Letters From A Soldier

Prologue

One second she was here, then the next she's gone. She even left without saying goodbye. That's what hurt the most... Maybe it was too hard for her to say goodbye to me. Her absence made it hard to focus in school and someone new just took her old locker. Sometimes when I walk by, I swear I can almost smell her citrus perfume, but maybe I'm just going crazy.

My grades started to fall soon after that making me frustrated and angry with myself. I had to explain to my parents why I had gotten under 50% on my Geometry test. Maybe it's because learning about tetrahedrons is fucking pointless. Nevertheless, I struggled through the second semester of Sophomore year like a girl trying to put on a pair of skinny jeans. It was nearly impossible. Once we reached halfway through the second semester people were starting to get pumped for summertime. I however, was trying to figure out what I would do... I had no one, but that's when it all changed as well.

It was maybe a month before summer, and a new girl named Hayley transferred here. I was getting a drink when she was cursing up a storm. She walked over and asked for help to find her class. Her class was the same as mine so we walked down the vacant halls together talking. I offered her to sit with me at lunch and gave her my number. That was my first real friend after Camila Cabello...

A year and a half later

I was back on my feet with my four closest friends, Hayley, Oliver, Morgan, and Porter. I was obviously closest to Hayley, but I had met the other three when senior year started. They were all knew and Hayley invited them to sit with us. We had just graduated from high school and took pictures together for the memory. I saw another graduate walking with a man in an uniform. That's when I decided I wanted to leave Miami and take a different route.

I wanted to become a soldier.