My name is Ben Fowlkes (part 3) by thadeusz

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I spent what remained of the holidays with my brother and sister, and also playing with my father and with Jennifer. Knowing that I was now more or less barred from the Army Cadet Corps, which was the activity I liked most, I spent lots of time with SGT Preston to start learning the real ropes of my future "trade" and I asked Jennifer to be allowed to go a last time to Miller’s. But she refused, saying that my hair was already short enough ! Finally I put back my school uniform: Father and Alex drove me (with Preston as driver) to the train station and I left my home for school.

At school, I was greeted by my mentor and friend Cadet CPL Dillingham, my friend Andrew. He had also spent his Christmas holidays with his parents and we started describing each other's Christmas feast. I realized that Andrew’s parents did not have the possibility to make a very big feast and I chose to "downgrade" the story of the one I had just lived.

I put my bags and their content away in my cupboards and went immediately to the school barber. I asked him to really "clean my haircut" and give it the military looked I felt it deserved, but the barber refused saying that:
"There will be time for that, if you want to join the military. But now you are simply a Cadet of this school. So all you need is a nice haircut with relatively short sides, not a lot of hair showing off the beret, but rather longer hair on top of your head. That’s not a military haircut and that’s what you already have. So go now and come back in a few weeks when you really need a haircut."

I was then told to speak with my prefect, the assistant headmaster in charge of my room and thus of the organization of my studies. He told me that my father wanted me to succeed this year, that it would be a "hard uphill battle" and that he would help me during the week but also during special study sessions the weekend. This implied that I would not go to the Army Cadet Corps meetings but stay in the school in order to study. The prefect gave me many details about this new organization and I accepted all that since it was part of the deal I had with my father.

I started to study seriously, something I had not done in years and maybe never since my mother never asked me questions about school work. The prefect kept encouraging me and giving me more and more good advice. Father and Jennifer sent me many good letters which I kept and to which I replied regularly. I also wrote every month to my mother, who never replied. Normally I should have written to her every week, but there was a general agreement to forget about this rule in her particular case.

Studying seemed very hard in the beginning, but after a few weeks I realized that it was not so hard and I started to like it. I also started to have good grades for my classes and my prefect gave me permission to go once a month to the Army Cadet Corps meeting, for a full weekend.

During one of these weekends, I was promoted to Cadet Lance Corporal because of my good behavior. I mentioned it in one of the letters I wrote for Father and he congratulated me on this first military success.

Early in February, Andrew told me at school that his father had been unexpectedly promoted to Sergeant, which was a great but unexpected event. One week later he was called in the headmaster’s office where he learned that could have a scholarship if he wanted to study further, get the necessary A levels and later go to a University of his choice, without any military obligation. He told me that and then said:
"Now I know that I can try medical school and maybe become an MD without forcing my parents to give me the money which they need for my brother and sister."

I said nothing, but I remembered that my father had shown a certain interest in Andrew and his father, and that my father was a Colonel. I mentioned it in my next letter to Father, telling him that this was a secret between the two of us and that I would respect it. Father did not react.

Just before the Spring holidays arrived, I went to the school barber and asked him to give me a really military haircut. He asked me why I wanted that and I told him that, with my father’s authorization, I would spend most of my holidays in his regiment as a real soldier.
"Cadet Fowlkes, do you want to join the military later ?"
"As soon as I can SGT. I have a deal with my father: if I work well at school this year, he will let me go to the Army Foundation College."
"And did you work well, Cadet ?"
"Until now, I think so SGT. Here is my school report."
The SGT barber looked at my school report and concluded:
"It is good, I think I can give you a special haircut. Don’t move now and obey my instructions."
The barber picked his clippers and placed a very small guard on it. He then told me to bend my head forward, "chin on chest", placed his hand on the top of my head and let his clippers go through my hair cutting a full strip of hair, probably more than what I had expected. He then ordered me to bend my head to the left and he continued shaving the right part of the head before continuing with the left part. The barber carefully, nearly gently, finished his job by shaving completely without any guard on the sides and neck of my head. He finally said:
"Now you have a real induction cut, Cadet. So you know what to expect in the future."

