Keira gathered her hair in a tight bun, making sure her hair wouldn’t fall over her ear or eyebrows or touch the collar of her uniform. Last time one of the recruits got punished because of a fallen strand of hair after the exercises.
May stared at her enviously and murmured, "I bet you’ll still look pretty awesome even if you shave all that hair like what they do to male recruits."
Keira’s facial features were all perfect and it was the type that you would never get tired of staring at.
That day, they were going to do the Physical Endurance Course and wear their tactical uniform.
Keira’s jaw dropped as she looked at the four-story ascent to the top of the rappel tower. It was like a roller coaster, slowly inching its way to its inevitable, thunderous descent.
"Do we need to climb it?" Lana asked in her weary voice.
Torin heard Lana so he said, "Soldiers, we will warm up first. Stop looking at that tower! You will first navigate a series of obstacles, where teamwork, motivation, encouragement, and leadership will determine the future officers’ success."
"Listen up! Sergeant Park will explain to you the course. You should watch carefully how other cadets are doing the demo of how you must surpass each course," said Torin as he signaled Sergeant Park to begin.
Sergeant Park began to explain the obstacles they would have to complete and Keira paid attention carefully.
"Soldiers! We will test your endurance and platoon teamwork! In this course, we will build the framework for ’WE’ versus ’I’ mentality. If one of you is weak in a certain aspect or skill, the team have to help through the obstacles and provide the encouragement needed. Understand?" Shouted Sergeant Cole.
"Aye, Sergeant!" Answered the soldiers in chorus.
The "Low Wire" field required the recruits to low crawl on their backs to narrowly avoid the jagged barbed wire. The "Weaver" proved difficult as Keira and others weaved in-and-out of a pyramid of logs.
"Repeat!" Shouted Sergeant Park when May failed a rope swing over trenches.
Failure to overcome each obstacle resulted in a "no-go" which meant they would have to start passing the obstacle again.
Keira shouted, "The heck, May! I will give you a big portion on my meal tonight so stay focused!"
"It’s not enough! I want half of Lana’s portion too!" Shouted May with a jest.
"Glutton! I will take all your portion if you don’t do things properly!" Answered Keira.
Sergeant Cole shouted, "This is not your playground! Stop bantering, you dumbass! Remember that the goal is to finish as a team, and to prove that the high levels of camaraderie and motivation are very crucial in achieving the goal. Soldiers, do you understand?"
"Yes, Sergeant" Keira and the others shouted back.
Torin got his mobile phone out of his pocket. He was thinking hard on how to prank Zach to get even with his best friend because of his most hated gas chamber incident.
He saw Cielo passing by them and whispered, "Come here, help me deal with Bro."
"I need to get revenge or I will have sleepless nights because of that gas chamber," said Torin like throwing a tantrum with an expression that made Cielo laugh.
"Alright, I’ll help you but what do I gain in return?" Cielo asked with an arched eyebrow.
Torin curved his lips upward and said, " I will ask mom to bring me a variety of dishes this weekend, all your favorites..."
"Nah, just give it all to me for two months, all those dishes that Untie will prepare and bring for you," said Cielo.
"What the heck..." complained Torin.
"Well, you think on your own as if it’s too easy to prank Zach, Bro!" Cielo countered with an arched brow. Then she looked at the current obstacles, particularly at Keira.
"What is it? You look at her like you’re scrutinizing her," asked Torin, his curiosity piqued. He knew Cielo well and he was sure there’s something going on in her head at that moment.
"Get your focus to the training, Lieutenant Jang. I think you are being too kind to that unit. Is it because of the Field Marshal’s daughter?" Cielo teased instead and ignored his question.
Torin twitched his mouth and said, "More because of a mean General!"
Then he narrated what had happened the other day to Cielo, which made the latter burst out into a fit of laughter.
"Hmm, now you have an idea how to prank Zach..." said Cielo with a mischievous grin.
Torin creased his forehead and said, "What do you mean?"
Cielo pointed her chin to Keira and said, "There’s your perfect bait..."
"I think Zach cares about her, maybe not romantically yet but he sure is protective over her," added Cielo with a smirk.
"You mean, I should think of a prank that will involve Keira Chan?" Asked Torin in awe.
"Do I have to voice out the obvious? It would be fun watching and anticipating Zach’s expression. Oh, I’m even excited at the thought of it," Cielo blurted out as she started thinking on ideas how to prank their good brother Zach...
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