LOTF: Before and After

Phase 1: Chapter 7

"Oh, I-I don't" Ralph stuttered as his heart rate picked up. He didn't know why he felt guilty about having Jack over. Simon said before that as long as Ralph didn't turn into an ass, it didn't matter who he hung out with when Simon wasn't around. "Jack slept over a couple nights" he slowly but surely admitted.

"Jack Merridew? He lives in East Point?" Simon questioned with concern in his voice.

"Uh no, he lives in Dalton. It's a little north of East Point. Still in Georgia" Ralph said simply.

"I thought you two left school on bad terms. At least that's what you told me" Simon reminded him. Ralph could hear the judgement in his best friend's voice.

"We did" Ralph confirmed. "But he's gonna be my lieutenant colonel and I don't think it'd be any good for anyone on the squad if the lieutenant colonel and the colonel didn't get along" Ralph defended.

"So you called him?" Simon assumed.

"No, he called me. We exchanged numbers after the end of my first year here."

"And he called you because he's so concerned about doing what's right for the squad?" Simon asked in disbelief.

Ralph opened his mouth to respond, but he couldn't find the words. Luckily, an interruption made it so he didn't have to.

"Gettin' unpacked and what not?" Jack asked as he appeared seemingly from nowhere in the doorway.

"Yeah" Ralph said as he finished setting his side of the room up. Out of the corner of his eye, Ralph saw Simon sigh heavily and turn away; away from Ralph, from Jack, or perhaps from them both.

"Wanna come down to the main hall and play a game of chess? Winner plays Maurice. He's the best on the squad as of right now, but I'm confident I can change that" Jack asked Ralph with a confident smile.

"I was gonna stay here and catch up with Simon" Ralph answered.

Before Jack could respond, Simon cut in. "Go" he said, "we can talk later."

"Si, are you sure? I do want to catch up, honest" Ralph insisted.

"We can talk later" Simon repeated. "Besides, I haven't had a chance to go see how Dylan and the twins are doing."

"Who's Dylan?" Jack chimed in.

Simon awkwardly pressed his lips together, and turned his head from Jack's gaze.

"Simon's friend in his grade" Ralph answered for him. "The one from the gym" he added tensely.

"Oh, right" Jack dropped his head too as the tension hit him too. Simon glanced back over at him and noticed a small amount of regret, or maybe just guilt, in Jack's eyes. Either way, Simon hadn't believed Jack was capable of either emotion. "You comin', Ralph?" the blonde boy asked again.

"Sure" Ralph agreed as his eyes locked with Simon's. "Have fun with the guys" he said to Simon as he grabbed his zip-up hoodie off his desk chair and joined Jack in the doorway.

"Thanks" Simon said softly as he watched Jack sling his arm around Ralph's shoulder as the two disappeared from the doorway.

A few hours later, Simon and Sam walked through the main hall on their way to the dining hall to grab a late night snack. Simon spotted Ralph and Jack sitting at a coffee table next to the fireplace. Jack was playing against a 7th grade boy Simon didn't know by name. Ralph sat at Jack's side and watched the game play out. Roger was also among the group of boys who crowded around the chess board. Simon led the way as he and Sam passed through without Ralph or any of the other boys noticing.

Ralph didn't get back to his and Simon's room until after 2300 that night. Simon was doing push-ups on the floor with headphones over his ears when Ralph quietly pushed the door open in case his friend was sleeping. Simon glanced up at him and dropped onto the floor on his stomach like a pancake.

"Hey" Ralph said, plopping down onto his bed.

"Hey" Simon replied as he removed his headphones from his ears. "How was the game?"

"Intense" Ralph answered honestly. "Whatcha been up to?"

"Catching up, training, y'know" Simon said through heavy pants. "How's Jack? and Roger?"

"They're fine, glad to be back in school I think" Ralph responded awkwardly as he began to undress to change into his pyjamas.

"Can I ask you something, honestly?" Simon said after a few moments of silence.

"Course" Ralph agreed as he pulled his pyjama shirt over his head of brown curls.

"Do you think Jack will make a good lieutenant colonel?"

"I believe he will be" Ralph answered after a moment of thought. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I worry" Simon admitted.

"Bout what?"

"Jack. He's not the most level headed person I know" Simon claimed. "And he treats half the squad like friends and the rest of us like scum."

"He has a good head on his shoulders, Si. I swear it. He just likes to kick back and have fun sometimes. There's nothing wrong with that, we are kids after all" Ralph defended his friend.

"Yeah, but we're also cadets. And I worry about training in on the base in Menwith Hill with him as lieutenant colonel. What if something happens?" Simon suggested.

"What would happen?" Ralph wondered.

"I don't know. Two cadets can't get along, or a physical fight breaks out, or someone gets hurt. I don't think Jack is a very helpful person to have around in situations like that. And without 24/7 adult supervision on the trip, I worry. That's all" Simon explained.

"Captain Benson will be there" Ralph reminded Simon, "and so will I. I know Jack messes around a lot, sometimes at other people's expense... but when it comes down to it, when it really counts, I think Jack would do the right thing."

"I'm not so sure about that."