"Amelia!".

"Go and get the mail",Mrs Jane said.

"Ok mom", said Amelia as she  walked out of the front door and went straight to the red mail box,just a few meters away from the front porch.

She closed the lid after retrieving the mail and walked back inside the house,closing the door firmly behind her.

"Here you go mom",she said handing the mail over and plopped down on the plush grey living room rug,staring blankly into the fire and listening to the even breathing of her napping brother

David, while her mom went through the mail.

She turned to stare at her mother who sat on an armchair besides the fire.Mrs Jane Snow was so absorbed in reading the letters,she didn't notice Amelia intensely staring at her.

She used her fingers to push back a strand of black hair falling to her face and continued reading her letters.

She was a very beautiful woman with black raven hair that fell in ringlets,hair which Amelia had inherited.

She had the bluest of eyes,as clear as the sky on a bright summer day,which were always so expressive and lit up when she smiled.

She rarely smiled these days, not after the death of her husband Ltd colonel Mason Snow.

Amelia kept staring at her mother till Jane looked up and gave a small smile noticing her, the smile not  reaching her eyes.

It was more of a casual gesture.

Amelia kept studying her mother's average frame and beautiful face not uttering a single word.

No one would've guessed that such a beautiful woman had to raise two children and pay all the bills without a father.

One would think she would remarry after her husband's death,but no,she had loved Amelia's father too much.

Things were rocky,Amelia knew, but her mom still tried to hide the fact from her which hurt her, she knew her mother was just trying to protect her from the burdens she was carrying.

But it would be nice sometimes ,if her mother would just let it out.

Having gone back to reading her letters, Jane looked up again.

"Amelia do you remember Major Richard",she asked.

"Yeah mom,I do.",she said narrowing her eyes.

"He was one of dad's friends, used to visit quite often."

"Well,that's the one. He just got back from a recent tour in Afghanistan and was immediately made the commandant of a renowned military school,Kenton Heights.

He just sent a letter asking you to accept a scholarship in Kenton heights military high school. He has given you two options,either you finish in Kenton Heights and transfer to any college you want or graduate from Kenton high and take a two year course from there on which,you will become a 2nd lieutenant in the army."

That was a relief to Jane,things were not exactly going well for her financially wise,and taking that scholarship would help her a lot.

Amelia knew that,and wanted to help her mom.

"I'll take it mom,"she said.

It wasn't like school was going very well for her,she was a nerd and was always bullied. She wasn't particularly going to miss anyone in her school.

"Well,he said to call him immediately,if we were taking up the offer,he feels duty bound to us. Your father was a very good friend of his. ,"she said.

"Ok.",was all Amelia said and stared at the fire.

A yawn escaped the sleeping figure on the floor.

David had just woken up.

"Mom?. Is Amelia really going away? ,"he asked, the scratchiness of his voice evidence of his sudden wake.

Sitting up he stares at his mother with his strange maroon coloured eyes still hazy with sleep.

He was so identical to Col. Mason with his brown curly hair,straight nose and slightly pouted lips. He was going to become quite a charmer when he  grew up.

He was already making girls swoon and he was only ten.

Jane just nodded at him and Amelia barely shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm going to a military school called Kenton Heights,"she said.

"Military school!",David screamed,his eyes widening.

"They'll eat you alive.Besides I thought military school was for boys only?",he said folding his arms around his chest.

"No, it's not. ",Amelia said,rolling her eyes.

"I''ve been given a scholarship to study there. "

"I think I'll call Col. Black and  ask him about the details,"Jane said.

"Well, I'm going to my room", Amelia huffed.

"Military school...pfft!...why didn't I get the scholarship?. ",he grumbled.

"Duh....Isn't it obvious?. Because you're dumb,stupid. ",Amelia retorted,rolling her eyes.

"Don't start! ",their mum said sternly,narrowing her eyes.

They both shrugged innocently and stalked out of the living room.

Amelia walked up the stairs into her room and plopped down on her queen sized bed covered in maroon coloured sheets,almost the colour of her eyes.

Her room was painted  grey and a mysterious shade of aquamarine.

There were books everywhere,on the tables,on her bed,her bedside table,just everywhere.

To her left stood a gigantic floor to ceiling window,looking out to her mother's garden, on the right stood a  huge mirror.She stood up from the bed and walked towards the mirror to  stand in front of it.

What could be seen in her reflection was a beautiful tall slender girl ,with soft curly black hair that fell to her waist and the strangest maroon coloured eyes.

Her eyes were soulful and as expressive as her mother's.

She stood at a height of 5'11, which was pretty tall for her age of nearly 17.

She sighed, twisting her long hair into a ponytail and then walked towards her desk pulling out her dairy and her favourite pen.

25th July,2016.

Hey Talia,

I just got a letter from Col. Black saying he got me a scholarship in this school,Kenton Heights.Can you believe it? !.

Finally I can save mum the trouble of paying tuition.

But I'll miss her and Dave a lot.It hard to believe it's been four years since dad died,I miss him a lot.I keep thinking about Kenton heights.

I hope it'll be better than my old school with less bullying. Since it's a military school there's going to be a lot of rigorous training.

Ugh!.

You know how much I suck in P.E. I'm literally a couch potato!. I hope I get used to it.

I think they make everyone wake up by 4am in the morning to do training exercises and chores.

I am a little scared.I hope I'll be able to survive and come out of this in-

"Amelia!,Col.Black wants to have a word with you.",Jane hollered.

"Gotta go Talia"....

" Coming mom!. "