Gym was mandatory, and it was also three hours.
The first hour was running. Straight running. If you stopped running, you had to stay back another hour and make up what you missed, even if it was just to tie your shoes. Most people ditched their shoes within the first forty-five minuets, and Mikee was one of them. Sure, running in socks was something that could cause a concussion, but it made running easier. When the Captain's weren't looking, Mikee would stop to heave a large breath, and move on.
The second hour was ropes. When I mean ropes, I mean ropes. How to tie knots, climbing ropes, walking through ropes courses, and all that fun stuff. Because it was the first day, it was more of an introduction to ropes than anything else, and for that, Mikee was thankful. They talked about how the school year would work out, and how it would be executed and what they should do incase of something or another.
The third hour was weights. They lifted weights, worked out their upper and lower body, and measured themselves. They had to reach atleast a 45% weight and muscle-mass improvement by the end of the year, and if they didn't meet that quota, they got held back and wouldn't be able to get their degrees. At all. Mikee weighted 120 pounds, and if he needed 45%, that would be a whopping 174 pounds he'd need to be. That kind of weight made Mikee scared, but he knew he had no say in this. Mikee was lucky he still had a few inches to grow before he finished for the rest of his life.
By that time, it was noon, and they were dismissed to lunch, with a twenty minuet passing time. Mikee used that time to talk to his roommate, and his new class mates. They talked about what they wanted to major in, and all the shit that they had to do to get accepted into the academy. Mikee talked about how he had to kiss ass all his life, and others talked about all the scholarships they had to work their ass for. Needless to say, they were all connected through one thing or another, and Mikee had a feeling that he would have fun here.
The rest of the day was full of classes and when dinner rolled around, they were all dismissed to a role call. During role, the Captain's had to discuss the good points of the day and the bad. They had to stand at attention, and not move or else they would get called out for it. After a solid forty minuets, they were dismissed to their dorms. They had two hours before lights out, and in those two hours you could go from dorm to dorm, and from the dorms to the campus.
Mikee was exhausted, and didn't bother. He went to bed early that night.
Back at home, though, a group of people knew that they wouldn't be heading back to bed for a long time. It was a group of about six adults and one child, but they shuffled together as one body. Some had flowers, some had food and candy, others had cards and stuffed animals. One even had a bottle of wine, but no one mentioned that, because it was hidden in one of the stuffed animals.
They asked about James Parker, and they went into the room collectively. They didn't bother knocking, because James would know who they were with one look: It was Mikee's family. It was Mikee's mother that came in first, holding a large cake, with 'GET WELL SOON JAMES' written in bright blue frosting. She tried to smile for him, but she was as shocked and aghast as James had been at the realization.
Then it was Mikee's grandfather. He came in and placed a wondrous amount of roses on the bed, and he hugged James as best as he could. He mumbled a Jewish prayer to the boy, in hopes that he would get well, and slapped him gently on the shoulder, trying to smile for him. More and more people shuffled in, and the last one to come in was James. Little James!
James came in, tottling in her little green sundress. She had her hair in braids once more, and in one hand she had a small picture she drew. In crude crayon, it wrote "GET WELL SOON JAMES 2!!!" with a picture of both James and James holding hands and smiling under a large smiling sun, with the trees smiling and a little squirrel smiling. Everything was smiling, and so was James.
Little James crawled up onto the hospital bed, and gave Big James a big hug. "Are you okay?!" She asked loudly, using her little hands to press his cheeks together. "Who hurt you!! I'll hurt them, because I'm James, and you're James, and Jameses should help Jameses out!" She said, with a determined grin.
The family accepted James into the family from the moment they had met, and nothing would or could change that. Mikee's mother went over to speak with him, once James had finished her little rant. "James," She asked gently talking quietly to him. "How are you?" She asked this innocently. She didn't know how he was, or how he should be, or if he should be anything at all.
"My apologies for being so.. intrusive," She said. "I tried to call, I did, but no one answered. I wanted to know if you were feeling okay?" She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I got the news after I dropped off Mikhaeel at the airport, and wanted to see you as quickly as I could." She shook her head. "Oh God, for shame, Mikee does not even know..." She changed the subject as soon as possible. "They are all writing to him, and he would appreciate it if you did, too."
She paused a little, and wiped her eyes. "He did like you. He really did. I do not want to say so soon, but I saw the way he looked at you. I saw the way you looked at him. I could tell, it is a mother thing." She smiled, and rubbed his shoulder. "I am sorry he did not tell you. It was his best intentions to not hurt you, but you have to understand that Mikee is... How you say, very anxious. He jumps so much, at every chance and every opportunity. I have never seen him sit still, atleast not for very long. He likes to keep himself busy," She pulled away from the boy.
"But remember this, James," She started. "He does care. I've heard him talk about you. This was hard for him, to pick, but I know he will do good... But he is still young, he is still a child. He is turning sixteen in a matter of weeks, and I had to let him go when he was still a baby. You are still a baby, and you..." She teared up a bit. "Babies should not hurt like this." She motioned to James. "And he wants to fly. He wants to be a pilot. He wants to fight in wars. My baby boy is getting his wings, and he is too little to fly out of the nest." She covered her mouth, and turned away from James.
She only looked back when she had collected herself. "If you need anything, if you want some food, or a hot shower, or some soap or good company, I will come to you, yeah?" She went and hugged him tightly. "I will leave the address for Mikee. I do not blame you if you will not write him. I'm mad at him, too, so I will not be leaving him a message." She snickered, and pulled away. "It is what it is. If you do not send a letter, then he does not get one. But if you do write one, I will write one with you, and we can send them together. Pinky swear."
Florence smiled when the boy gave him the shirt, and he held the keychain tightly. He would attach it to his Lacrosse case as soon as possible. Once everything was paid for, Florence went into the car and quickly took off his shirt. He laughed loudly as Nate made a scene about how it was indecent, or rude. He put on the bright pink shirt, and pulled on his captain's sweatshirt.
Once that was all said and done, they drove to the hospital.
