I'll See You Later

Chapter 3

I wake up to the chirps of birds. The sun is blinding, and the trees around me do nothing to stop its light from practically killing my eyes. I sit there for a few minutes, just looking around.

Then I remember.

Today is Wednesday. November 9th. My first day at my fourth school this year. How exciting.

I don't know what time it is, and I honestly don't care. But then I realize that Julie is probably awake by now, and while she won't be particularly worried that I'm not at home (I go for morning runs quite often), she will be pretty worried if I don't show up today at all. And that's exactly what will happen if I stay in these woods any longer, considering that a day spent here seems much more enjoyable than a day wasted in a boring high school.

So, much to my displeasure, I get up. I glance up at the sky, and make a rough approximation that it's 6:50, based on the fact that the sun rose around 6:35-ish. That may sound more like an exact time rather than an estimate, but in training, we were taught that every second counts. Therefore, 6:50 is an estimate as opposed to, say, 6:52. Of course, since my training was never completed, I'm not an expert at telling time from the sky like most of my friends, but I like to test my skills every once in a while.

I then check my phone. It's 6:52. I sigh, annoyed, and start making my way back to the house.

Rather than run, I decide to walk back. Though I found this path from my run this morning, that's about as much "neighborhood exploring", as Julie likes to call it, I did. Taking my time to observe my surroundings, I take a deep breath. The crisp air feels good, and I relax considerably more.

I was really tired since I had barely gotten any sleep the past few days, which is why I was able to sleep for more than a couple hours straight. But that doesn't mean I didn't get anymore nightmares-just that my brain was too tired to wake up from them. My parents, brother, friends, and enemies all plagued my sleep mercilessly. Just thinking about last night's dreams makes the knot in my throat, which I've been feeling a lot lately, tighten. Shaking my head as if that would empty it out, I take another deep, shuddering breath, and start running.

Running is my escape. I can just forget...about everything and anything. I don't need to do anything; I just need to keep going. Forget even the cramps in my stomach from exertion and the ache in my legs. It's a beautiful feeling, really. Within minutes, I'm at the house. Another glance at the sky. 7:00.

A glance at my phone-7:03.

● ● ●

"Bye, T...Scarlett!" Julie calls.

I sigh. "Julie, do I really have to go?"

She rolls her eyes at me. We've had this conversation at least five times. "Yes, Scarlett, you do. It's illegal for you to not get any education, you know. And I suck at math, how the hell am I supposed to home-school you? Also, I have a job to go to."

Groaning, I argue, "It's not like they'll teach me anything I don't already know. The army is pretty thorough with their curriculum."

Julie's eyes soften, as they always do when I mention the war. I know she wants to go back to help just as badly as I do, but she promised my parents that she'd look out for me if anything happened to them. And now, since she's my legal guardian, she can't go to the war if I'm not going. And my orders, as pissed at them as I am, are clear: "Don't help in the war."

"Julie, at least let me just skip today. I could explore the new place. And who knows, I might even run into a home-schooled kid and make a friend."

She looks at me for a long time. Finally, she takes a deep breath. "Sweeti-"

I interrupt her with a hard glare. My unspoken message couldn't be clearer: "Don't go all motherly on me." While I love Julie like she's family, since she pretty much is, she could never replace my mother.

She knows this, of course, and just sighs tiredly. "Look, Scarlett. There's a better chance of you making friends in a building filled with a thousand kids. And even if you don't want to make friends, that's fine, too. But you have your orders. Your parents wanted you to be safe. If not mine, and if not the general's, at least respect their wishes."

I can't believe it. I can't fucking believe her right now. She played the parents card. How dare she. I'm about to retaliate with some really harsh words, but they stop at the tip of my tongue. Taking a deep breath, I agitatedly run my hands through my hair. I know she's right. With another long breath to calm myself, I pull on my leather jacket, easily heave my practically-empty backpack onto a shoulder, and walk out the door without another word.