• What do you thing of when I say war? Do you think of the song or death? Or do you think about history of your family that has fought in a war. What I think about the word war is when my friends that I use to know, my childhood that was stolen, and my old view on life. The story that I will tell you is not for people that cry when they see a puppy with a bruise; it’s for people that want to know what happen to the boy or girl they use to know before the war of 2010 or the war of youth. This might make you cry and Laugh, but I don’t care, I only care that the truth gets out to those that lost a brother, sister, daughter, a son, a friend, or a mother or father in the war. So please, read their story from the eyes of the girl that could have saved them.

    Chapter 1
    The Alarm

    “ Ring, Ring, Ring” my alarm clock rang telling me that school would start in about 2 hours. “Raina if you don’t get out of bed in 3 minutes, you won’t eat” that was what my mom told me every morning. I sometimes miss my mother yelling at me just to get out of bed. “Fine mom, give me a few minutes to get dressed ok,” I told my mother. “Fine” she said back in a sarcastic voice. I wore a Scorpio T-shirt with jeans and pair of black vans. I ran down the stairs and went to the kitchen to grab my food. “Finally, you take forever just to put on a T-shirt.” My sister Lily said. My sister is 13 years old and I’m 16 years old. “ I had to fine my I-pod, it as under my laundry”, “sounds about right” my mother said. “Mom I have to go to school early, we are practicing the song “around the world” in drama” I told her. I wish I told my mother that I hoped she would have a nice but all I thought about was the lyrics to the song. “Hope you have a good day Raina” the last nice and sweet words from my mother, “see ya!!” that was all I said to her. I just want to say that if the words “ I love you!!”
    Chapter 2
    A normal life of a 16-year-old girl

    “I’m going to be late,” I told myself over and over again as I hoped in to my car, a Suzuki Aerio. I got to school with 5 minutes to spare. I got to my locker opened it, and got my first period books out, my binder, and pencil case. I ran to class, almost got caught by the security guard. When I got to science, I realized that we were going to study outside in the 55-degree weather. I got my coat and ran outside. My class stared at me while I was sitting down next to my best friend Susan. I have known her since 5th grade, she and I are like sisters.
    I got though science with out a scratch, then English, math, History, and drama. I would have been the main singer in the play we were in the progress of making. I also have to go though NJROTC; they made me sign a blank sheet of paper, ok not blank but small lettering. I wish I didn’t sign that paper.
    I when home ate dinner with my mom and sister, if you’re wondering about my father; he died n the war in Iraq. I told myself I did not want to join the army ever because of what happen to him. He got in to a battle with the Iraq’s and lost. I took a shower and went to bed. Finishing the last normal day of my old life.

    Chapter 3
    Why?

    I ran to my car the next morning to drive to school and get breakfast on the way. I almost hit a car; at that point I should have known that this day would not be good. “Hi Susan, how it going?” I ask her because she looked a little freaked. “Raina, we are leaving to day!!!!”
    “What do you mean Susan? I don’t get it”.
    A man behind us talked in a low manly voice “you will when you pack your belongings and get on the truck”
    I looked at him like he was stoned or something; I mean he told me what to do. No one but my family told me what to do. “Excuse me!! What do you mean pack?” I ask rudely.
    “You will be joining the army today”. I went in to shock, I was only 16 years old and I was being told to pack up and go fight in the war that started 1 months ago. I wanted to tell him to get lost and find some other loser to fight for this country, anyone but me!!!
    “You will help your community and country,” he told me in a kind of robotic voice, “you don’t have much of a choice anyway, we will drag or guide you to the truck”. “Why me? Why not some other person that is older then me?” I had to ask him, I mean if you were told that you were going to be forced to join the army you might a well ask why. “Because you are a fit 16 year old female with a brown belt in Karate, have knowledge on most guns, and know how to use a sword and archery”.
    “Those are my hobbies, if you have done your research you would know that I also prefer the navy to the army”. “Yes we know that, we also know that you want to go to college after high school, am I correct?”
    “Yes”” I said in a snippy voice at him.
    “We will pay for you college, dorm and food, and get your job for you if you just sign here”. If only I was a lawyer at the time, I could of found any loopholes in the paper. “Raina I will be doing it with you!!!” said Susan with a burst of happiness. “Susan this is a war not a field day!!! People under the age of 18 should not fight!!!!” I whispered to her. She looked so happy that she would leave her house, I mean her mom is never home and her dad takes drugs all the time, she has no sister and is the best singer in the world. “Did you watch the news yesterday or not? There is a new law that said that anyone that is in 10th grade and higher will, with no choice, be enlisted in the army. They are pushing every one to join”. I was so shocked that the president has set this up. “That’s right ladies, now you have 2 hours to go to tell your parent that you will not be home for 6 months and pack all your stuff” the soldier said to Susan and me. I went home, my mom cried in front of me, she had gotten back right when I packed the clothes and stuff I would need during my “journey”, the soldier told me that we won’t even be fighting, I tried to tell my mother that but she ran up to her room before I can tell her good bye. I heard the song “when your gone” going though my head, I wish I would not be leaving like this but I left a note on the counter in the kitchen saying that I will miss you and wish I could stay. I left that day with eyes wet a the Mississippi river. I stopped by the store to buy stuffed Inuyasha doll to keep me company. I thought my friend would like the Kagome doll to so I got that one to. Inuyasha is a anime series if you didn’t know. I then stopped by the park to swing one last time. I always loved the swing since I was little girl, I asked my mom “one more swing please”. I left the park with a sense of terror in my mine. I yelled goodbye to the top of my lungs. “GOODBYE everyone” a tear went down my cheek, this tear have my happiness in it.

