Scales of Fate

Part II - Chapter V

"September 3rd, 1922

Today's Sunday was both boring and eventful. After we endured a session of fire and brimstone from Reverend Pearson, I decided to have some time for myself, but not in my dorm. Instead, I did so in an empty walkway next to the Joseph Lister Building. I'm surprised none of the other cadets use it. It's a nice area with a big tree with one of the benches that wrap around it.

Before I arrived at the spot, I slowed my walk to take in the silence. It was unusual to see so little people in the academy. I find myself wondering where everyone disappears to once classes and mealtimes are over. Perhaps I should take more walks like this once the church service is over. Anyway, I arrived at the spot and sat down at the bench. I took a generous amount of notes from the Kommando book that could be applied to our battle strategy project.

As I was beginning another page, I heard the sound of someone sneezing. I looked around saw that no one was there. None the less, I did the polite think and said "bless you." The sneeze may have caught me off guard, but the sound of someone saying "thank you" caught me ever more off guard. I wasn't alone, and the second person was behind the tree. As I went to investigate, I was greeted by the sight of Olivia Eckerd, who looked about just as surprised as I was. Just as surprising was that this might be the first exchange of words we've actually shared. I offered to go, but she insisted I stay.

I enjoy silence. Silence is one of my favorite things in life. But the silence that fell after Ollie and I sat back in our spots felt wrong. It was as if a heavy fog had engulfed the two of us. Thankfully, Penny had arrived to cast away the tension. I offered again to take my notes elsewhere, but Penny insisted I'd stay. It then turned into my well received proposal of using the tactics of the Boer War strike teams for our plans. And that led to me learning that at least one Boer was attending the academy. And that in turn led to discussing our favorite accents. For Penny, it was the Boer, Welsh, and Scottish. And for me, French, New Zealand, and Welsh. It was nice to see how much we agree with how much we enjoy the sound of Welsh, but her comment on how I just so happened to have a Welsh roommate was enough to for me to look for a reason to get out of there before things started to get out of hand. And I'll say this, I did in fact leave my pencil case in the dorm, where of which I finished my notes.

If there was thing I could take away from that encounter, aside from the share enjoyment of accents, it was Olivia's behavior. She did nothing wrong, but it was interesting. When we first spoke, she sounded like she was forcing her words out. And when Penny had arrived, she stopped talking and reverted to whispering to Penny. When she did so, she would glance in my direction. I hope I didn't frighten her too much and she was being too kind to say anything. Or too scared to say anything.

-Edward MacGregor

Also, before I forget, I want to express how lovely Olivia and Penny looked today. That straw boater suited Olivia very well and the Penny looks great in white cream, almost like she was from a clothing advertisement. I just wish I saw their non uniform attire earlier."