Shelby's POV:
"On your tail, Seresin!" I yell through the intercom just in time for him to invert his plane.
For the next two weeks, Seniors fly with Sophmores and Juniors fly with Freshmen. They do this so that newer pilots can learn from more experienced ones, although none of us are really that experienced yet. They split both classes into four levels. I happen to be in the best level, along with Bradley, Reuben, Emma, Jake, and more people I haven't met yet. Right now, I'm flying with Jake, which Bradley warned me about. And he's my wingman.
"Thanks, Mitchell." He murmurs. Captain Rhodes flies overhead to get in front of us. Luckily, all we have to do is take down one jet. I invert my plane and twist up to get away from him, Jake following shortly behind me.
"Alright, I'll distract him, you shoot." I plan out for him. Last week I watched him leave his partner hanging, and I don't want to risk that.
"Ok." He agrees. I lunge forward towards the jet, spinning to a position underneath it. I know Rhodes would suspect me to be the one to mussel lock him, so maybe this will work.
"You ready?" I ask my wingman.
"Just tell me when." I shoot up in front of Rhodes and get out of the way.
"Now!" I hear the click of the mission lock.
"Shit!" Jake shouts. I look at my screen to see I've been shot down by the captain. I see Rhodes tilt his plane out of my direction. Jake locked him, just a few seconds too late.
"You've been shot, Mitchell. Both of you return to the runway." He announces. I fly my jet back towards the facility and safely land on the ground.
"What the hell was that?" I ask Seresin the second he hops out to the fighter jet.
"I pulled too late." He shrugs. "Sorry." He doesn't really seem to care that he made us lose the exercise.
"You got me shot!" I try to make him understand that this is actually important.
"I said I was sorry." He mumbles as we walk back to the classroom. I see Bradley walk out with a guy named Daniel, ready to fly.
"How'd y'all do?" He asks. Fucking awful.
"Don't ask." Is all I say. I give Brad a look to tell him I'm annoyed, and he just nods and purses his lips.
"Good luck, guys." Jake tries to lighten the mood. It doesn't work.
"Why are you so pissed about this? It's just an exercise, I hit the switch one second late, we still shot him down." He sits down by me on one of the stiff black couches.
"Because I'm the one that got shot! I know it's just an exercise, but what if it wasn't? I'd be dead." I don't understand why he's so chill about this topic. My father always told me that the most important part of flying is coming out of it alive. Maybe Jake's father said something else.
"You're right. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have waited for your call, I should've just shot when I knew I could." He admits. Maybe this guy isn't as bad as everyone says. "But you also could have gotten up faster when you inclined. That would've given both of us more time." And he ruined it.
"Okay, I'm sorry that I suck at inclines, and that they fucking terrify me! I didn't have time to turn around, and that was the first thing I could think of." I will admit that I could've done better.
"Okay calm down. Yeah, yo do suck at inclines, but you gotta suck at something, right? You can't just do everything perfect all the time, it's not possible." He says. Oh but it is possible for me.
"Listen. I have a reputation here-"
"For being completely reckless in the air, and scaring everyone anytime you fly." He calls me right out. Not what I was gonna say but okay.
YOU ARE READING
Through The Fire
Fanfic"You said 'through the fire'" "And I meant it." Shelby "Mustang" Mitchell never knew what to think of her father pulling Bradley Bradshaw's papers from the Naval Academy. The two of them had been best friends their whole lives despite him being two...
