C.A.T. The Cadet Officer Candidates

Chapter 7 INITIATION Part 3 (Physical Test)

After the square meal, we were allowed to take a siesta. And like lunch, we should all be together while we slept. Still, boys are separated from the girls. This is still primarily based on how many people an area can accommodate. I don't know where the boys were located. There were more of them than the girls who were given the stage to take a rest. I never realized I could sleep outdoors on the hard pavement of the stage in the middle of the campus in the summer heat. But I guess the heat itself makes you feel drowsy and sleepy and it was nice feeling refreshed after that nap.

We were all asked to get ready for the formation. All female recruits were gathered to form a single line that snaked around the campus. The boys were asked to do the same but in a different area. There were too many of us so the boys were separated from the girls almost all the time and since talking to my classmates this morning, I've never really gotten to see them after. But I did find me some new company. Margie, Amy, and Raven were among the few. There were others I get to talk to and once you realize you have similar goals, it's easier to relate to the others. I've never been this close to students of another section and it is a welcome change.

One drawback being separated from the boys is that since I don't get to see them often, there's a big chance for me to mistake them for officers and officers to my peers. It did not help that most of them are tall, some even taller than the officers themselves. I did try to learn the faces and names of some officers. Sir Jules and Sir Joel had really been quite helpful. Ma'am BabyRuth was also helping us out getting acquainted with some. But Ma'am Joan seems to be a bit more unapproachable. I think she's nice as Ma'am BabyRuth seems to be close to her but she has this eternal frown and sarcastic reply in almost anything you ask. Sir George was just as sassy. To both Ma'am Joan and Sir George, you have to be resourceful enough to find the information on your own. So you don't ask them. You give the information to them when they ask.

We were then all lead to the quadrangle facing the stage to form platoons. As there were a lot of us, we must have been separated into five or six big platoons, boys on the right, girls on the left. All of us facing the stage. And that's just the recruits. The officers busied themselves arranging and positioning benches, poles, and classroom chairs to name a few. I surmise this will be part of the physical test.

At 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon, Sir Joel stood on the stage with Ma'am BabyRuth. I'm guessing they will be giving us more instructions. Ma'am Joan and Sir George were busy getting in charge with the preparation for the afternoon's activities. Some of the officers were positioning themselves in place.

"Attention!" Sir Joel bellowed. His voice when projected is even louder than when we were in front of the main building. As he stood on the stage, his voice filled the campus grounds even without using a megaphone. "Face front!" he commanded.

"We have checked your written exams and sadly no one passed," he announced. "We did try to lower the quota for scores but even with that, we ended up with only a handful of people, even less than the number of fingers on both of your hands. Of course, we would need more officers in training than that.

"But the initiation is not yet over and so I hope that you make up on this part of the test. And even though you think you may have done well in your written exam, that does not assure you that you'll be accepted if you fail the physical test. Especially if you fail the physical test." He emphasized his last phrase.

I saw from the corner of my eye that Sir Joel gazed into my direction as he said this.

"This will be physically challenging and exhausting. I know that we have specifically mentioned in our announcements that If any of you has health issues like asthma or heart problems, you will not be allowed to pursue the officer's training program. But if in any case you insisted and still attended this course, right now, I urge you to step forward and go home. We will not be responsible if anything happens to you after the physical test."