I Should've Kept Everything Secret

~JROTC

I don't care about the votes, but I do want comments. I need to know if its any good and if I should make any changes.

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            "Please come with us. Pretty please. You might find a team that interests you," my friend, Ashley, begged. My other friend, Courtney, said the same thing.

            "No, I'm not joining," I decided. There was no way in Hell that I was going.

            "At least come with us then," Courtney insisted.I sighed in surrender and nodded my head as an answer. Ashley and Courtney cheered happily. They took my arms and dragged me across the school.

            Our school was very old but new at the same time. How can this be, you might ask? Well, the school was built in the mid-1990s and was crumbling down slowly.

            Someone had given the school a quarter million dollars to renovate and get new things. That someone however was unknown.The school just had an envelope delivered to them one day. It didn't have a return address, only the school's and a couple postage stamps. The principal had opened it and a check was in it, along with a very short letter.

            It said, "Use the money for the school."Our principal had broadcasted the news to the world to find out who the donor was, so that they could have an award or something like that. Nothing worked; eventually the principal had given up.

            The school finally had a program that made them well known by other schools.The JROTC. JROTC stood for Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Almost everyone in the school joined, since it was a great opportunity.

            I was one of the few exceptions. I didn't like the very intense program, with all its physical training. That was the excuse I used when people asked me why I didn’t join. The real reason I didn’t join was because of my parents.

            I felt Amanda and Sophie's grip loosen and reality crashed back.I saw one of the many teams that were a part of JROTC. They were playing with guns. These guns were actually not real and made of wood, but it felt like you were holding a real gun.

            I thought it ridiculous because the physical pain was a lot. You had to hold them for long periods of time and they were extremely heavy.If I saw it as ridiculous, Ashley and Courtney saw it as awesome, and eveninspiring.

            Ashley and Courtney dumped their bags on the floor and started their intense training as their StaffSergeant barked at them.

            I stood there, watching the team with the guns closely. I was once like them putting myself through the torture. At the time though, it was more like fun than torture.

            "What are you doing here, miss?" A voice asked. The voice had cut through my thoughts and broke me away from the daze I was suddenly in.Next to me was a middle-aged man in uniform. I saw the medals and ribbons that stood out against the clothes. I immediately knew that he was a lieutenant colonel by the way the silver oak leaf gleamed in the light.His hair was black and was starting to turn grey. His eyes were blue like the ocean. I had to crane my neck to look up at him. He must've been around six feet, even higher maybe.I felt a lump in my throat and I tried to swallow it down, but it wouldn't disappear.

            "What are you doing here, miss?" He asked again as he looked down at me. I could see in his eyes that he was wondering why in the world I was here, since I was obviously not part of the program.

            It was a reflex, what I did next. I had saluted him, as if I were in a level lower than him.I could tell that he hadn't expected this by the way his eyes suddenly widened. I dropped my arm when I realized what I did. This was definitely going downhill.

            "I'm sorry, sir. I was just about to leave. My friends had dragged me here," I explained. Obviously my explanation wasn’t that much of an explanation.

            "I'll just leave now."I had turned my back and was almost out the door. Until he stopped me.

            "Wait a minute," he called. "I saw you watching them." He pointed at the group with the guns.

            "Do you want to see them?" He asked.

            I looked in his eyes, trying to read them. I always had the ability to see what people were really thinking by looking into their eyes.The lieutenant colonel's eyes were filled partially with kindness and something else that didn't quite make sense. I thought I saw excitement in his eyes.

            I wanted to shake my head to his question, but my curiosity to their routine got to me. I nodded my head reluctantly.He smiled and went to the group. I watched him speak a few words to the group. I saw them look at me and they each slowly nodded their heads. The lieutenant colonel told me to come with his hand. I grew nervous with each step I took to the group.

            "They're going to give a demonstration for you," he said and stood next to me.

            The group was huddled a few feet away from us. They formed a single line with their guns and started their routine. They banged, flipped, tossed, and twirled their guns many times throughout the routine. After they finished, everyone inthe room clapped. I brought my hands together and slowly clapped for them. One of them approached me. He was around my height and was covered in sweat.

            "What'd you think?" He asked.I hesitated. It was good, don't get me wrong. But there were some flaws in their routine.

            "It was...nice," I answered. I instantly knew that my words were somehow offending to him.

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-snowolf