Fallacies

Chapter 6

When I walk in, there are already a couple dozen recruits inside, primarily guys. Only four are girls and they sit together on the second to lowest row of the auditorium-like seating to the left of the room, talking among themselves. Most wear tight jeans with fitting t-shirts, while a couple wear dresses. The remaining guys are pretty much scattered. A few sit talking with one or two others, while the rest are waiting expectantly on their own, every single one of them in jeans and black or grey t-shirts. I look for a spot to sit that won't put me out of place, moving towards the center of the room as I slowly approach the seats.

"Natalie," a voice comes just above me. I glanced up to see Sean standing behind the control panel of the central computer station. "Please take a seat. Training's about to start."

The argument from last night definitely fazed him. His face looks tired, kind of like my parents' would after a fight the night before, as rare as it was. I feel bad for him, since I never intended to hurt his feelings or stress him out. Still, I can't forget that I'm upset with him, regardless of who he is.

Nodding at him in acknowledgement, I pick a seat next to the four girls on the lowest level of the middle floor. They introduce themselves as Katelyn, Ashley, Maggie, and Sarah, all having met this morning on the way to class. Katelyn has long, blonde hair pulled up in a high ponytail with hazel eyes and red lipstick. Ashley has auburn hair down to her mid-torso and deep-blue eyes. She's the most talkative and sits two seats over from me. Maggie is the complete opposite of the two, a little timid and shy, but with bright, naturally red hair and light-green eyes that are looking at the ground for most of the time that we're talking. The last of the girls is Sarah, a blonde with hair laid messily down to her waist and blue eyes that are sharply focused on whoever is talking. I can tell that they're nervous, while making the best of the situation. After a few minutes of talking, I become curious when class was starting.

"Hey," I ask them, thinking that they might have a watch. "Do you guys have any idea what time it is?"

"Oh yeah, sure," Katelyn says, pulling out a phone from her jean pocket. "7:52."

"Wait," I pause, looking at it in confusion.

"No cell phones before or during class," Sean calls from the control panel before I can finish my thought.

Katelyn quickly silences it and puts it back in her pocket, blushing a little from getting called out. I glare right at Sean, but he doesn't seem to notice.

"I thought that we weren't allowed to have cell phones on us at all," I say.

"Not that I know of," she answers, looking between the other three to reassuring head shakes. "The handbook said that we couldn't use them once class started, but nothing about leaving them at home. Did you see that bit?"

"I actually never got one," I explain, getting frustrated and realizing that I was either lied to or taken advantage of.

"Wait, really?" Sarah asks, pulling one out of her bag. "Here's mine. I read through it already, so you can hold onto it."

I happily take it.

"Thank you so much," I say, opening it up immediately.

The handbook includes an index of everything to look forward to at the base, including the cell phone and attendance policy. According to the policies, cell phones are allowed on base but new recruits are expected to keep them in their rooms at all times until training is completed, apart from weekends so that they can incorporate their lifestyles into the military. In terms of training, all recruits are expected to attend every session like Sean explained, other than for reasons of illness or medical leave. One unexcused absence will result in a warning with a potential for withdrawal from the training program, while a second will result in immediate withdrawal.