Song
Colors - Halsey.
"Amelia!.Wake up,you're late already."Jane said
"Your train leaves in 45 minutes".
"Mum,5 more minutes",Amelia muttered in her sleep,drawing the sheets above her head.
She wondered why she couldn't get her beauty sleep.
She had stayed up late doing research on Kenton heights and barely got enough sleep.
Then it clicked!.
She was supposed to leave for school today.....Shit!,she thought.
She quickly jumped off the bed and ran into the bathroom,taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth.
"5 minutes!",Jane hollered from the kitchen
"Ok",Amelia muttered.
Frantically she searched her wardrobe for the formal outfit she was supposed to wear.
Since her uniform was yet to be delivered ,she would eventually get it when she arrived at school along with the other school facilities and equipments.
Her outfit consisted of a plain white cotton button down and a knee length pleated skirt which had brown and black patterns.
She quickly put on her underwear,panty hose and clothes and bent down to take out the her knee high boots from under her bed.
She grabbed her knapsack and headed out her room,giving it on last look,she really would miss home.
She quickly headed down the stairs and met her mom in the kitchen. She grabbed an apple from the kitchen counter and turned to stare at her mom.
"I'm ready ",she said between chews while she ate her apple.
Jane gave her a dirty look."Don't talk while you eat",she scolded.
Amelia scoffed and continued munching.
"where's Dave?",she asked.
"Here",Dave said.
"Did you think I would miss the chance to say goodbye to you?".
Amelia smiled,"Well I guess not.Thanks Dave,I'll miss you".
"Yeah me too".
Jane grabbed her keys,"Everyone out,We don't want Amelia to miss the train,besides Corporal Chester is probably waiting".
They all got in and fastened their seatbelts.
The drive to the train station was very quiet,no one uttered a word.
They finally reached the station.Everyone got down and Jane locked the car. The headed in quickly.
White Oak Train station was the busiest station where Amelia lived ,as it was the only train station which had a network to the neighbouring towns.
There were people everywhere. Everyone was in hurry,people where moving in different directions .
The confusion was devastating.
Jane quickly rushed to the ticket booth and bought one for Amelia.
They all walked to the platform and luckily for them,there stood Corporal Chester.
He sighted them and briskly walked towards them.
Corporal Chester was an olive skinned man with forest green eyes,he was wearing a camouflage army uniform with a beret slightly tilted on his head which slightly hid his buzz cut black hair. He had black combat boots on his feet which shone exceptionally bright in the morning sunlight. He wore a simple badge and had his rank placed on his shoulders.He looked very smart and intelligent.
"Good morning ma'am, you must be Mrs Jane",he politely stated.
"I was sent by Col. Black to escort Amelia to Kenton heights,I promise you she will be good hands,and I ensure she will arrive in Kenton safely and without harm."
"My name is Corporal Chester, I'm sure Col. Black must have mentioned me",he said.
"Yes,yes of course the Col. mentioned you.Its nice to meet you,I hope my daughter arrives safely,I know she is in good hands".Jane said.
She then turned back to Amelia and David.
"This is my daughter Amelia whom you will be escorting and her brother, David. ",she said as she gestured to where both Amelia and David stood.
"Good morning Sir",they both chorused.
"It really nice to meet you,Amelia said.
"It nice to meet you to Amelia too,I hope your stay in Kenton will be pleasurable".
"Yeah,I hope so too".
"I'll miss you Am.",Jane said.
"Sweetie promise me you'll call and send a lot of letters ,be good in school and always remember to take your meds okay?. I love you".
"Yeah,I love you too mom, and I'll miss you and David a lot.I promise to write as often as possible.
" Come here baby,you too David ".
They all gather for a group hug and held on very tightly to each other.
They were interrupted by a very loud sound which announced that it was time for the train to leave.
"We need to leave immediately Mrs. Jane, the train is about to leave the station".,Corporal Chester said.
"Of course ,you should both get in before you are left behind."
"Bye mom ,Bye David. I love you both."
"David don't forget to feed "thunder" and always take him for a walk ."
"Yeah,I got it.",David said.
Amelia and Corporal Chester stepped into the train ,both taking their sits which were very close to the window.
Amelia looked out and watched Jane and David waving on the platform as the platform.
They both waved till the train was finally out of sight.
Amelia looked out the window and watched leisurely at the bare expanse of land as the train moved.She was deep in thought ,she kept on thinking how she would survive in Kenton Heights.
Since all the rumours which she had heard had all been confirmed during her research the night before.
She sighed,looking up to glance at Corporal Chester,he hadn't uttered a word since the journey began.
