I woke up an hour early feeling extremely excited. "But why am  I this excited?" I tried to remember, "Oh, that's right! Alice is here, duh!" I thought as I slapped my forehead. I picked out my fatigues, combat boots, my favorite army green T-shirt, and braided my hair Katniss style. I overheard a conversation yesterday about the transfers. Apparently, the only paperwork they're getting is a schedule, a map, and that's it! I already knew about almost everything there was for a Cadet to know, so I thought I could give up some of my paperwork for Alice.

Sadly, there wasn't a huge welcoming party for them. Max said the transfers were being brought in by jet, which meant that I got to go out on the runway, somewhere I've never been before! However, that's a restricted area, so I had to get special permission from Commander Howlett. Of course it wasn't an issue, but he seemed...excited for the new transfers to. I didn't dare ask why, but still, I was curious.

The flight crew wouldn't let us on the tarmac until the jet came to a complete stop, which took forever because the pilot was trying to get as close to us as possible. I was practically jumping out of my pants when Alice finally got out of the jet! I waved and when she saw me, she almost tripped several people as she thundered down the stairs. "Sarah!" Alice cried as we hugged each other.

"I've missed you so much even though I saw you, what...a whole three days ago?" I joked. Alice laughed.

"It was torture knowing that you were so close and yet so far away," Alice said as she blinked a few tears away.

"Hey, there she is!" Katie bellowed as she and the others hurried over to introduce themselves. I surveyed the crowd for Peter. I knew it was a long shot, but I was still hopeful. I couldn't find him, but what I did find was very intriguing. Commander Howlett was actually smiling and shaking hands with some guy dressed in all black that was wearing a mask and they seemed to know each other pretty well.

"What are you looking at?" Someone snapped their fingers right next to my ear and I gave a startled flinch. "Sarah, what are you looking at?" Vidia repeated.

"I was trying to see if I knew who any of the other transfers were," I answered.

"And..."Max said looking at me expectantly.

"I didn't recognize anyone else," I sadly admitted.

"Sorry Sarah," Alice said, "Peter wasn't there, believe me, I checked." I sighed deeply.

"Who's Peter?" Katie asked excitedly. I gave her a grave look before replying,

"He's a lost loved one."

"Oh," Katie whispered. An uncomfortable silence washed over our group, but then Commander Howlett hurried over.

"This is one of our finest  groups of Cadets right here!" he bragged. We all grinned as we glanced at each other. "This is Cadet Hardy, Stewart, Thompson, Adams, and it looks like we've got a new one!" Commander Howlett said introducing each of us. Alice gave a big smile before I asked,

"Now that you've introduced all of us, maybe you could introduce your friend Commander?"

"You can call me Mike," the masked man answered as he shook my hand.

"What happened to 'Commander' as your first name?" Katie asked.

"I'm going to be here about a week, so there's no need in seeing me as a superior,"Mike answered.

"Well, Mike, it was nice to meet you," Max said as we started to walk away.

"Actually, we were headed that way to," Commander Howlett said.

"Commander, we really don't  need a babysitter," I said annoyed.

"With your track record lately, I don't think it's a bad idea," he answered.

"I can take care of myself. Besides, all of my friends are here now."

"Yeah, but aren't they the ones that got you in trouble in the first place?" Commander Howlett asked.

"That's half the fun of it," I smirked as I turned to my friends who were helping Alice carry her stuff in. I picked up a bag and looked back to see a dumb-struck Commander. I smiled smugly and then hauled stuff to Alice's quarters with the rest of our group. I heard Mike laugh.

"I like her! She's not afraid to open her mouth. Reminds me of somebody else I know," Mike teased.

"Whatever," Commander Howlett grumbled as they followed us.

"I hope you don't mind, but I brought some posters and movies from home," Alice said.

"Really?!" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah! I also brought some warm blankets, since you said it gets kinda cold at night. However, there was a weight limit as far as how much I could bring, so hopefully it'll be enough," Alice explained.

"As long as it's brightly colored, I'm fine," I said. Alice chucked as she started unpacking.

"Has there been any word on Peter?" Alice asked. I shook my head. "Have you even tried  to reach out to him?"

"No," I answered firmly.

"Do you even-"

"Alice! I said no! I'm trying to keep any and all thoughts about him caged up in a small box in the back of my mind. I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!"

"I-I didn't know," Alice cowered.

"I'm sorry Alice, I shouldn't have snapped at you," I quickly apologized.

"Is that what they teach you here? To keep your emotions in check?" Alice asked angrily.

"It's not like that Alice."

"Then what is  it like?" she huffed.

"Every time I choose to let the thought of him go through my head, it only brings me down and makes me feel weak. Alice, you have to be strong if you ever want to survive around here," I explained.

"Wow, you really have changed," Alice said grumpily. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," I said.

"Everyone is to report to the Dining Hall right away," Commander Howlett informed us.

"Ok, we'll be out in a minute," I said.

"Wait a second," Alice started, "wasn't that the same guy that-"

"Alice, whatever is going on out there sounds important and we should probably be there exactly when they want us to be there," I interrupted.

