The Military Academy
“I’m just leaving, but I have to go to the Trading Centre first.”
“Well, hurry up. If we don’t get through at least two sections, we’ll fall behind.”
“I’ll ride as fast as I can.” She pressed the disconnect button and mounted her bike.
Lesley climbed the stairs to the second floor of the Middleton home and peered through the open door at Mo, who lay on her stomach on her bedroom floor, open books and several diagrams scattered in front of her.
Mo looked up. “You finally made it. What was so important that you had to go to the Trading Centre right away?”
Lesley opened her satchel and handed Mo the study sheets.
“I thought you were going to tell them,” Mo said after glancing at the top sheet. She handed them back to Lesley.
“I tried. But they have their hearts set on me becoming an advocate.” She put her satchel down and sat on the floor next to Mo, resting her back against the side of the bed. “I’m thinking maybe I’ll have to do it.”
“What?” Mo pushed herself up from the floor and sat cross-legged, facing Lesley. She rested her hand on Lesley’s arm. “You can’t do that. It’s not what you want.”
Lesley covered Mo’s hand with her own. “I’ll get used to it.”
“Get used to it? You think you’ll get used to it? Because this is what your life will be like.” Mo picked up one of the books lying on the floor and adopted a stern expression as she held it away from her. “Yes, Overseer, I am here today to request an amendment to Article 721. The article states that a maximum of three Rymellans may view announcements on the same public monitor at the same time. I am here to request that the word ‘three’ be amended to ‘two.’ I have prepared this four hundred-page case that supports my proposed amendment, which I will now read to you, explaining every word in detail.”
Lesley chuckled. “It’s not that bad.”
“Just about.” Mo set the book back on the floor. “And why should you get used to something you don’t want to do? Why not do something you like?”
“If I don’t become an advocate, they’ll be disappointed. Terribly disappointed.”
“So? Les, this is the rest of your life we’re talking about. You have to think of yourself. They’ll get over it.”
“But they’re right. I do love the Law. And the Way.”
“Who doesn’t? But we’re not all advocates. Look me in the eye and tell me you want to be an advocate.”
Lesley looked directly at her. “I can’t.”
“That settles it, then.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Yes, it is,” Mo replied. “Look, all you’ve talked about the past few months is the Military Academy. You were so excited after those cadets visited the Indoctrination Academy. I mean, you got me interested. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. The military crossed my mind, but I wasn’t interested in Interior. I forgot about Defence. Then we went on that tour of Installation 22, tried out the simulator, got to sit in an actual fighter. I was hooked! And I never would have signed up for that tour if it hadn’t been for you.”
Lesley smiled at the excitement in Mo’s eyes. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”
“Yes! And you were as excited about it as I was. What did we say afterward? Oh, I know—we’ll be able to serve the Way, hands-on, without being stuck in an office all day.”
“But then I left the Indoctrination Academy and found out my parents will hate me unless I become an advocate. So now what do I do?”
“You write the entrance exam for the Military Academy. They won’t hate you. They might be mad at you, but they won’t hate you.”
Lesley grimaced. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t even have to tell them unless you pass the exam. The exam is only the first phase, remember?” Mo squeezed Lesley’s hand. “So write the exam. Keep your options open.” She looked at the satchel. “Where are those sheets again?”
Lesley flipped open her satchel and pulled them out.
“Those entrance exams are held year-round, right?”
She nodded.
“When did you say you’d take it?”
“I agreed to take this one.” Lesley pointed to the listing for the college in Sector C4. “Two months away.”
Mo was silent for a moment, then said, “Okay, so you can take both exams. You’ll have five weeks to study for the advocacy exam after you’ve written the one for the Military Academy.”
“Mo, that’s a lot of work.”
“I know. But you can probably pull it off, if you have to. So this is what you do: we’ll get our exam results around two weeks after taking the exam. If you pass, you tell your parents and postpone the advocacy exam for a few months. If things work out and you’re accepted into the Military Academy, you can postpone it permanently.”
Lesley doubted it would be that easy. Her parents wouldn’t forget about advocacy just because she’d passed the entrance exam. They’d be disappointed, perhaps angry. “I don’t know.”
“If you pass, you’ll have to tell them. The next phase is the three-day evaluation. How will you explain being away for three days?”
She wouldn’t be able to, and wouldn’t have to if she declined the evaluation and gave up on pursuing the military. As Mo had said, the exam was only the first phase.
“And don’t forget, the Military Academy exam isn’t held year-round. So if you don’t write it and then decide you want to, you’ll have to wait an entire year. You’ll end up a year behind me, and we wouldn’t want that, would we?” Mo looped her hands around Lesley’s neck. They touched foreheads. “So what do you say? You going to throw away all the hard work you’ve already done, or take the exam?”
Lesley took Mo’s face in her hands and kissed her. What would she do without her? “I’ll take the exam. But I don’t know what I’ll do if I pass.”
“That’s fine. One step at a time.” Mo grinned and pulled away. “So let’s get back to studying, before we get caught up in doing other things.”
Lesley let go of Mo’s hand, got down on her hands and knees, and reached under the bed to drag out a knapsack.