He was reading a book and didn't notice Amelia staring at him, if he did,didn't react.
Soon, Amelia fell into dreamless sleep.
************************************************
"Amelia,wake up."
"We are almost in Kenton",Corporal Chester said gently shaking her.
Her eyes slowly fluttered open.
She sat up and yawned.
"Thank you for waking me up Sir,I didn't realise that I had slept off".
"You're welcome,but you deserve it since you won't be getting such chances for naps like this in Kenton.You will be very busy I'm afraid."
The train soon came to a stop and they both got off.
On the platform stood a man in the same military uniform as Corporal Chester.
"Sir",the man acknowledged Cop. Chester with a salute.
"I've been sent by Col. Black to transport you and the new cadet to the school premises".
Corporal Chester nodded and followed as the other man guided them towards where he had parked the vehicle.
Amelia's luggage was collected from the porters and was held by the man leading them.
They finally arrived at the car park where a green camouflage pick up truck was parked.
The man opened the tail gate and dropped Amelia's luggage.
He opened the passengers door for Amelia.
She thanked him quietly and got in.
Corporal Chester went to the passengers seat beside the driver and got in.
The soldier put the key in the ignition and drove off.
They drove through an endless forest for about 10 minutes before Amelia finally caught sight of high fences on both sides of the road with barbed wires on top.
The fences were so high, the school could've been mistaken for a prison.The fences continued for what seemed like ages till finally the huge school gates were in sight.
At the school gate there was a tower inbuilt into the wall which Amelia guessed was the watchman's post.
As soon as they got to the gates, two soldiers in camouflage uniforms came up to the car
They didn't even need to check the identity because they already known who was coming in, they simply saluted to the driver and corporal Chester, then signaled to the controlling officer behind the gates to open it.
The gates open slowly and they drove in.
Amelia took a look back, and got a last glimpse of the outside before the gates were finally closed. This would be the last time she'd see the outside unsupervised in a very long time....
They drove on a straight lane, with beautiful flowers and several buildings were seen on both sides.
They finally came to a roundabout where the the road divided in to four lanes.
They took the third one, and continued on.
"Amelia, the first lane leads to the Kenton Academy for cadets who wish to further their military training and become military officers to serve our country. It leads to another gate just like you've seen before. If you're already thinking Kenton Heights is huge, you should see the academy. "
Amelia only nodded.
He continued explaining,"The second lane, leads to the training and sports facilities for leisure activities, the school park and general hall for social activities.
"This is mainly used by the cadets and students of the Academy to relax, play friendly matches of different sports or have social events which usually takes place in the general hall."
"Although this area is used for only leisure, trainings are held with both cadets and academy students every morning by 4. "
" You're required to jog from your dorm to the park in a record time of thirty minutes."
" Late comers are severely punished. "he finished.
Amelia nodded again and asked," Sir, what about the third lane, the one we're going through right now and the last lane. "
"We are currently going to the commandant's house but this generally houses the accommodation for everyone in Kenton Heights. "
"It's segregated into sections of course, we'll soon get to a fork, we'll take the one on the left, it leads to the staff accommodation. "
"The one on the right leads to dorms for both schools. Kenton military college and Academy, that too is divided into two of course.
" Both sections each have their on canteens of course but college and Academy attendees eat together. "
" Finally ", he sighed.
" The fourth lane leads to Kenton College where you'll be attending, I'm sure you'll be properly informed afterwards but that's all you need to know for now. "
"Thank you sir", Amelia said.
"You're welcome Amelia, as long as you obey the rules and get to practice and trainings on time, you shouldn't have much trouble ".
************************************
They finally arrived at Col. Black's house, the front gate was being guarded by two soldiers who opened it up after the driver beeped the horn to alert them they'd arrived.
Col. Black's house was huge it stood in the center of the compound with a garage at the corner and an open field at the other side of the house, probably for personal trainings.
The car stopped right in front and Amelia got down along with Corporal Chester to meet Col. Black who was waiting for them at the door.
They walked to him and corporal stood at attention and saluted.
"Sir!, she's here. "
"At ease Mason, I know, she's right beside you,"he replied with a slight smile.
Col. Black was a well built man who stood at a height of about 6'2,he had light blue eyes and had buzz cut hairstyle like Cop. Mason. He was in his late 40's about Amelia's father's age.
He was dressed in a white tee-shirt and camouflage print military trousers with combat boots on his feet.
Amelia stood fidgeting oblivious to their conversation, she was deep in thoughts about home. She wasn't gone really long but she was already missing her mom and brother.
