Arcadia Academy

Prologue

"We are getting deployed." Jake Griffin told his daughter Clarke.

Clarke sat there in silence, a look of shock on her face. "Both of you?" she finally asked.

Abby Griffin quickly moved over to hold her daughter's hand, "Yes, sweetheart. They are very low on doctors and engineers over there. The war is not letting up and they need us."

Clarke nodded her head slowly. She had always known that this was a possibility. Each of her parents had been deployed at some point during her life, but never at the same time. "What happens to me now?"

Abby looked at Jake and he nodded for her to continue. "We have secured a spot for you at Arcadia Academy. Theloneus will look out for you there and they have a summer program so you will be staying there until we return."

Jake put his arm around his wife and gave her a squeeze of support. "We know this isn't the ideal situation, but we went there when we were young and it was a great experience. You will learn a lot." He gave his daughter a reassuring smile.

Clarke sat looking at her parents silently for another moment before speaking. "When do I start?" she asked.

"We are getting deployed on Saturday so we are going to take you to the airport on Friday morning." Jake answered.

"That's in three days!" Clarke exclaimed.

"I'm so sorry we couldn't tell you earlier. We only found out last night." Abby apologized.

Clarke nodded, she tried to stay strong but she felt the tears coming. As soon as the first one fell both of her parents wrapped her in a hug and she started sobbing. She hadn't been prepared to lose both of them at once. She was going to a new school and she wouldn't be returning home for at least a year. That was only if her parent's deployment didn't get extended.

After a few minutes of crying Clarke pulled herself together and stood up. "I need to go start packing." She stated before heading to her room.

"I don't know where she gets her strength from, I would've cried for hours at her age." Abby said.

Jake shook his head, "I don't think you would have, because she got her strength from you, babe." He gave his wife a kiss.