LOTF: Before and After

Phase 1: Chapter 2

Ralph survived his first night at Bainbridge Military Academy with ease. He was so tired after the three hour drive, and the excitement and anxiety around the new experience that he didn't wake up at all that night.

A couple days after he began to adjust, he started waking up in the night. He glanced over at Simon who was still as a rock in his bed on the other side of the room. Ralph suddenly pinched his eyes shut tightly, as Jack's words echoed in his mind.

"If you wake up crying in the middle of the night, don't open your eyes long enough to adjust to the light. Makes it impossible for your brain to fully register where you are and you'll minimize some of that homesick shit."

Ralph, eyes pressed shut tight, begged himself not to cry. He tried not to think about his bed back in East Point, his friends, his school, his parents, his toys, his old routine. He had worried so much about not being the best, he failed to consider that he might not be capable of surviving military school at all. Eventually, he fell back asleep, but every night that he woke up during the first month was an ongoing battle, one he spent silently begging himself to hold it together.

Eventually, Ralph and Simon made more friends. Ralph sometimes sat with Jack and Roger during meals, but usually he found himself hanging out with Simon and his friends. Sam and Eric were twins in Simon's class, and like Ralph, were also experiencing their first time away from home for a long period of time. Ralph and Simon usually sat at a table with the twins and a few other boys who lived on Sam and Eric's floor. They were all nice, respectable kids.

The training was much more intense than Ralph had anticipated. He was, however, shocked by his ability to keep up. He was among the oldest of the boys in his training group, the oldest being 13 years old, and youngest being 6. Most of the 12-13 year olds were surprisingly not in as good of shape as Ralph was, and he had no problem keeping up with them during training. Jack, however, challenged Ralph everytime they were partnered up. Despite his lanky figure, Jack was a beast. He was determined, and seemed to have an endless amount of energy.

After they finished up a training session one evening, sweating and panting in the change room, Jack moved to sit beside Ralph.

"You planning on going for colonel?" Jack asked between heavy breaths.

"Oh, I don't know. I haven't thought about it" Ralph lied, although he wasn't sure why just yet.

"Well, you should. You'd have a pretty good shot at it" Jack assured him.

"Don't you want to be colonel?" Ralph treaded cautiously.

"Yeah, I've been working towards it."

"But you think I should go for it?" Ralph questioned his new friend's logic.

"Where's the fun without a little competition?" Jack laughed.

"I suppose" Ralph shrugged. "But I wouldn't want you to go easy on me or anything."

"Wouldn't dream of it" Jack chuckled, slapping Ralph's bare back before standing up and leaving the change room.

Ralph spent most of his time outside training and studying hanging out with Simon. He was a whole grade ahead of Simon and was always happy to help the younger study and work through the course work at night before bed. Sam and Eric were also in Grade 4, like Simon, and the three of them tended to work together more often than not.

One night, Ralph left their dorm room to give the twins and Simon the space to work through a math assignment together. He found himself sitting outside, down by the river, just as the sun was nearly finished setting. Ralph removed his socks and shoes and let the cool water run smoothly over his feet.

"Langley" a familiar voice called out from behind. Ralph turned around and smiled as he saw Jack.

"Hey" Ralph said, turning his gaze back to the running river against the fading sun.

Jack sat down beside Ralph and removed his shoes, dipping his feet into the cold water.

"Where's Roger? I hardly ever see you guys without each other" Ralph asked in an attempt to make conversation.

"He's been doing push-ups and sit-ups on our bedroom floor for over an hour" Jack sighed.

"Why?"

"His parents put a lot of pressure on him to succeed here" Jack explained. "He's just trying to keep them happy, I guess. How's Simon?"

"He's working with the twins. Math."

"Math's easy, it's English and history that put me to death" Jack laughed.

"Math isn't my subject" Ralph countered.

"What grade?" Jack asked.

"Five."

"I'm in six. If you ever need a second opinion, you know where to find me" he smiled warmly at Ralph.

"Thanks" the younger boy returned the gesture.

"You haven't been sitting with us at meals lately" Jack said seemingly out of nowhere.

"Oh... yeah, well I just follow Simon. He's made lots of friends in his classes" Ralph insisted hesitantly.

"Sure, now what's the real reason?"

"I-It's nothing, really" Ralph stuttered.

"Are we not friends, or what?" Jack persisted.

"Course we are" Ralph agreed.

"Then talk to me. Whatever it is, I'm not gonna be mad. Swear it."

Ralph took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he considered it. "You know that boy you and Roger are always making fun of at meals?" he finally began to say.

"Uh... no" Jack shrugged.

"The heavyset kid, with the glasses" Ralph elaborated.

"Oh, him" Jack said awkwardly. "Sure." He was trying far too hard to avoid eye contact.

"Well he's in our training group, and he's real smart. He knows all the terminology way better than I do. He helps me out sometimes, so I don't say the wrong thing or look stupid in front of the others" Ralph stumbled through the words with his gaze down on the water. He hated confrontation, or anything that felt remotely like it.

"You could never look stupid" Jack answered without thought. He noticed when Ralph immediately brought his head up to meet his eyes. "And what does any of that have to do with where you sit in the dining hall?" Jack quickly diverted.

"I just don't feel comfortable sitting there when you guys are saying mean stuff about him, s'all" Ralph claimed, deciding to bypass Jack's previous comment, despite the way it made his chest tighten with adrenaline.

Jack sighed heavily, holding his gaze steady on the water in front of them. Ralph stared at him, waiting for a response.

"Lemme know if you ever want my help, okay? I've been memorizing every version of the academy's student handbook since 1986" Jack proclaimed as he stood up. He jammed his wet feet into his sweaty, worn out runners and headed back towards the student dormitories.

Ralph let out a frustrated sigh before picking up a stone from the grass beside him and tossing it as far as he could into the river, watching as it disappeared into the night, just as Jack had moments before.