Just as Elise was about to say something, Rowena stopped her by shoving the bag into her hands
before turning around to get into the car. “Goodbye, Miss Sinclair!” Watching as the car vanished from
sight, she lowered her head and looked at the new banknotes with a frown. … The next day, the
freshmen began their military training. All the students were asked by the instructor to change into their
military uniforms and gather at the field early in the morning. Elise was quite tall, so she stood at the far
side of the line. The instructor, Harry Miller, was a young chap that seemed to be in his twenties.
He had dark skin and a sculpted face. “Today’s the first day of your military training. Let’s start with the
most basic military posture.” After looking around, he pointed at a girl standing the furthest from him.
“Come to the front and demonstrate.” Janice Garcia, the girl whom he called upon, strode forward
before standing upright and motionlessly like a tree. Her posture was flawless. “See this? This is the
standard military posture.
Now, it’s your turn. Attention!” With that, all the students stood as required for the military posture. By
noon, many students were already exhausted. During noon break, Addison rubbed her calves and
slumped on the bed. “I can’t do it anymore. I won’t be going in the afternoon.” Handing Addison a bottle
of juice, Ricky said, “Save your energy. It’s only the beginning.” Just as Ricky was speaking, she
glanced at Elise. “Look at her. She looks as if nothing had happened. Your body’s too weak, so you
need to exercise more.” “I’m fine with normal exercises, but this military training is too intense!
Elise, how did you do it like it was nothing?” Addison pursed her lips. Having no choice, Elise
explained, “I attended military training before, so I’m able to cope pretty quickly.” “Oh, I attended
military training during high school too, but that one seemed alright. Why’s it so hard now that we’re in
university?” Upon hearing this, Elise didn’t know what to say. Just then, Ricky remembered something.
“Janice seems pretty good too. I heard she grew up in the army compound,” she said. “Stop talking
about her. I can’t stand seeing her. It’s like I’m seeing Sergeant Miller.”
Addison sighed. Then, she flipped over and continued to lie on the bed after finding a comfortable
position. “Fine. Rest well in the afternoon. We need to assemble at 2:00PM. I’ll come and call you guys
later.” After that, Ricky left the dorm. Elise normally didn’t take naps in the afternoon, so she took out
her exercise book and continued to work on the questions. At 2:00PM, Elise dragged Addison, who
was reluctant to move, to the field. The training had not started, so everyone gathered around Janice
and showered her with flattery. “You’re amazing, Janice!”
“Yeah! Military posture is so hard and has so many requirements, but you did as if it was nothing! I’m
so jealous.” “If I were as good as you, then I wouldn’t have to be punished by Sergeant Miller.” As
Janice listened to everyone’s praises without saying anything, she couldn’t help but smile. Feeling
smug, she was enjoying how everyone fawned over her at that moment. She had undergone various
training with her dad since young. Hence, such trivial military training was a piece of cake for her. “It’s
all thanks to my dad. You guys did great too!”
What she said made her even more likable. Initially, she didn’t know her new classmates that well, but
after some interaction, everyone seemed to like her a lot more. “All the best in the afternoon training,
everyone!” As everyone was talking, Harry made his way over. Immediately, all the students went back
to their places. “We have practiced the military posture in the morning. Now, let’s learn some basic
movements. I’ll demonstrate in front. Those who do well can rest early.” As soon as he said so,
everyone was delighted. However, after he demonstrated, everyone had a problem following.
Though the movement looked simple, it wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be. Mistakes would
happen if they weren’t careful. After failing countless times, Addison broke down. “I can’t do it. It’s too
hard.” “Why do I keep making mistakes?” the other students exclaimed. “It seemed like I knew how to
do it when I was watching him demonstrate, but why do I keep failing when I do it? My gosh!
Somebody save me!” As Elise listened to the other students complain, she did the movement perfectly
as instructed by Harry and stayed in that position.
Then, he walked over and eyed her before kicking her leg. Yet, she stood still without moving an inch.
“Not bad! Very steady. She’s doing a great job. You guys should learn from her.” Glancing at Elise and
Janice, who was standing beside her, he applauded the both of them. “Both of you did a great job. You
may go to the side and take a rest.” Hearing this, Janice did not relax. Instead, she replied, “I’m not
tired, Sir. I can continue.” Hearing this, he looked at her gladly. Then, he turned to glance at Elise.
“Good. Please continue, then.” “Yes, Sir.” With that, Janice and Elise continued to stay in positions.
Standing tall, both of them attracted the attention of the rest of the class with their military-style display.
After quite a while, they finally relaxed and took a break. Holding a bottle of water, Elise turned around
and removed her mask to drink. Out of curiosity, Janice went over to peek at Elise’s face. However,
Elise had already put on her mask quickly. “Why do you keep wearing a mask?” Janice asked
inquisitively. “I’m used to it,” Elise answered. As soon as Janice heard Elise’s reply, she couldn’t help
but recall the rumors from before. Though Elise had good grades, she always wore a mask because
she looked hideous. The corner of Janice’s mouth tugged upward as she thought of this.
So what if she’s as good as me during the military training? I definitely look much better than
her. “Good luck in the 50-meter obstacle course later.” Janice smiled. Everyone knew that Janice was
the proudest of her achievements in the 50-meter obstacle course out of all the other programs in
military training. She even broke the record by completing it within two and a half minutes. Up till then,
no one could surpass it.
Hence, she was really looking forward to the next event as she was confident that she would do well
and impress everyone. “You too!” Elise replied. In response, Janice shrugged and looked into the
distance. “Let’s end our goose step practice. Well done, everyone. The next activity, the 50-meter
obstacle course, will be a simple assessment of your overall performance for the past two days.
The passing mark is 3 minutes and 20 seconds, while the full mark is 2 minutes and 50 seconds. It will
be conducted according to your student ID number.”
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