LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 9

A week after all the Flag State Jurisdiction interviews were completed, the families of the 22 surviving cadets received an email from Bainbridge Military Academy:

"Dear Cadets and Families,

The staff and students here at Bainbridge Military Academy are very relieved that each one of your children made it home safely following the events of the last six months. We have received several inquiries about what this means for you and your child's enrolment at the academy. Families who would like to continue with their child's education and training at Bainbridge Military Academy are advised to contact President Stone at our head office to work out a timeline that supports your child's emotional and educational needs. Families who would like to withdrawal their child from the acedemy will still be required to pay for the remainder of the school year. This will not include the fees for the RAF International Military School Training Program. Families of all forty Unit 8 cadets will be refunded in full for the overseas program.

Families who plan on withdrawing their child from the academy can come to the school to collect their child's belongings from their rooms between 0800 and 1700 EST on either Friday, February 22 or Saturday, February 23. Those who plan on returning to school at a date later than March 15 will be required to pick up their child's belongings on one of the afformentioned dates as well, and a new room will be assigned to students who return at a later date.

Bainbridge Military Academy would also like to invite all cadets and their families, regardless of enrolment status, to join us for an honor and rememberance ceremony for those cadets and the captain who lost their lives during the plane crash and on the island. The ceremony will be held in the assembly hall on February 28 starting at 1300 EST. A more detailed email will be sent out early next week. We hope all cadets and their families can join us, and we wish you all well in yours and your child's recovery from this tragic event.

Signed,
Head Officer Ronald Bailey &
Bainbridge Military Academy"

"So, what do you think?" Jeffery Langley asked from his home office chair, his son, Ralph, standing at his side as he read the email off his father's computer.

"I do want to go to the ceremony" Ralph declared.

"I agree with you on that one, I'm sure I can get the day off work and we can drive up as a family. But what do you think about enrolment?" Jeffery asked gently.

"I don't know. Don't all cadets have to complete the overseas training program? What happens to us since we didn't? Will they try and send us again next year?" Ralph pondered worriedly.

"I'm not sure, but I doubt that they would force that upon you after all you went through. We could set up a meeting with your head officer to talk about it. It seems to me like they are doing their best to be sensitive to the situation" Ralph's father observed.

"I don't know. Maybe. I don't think I want to go back now though. Could I just take the rest of the school year off and maybe go back next year?"

"You can't take the last four months of the school year completely off, kiddo. You won't pass 7th grade. Even if you don't go back to the academy, you'll have to go to school somewhere" Jeffery's heart hurt to admit. He wished he could give Ralph everything he needed, that the world could revolve around his hurting little boy just for a moment.

"Can't I be homeschooled?" Ralph asked hopefully. "Even just for the rest of this year?"

"Your mom and I don't have the time or means to do that, I'm sorry."

"We could hire like a private tutor or something" Ralph continued on. "I'd work all day during the week, I promise. Half of East Point knows me and what happened to us. I don't want to go to school here, it's gonna be weird. Please" the boy pleaded.

"Ralph" his dad said sadly, turning his chair so that he was facing his pained son. "We don't have to worry about it today, okay? I don't expect you to go back before March. We can see how you feel in the next couple weeks and make a decision from there. That's the best I can do right now, kiddo. I'm sorry."

Ralph nodded sadly and abandoned his dad in his office. Later that night, as he laid down on his bedroom floor, he couldn't sleep. He stared up at the roof and listened to the muffled, incomprehensible sounds of his parents talking in the living room.

"He shouldn't have to go back, Jeff!" his mom's voice suddenly rose loud enough for him to make out the words. Ralph stood up quietly and cracked his door open a sliver so he could eavesdrop on the conversation.

"He's almost thirteen years old, Laur. If we don't walk him through this, he's never going to figure out how to move past this and function in society again. Letting him hide and suppress it isn't doing him any favours" his dad argued.

"He's been home for two weeks! He shouldn't have to move past this yet! He's hurting! We need to support him and provide him with what he needs right now instead of forcing him to be ready to go back to school before he is!" his mother retorted hotly.

"I'm not expecting him to be past it tomorrow! But if we just let him sit and hide in this house all day long he's never going to get there. I don't expect him to get over it, honey, but we need to help him figure out how to start taking steps to get through the worst of it" his dad thought aloud.

"That doesn't have to happen tonight, Jeff, or tomorrow. He wants to go to the service at the academy. Can't that be enough for now? We shouldn't be forcing him into something he's not comfortable doing! It's Ralph, for god's sake, he's not asking to drop out of school because he's a slack-off who doesn't want to do the work. He's a good kid, but he isn't ready yet and that needs to be okay!"

"I'm not asking him to be ready today or tomorrow. But he can't drop the ball on his education, Laurie. That's how he starts to fall behind, repeat a semester or a year, and then where is he? Behind all his friends, worrying that he isn't capable, feeling like he disappointed us. Ralph is a strong kid, he managed to survive whatever the hell he went through on that island. If he lets that strength go, he might not be able to find it again. I don't want to see our son lose himself to this tragedy because we let him drop the ball."

"He isn't worried about disappointing us, Jeff, he's worried about disappointing you!"

"He's worried about disappointing himself!" Jeffery countered.

The Langley parents stood in the tension as the room grew silent. As they began to calm down and gather their thoughts, Laurie trekked behind the counter to make herself a cup of tea.

"Can we put a pin in this until after the ceremony?" she asked suddenly.

This time, Jeffery simply nodded in agreement.