Depth of Silence (LSoE Series)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

15 May, Year 655

Central Eulir, 7:21 - Dakota Carton

Light just barely rose over the wall, yet there I was outside of the DeSantis residence in my car.  My parents wouldn't be home all day, so they wouldn't mind me taking it.  The stiff collar I wore wrapped my neck like a toddler to his mother's leg, and the black academy uniform begged for my attention too.  I was a mother to my clothes; have you ever heard anything that crazy?

"Sorry I'm late!  You wouldn't believe-" Celia tilted her head while closing the car door and slowly buckling her seatbelt.  "Are you going to do something with your hair?"

I blinked.  "Considering that this is what I do every day... no?"

A frown crossed her face.  "Well you should put it back or something."

At that point, I noticed that her shoulder length, platinum blond curls were pulled back into a ponytail and her usual light pink eyeshadow didn't adorn her deep blue eyes.  Her dress code remained the same, but I assumed that was because Mister DeSantis wanted his daughters to wear dresses at all times.  I focused in on my own black hair, falling in chunks across my forehead and overlapping into my vision.

"What's wrong with it?" Celia stared at me for a second before sighing heavily and digging around in her shirt pocket.  "Oh, come on. It's not that bad!"

"Today we're working with officers from the Raid Force, not just learning lessons at the academy," Celia frowned while pushing back my bangs and sticking clips in them.  "This is our first taste of the rest of our lives. I won't let you mess that up."

She continued to mutter about how I "didn't look professional" and how my hair would "get in the way" and whatever.  You know girls.  As she placed the last hair in place, I sighed as I looked at myself in the rearview mirror.  "You managed to make me look like a girl."

"You're lucky they don't make soldiers buzz their hair anymore.  And if you don't step on it, we're gonna be known as those two late girls on our first day!" Celia exclaimed as she pointed at the dashboard clock.

Well, terrific.  We had t minus twenty minutes until oh-eight-hundred when the session started, including time we needed to change and get out to the training field.  I maneuvered through back roads so I could floor it all the way to the military base.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll let you in the boys' locker room!" Celia joked as we jogged into the main building and parted ways to change out of our lavish clothes.

I rolled my eyes.  "Oh, har-dee-har."

In the locker room, most of my classmates were just finishing up, including Riley and his brother Graham.  They were identical twins who were both in the Sheath Brigade.  Riley's hair was long enough to have a slight wave of hair pushed over to the side against Graham's unkempt crew cut, but they both had the same "touch-of-tan" skin. Apparently their ancestors were from "France."  Wherever that is, the name has been long lost to all except to Riley, who is a bit of a history freak.

"Nice hair, Kote," Riley teased.

I rotated my lock to it's according numbers and pulled down on it to open up my new locker.  "Hah, I know.  Celia thought my hair was too mess so she kind of... took it over."

"Mm, Riley's had that happen to him all too often," Graham nodded.

"It's really just because she gets bored," Riley shrugged while tying up his tan combat boots.  "Kote over here actually needs the help."