“What does he want me to do? Does he think it is easy to pass the military Aptitude Test? Can any of them have passed the test?” She grumbled and took a step. Suddenly, she saw Pa Suresh's wife and two children coming towards her. The younger child was a boy of nineteen years and Gerald's friend. She smiled happily at them when they got closer. Just like their father, they did not recognize her.“Good morning, Mrs. Suresh. Hi, Ann and Fabian,” she greeted them warmly. When she saw the perplexity on their faces, she asked, “Have you forgotten me? I'm Laura. Pa Dickson's daughter.”Indeed, she had changed from a village farmer to a city girl. Her tan complexion due to constant exposure to the sun, was shining. Her simple dress looked beautiful compared to what she used to put on.“Oh, Laura! How are you?” Mrs. Suresh asked. Before she could answer, Fabian asked her, “Good morning, Laura. How are Gerald and Samuel?”Instantly, the smile on her face vanished and she asked, “Are they not
They laughed softly and told him all that happened in the kitchen and he tapped their shoulders one after the other.“I'm proud of you,” he complimented them. They got to the dining table shortly and began to eat happily as though their family did not exist.At Laura's HouseThe sunglasses covered only her swollen eyes but not her dejected and weak body. After alighting from the taxi, she walked quickly into the house. She answered the guards' greetings perfunctorily with a nod and moved on.“What has been troubling our boss since yesterday?” A guard asked his colleague.“It baffles me too. She has grown lean. Maybe because of the miscarriage,” he remarked.“Or is she missing her late husband?”“I don't think so. It was obvious that she never loved him.”Nevertheless, instead of walking into her house, she walked to her parents' apartment and they were surprised to see her alone. “Where are they,” they asked in astonishment. She sank slowly into the couch and began to cry which baf
At Lt. Col. Smirnoff's ApartmentHe was in a quandary after the chat with the Deputy Head of State. He was sitting in the parlor when his wife, Ruth was discussing freely with him from the kitchen but he was not as responsive as she expected especially when she cracked some jokes. She walked up to him and asked, “What is troubling you, hubby?” At first, he ignored her but when she persisted, he cheered up and lied, “Forgive my absent-mindedness. I was thinking of the victory of Savannah over her enemies.”His wife picked interest in the war and asked, “What about the war?”“Imagine if an enemy attacked our country.”“Oh, my God. I pray it won't happen.”“I pray so, too.”Afterward, his wife returned to the kitchen while he continued watching his television. Then, his phone rang and he was attracted to it. He picked it up from the center table and was disoriented when he saw the caller. Many thoughts flickered through his mind while he only looked at it until it timed out.“He has d
“You will write a 'Thank You' note for him and I will deliver it to him on your behalf.”The idea seemed good and they promised to do that, “We got it, Brother-in-law.”Nevertheless, Samuel who was in the back seat was not satisfied with his proposal. He wondered how a nobody like Tim would see the Head of State and inquired, “Do you mean to deliver it by courier, Brother-in-law?” Tim laughed inwardly and simply replied, “Yes.”He looked at Gerald and asked, “What excuse will you give for returning to school late?”“We will say that we were sick.”“Better. Tell the Commandant that you were sick and the Head of State took you to the hospital and insisted that you must return with your food.”The arrangements were pleasant to them and they agreed. Soon, they were at the school gate. Incidentally, they were not the only ones resuming that morning but the only ones with a funny car. He got out of the car and took his rightful position as the driver to the children of a higher-up.“You c
At The Canterbury Defense AcademyThe Commandant's question was as though he was asking his friends and Gerald began with apologies, “We apologize, Lt. Colonel for not returning to school as we promised.”“Why?” He asked with concern.“We were sick and the Head of State took us to the hospital and insisted that we must return with our food.”The Commandant's eyes widened in astonishment. He looked at them again and asked, “Were you the boys at the Headquarters' gate?”“Yes, Commandant,” Gerald answered shyly. The Commandant was astounded and he looked into their eyes and asked, “How are you?”“We are fine, Commandant.”“I'm delighted to hear that. What are your names?”“My name is Gerald Dickson and my brother's name is Samuel Dickson.”“I see. I'm glad to have you back, Gerald and Samuel.”“Thank you, Commandant,” they responded simultaneously.“It's all right. Run along so that you will not be late for lessons.”“Thank you, Commandant,” they responded gladly and carried their stuff
He got to the gate and asked the gate men to let him in and they did. After he parked his car, he led him to the parlor.“Welcome once again, Your Justiceship. Kindly sit down,” he said and motioned him to a seat“Thank you, General. I must compliment you for the impact you have recorded within a few days in the company,” Justice Vancouver stated. Tim smiled satisfactorily and replied, “I'm humbled Your Justiceship. I wish I could do more."“That is good to hear. Keep up the good work.”“Thank you, for that. I called you because of the divorce between my ex-wife and me.”“Oh! What about it?”“I wish to get my alimony.”“Didn't you collect it that day?”“No, Your Justiceship. I did not collect it because I was overemotional. I was disoriented to know that she opted for a divorce.”“That won't be a big deal. The court will write her to pay you at once,” the Judge stated with levity until Tim informed him of the problem.“There is a problem and I think you should know beforehand.”He gav
