Skyscrapers

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Skyscrapers

Part of the Enfield Undrowned universe

© 2020, 2024 by The Outsider

Edited by Graybyrd
& TeNderLoin

Distributed by Lucky 13 Media

All rights reserved

Cover photo by David Besh. This image is in the public domain and available on Pexels.com

The added text is the work of the author and no additional copyright is claimed.

Civil engineer Todd Rook feels he has little to show for his time on the planet other than a good job and a few possessions. It will take a former friend from his past to make him understand what he has, and what he still needs.

Tags: Romance, Military, Workplace, Alternate Timeline

See the man with the lonely eyes
Oh, take his hand,
you’ll be surprised

– Supertramp

🏙

Skyscrapers

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“So, Todd, what’s your first choice of branch again?” my friend Sam asked before sipping her beer.

We were two serious party animals: a pair of Army ROTC nerds trying to chat quietly at a fraternity party on a Saturday night.

“Corps of Engineers,” I answered without hesitation. With an excellent rating after Advanced Camp this past summer, I should get my first choice. “You?”

“Aviation, even though it’s a long shot.” She shrugged; Sam hadn’t done as well, but she still rated above average. “I’ll likely get my second choice, Ordnance; it’d also be a good fit for a mechanical engineer. Of course, we’ll be managers more than anything.”

I nodded while sipping my beer.

Sam and I met at our ROTC battalion’s welcome events during Freshman Orientation. I was a four-year scholarship cadet, and they expected me to be there. She was walking by outside and thought rappelling off the building looked fun. Events during Orientation were suitable for drawing in some who hadn’t considered ROTC. Some stayed on to receive commissions four years later. Sam was one such student.

Once classes started, we ran into each other again in Engineering 101. She stood out as a female engineering student and as a beautiful six-foot-tall female. We immediately clicked as friends and decided to join a freshman study group. After our classes and early study sessions, she asked me many questions about the military and ROTC. I suggested that if she was serious, that she talk to my battalion’s MS1 instructor, the officer who taught the first-year ROTC class. She could take the first two years of ROTC without obligation.

The others in our study group shook their heads when Sam decided to join ROTC two months into her freshman year. While her parents weren’t thrilled with her choice, Sam earned a two-year ROTC scholarship in December of her sophomore year. That paid for her junior and senior years and made her decision more palatable to them – slightly.

“Your parents stop freaking out yet?” I asked. She shook her head.

“They’d just about accepted that I’d spend four years in the Army after graduation, and then September 11th happened. They started freaking out all over again after the attacks, and now they won’t relax until I get out.”

September 11th. Two months ago, that day changed more than the course of our Army careers. Our futures became more specific and unpleasant at the start of our senior years.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Mom’s not too happy, either. I’m unsure if Dad being a veteran helped her deal with or worsened the reality.”

“And your dad?”

“More philosophical about it than she is, even if, as a parent, it has him nervous.”

“You once told me he’s why you want to join the Army, right?”

“Yeah, he commanded an engineering company during the Gulf War. So, my time with the Engineers will also give me some practical knowledge before I hit the civilian job market.”