"Fine, but don't think I'll let your interest in the Commander  go unnoticed," Alice warned. As we walked out, I spotted the Commander leaned up against the wall and, realizing that I had seen him, he gestured for me to come over. I secretly signaled back to wait a minute. "Hey Sarah, where are we going exactly?" Alice asked.

"Uh, just follow the herd and I'll find you later," I said as I turned to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I have to run a quick errand," I answered. Alice suddenly looked nervous. "Follow the herd and you'll be fine, ok?" Alice nodded and I waited until she was engulfed into a sea of people before I made my way over to Commander Howlett. "What's up Commander?" I asked as I approached him.

"I don't think you should be sharing your quarters with your friend," he said as we joined the herd.

"Why not? Alice and I have been best friends since third grade, we do everything together. I can't just shut her out! It would lead to hurt, confusion, betrayal, and it wouldn't end well," I explained.

"I understand, but things are about to change around here," Howlett said.

"What are you saying?" I asked confused.

"What I'm trying to say is that you're going to need to focus completely  on the task at hand and I don't want to see you hurt when you realize that you and your BFF can't do everything together anymore," Commander Howlett answered. I couldn't believe him! I wanted to burst out with rage, but I knew that this was hardly the time or place to do so.

"Commander Howlett, I appreciate your concern for my well being, but you have to understand that if what you're saying is true, then that's a risk I'm willing to take," I said harshly.

"Sarah, I don't think you understand what's really going on here."

"You're right, I don't and until I do, I'm sticking with Alice," I answered coolly. "That sorta happened in my dream," I thought as I swiftly walked away and went to find my friends.

"Finally! What took you so long?" Alice asked.

"Sorry, I unexpectedly ran into somebody on the way here," I said.

"Whatever this is about it, it's going to have to wait because they're starting," Max told us. One of the Commanding Officer's tapped the microphone to hush the room.

"Good morning and thank you for coming on such short notice. We have a few announcements to get through and then we'll let everyone go on about their day. Without further delay, I'd like to introduce Agent Maria Hill from S.H.I.E.L.D." applause filled the room as well as a few gasps.

"What's she  doing here?" Katie asked in surprise.

"Couldn't tell ya, but if S.H.I.E.L.D.'s involved, something big is going on," Vidia answered.

"Thank you and thank you all for making the choice to join the military," Agent Hill started and was interrupted with more applause. She quickly raised her hand to silence the crowd, "However, we need to make a few changes." An eerie silence fell over us.

"What does she mean?" Max asked.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling we're not going to like it," I answered.

"Transfers, Cadets, Commanders, the war is getting worse and we need to train our troops faster. In order to do this, we'll need to change the current training procedures. Transfers will train separately from the Cadets and will have to wait longer before they can go on the front lines, Cadets must take it to the next level and will no longer be training to become just troopers, but rather in different field Divisions, Commanders must constantly attend mandatory meetings to receive all of the latest updates, and lastly, there will be quarter room changes for many of you in the weeks and months to come. Good luck to all of you because you're going to need it." With that, Agent Hill walked of off the makeshift stage and then utter chaos broke out. Katie started sobbing on Max's shoulder as he hugged her tightly, Alice kneeled to pray, Vidia was arguing with Jake, and I just stood there in the middle of it as I reprocessed what I had heard. I was too overwhelmed to be around everyone, so I went back to my quarters and watched a movie that Alice had brought from home. Alice showed up about an hour later and instead of talking, she watched the movie with me. She soon fell asleep and I left her in peace and quiet.

 I was expecting to find Vidia in the Training Room and was surprised to find Katie releasing all of her energy on a punching bag. "Fancy seeing you here," I said playfully.

"Your real  funny Sarah," Katie lashed out.

"Hey, I didn't mean to upset you," I answered cautiously.

"Believe it or not, even the girly girls like me have our moments," Katie said.

"How is everyone else holding up?" I asked. Katie went back to punching as she answered,

"Max is blowing stuff up on his video games and Vidia's brooding in her quarters. What about Alice?"

"She's sleeping right now, but I think she'll be alright," I answered. I surveyed the room for Alex, since this felt like a time that he'd come in and make us feel worse, but I couldn't find him. I also realized that Chelsea wasn't there either. "Where's Alex and how come Chelsea isn't out here? I thought she was trying to get some abs," I asked confused. Katie stopped to catch her breath.

"Chelsea got her abs all right, however, she attracted a few more boys than what she was hoping for."

"Oh?" I said as I cocked an eyebrow, "Does that mean they're dating or something?" Katie laughed.

"Chelsea's a party girl, they're doing a lot  more than just dating," Katie said smoothly.

"Gross! Who would want to do that with a jerk like him?" I asked disgusted. Katie shrugged.

"Beats me. You know, with all this commotion, I was thinking that Alice, Vidia, you, and me could have a spa day!"

"What? Katie, that's impossible! There aren't any spa's in the military and you of all people should know that," I said.

"Says who?" Katie smiled, "Be at my quarters in say...an hour with Alice and any beauty supplies the two of you have, ok?"

"I'll see what I can do," I answered unsurely.