Chapter 2 — Three Thousand Miles Away From Family

The military academy has a bus to pick up new students. The vehicle's body is dark green, and the front has a banner with a red background and white letters. When I got on the bus, the senior in charge of leading the group looked at the admission notice. "Giang Tich Nguyet, natural student, ranked twelfth in the province." When he looked back at me, his attitude was much more polite. "Welcome." The bus drove into the school gate, both sides of the road were sycamore trees. The seniors dressed in camouflage clothes stood along the road giving directions, their voices clear and resonant. The admission process is very long, you have to fill out forms, submit documents, receive military uniforms, and have to assign dorm rooms. After completing all the procedures, it was already dark. The dormitory room has four people, the bed has an iron frame, and the white bed sheet is folded square like a piece of tofu. I sat on the assigned lower bunk bed, locking the household registration transfer and admission notice in the deepest compartment of the closet. The roommates arrived one after another. The girl lying in the bed opposite her name is Trinh Han. She has short hair and dimples when she smiles. She looked at my suitcase with a broken zipper. Without saying anything, she took out a small pair of pliers from her bag. "I'll fix it for you." I was a bit surprised and nodded. She squatted on the ground and struggled for a few minutes, until the zipper was able to close smoothly. "Done." She raised her head and smiled at me. "If you have any problems, just call me later." I looked at her, not knowing what to say for a moment. After turning off the lights at night, the phone screen continuously lights up in the dark. The "Dear Family" chat group finally has a lot of messages. Mother: "I've arrived in Paris, An An is very happy." Dad: “The hotel is very good, from the balcony you can see the Eiffel Tower.” An An sent many selfies in a row, each one smiling happily. Thirty-seven messages, not a single one mentioned me. Scrolling down to the bottom, there was a message my mother sent specifically to mention An An's name. "Tomorrow, An An, do you want to go to Galeries Lafayette or Printemps shopping center? I will make a plan for you." The sending time was three o'clock in the afternoon, right when I was sitting alone at the airport munching on bread. No one asked where I went, nor did anyone find out I didn't return home. I placed the phone face down next to the pillow. In the dark, I looked at the board under the top bunk, counting the rivets on the iron frame. One, two, three. Counting to the seventh, the eye sockets were a little teary. But is there anything worth crying about? Three thousand miles, starting today will be a different life. Trinh Han turned over in the bed next to him, dreamily speaking in his sleep. "Mom... don't forget to send me a blanket..." I pulled the thin blanket over my head and closed my eyes. On the first day of new recruit training, the whistle at five-thirty in the morning made everyone jump out of bed. Within three minutes, you must dress neatly, fold a blanket, and go out to exercise. The August morning in Van Thanh was so hot that it made people unable to breathe. After running three kilometers, half of the new student company vomited all over the ground. I didn't vomit, nor did I fall behind. During my years at home, I woke up every day at five o'clock in the morning to make breakfast for the whole family, clean up, and then jog to school. My physical strength is trained like that. The coach's last name is Co, he is only in his twenties, his skin is dark, but his eyes are very sharp. The first time taking attendance, when my name was called, he looked one more time. "Jiang Tich Nguyet, the physical test data are very good." I stood straight, without unnecessary expression. "Report coach, thank you." That week, the "Dear Family" chat group said they flew from Paris to Rome. An An posts photos of gondola rides in Venice, steaks in Florence and designer shopping bags in Milan. Every photo To Vien took for him was forwarded by his mother

into the group of relatives. "My family's An An is more beautiful the older she gets." I didn't open a single picture. On the evening of the fourth day of training, the phone rang. It's An An's call. Hesitating for a moment, I still picked up the phone. "Sister, why don't you reply to messages? Have you finally put away my dress?" Her voice was very dissatisfied, and also carried a bit of coddling. The sound behind was very noisy, there were sounds from the restaurant and To Vien's laughter. "Where are you? Why is there no one in the house? I told To Vien's friend to go to my house to get something. I knocked on the door for half a day but no one answered." I leaned on the hallway railing, looking at the sun setting towards the training field. "You're not at home." "So where are you going? Well, never mind. Anyway, when will you come back? Is it okay tomorrow? That thing is urgently needed." "An An." I interrupted him. "You didn't put that dress away. Maybe it got wet in the rain. Tell To Vien's friend not to come anymore, no one will open the door." The other end was silent for two seconds. "What do you mean? Where have you gone?" I didn't answer. "When are you coming back?" The coach's whistle sounded at the end of the hallway, the order to gather came through the phone. An An's tone changed. "What is that sound? Where are you?" I took the phone away from my ear, watching its name continuously flashing on the screen. I pressed the button to end the call.