Clara woke up from her slumber. A beautiful morning 6am as usual. She did not need an alarm clock as she already clocked in that time within her physical self through her mundane teenage life. She took a morning shower, and put on her school uniform. The day was a special day for her to return to school, gather with her former classmates for the final chat before they separate into different paths of their life's journey.
The farewell ceremony. They have received their final exam results and shall move on to higher education, or enter the workforce. Clara, in her 18, with an average exam score, had decided to further her study as advised by her parents and career advisors. And she just received an acceptance letter the day before.
She felt no excitement though but a relief. A sense of relief that there was something for her in her near future. She walked out of her house, and hopp on her bicycle. As usual, she rode to her school.
Everyone was cheerful and happy for the final gathering of friends there.
"Clara!" Her friend greeted.
She parked her bicycle, locked it and walked towards her group of familiar friends. They set up their picnic area near a tree at the school garden. Their usual spot. Clara was a member of the school botanic club. They all enjoy planting flowers and gardening.
"I got enrolled into a local university!" Said one of them, Amelia was her name.
"That's amazing! I didn't get a chance to get a degree, but will try a diploma course at a local institute." Said another friend, Phoebe. The education system in the country saw a diploma as lower grade compared to a degree. A diploma course would need 2 years to complete while the degree course might take up to 3 years or more.
"How about you, Clara?" They asked.
"I received an offer for a nursing diploma course in a local military institute." She answered.
"That's great! Sure iron bowl you got there!" Said Phoebe. Iron bowl meant a secure future career which would ensure some income that would be enough for a normal living.
"Institute? What a shame!" Fiona, the president of the botanic club walked into the area with her friends accompanying her. She's an elegant and beautiful girl who was a top scorer in the school.
"I wish you best of luck in your life, Clara. You really need a lot of it to survive!" Fiona gave her a smirk and a disdainful stare. Clara did not bother about her. They were from different worlds and lived by different concepts. Fiona and her friends walked away and Amelia whispered…
"Hey, y'all heard the rumours about Fiona? She didn't get a good score in her final exam! But she was able to get an offer from a well known university."
"Yeah! It was an offer from an Ivy League University in the United States
!" Phoebe added.
Clara sure knew about those rumours. She read it on her social media, and she followed Fiona's post. Apparently Fiona was still successfully enrolled into Harvard University. Her father bribed the officer in the admission department for her to get in.
'The strategy is not to get flying colors in academics! But it is to rub shoulders with the sons and daughters of the rich and famous!'
Written on Fiona's status. But for Clara, she just aimed for a simple life. The iron bowl to secure the rest of her life. That was good enough for her. WW3 could never have turned real, in her mind, human beings were matured enough not to start a war. That getting a nurse diploma might land a secure and safe job in any local hospitals. Plus, a military institute position was less desirable, thus, less competitors and easier to get enrolled.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
"Hey Clara! Look! Did you read your offer letter properly?" Amelia pointed at her smartphone. She was reading Clara's offer letter.
"It saids that this is a special program in cooperation with The Royal Military Academy camp in Budapest…"
Clara was shattered hearing that. She sure forgot to read the letter properly. An academy? In their knowledge, university ranks the highest, followed by college, institute and lastly, an academy. It sure sounded bad to her. The society normally regarded those who study in the academy as low performers who should have given up education and started entering into the workforce. But Budapest sounds like an interesting place. Somewhere not in her country. Somewhere within the African continent? It sure sounded like an exotic experience for her, she loved animals anyway. But then, she nearly failed her geography paper. It was time for her to explore some other places outside of her own country.
Original Post: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/51152/tales-of-teleios
*******************************************
"Budapest is in Hungary, Europe! You should go search about it on the internet!" The lady nagging on Clara, she's her mom, a 44 years old office admin.
"Let's go shopping for some winter clothing later. You might need a lot of preparation even though they mention travel and accommodation covered. You need packets of local ramen for sure!" Said her dad, a 46 years old salaryman working as a technical salesman.
"Yay! Finally! The Clara the terror finally need to leave the house! Yay!" Her little brother was trying to tease her. "Shut up, you little brat!" While Clara extended her leg trying to kick him, he dodged the attack, giving her a tongue out squinting face.
"Behave yourself, Clara! You're an adult now! You should be more lady-like!" Her mom nagged again.
"Let's finish up our dinner and head out to the mall!"
They finished their dinner, did the dishes, and her dad drove them to a nearby mall. She bought two pieces of winter jackets and a whole carton of Indomie, her favourite instant ramen, the limited edition flavour. They knew it might not be easily available in Europe. The living cost in Budapest was high considering that she was from a lower middle income family living in a small town of a developing country. They spent their family time in the mall for a movie. Clara was so happy and content with her simple life.
The next morning, she packed her items and got ready for her departure. The academy sent her instructions and details on the procedure. Apparently they arranged someone to guide her all the way from her home to the camp. Which sounded a little strange but that helped lessen her burden to arrange her own journey.
Two men in black suits, arrived in front of Clara's home in an unknown black sedan with some strange license plate. Her dad recognised that special plate number system. An alphabet that only the military in his country would use. It is different compared to government officials. The men helped Clara to carry her luggage. She hugged her mom and dad, and gave her brother a fist bump and left the house.
After hours of journey in the sedan, she arrived at a private airport which was nearby the public civilian airport. Everything felt unfamiliar to her. Maybe that's how the national defence works, in top secrecy. She was anticipating meeting her fellow colleagues. She imagined the exciting moment as shown in the propaganda advertisement shown in those screens in the public train. That was one of her reasons why she joined the military institute. The image of the young students playing VR shooting games and then the scene switched to them flying the jets in the sky, doing sky diving and all those ideas of there won't be a war in near future, but the training was full of fun and excitement. She is eagerly looking forward to the flight!
The men stopped the sedan in front of a jet. It looked like an average small passenger jet. There were another two men waiting for them. They unloaded Clara's luggage and guided her to enter that jet.
"This is Gulfstream G650, it can go up to 7000 miles non-stop. You will arrive at Budapest air base tomorrow morning." A man told Clara.
Original Post: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/51152/tales-of-teleios
They walked into the jet and to her great disappointment, it was a passenger jet, not a military jet as seen on tv. Cozy beige white leather seats with large LCD screen, and a fancy bar table. It looked like a luxury first class flight cabin.
to be continued...