A good soldier never gives up

An unexplainable situation

 School finished for the day after spending the rest of the day avoiding Juliet's questions. It was surprisingly difficult to accomplish for the day with all the classes I had with her. As I walked out of the building, I kept my distance from Juliet as she walked home with her guy best friend, Freddy. She looked back at me several times as I avoided meeting her gaze. I kept my eye out for any strange behavior from every corner I could see.

"Hey, Freak! We're not finished here!" a voice shouted. I recognized him as Tomas as he ran over to me. He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me aside.

"I have no reason to battle you. You will not gain victory otherwise," I told him. That seemed to make him angry. He swung his fist to my eye but I quickly grabbed it and brought it behind him. "Rookie mistake. Next time, challenge someone who is in your level."

I easily toss him to the floor but he doesn't seem to give up. He quickly got back up and tried to hit me, along with his friends. This ambush is something I could've handled easily with my weapons if they were an experienced enemy, but I was not in that situation anymore. I easily take care of those guys, especially when one of them pulled out a pocket knife.

"Your going to get it now you punk!" Tomas shouted at me. I kicked the knife out of his hand and caught it as it flew in the air.

"I gain victory for this battle. I shall not fight someone who is so inexperienced in war." I drop the knife onto the ground and noticed that the surrounding young citizens have gathered around to watch. In the crowd, I noticed Juliet watching not so far away beside her friend. I took one look at her before walking away.

Before anyone could stop me, I quickly walked back to the apartments where I noticed Alicia waiting for me outside the gate. She was shaking her head as if she knew what I just did.

"Don't you know how to act like a kid at all? You shouldn't be picking fights with other kids. What if you blew your cover. You need to be more careful, William!" she told me.

"I apologize for my actions, but to make it clear, I didn't start the fight. I did not even hit the other boy." I explained to her. She shook her head no but gestured to be silent as Juliet and her friend were coming up.

Freddy met my gaze as Juliet continued to speak about what had just happened. "Hey Juli, you might want to look right in front of you if you want to talk about that new kid."

She looked up at me and flushed. "Hi William. Uh... I saw the fight. How were you able to do all that?"

Alicia smiled at me and looked over, wanting to see how well I could put this. "I have been trained in the art of self defense?" Freddy shook his head no as if he didn't believe me.

"You cannot learn something so advance like that in any self defense class in this state. Where are you really from, kid?" Freddy asked me.

"William wasn't born in this state. Sorry kids, but William has important things to do," she grabbed my shoulders and pushed me in the direction of the apartment building. "You, kid, have a report to start about the progress you made."

I looked back at Juliet as she stood there staring after me before looking back at Alicia. "You do not know how to behave around children either, do you?"

"Of course I do. Hello, I work with two children on my squad. One of them happens to be the commanding officer of this operation." She laughed at her own joke as I watched her. "Anyways, you just need some time. Before you know it, you'll be fitting in like a regular student from a bad neighborhood."

As we stepped inside the apartment, Kevin walked out to buy some groceries Alicia listed for him. Alicia sat me down at the table so I could start my report. I was not allowed to leave until I completed it and the homework from school. I struggled a lot, refusing to accept defeat in one assignment.

"Alicia, I require some assistance. I don't understand what it is I'm supposed to do," I told her. She took one look at the homework before walking away.

"I would tell you to go ask the girl, but considering what happened today, it's not a good idea. Just try to figure it out." she told me.

I stared at the paper in front of me for about twenty minutes before gathering my stuff and heading outside. I couldn't think of any reasonable answer for these questions.

How did Robert take care of his brother's problems for him in this poem. What is the theme of this poem? If you were in Robert's position, what would you have done?

Uh... I have no idea of what the poem is trying to explain to me. I guess, I just discovered my weakness. Poetry. I guess that's what happens when your raised in the desert without this type of reading material.

"Need help with that?" Juliet asked me. She walked up to the picnic table I was sitting in and took a look at the work. "That is easy. Don't you understand the poem?"

I shook my head no. "To be honest, I never read poetry before. This is the first poem I have ever read. "

She looked as if she didn't believe me, but didn't ask questions. She helped me out until I completed the assignment. "So, where did you train for self defense?" she asked me.

"My fa- I was trained by..." I didn't really want to talk about the man I called father. "I was trained by a monster. A man I wish I never knew."

She seemed to understand how I felt about the subject and changed it. "So how are you liking it here? Are you bored of it yet?"

I shook my head no. "Actually, I prefer the peace and quiet over the sounds of guns firing and people screaming when they get hit. This is more peaceful." I looked away from her, afraid of what she might say next.

"That must've been horrible. Did you see anyone get killed." She gave me a sympathetic look when I didn't answer. "So is that why you have that scar? For fighting?"

She lightly brushed the scar on my cheek with her finger. "In a way, I did. I was on a rescue mission when I got this scar. I wasn't careful enough, I guess."

"Tell me what happened? I want to know everything about you," she told me. I shook my head no. "Why not? Aren't we friends?"

I was unsure how to answer her question. I just met the girl and she's already claiming me as her friend. Either way, I am obligated to hide my past from her.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. It will cause trouble for me if you knew the truth right away. Are you angry?" I asked as I looked back at her.

"I'm not mad. I understand you completely. Do you promise that you'll tell me though?" She asked me with puppy dog eyes. I nodded.

"Be patient though. I am not eager to go down memory lane any time soon."