"Amelia!, Amelia!! - ", Col. Black repeated.
"S-sir", she sputtered.
"I'm sorry, I was just-"
"Deep in thought?,I could see that ", he said giving her a light pat on the head.
"It's been a while hasn't it?. "
"Welcome to Kenton Heights Amelia, I hope you have a wonderful stay here".
"We should get in", he said.
They moved into the house into the hall, which was painted a dull brown and was decorated with medals, pictures of military heros and past commandants of Kenton Heights.
Col. Black walked on into the living room along with Cop. Chester with Amelia trailing behind looking down with her slightly falling forward to cover her face.
The sitting room looked more homely with it chocolate brown and beige walls.
On the right wall there was a floor to ceiling length window overlooking the green field.
It had brown colored leather chairs and a black plush rug which had a center table made of dark ebony and glass on it.
Every other thing was in shades of dark brown.
At the other end of the living room was a dining table with a round glass tables and six chair.
In front of the living room was a mantle under which was a fireplace and beside it was a bookcase with several books on Military engineering and war tactics.
Col. Black settled on the armchair close to fireplace and gestured for Amelia to move to the chair next to his.
With a gesture he dismissed Cop. Chester and sat in silence for a while staring into the fire.
Finally he broke the silence and said.
"How's your mother, Amelia?. "
" She's doing fine sir, though since dad died I'm not really sure. "Amelia replied.
"It's bound to be difficult for her, it hurt everyone when your father died, it was so devastating, I couldn't even believe it when I was informed . ", he sighed, looking very melancholic.
"I heard the news while still in the middle a the tour in Afghan, so I couldn't come back to attend his funeral even though I really wanted to ".
Amelia just sank deeper into her chair trying to hide her face with her face. Talk about her father always made her sad and on the verge of tears.
Col. Black spoke again," As you know, you'll be attending Kenton from now, I hope you do your very best for your mother's sake. "
"yes sir", Amelia replied.
"Mason will take you to the student dorm, you'll get your uniform and everything you'll need from the front desk. "
" Good Luck,Amelia. "
" You can come here when you feel like talking about anything, just inform the dorm receptionist. A call will be made on your request. "
" Thank you sir, for everything ".
*****************************************
Amelia was taken to her dorm by the same driver who picked her from the train station but this time without Cop. Mason.
He dropped her in front of the dorm reception and utilities building.
The dorm was made up of four buildings which where about half a mile away from each other and a connecting gate at the extreme end to the Academy dorms.
The buildings she later found out where divided in two equally for both female and male cadets
Just behind the college dorm was another gate which lead to the school canteen.
There was also a green field like the one in Col. Black's house but bigger, with a few trees and several benches and chairs at strategic positions.
Close to the the field was a huge garage housing several buses which were used to convey the cadets to school every morning.
Missing the bus meant getting to school late because you'd have to walk to school which always attracted severe punishments.
Amelia breathed in one last time and walked into the utilities building.
She was greeted by the smell of leather and paper.
A woman dressed in dark green military attire looked up from the computer where she was had been working on something and smiled.
"You must be the new student, Amelia Snow?. "
"Yes ma'am. "
The receptionist had light brown hair tied in a ponytail and kind eyes which were a plain brown like her hair.
Around her was paper work and cabinets of different sizes. The room was painted grey with swirling patterns
"I'm lieutenant Ann, the college dorms' receptionist. I hope you have a wonderful stay in Kenton ", she said kindly
For the first time since her arrival, Amelia smiled slightly.
"Thank you very much ma'am. "
" Here's all you'll need. ", Ann said
Giving Amelia a box and a small bag.
" In that box is your school laptop, your uniform, training attire and some books. The rest will be delivered in your room before you're back from school in the afternoon. "
" Finally your room key, Room 389. You've been assigned to the Tribune Dormitory. It is second building by the right. It seems you'll have to walk a little before you get there. "
"Your roommate will give you the rest of the details. Bye, Amelia ", she said. Returning to what she had be doing.
Amelia thanked her again and walked out.
Her luggage along with her backpack and the items were very heavy and her arms were already screaming with pain.
On her walk back, she caught a quick flash of silver and quickly turned around but found nothing. She shivered a little but continued walking.
*******************************
She finally got to her room. She was very exhausted and could barely move. She quickly unlocked the door and slipped in, dropping everything she had been holding on floor.
On her way here she'd been getting weird stares from people, but took no notice because she was so intent on getting her heavy luggage to her room.
She sighed deeply again, took off her boots and fell back into a bed without sheets which she'd assumed was hers and fell into deep sleep.....