A good soldier never gives up

First encounter with the target

  After we got settled into our three bedroom apartment, I grabbed some binoculars from Kevin and decided to do some surveillance of the surrounding area. While I was using those, I decided to take a break every few minutes to study the file I was given on Juliet. I studied her picture for a bit. I studied her details for a bit, mesmerizing her long brown hair, her brown sparkling eyes, and her beautiful smile. I have never seen a girl as beautiful as this before.

Bringing my mind back to my surveillance, I looked out over the patio and saw her walking in the distance. I blinked twice before realizing the fact that she was walking towards the apartments entrance, and that she was looking up at me. I quickly looked away before hearing Kevin calling out my name. "William, get in here!" He shouted at me. I took one more look at the smiling girl before walking inside to see to the problem.

"What's the situation?" I asked him. Alicia pushed me down onto a chair before explaining what was going on.

"There's no danger, Will. We have to work on your speaking and social skills." She saw the look of confusion on my face before actually explaining what she meant. "You can't be speaking with war terms. No ''what's the situation" or speaking about the mission. This is supposed to be undercover work."

I nodded, "that's understandable. I will not reveal my mission at any cost."

They shook their heads no. "You can't be talking like that. You need to sound like a kid. You know, like hey man, what's up?" Kevin explained to me. I tried to follow their advice to change my speaking but was unsuccessful. "Alright, let's just skip to your social skills. Tomorrow is your first day in the school, so you shouldn't carry any weapons on you. No fighting is allowed in public places what so ever. Do you understand?"

I nodded, "not a problem. I don't need a weapon to fight, but what if the group attacks while she's at school?" They looked at me and sighed.

"This is going to be a long day," Alicia told him. "William, exactly how long have you been fighting that you don't know this stuff?"

I turned to her as I said, "I have been fighting battles along with the guerrillas for most of my life. My training began the moment I was able to walk." She turned to Kevin and whispered something to him in his ear. He nodded before turning back to me."

"Maybe you need some examples. Let's take a walk so you could see how other kids socialize with other people," Kevin told me. I nodded and followed him. "I'm sure this is all very different for you. Living in a dry desert, fighting for something that you didn't even know, then having your world changed at a blink of an eye. Exactly what made you change your mind?" he asked me as we walked down the street.

I thought about his question before answering, "I learned the truth about the world fa-, I mean Damien, was creating. I just didn't want to be apart of fighting if all I'm doing is bringing pain to other people."

He patted my back before saying, "your a good kid, but why would you want to continue fighting? I mean, you could've just became like any other child."

I shook my head no, "I have killed so many people without thinking of the consequences. I would like to atone for my sins by risking my life to save another. I have murdered over two hundred and forty people in many bloody wars." As memories of my fallen comrades came back to me, I looked away from him. "The hardest part is watching your friends get hurt and having no power to save them."

That night, I went to bed early, ready to wake up for school.My trunk was no longer filled with clean clothes, but in it's place, weapons.My clothes occupied the closet space while my paperwork occupied the drawer by the bed. I awoke at about six thirty to take a shower and to dress for school. Alicia helped me pick out an outfit for the big day and made me pose for a picture to send to my grandfather and mother. Kevin tested me a bit more on my speaking before allowing me to leave for school. I caught the bus on the corner, careful not to be seen by Juliet just yet.

High school was a different story, much similar to a battle ground. There's the commanding officers that run the place, the soldiers ready for battle, and the weapon's experts. I looked around the school, memorizing my surroundings, before finding the office. I was given a schedule to follow just as Juliet walked in speaking with another teacher.

"Sir, we need to get more healthy lunch decisions. How are we going to lower the chances of obesity and diabetes in school, if all we are giving in pizza and chicken sandwiches everyday? Why don't we get some salads for lunch instead of those nasty cheeseburgers the school tries to pass off as food?" She glanced over at me before returning her attention to the teacher.

"Juliet, please. If you and your friends want to change the lunch given to you here, talk to the principle. I have no power over that here. Do you understand?" the teacher told her. Juliet nodded before handing him a sheet of paper.

With a small smile, she asked him, "can you at least sign our petition? We really want to make a difference to this school." With a sigh, the teacher agreed and pulled out a pen. "Thank you for your support."

The attendance lady gained my attention once again but smiled when I turned back to her. "Here's your schedule, William. Would you like for Juliet to show you around the school?" she asked me. I nodded, refusing to speak until I master my lessons. "Juliet, can you be a dear and show William here around the school. Make him feel welcomed."

Juliet nodded with a smile that I couldn't help but stare. The picture had no justice to how beautiful she really was up close. "Come on, Will. I'll show you around the school." I blinked before following her outside the office. "So your new here, huh? Where are you from?"

I shook my head no. "Where I came from is unimportant information. I am not obligated to speak of it," I told her.

"Is it that bad? I was born and raised here in San Diego. It's beautiful here, isn't it?" she asked me with a smile. I nodded and looked away.

"It's an improvement from my last home, that's for sure," I said silently. She took my schedule from my hand.

"Hey, your in all my classes. Maybe we could hang out sometime?" she told me. I nodded. "Great. Hey, I recognize you. Your that boy from yesterday. The one who was staring at me from his patio."

I didn't know what to say. Should I deny that I was watching her? "Uh... About that, I wasn't observing you. I was just... Taking surveillance of the area," I eventually told her. She laughed a bit.

"You talk funny, Will. By the way, my name's Juliet Peterson," she told me with a hand held out.

Instead, I saluted her, "William Ashton, at your service." I then realized that I had done something wrong. Another boy around our age came up to us and wrapped his arm around her.

"Hey, what are you doing hanging out with this loser. Come inside the class already and ditch this kid," the boy said. Juliet rolled her eyes at him before returning her attention to me.

"Sorry about this, but I promise I'll make it up to you later," she said as the boy led her away. I watched her as she entered a classroom before someone knocked into me.

The girl that bumped into me reminded me so much of Janet with her brown curly hair and chocolate brown eyes. "I'm so sorry. Are you lost?" She asked me.

"I am unsure where I am supposed to go. I'm new to this city and school," I told her.

She smiled at me, "let me guess. Your that William kid that the office keeps talking about? I'm Jessica Newman, reporter for the school's newspaper." Instead of shaking my hand, she pulled out a camera and took my picture. "Your going to be on the front page of tomorrows paper."

I shook my head no, "I do not require any public announcement for my arrival. It's not my duty to gain unnecessary attention."