~~~WHO KNOWS HOW LONG IT'S BEEN?!~~~
I don't know how long it's been, but either way, it started and ended fast! I throw my duffle bag into the back of Will's truck and hop in the seat. He's gonna drive me to the hotel where I meet the other sign-ups and then off to boot camp!
"Bye mom!" I holler at her. She rolls her eyes and walks back into the house.
"I'll miss you too." I mutter under my breath.
"You know you don't mean that." Will says and holds open the car door for me. I have decided to get a car when I get back, if I get back. I throw myself on the leather seat.
"I know! Who would miss her?!" I say. He snickers and then presses the gas pedal. We scoot backwards and we start the drive to the hotel.
"Boot camp is harder than you think, Maddie. Chris wrote home a lot, when you weren't born yet. He said it was tough and a couple of people quit and another tried hurting himself. Just stay strong." Will says. Chris? Will has never mentioned Chris before. He was the oldest of us. He went off into the military and went MIA, Missing In Action. Will has only mentioned Chris once before. During a "funeral" for him. They put a picture of him on top of the coffin.
Chris had black hair and sharp cheekbones with a strong jaw and gorgeous green eyes. He looks nothing like me and Will. Me, with my blonde (almost white) hair and blue eyes with green rims. Will, with his sandy hair and a thick chest with muscles. His eyes are blue, too. I don't know how Chris got black hair because mother (I shudder when it's required to call her that) has brown hair and father had blonde. Maybe it's from my grandparents. He'd be 34 right now...
"Maddie?" Will nudges me with his elbow.
"Huh?!" I snap out of thinking about the ways Chris could've disappeared.
"Answer my question." Will says. He sounds annoyed, yet amused?
"You didn't ask me one." I reply simply and then glance out the window. Colorado sure is pretty. Well, until we reach Denver.
"Yeah I did, Maddie. I said 'Are you sure about this'." He starts picking at the leather on the steering wheel. I look up at the tall skyscrapers of Denver. We pass corners and corners of the homeless sitting with cardboard signs pleading for money.
"Yeah." I say. I pull a couple of dimes out of my short pockets and throw them at a woman with her jacket wrapped around her dog. She smiles and puts them in her little plastic bucket. I nod my head as we pass her.
(AUTHORS NOTE! I KNOW I DON'T SOUND CONVINCING ABOUT DENVER BUT HEY! IT'S TRUE. I COULD LIE ABOUT HOW PRETTY THE BUILDINGS ARE AND ALL OF THAT STUFF AND SOME BUILDINGS ARE PRETTY, BUT IT'S HARD TO MISS THE FACT THAT THERE ARE THE HOMELESS LIKE ALL OVER. SOMETIMES THE TRUTH ISN'T PRETTY. OK THAT SOUNDED STUPID BUT LETS GO BACK TO THE BOOK NOW! THANKS.)
My phone starts buzzing and I pull it out of my other pocket.
"Jane-nae-nae." The contact icon says. I press 'accept' and then put my iPhone up to my ear.
"Hey, Maddie." She says. (ANOTHER INTERRUPTION! IM SO SORRY OK BUT "J" will be Jane and "M" will be for me/maddie.)
M: Hi
J: I'll miss you!
Has Jane been crying?! Her voice is sad and when she talks it's really quiet.
M: I'll miss you too.
J: Will you call me?
M: When I get the chance, I guess.
J: Will you write?
M: Of course.
J: Will you miss me?
M: That's a stupid question.
J: Will you?
M: Yeah.
J: Don't get hurt.
M: I won't.
J: Promise?
M: Yes, I promise.
J: Ok, bye.
M: Bye?
Jane hangs up the call and I stare blankly at the screen. I put it back into my pocket. Will pulls into a parking lot.
"Want me to walk you to your room?" He asks. I unclip my seatbelt and pop open the car door.
"Please." I say. Will pays the $12 for parking and he puts the receipt on his dash. We walk into hotel with my duffle bag under arm and Will just standing there. It's a luxurious hotel for Denver. A giant crystal chandelier hangs from the gold-painted ceiling. A gift-shop and all of the restaurants are pushed to the left side of the main entrance. I walk up to the front desk. A short woman with black rimmed glasses sits on a chair typing away on the keyboard.
"Military reservations. Name?" She says with no emotion without looking up from the keyboard.
"Maddie Dark." I say. One thing for sure though, beauty comes at a price. The hotel is beautiful and so far, staff sucks.
"Maddison Dark." The woman says. She mumbles something under her breath I can't quite catch.
She pulls a slip of paper out from the printer and scribbles stuff on the sheet. She hands it to me.
"Bye now." She says. I turn around and wave at Will to follow close behind.
"Rude service!" I say loudly and look over my shoulder. The woman at the desk is still typing, unaware of me talking loudly. I press the up button for the elevator.
"What floor?" Will leans over my shoulder. I look down at the woman's tight and scribbly handwriting.
Maddison Dark. - Army Reservation
Floor- 7--- Room 716
Roommate- Army Reservation--- Nia Parkers
Checked In--- 11: 42 p.m.
"Roomate, Nia Parkers. That'll be interesting." The elevator dings the up button and the golden doors pull open. We step inside and I punch the button '7'. The elevator gives a jolt and then we are gliding up.
"Floor 3." The commanded elevator lady's voice booms in the speaker. We stop abruptly and the doors slide open again. A girl about my age and height steps in. Her hair is a shiny black and her eyes are a deep green. Her skin is pale and she has freckles dotted over her nose. She resembles Chris more than me and Will do.
"Hi. I'm Nia! Army recruit. And you must be..." Nia holds her hand out to me and I shake it.
"Maddie." I say.
"Maddison! You must be my roommate." She pulls away her hand and then looks at me.
"Do you know her?" She asks Will. He stands straighter and then looks over at Nia.
"She is my sister." He says. The sliding elevator doors shut and we start jolting up to the seventh floor.
"Well I can't wait 'til boot camp. My sister, Chrissa, said it was so much fun." Nia surely isn't shy, at all. Will becomes more stiff as the name 'Chrissa' is mentioned. It has 'Chris' in it.
"Floor seven." Says the elevator voice. The doors pull open and we step out. I hug Will and then he steps back into the elevator. The doors glide shut and then Will is gone. Me and Nia walk down the hallways until we reach room 716. She pushes open the door and we get settled in by throwing our duffle bags on our beds and then sitting and talking. Finally, we talk so much that I start getting hungry. Nia speaks up.
"Hey wanna get some lunch? I'm starved!" She stands up from her bed and walks over to the door.
"Sure." I say and follow her out the door.
YOU ARE READING
Military Girl
RandomMaddie enlists in the army. What has she got to lose? Her brothers best friend beats her up, her mom doesn't care about what she does, her dad is recorded as MIA, and her brother is planning to get married. Why not join the military? Why not prove t...
