finish,” said Nathan gently. He wasn’t looking to curb their enthusiasm. “As I was saying, you’re well ahead of the curve. It’s been seen. So, when the Commandant asked if I thought you were ready to stand your first Military Skills Assessment, I said you were. As you know, this Sunday is Muster Sunday. This dorm has been selected for usher duties. We’ll assemble as a squad and march up to the chapel, under Kyle’s command, ahead of the rest of the college. You’ll be in full view of everyone else as they stand to attention awaiting the clock chime at eight. The Commandant and Captain Davis in particular will be watching every move you make. Assessing you. Your turn out. Your marching skills. Your drill. They’ll miss nothing. Got that?”

“Got that, Nathan.”

“When we get to the chapel, two of you will be detailed off to stand at the door collecting caps, two of you will take up position inside to ensure everyone is directed to the correct seats, that everyone has a hymn book. I’ll be on hand to take the Commandant’s horse when he dismounts, and bring it back to him as he leaves the chapel when the service is over. We’ll all then form up as a squad again under Kyle’s command, join the rear of the column and march back down to the dorms. Don’t for a moment think that because we’ll be at the back of the column you can relax. You’ll still be under assessment. Nothing will be missed. Clear?”

“Clear, Nathan.”

“This is your big chance, guys. The first freshman dorm to be assessed on Drill, and in a real event too, not just a parade ground test. We need to post a high score on the MilSkills leader board that will be going up outside the main hall soon. Set the standard for the other dorms to try and achieve. Not that they’ll match it. We’re the best. We’re winning this for Kyle.”

“And for Craig.”

It was Noah who voiced what they were all thinking.

* * *

*Ping*

You have a new online chat request waiting, Craig.

*Accept*

Nathan: Hi Boots!

Craig: Hi Nat, good to hear from you again. Where are you? In the dorm or lurking somewhere quieter?

Nathan: I’m in the dorm, on my laptop. The guys are all here, apart from Kyle. They are busy preparing for Muster Sunday. They get their first Military Skills assessment then. We’re the first dorm to be assessed for Drill.

Craig: I thought that was assessed on the parade ground?

Nathan: Yes, normally it would be. But I was offered the chance to put them through the assessment early, as part of the Muster Sunday parade, so I took it. Keeps us ahead of the other freshman dorms and if we do well it’ll set a target for the others to try and beat. I think it’ll go well. I want us on the top of the leader board.

Craig: How are the guys taking it?

Nathan: Preparing like mad! I’m impressed. They are sharing tasks out like you taught them too. Everybody is going to do what they are best at. Noah and Travis will be polishing all the boots, belts and caps. Will is down for ironing everybody’s ceremonial uniforms. Shane has made some of those cardboard shields you showed us to make so he can slip them under the buttons on all our uniforms and he’s going to polish all the buttons until they gleam.

Craig: That’s good. But it’s only half the battle, Nat. If they do that, they’ll look smart but the real task, the hard bit, is to get them to do their drill properly. Always in step with each other. Always executing the commands perfectly. About turns. Left and right wheels. Halting. You have to get the ‘halt’ right. Everybody slamming their foot into the ground as a single thunderclap.

Nathan: Got that covered off too, Boots. We’re not forgetting the 7P’s you were always on about.

Craig: Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance, Nat.

Nathan: Yeah, we got that… Every night this week, right after private study, they have scheduled themselves a half hour of drill practice in the dorm. Barefoot, to keep the noise down of course, but they go through the drills.

Craig: I wish I could be there to put them through their paces. Remind Will to keep his thumbs tucked in tight to his fists and pointed in the direction of march. Keep an eye on Shane too, he tends to jiggle his arse a bit too much, just like a bloody cat walk model. And…

Nathan: Whoa, hold up there, Boots! Let me get my head round this. And yes, I’ve noticed Shane’s butt. We’ll get it sorted. Kyle and I will be doing a few extra hours of drill practice with them, out of sight of everyone else, on Saturday morning.

Craig: Kyle’s good, he’ll lick you into shape. He knows how to do drill.

Nathan: He ought to, this is his fourth year here at college.

Nathan: And my second, so I know a thing or two…

Craig: Didn’t disagree, Nat

Nathan: Your silence about my drill spoke volumes, Boots😊

Craig: Well, to be fair Nat, there are one or two tweaks you could make. Like when you march to the chapel ahead of the column, you shouldn’t be in the ranks. Kyle should be out front, leading. Noah and Will directly behind, then Travis and Shane behind them. You should be one pace back from Travis and Shane, but one pace out to the side. That way you’re marked out as the section NCO, and you can see what’s going on in the ranks. Chivvy them up where necessary. That way Kyle doesn’t have to try and monitor them. He can just concentrate on leading and leave you to be his sheepdog.

Nathan: Sheepdog? And you’re re-writing our drill manual for us, Boots?

Craig: Somebody bloody well needs to.

Nathan: I guess there’s nothing in our manual that says I shouldn’t be out to the side. I’ll run the idea by Kyle later tonight. See what he thinks about it.

Craig: Try it, Nat. When the guys practice tonight, don’t just watch. Join in. Put yourself to the rear of the squad and out to the side. March with them. Get the practice in yourself, and see how much easier it is to monitor and control the squad from that position.

Nathan: Oh? Any more orders for us, General Boots?

Craig: Well, now you mention it, get Shane to cut his hair short for once so it doesn’t flop down over his face when he takes his cap off. I mean, I know he looks cute with those curls, but just once, for the drill assessment…

Nathan: LMAO. I’ll tell him you said he needs a haircut!

Nathan: Actually, thinking about it, maybe you can tell him yourself. Do you have a webcam in your laptap?

Craig: Yes…

Nathan: Just a second. I think we can do this. Will showed me how to ‘cast’ my chat screen to the big gaming monitor. It’s Bluetooth or something. I can put you up on the screen so you can see us all, and we should be able to see and hear you too. If you’re okay for that?

Craig: Just like a Facetime call?

Nathan: Yes, but we’ll have the big screen this end. Bear with me a moment while I open up the settings menu. Be switching on your webcam and microphone.

Craig: Is this going to take long, Nat?

Nathan: It shouldn’t do, I just need to click a few settings

Craig: No, dipstick, I mean the call. It’s just that it’s, what, just gone six there? But it’s eleven pm here, and I have swimming in the morning at six, so I have to be up at five. I’m about ready to turn into a pumpkin or a white mouse or something…

Nathan: Aw, sorry, Craig, I forgot you’re about five hours ahead of us.

Craig: More like five centuries, Nat.

Nathan: 😊

Nathan: How about we set up a call tomorrow night? It would be good to actually see you again Craig, and I’m sure the guys would like it too. You could even tell Shane to get a haircut yourself.

Craig: That would be good!

Nathan: How about we say I set up a call for half four our time? That would be half nine your time? Would that be okay for you? I can excuse the guys from tea tomorrow or, better still, write a note to let a couple of them to collect some coffee and cookies to bring back to the dorm. It would be okay, just once. I can do that now I’m dorm senior.

Craig: Yes, Nat, that would be ace.

Nathan: Okay then, it’s settled. I’ll look for you appearing online tomorrow about half four our time.

Craig: I’ll pop up at 16:25 your time, Nat.

Nathan: Okay Craig, bye for now.

Craig: Bye, Nat.

Nathan: Just one more thing, Craig.

Craig: What?

Nathan: I love you too…