fictionpage Chapter 108: The First Day of Military Training, "Aquaman's" Prediction
Chapter 108: The First Day of Military Training, "Aquaman's" Prediction
The first day of military training.
Lin Bei was awakened by the intermittent whistles in the corridor.
He rolled over and covered his head with the pillow.
As a result, the whistle penetrated the pillow and continued to drill into the ear.
Zhang Wei leaned down from the top bunk, his hair sticking up like a bird's nest.
His eyes weren't fully open yet, and he mumbled sleepily, "What time is it?"
Lin Bei took out his phone and glanced at it, only to find that it was already 7:30.
Last night we drank until almost 10 p.m., and after we got back, the four of us lay in bed and chatted until after 2 a.m.
They started by talking about embarrassing moments from high school, then moved on to which girl in their class was pretty, and eventually the conversation escalated to national affairs.
I've only slept for less than five hours so far.
After sitting up in bed, Lin Bei said, "Military training starts at eight o'clock. We have half an hour to wash up and have breakfast."
Upon hearing that time was so urgent, all three of them immediately sat up in bed.
When Wang Yuan climbed down from the top bunk, he missed a step, and his slipper flew off and hit Bai Yawen's bedside.
Bai Yawen closed his eyes, picked up his slippers, put them on the ground, turned over, and continued sleeping.
Wang Yuan hopped on one foot to pick up his slippers, muttering, "Oh no, oh no."
"I'm going to be late on the first day. The counselor said that anyone who is late has to run five laps around the track."
Lin Bei stepped onto the bed ladder, patted Bai Yawen's bedside, and said, "Get up, it's time for military training. You'll be late if you keep sleeping."
Bai Yawen opened his eyes, glanced at Lin Bei, and then closed them again.
A few seconds later, he suddenly opened his eyes and sprang up from the bed, faster than Wang Yuan had just missed his slipper.
Then, the four of them hurriedly put on their camouflage uniforms.
Zhang Wei tried to fasten his belt three times but couldn't. Looking down, he realized he was holding it upside down.
Wang Yuan's trousers were still too long. He rolled the cuffs in twice, stood up and took a few steps, but they slipped down again.
Lin Bei pulled his hat up in front of the mirror, the brim pulled up above his eyebrows, and straightened his collar.
He turned around and saw Bai Yawen using his fingers as a comb to stuff his curly hair into his hat.
Even after stuffing it in for a long time, a few strands of hair still stuck out.
……
At 7:50, the playground was already filled with freshmen in camouflage uniforms.
As far as the eye can see, everything is green, like a wheat field that has just been turned over in spring.
Each formation was led by its own instructor, a row of olive-green military uniforms standing ramrod straight, their eyes under the brim of their caps scanning back and forth like eagles.
Lin Bei and his classmates from Marketing Class 2 were assigned to the east side of the playground, near the basketball court.
Their instructor, surnamed Sun, was in his early twenties. He had a tanned face and a very loud voice, so loud that even without a megaphone, the last row could hear every word clearly.
The first thing Instructor Sun did when organizing the team was to have everyone stand at attention.
Still, knees together, stomach in, chest out, chin slightly tucked in, eyes looking straight ahead.
He walked past each person, checking how well they were standing at attention.
Instructor Sun walked over to Wang Yuan, paused, rolled up his trouser leg which had slipped down, and said, "Remember to check the size when you wear pants in the future."
"Yes!" Wang Yuan replied, his face turning red to the roots of his neck.
When the instructor walked up to Lin Bei, he glanced at him and nodded: "Your standing posture is quite good. Have you trained before?"
Lin Bei said, "No!"
Instructor Sun nodded again: "Keep it up."
Then he walked to the next student and continued to correct their posture.
Time flies by.
After nine o'clock in the morning, the sun began to blaze, radiating a scorching heat.
The plastic track on the ground was slightly softened by the sun, and you could smell a faint rubbery odor when you stood on it.
The camphor trees beside the playground cast a few pitiful shadows.
But the shadows were too far from the formation; distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.
All the freshmen stood at attention under the sun, sweat streaming down their temples.
Some of the camouflage uniforms on the back of some people already had dark sweat stains.
A girl, her face pale, immediately raised her hand: "Excuse me, I... I'm feeling a little unwell."
Instructor Sun glanced at the girl and told her to sit and rest under the shade of a tree. He also asked a female student volunteer to pour her a glass of water.
Meanwhile, behind the barbed wire fence surrounding the playground.
Groups of two or three second-year students were watching the commotion while holding ice water.
Some people leaned against bicycles, while others lay on the barbed wire, pressing their faces against it and leaving diamond-shaped marks.
They looked at the freshmen during their military training with a sense of superiority, as they drank ice water and pointed and commented.
A senior student laughed to his companion next to him, "Look at that boy in the last row of that formation, he's almost asleep while standing at attention, his head is drooping down little by little."
My companion nodded and said, "This is nothing. It will be the hottest time of the day at 3 p.m., and then a lot of people will probably collapse."
My companion, biting his straw, remarked, "These freshmen are so delicate and frail."
"Back when we were in military training, we stood on the parade ground for a whole afternoon and got sunburned and our skin peeled off."
……
Around 10 o'clock, the instructors blew their whistles for a 15-minute break.
The freshmen in the formation collapsed to the ground as if their bones had been removed.
Some girls took out sunscreen from their backpacks and applied it to their faces.
The boys took off their hats and used them as fans to keep fanning themselves.
Then, the classic water delivery process began.
Zhang Wei sat on the ground with his long legs stretched out, his hat pulled up over his face to block the sun, leaving only his chin exposed.
He fanned himself with his hat a few times, then suddenly stopped.
Several girls walked over from under the camphor trees at the entrance to the playground, carrying plastic bags in their hands.
The bag contained mineral water bottles, with water droplets clinging to the bottles, which had just been taken from the freezer.
One had her hair in a ponytail, one wore a headband, and the other wore a pink sun-protective shirt.
As the three walked, they looked towards the east side of the playground, their eyes searching for something among the camouflage uniforms scattered on the ground.
Zhang Wei sat up straight, pulled his hat over his head, and nudged Lin Bei, who was looking down at his phone, with his elbow.
"Holy crap, a girl came to bring me water."
Lin Bei raised his eyelids and glanced at Zhang Wei, following his gaze.
They discovered that the girls were searching in the direction that led to their formation.
He turned his head and glanced again at the spot where Bai Yawen had just been sitting.
Bai Yawen is no longer there.
To be precise, Bai Yawen was still there when the whistle blew.
But just as those girls turned the corner from under the camphor tree, he stood up, brushed the grass clippings off his bottom, and slowly walked towards the other end of the playground.
The three girls walked to the side of the formation and stopped.
His gaze swept quickly across the group of boys slumped on the ground several times.
The girl with the ponytail stood on tiptoe and looked behind the crowd.
The girl wearing the headband looked down at the water in her hand, then looked up at her surroundings.
The girl in the pink sun-protective clothing unscrewed and screwed the cap back on the Pocari Sweat bottle, and water droplets from the bottle dripped onto the ground along her fingers.
Soon, they left somewhat disappointed after failing to find anyone.
Zhang Wei watched their departing figures, then looked at the other end of the playground, at the curly-haired figure that was almost disappearing around the corner of the track.
He turned to Lin Bei and asked in a questioning tone, "Did that playboy, Xiao Bai, run away?"