36. Different IdeaAt that point, they were scared especially the Head of security that he hit on Friday. Unknown to George, the Corporal did not notify them that their attention was needed by him. However, he attributed it to a slight on his office and barked, “All of you, go down on your knees.”“We apologize, …,” one of them tried to apologize instead of kneeling.“Don't disobey my order or you will be in for it,” he interrupted him and warned. Presently, they were on their knees and George faced the Corporal and inquired, “Where is the guardroom?”“It's beside the Maintenance Department, General," he answered.“That is good. Let them hop to the guardroom and lock them up. They will be there until I say otherwise.”“I got it, General,” he answered and they hopped to the guardroom which was two thousand meters away.Meanwhile, they were not aware of their offenses. They attributed the punishment to not walking fast to him and nothing more.In The OfficeAfter George and the Gener
At The Canterbury Defense AcademyAfter the Commandant sent Gerald and Samuel to their Housemaster, Sgt. Thomas Dotson pondered over the story surrounding them.“Who would want to post a picture of the Cadets who visited their parents on social media? What does the person wish to achieve?” He was deep in thought when the Housemaster walked in and greeted him, “Good morning, Lt. Col.”The Commandant jolted back to reality and responded, “Good morning, Housemaster. Did you see the boys I sent to you?” He asked.“Yes, Commandant. They showed me the stuff they returned with and said that you permitted it.”“Yes. They have been ill, and they needed the stuff to recuperate fast.”“I got it. I asked them to leave them in my office to avoid being distracted and the envy of the other students.”“Your decision is apt. By the way, whose children are they?”“I don't know. I have never met their parents and I only interacted with one Tim."“One Tim?”“Yes, Commandant. I guess he is their aid.”“
The President's Office. After instructing Bright, he became busy with work but had his eyes on the CCTV. When a lady walked into the Secretary's office, he saw a mature lady with a good spirit and positive outlook “Is she the one?” He asked himself and began to monitor her. “Good morning, Bright. I'm Ella Patrick.” “I know. Good morning. Your services at the Senior Staff member's house is over. You are hereby recalled to the canteen.” “It's all right. When do I return?” She responded as though she had been expecting it. “Now,” Bright said and watched her countenance. “I got it. Have you informed the Canteen Supervisor? He wasn't expecting me back.” “It is possible. Let's see him,” Bright accepted and got up. He looked at Gilbert and informed him, “Let the President know that I have gone to the canteen.” “I will do that, Mr. Desmond,” he responded and they watched them walked out. George smiled happily and mumbled, “She is fine. I pray that Dad loves her.” At The Lobby Laur
At The President's Office Capt. Bolton walked in after he settled down and informed him of the Cadets.“How many of them are we supposed to absorb?” He asked and pretended as if Bright had not informed him.“We absorb one hundred of them every year.”“That is good to hear. How much stipend do we pay them?”“Nothing. The experience they gain from us is enough for them.”“Don't you think that it is absurd? If we can't encourage them, who will?”The General Manager thought for a while and explained, “I have not given it a thought.”“There is room for improvement. Meanwhile, inform the Corporal to stop collecting more applications.”“I got it. What is our conclusion on the stipend?”“If I may ask, how long is the internship? In our days, it was three months.”“It's still the same.”“It is all right. Let's encourage them with one percent of the senior staff salary. That wouldn't be too much on us for three months.”The General Manager giggled and declared, “I will go back to where I did m
Now, George was holding two guns and looked like the troublemaker. The Mall security guards rushed to the scene and tried to intervene but they were shocked to see a Major holding a rifle and looking at them as though they were entertaining him. They looked at the two and concluded that the Major was calm because the money bag was a pickpocket.“I say kneel,” George shouted and he reluctantly got up and complied.“Remove your jacket,” he ordered.“You will regret …,”George did not give him the grace of completing his threat and hit his head with his gun.“Ouch,” he shrieked aloud.“Shut up and remove your jacket,” he ordered.He locked eyes with him and discovered that he had judged him wrongly. “Remove your jacket,” a security guard lent his voice.He looked at the onlookers and looked down in shame. The security guard who despised the clunker the day Tim bought three expensive phones at the same time just saw the car. To his dismay, he was calm and busy with his phone. Presently,
