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Here, he was alone.
His father looked so happy, so excited for him, and Michael tried to hide his feelings, pretending to be just as enthusiastic despite his fears. The conversations with his parents stuck with him, echoing in his head, making him realize that his entire world was going to change… again – only this time he hoped it wasn’t so hopeless.
Ruby Merrick was off limits.
No matter what he said or did, he couldn’t reach her. It was crystal clear to him last time he tried to talk to her that she was completely out of his league and uninterested in him. He couldn’t blame her either. She was like an effervescent magical sprite that seemed to make a room warm when she entered it – and he couldn’t help but watch her… and always had.
Now, it would only be in his dreams.
He’d accepted the post that had been generously offered at West Point – and had only applied because he never dreamed that he would actually get selected. He figured he would go into the Army like his father, end up overseas somewhere, or would settle down eventually… and that was when he would think of Ruby.
Everything went up in smoke with that acceptance. He was now on the ‘officer’ path… ‘heading straight to the top’according to his father – and felt like he was drowning.
Swallowing back bile, he hesitated paying attention again as their voices echoed once more.
“Dedicate yourself and put forth everything in you…”
“John, don’t push him so hard…”
“He’s got this, Lily… and becoming an officer would make his life so much easier than taking the long way like his ‘old man’ did.”
“You had a great team…”
“He needs to build his team, his group of friends here, and forget everything back home…”
“That is horrible advice, John Griffin, and you know it!”
“Michael knows what I mean, don’t you, son?”
“Yes, sir.”
“See?”
“Michael… make friends and find your place. This will be an incredible experience for you and…”
“Lily – he’s a man, not a boy.”
“John – he’smyboy and always will be.”
“I’m fine… and I know how to get by.”
“Don’t just get by. Succeed and push yourself. Your Uncle Logan is really rooting for you, and called this morning to tell me how proud he was.”
“Oh gosh…” Michael muttered under his breath, standing there at attention.
“… You are going to be busy, cadets,” the officer was saying in the microphone, talking over the crowd. “Every cadet is an athlete, so when you have down time? Fill it. Nobody sits or slacks off – am I clear? The activities office coordinates over a hundred extracurricular activities, such as the Cadet Glee Club, the Fine Arts Forum, and Drill Team. You can learn to be a disk jockey at the radio station or even learn to fly, but apply yourself.”
He stood there silently now, focusing.
“You will learn military standards, practice drills, prep for inspections, and hone your leadership skills. Our job is to mold the clay before us into leaders. You will learn what it takes to be responsible for another person, a gathering of men, a platoon, or even more someday. The memories and people you meet here, will be bonds you will make for a lifetime. Get to know your roommates, your teammates, your fellow students… and forget everything you once knew. You are stepping onto the threshold of a new life, a new path, and a new adventure,plebes.”
He swallowed again, staring straight ahead, and desperately hoped he didn’t throw up from the anxiety surging within him. His entire life had been planned out, step-by-step, from the moment he earned his first woodchip badge in Cub Scouts.
Honor, duty, and country was practiced and discussed all the time. He heard stories from his father about serving in Afghanistan, listened to his uncles discuss memories, and grew up believing in ‘The Red, White, and Blue’ of national patriotism… and felt like a coward right now.
He wanted to be anywhere, but here.
He wished he was in the hangar at Flyboys, on a cool winter night, looking through the crowd for his favorite person to harass… Ruby. She was the only person he’d ever met that seemed to be so comfortable and confident in who she was, never looking scared or frightened like he felt.