I chose to travel in my Army Cadet uniform, with Father’s approval, and took my other clothes in my bags. When I arrived at the station in my little town, a jeep was waiting for me. There was a SGT who told me:
"Cadet Lance Corporal Fowlkes, by special permission of our Colonel you can spend your holidays in the barracks if you so desire, but you must now confirm the request you sent to the Colonel. If you do so, you will be treated as a Private during your stay, without the possibility to change your mind afterwards. DO YOU CONFIRM your request, Cadet ?"
"Yes Sergeant."
"Sign here, and quickly", and he showed me a piece of paper which I did not read but which I signed. I later learned that it was a temporary enlistment (2 weeks) as a Cadet in my Father’s regiment !
The SGT continued then: "Good, as of now you will be treated as a Private and you will thus take off these Lance Corporal stripes. Get in the car, PVT."
I understood that I had to sit in front, next to the driver. The SGT sat in the back.

As soon as I arrived in the barracks, I was assigned to a company, a section and a room. I trained there exactly as all the other soldiers did and nobody made a remark about my relationship to the Colonel. I was simply not allowed to go to the bar (I was nearly 16 but that was not enough) nor was I allowed to see my family. The training was great and since I was big and strong, it was easy for me. When the last holiday weekend arrived, the SGT who had fetched me at the railway station told me that I had worked well and that I could be proud of what I had done. He added:
"In any case, your father must be very proud of his young soldier ! Now, put these lance Corporal stripes back on your uniform and get ready, you must now go to the Colonel’s home where you will spend your last weekend."

My bags were rapidly ready and I had barely time to say ‘goodbye’ to the soldiers who had been my roommates during these two weeks. I hurried to obey the order the SGT had barked and I found myself facing my Father, waiting in front of his car. I saluted him, as I had to since I was in military uniform, and sat next to SGT Preston. Father said nothing and sat in the back, but he was smiling and Preston told me nearly silently:
"Well done, young Lance Corporal."
Father’s voice came from the back of the car:
"I fully agree with you, Preston, Ben has proved that he can behave as a real soldier should do. I am really pleased, Cadet !"

When I arrived home, Jennifer, Alex and Louisa greeted me. But when I took my beret off, Alex asked suddenly:
"What happened to your hair, Ben ?"
Father replied: "Ben wanted to live for 2 weeks as a soldier, and I thus wanted him to have a soldier’s haircut. I gave orders to treat him severely as far as that was concerned, but your brother was faster than I expected: he got his induction haircut in school. Well done Ben."

The next day, Jennifer told me to go to father’s office immediately after breakfast. It was a short visit: father simply looked happy ! When I entered his office, he had my school report in front of him on his desk. I started as he had required previously with a "Sir, Good morning Sir" but no salute since I was not in uniform but in jeans. Father replied calmly:
"Good morning Ben. Be seated. I have read your school report very carefully and it is obvious that you made efforts. If you continue this way, you will succeed this year. Was it so difficult to achieve this?"
"In the beginning it was Sir, but after a few weeks and with the help of my prefect it became easy. I even started to like it, Sir."
"Ben, use the ‘Sir’ only for the first greetings or for official circumstances. I would be pleased if you showed that you still consider me as your ‘father’ or ‘daddy’. "
"Yes, father."
"Do you still feel abandoned by me as far as your studies are concerned ?"
"Certainly no, father. I also liked to be allowed to serve in your regiment as a real soldier, even if it was only for two weeks. And I would like to thank you discretely for my friend’s scholarship and for the promotion his father obtained."
"Certain discrete things should not even be discreetly mentioned, Ben. But I appreciate your attitude, my son. Now let’s speak more about your school report. You must still confirm your good results for the June exams. Since you seem to start to like to study, why don’t you stay one or two more years in school before going where you mentioned you wanted to go ?"
"Sir, Father, I really want to join the military and I really do not like the atmosphere in a school. Now that I started studying, I might as well continue on my own, during my free time."
"That will be very difficult, Ben, and with nothing more than a Year 9 diploma, you will not have many possibilities to be promoted, even if you choose an easier regiment than the one you mentioned."
"Father, I really don’t want to stay at school and it is only the idea that studying there was my part of our deal that helped me to do what you wanted."
"OK, a deal is a deal. If you continue as well you will go to the Army Foundation College. I have an application here in front of me, sign it and I will take care of the rest."
I signed the document without reading it and Father added then some words:
"I had given instructions to give you a forced induction cut when you arrived in the regiment, I wanted to show you how young soldiers are treated. But you managed to get one at school, which is exceptional. Why did you do that ?"
"Father, because I had guessed what you had prepared for me."
We both started to laugh and Father concluded this "private session" by hugging me and passing his hand on my shorn head as if he wanted to pet me or to test the quality of my "induction cut".

On Sunday afternoon, I left home with a strong recommendation from Father: "Keep studying, and get a normal haircut for a Cadet !"

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