…I hate soldier school.

“ROCCA! CHID!” a voice boomed in my face as I stood, shoulders hunched and my courage all but existent. “It has come to my attention, that you believe you are the best. Best at combat, and strategy, and making decisions—decisions decided by me.”

“I-I never said that.” I muttered.

“SHUT UP!” The Commander whipped around and slammed me in the face with a rod made of coral. I made the mistake of recoiling to the side and took another hit of its dull spikes. “There. All balanced out.”

Her smile was sickening as I adjusted my posture and ignored the stinging on both sides of my head. I didn’t dare look directly at her. Her face was marred with black and white stripes all along her eyes and lips. Those same stripes circled her neck, arms, and legs. It all accentuated her terrifyingly sharp aura.

“As I was saying,” she continued, “You think you know everything. So now we’re here on Ube. Chid, why are we on Ube Islet?”

The boy next to me spoke up, eyes skyward. “To prove our worth, sir.”

“That’s exactly right.” I felt the Commander’s eyes licking my face. I squirmed. “When I blow my conch, you’re going to run the course as fast as your dumb little legs will carry you. Rocca, repeat what I said.”

I stuttered, “W-When you blow the conch—”

A shrill horn bleats through the air as the Commander blows her small conch. The boy next to me is off. I took one long glance at my goal and groaned internally. The Commander’s coral rod snapped at the back of my legs just as I got going.

I. Hate. This. It’s only been ten seconds and I feel as though I’ve damaged a lung. My calves burn, my bare feet are sore. And far beyond me, a stone pathway winds up Ube Islet. From a distance it looks like the aforementioned yam, purple and jagged and so freaking tall. And here I am, running in loops around it.

I had a life before this, you know. I was shy, so my family pushed me around with their errands. I got to dance in my spare time. It was a hassle-free and cushy life. But the military conscription of Berdeng Da Gat comes for us all, and I’m nowhere near rich enough to buy myself out. I turned fourteen only a few months ago and I’m already regretting it.

We’re in the middle of Hell Week, though with my commander its suffice to say it’s going to be a Hell Year. I’ve exercised more in these last few days than I have in my entire life. It’s freaking horrible, and as I follow the sharp turn upwards, I spot my teammate’s back huffing up the grainy path.

“Oy, Chimney.” I growled, huffing and puffing as I took a break at the corner. He turned, only partly, to glance at me from the corner of his mask.

It wasn’t so much as strange as it was out of place. I wear them only during festivals, but for him it’s commonplace. I assume it’s for intimidation purposes only. His wooden mask resembled a monster… with horns. I’m convinced it’s a visual warning to his actual personality.

I wouldn’t be expending all this hateful energy on him if he weren’t so insufferable. He’s a commander’s pet, a know it all, and one of the strongest guys on our team. The complete opposite of me.

“Rocca,” he muttered—nay—hissed under his breath as I climbed near. Looks like his head start is costing him in the stamina department.

I smirked triumphantly.

“Weakassbitch say what?”

He blinked at me. “What?”

“HAH!” I snickered and shoved past him, knocking him into the mountain wall. I used those next dangerous few seconds to place as much distance between us before slowing into a jog.

The stone path depletes to man-made wooden ones, rickety and likely to take out my balance if I run. I sped walked up, eyes on the prize, aware of Chicory Bacon’s heavy footsteps behind me as if I’m on a dark and lonely street. The summit lowers into view and I sigh deeply knowing this half of my cruel journey is done. A flat guard tower sits at a corner, and I walk to the ledge opposite of it.

I see the green expanse of sea. Wide, wondrous, sparkling. The burning in my lungs is stricken by heartbreak. I miss home so much. I miss my island. But I can’t even see it from here.

I’m glad I made it here first. Chains-for-brains would never appreciate this kind of view.

In the distance I spot a few other islets, a haze likely to be the mainland some twenty miles away, and a small pile of spires. It’s cold and foreign from way out here, but I know how intimidating it looks from up close. It was the Ocean Guard Academy.

“What are you still doing here? We’ve got to beat the course.” Chinchilla barked from behind me. I turned to face him, the heels of my feet balanced on the edge. His intimidating hulk strikes down any confidence I had. He still looks pissed over that comment from earlier. He probably won’t like it when he hears of his stupid nicknames.

“I-I got here first, so—” my eyes dropped to my toes. I instantly regretted what I’d done on the path. “I-if anything, blame yourself for being so slow—”

“Keep up,” he growled, stalking closer, “Or stay out of my way.”

Before I could even think of a smart retort, he elbowed me in the gut, shoving me off the cliff.

Holy hell!

“Chi—” I gasped, but I’m already falling backwards with no handrails. My gut dropped as the purple rock I scaled rushes past. I closed my eyes and held my head—

FWSHHHH, I plunged into the water, legs numb. I opened my eyes to a cloud of fizzy white bubbles. When the mist clears, I see a sparkling green mermaid tail. My mermaid tail.

Ohhhh right...

Another body dropped in above me silhouetted in bubbles. A dark green tail striped in furious white lines glared at me. It belongs…to Chid.

(That,) I signed furiously, (was rude!)

He kicked and swam on, ignoring me completely. No glare, no middle finger. I flipped over and found the rest of the obstacle course. It occurs to me that scaling Ube Islet was the easy part. I sighed…

Correction: I hate mermaid soldier school.