At Tim's Room He hardly took five steps when Hope's phone beeped with a message. He overlooked it and walked to his room, changed his wear and relaxed on the bed before he read his messages.(Yes. I'm here, Hope. Can we chat?)(I just want to update you. My informant said that the invited Head of States have acknowledged their invitations and promised to be at the event.)(That is good to hear. What next?)(The publicity for the anniversary will be on air tomorrow.)(I can't wait to see it.)(You have not said anything about your sponsor. Won't he be present?)(Just go on with your publication.)(It's all right.)Tim was euphoric when the chat ended.“I am older than you in this game,” he thought aloud.At Laura's HouseMany things like the Barrister's email, her apology video, ruined her day but the one that hit her below the belt was the privilege that George gave to Bright.“Why does he hate me so much?” She asked herself and pretended to have forgotten all she had said about him
At Tim's HouseGeorge was happy to leave the office after the inspection of the proposed site for the mill and the collection of the proposal. Unfortunately, he got home and discovered that Tim was not at the foyer to receive him.“Huh!” He hissed while Collins drove on.His worries increased when he did not see Tim's clunker at the garage.'Where could he be? Is he not back from the mall?' He asked himself and got out of the car.“Thank you, Collins,” he said and hurried to his room to see his father.He opened the door and stood still when he saw the bed empty. After observing it for a while, he walked in and called out, “Dad.”When he did not hear any response, he pushed the door and looked in but did not see his father.“Where will he be?” He mumbled.At that point, his military might gave way and was replaced by affinity and the longing of a child. He fought back his tears when he remembered the time he was alone and without the hope of seeing his father again.To relieve himself
At Laura's HouseElla got home and kept her findings to herself. She was aware that they will not believe her. Apart from that, even if he was alive, they would not be happy to hear that.“Welcome back, Ella,” Madeline greeted her and watched her remove her things from the car trunk.“Thank you, Mrs. Dickson,” she responded, covered the trunk and the driver drove off.Instantly, she pointed out, “It's like you forgot some things in the car?”“Not at all, Mrs. Dickson,” she answered and picked up a bag.Mrs. Dickson pick up another bag and followed her to the store.“What happened, Ella? Previously, you buy more than this?”“The fund that the boss gave to me was not as much as it used to be. So I got what I can afford with it.”“It's all right,” she hid her disappointment and answered.She returned to her apartment and informed her husband of the lean budget and he marvelled.“Could her salary been tampered with?” He asked anxiously.“I wish I know,” she responded and her husband was c
At The President's OfficeShortly after he walked into his office, Brig. Dale walked in. He stood up immediately and saluted him, “Good morning, Brig. Dale.”He returned the salute happily and they sat down.“The President said he needs the photographs and videos of today's lesson since it is our last day.”“That's good to hear. I need it too.”“It is okay by me. I will get my secretary to do that right away.”Instantly, he called on Bright and he arrived. He was about to give his phone to him when he got a message from Tim. He paused and read through it.(I am at the mall. Do you want me to get a phone for your Dad or will you do that after work? I promise I won't buy a clunker.)George smiled quietly at his promise and replied.(Thank you, for this, Boss. He won't even mind the clunker.)(Okay.)Afterward, he handed his phone to Bright and instructed him on how to use it and get high-quality video and photographs.“I got it, Boss,” he responded with glee and began.He took differen
At The Secretary's Office“This is good,” he said and took his seat.He watched the video again and wrote his note.(This is to notify all staff members that no form of indiscipline will be tolerated in the organization. Anyone found wanting would be decisively dealt with. Signed: Management).He smiled cynically and shared the video. At The Front DeskBarbara was relaxing with her phone while waiting for the visitors who usually gain access into the complex at 10 AM when messages popped up. She quickly tapped on the first message and saw the General Manager's notification that Laura was no more the President's secretary and introduced Bright as the secretary.“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” she thought and glared at Laura.Afterward, she tapped on the second message which was a video and began to watch it. After watching it, she shook her head negatively and looked at Laura again. Meanwhile, she was sad and reading the email from Barr. Gibson and did not notice that she got messages
Tim gave George a mocking look and stated, "Someone suddenly began to miss both of you and we decided to come."George smiled shyly and Samuel declared, "We miss you too.""Yes. We have been homesick since the last time we spoke. How is work?""Work is fine, Gerald. How are your studies?" "Our studies are fine. Thank you for coming.""It is our pleasure," they responded one after the other."How is everyone at home?" Samuel asked."Everyone is fine.""That's good.""I can see that you are doing well," Tim stated."Yes, Brother-in-law.""That is good to hear. If I guess right, you will be through with your exams this coming week?""You are right.""It's all right. See you then.""Okay. Thank you for coming," Gerald said and opened the door."Brother-in-law, remember that you promised to take us to a cinema," Samuel made clear."Yes. The Silver Bird Cinema," Tim admitted and Samuel was glad that the promise was intact."If you perform better than the previous year," George strengthened