    Chapter 4
    Goodbye to you

    Let me tell you something about me. I live in Bremerton, Washington, I have tanned skin with black hair red highlights and I am 5’8”. I love Karate and Inuyasha, and I want to be a cinematographer. I am a walking I-pod, when I feel sad a sad song goes through my mine. I have all A’s except for math of course. I have had no boyfriends in my life. I wish that I had every song in the world, and I love on my mp3 player. I am a average girl, I don’t like to talk in big crowed (public speech stuff), and I love to talk to my friends. I read only a few books. I love to act and play piano. I wish I could fly, I wish I could do what ever I wanted, But not today I have to serve my community.
    “Goodbye to you” that song went through my head at this moment, the moment I looked at the town move away as we traveled to the air base to bring us to Colorado. I use to live in Colorado. I use to play in the snow and tanned in the sun. All I could think of was where we would fight and how many ways I could die in war. Then the song “war” went through my head, I laugh out loud. Every one looked at me like I was happy to leave. When I looked around I saw people crying and petrified of what might happen. I could tell you the names of everyone on the truck. I knew a lot people at my school, preps to nerds.
    I snuck up to the front while we were on a bathroom break to the front of the truck and hooked my I-pod up. I had the song “bad reputation” playing ^_^. It was funny when everyone started to dance. I laugh so hard I cried. “Good idea “Raina!! Everyone looks happy,” said Felecia, she is a skater girl so she relates to the song. But the soldiers seized my I-pod and told me this was not allowed on base. “Why can’t I have my music? I need that to sleep at night”
    “You must show discipline, other wise I will dump this in the river”
    “Fine, only if I get my I-pod right now!! Other wise you will be dealing with a storm”
    “I am not scare of a small girl that can’t kick a can”
    I kicked him in the stomach, he had it coming, and I mean, he insulted me in front of my friends. “Ohhhhhhh!!!!” he said as he curls up on thee ground. The General came out and told me that I will be the “special” one at boot camp I almost hit him.


    Chapter 5
    Japan here we come!!!!

    We got in the base at Colorado 2 days later. I could not hold still. The soldiers directed us out of the plane. I found out that Ronald is airsick.
    “Sir, this girl right here has cause us much trouble,” the soldier said to the guy who has 5 golden stars on his shoulder. “Hello miss Raina, it’s good to see that you have not change a bit” I looked up and saw that it was Uncle Ned. “Uncle Ned? I mean General, never knew that you got up in rank” I was surprised to see that Ned had jumped up 2 stars last time I saw him. “This girl will be my right hand girl, she will be treated as if she was a first star General” what he said right there basically changed what my life in the military was going to be like. “General, will I be able to pick my own team?” I asked, “if you want to,” he said. I was dumb founded; I was going to be a first star general. “That’s all lieutenant, Oh! Make sure that Raina will get her uniform” “’YES SIR”.
    My uniform fit perfectly, I was shocked. Then I thought for a minute, he can’t do this!! He might lose his job. Then I thought of the new law about people 16 are to be shipped in to war.
    “Madam” said a solider, “the General would like to talk to you”, he had bluish, gray eyes, looked about 17, at that moment I had “I love rock and roll” going through my head. “Alright then, tell him I will be right there as soon as I unpack”, “YES MAM” he said, it echoed through the room.
    “Ahh!! There you are, I was about to send a search team after you little miss,” he said to me as if I was 5. “ Uncle I need to talk to you about this new law” I told him bluntly. “ What about it?”
    “It does not feel right that a junior fighting in a war, I thought that the people have learned better since after the civil war”
    “It will be ok, the president wants the teens to be interested in the war, that’s all”
    “But Uncle! This might kill us! The one’s you guys are trying to protect”
    “That does not matter because you are already here. Now I need to tell you that you will be training in Japan”
    “J-J-Japan! W-w-why?” that was all I could say, what can I say, I am an anime freak. All anime freaks want to go to Japan, it’s a fact.
    “ that is where our safest base is in the world, that is why we will be going to Japan, I need you to tell all the new recruits that we will be leaving in 4 days at 400 hours” if you don’t know what 400 hours means, it means 4 a.m.
    “May I have your attention please, thank you. There has been a chance of plans (not really) you all w-w-will be in a base in Japan” I could hear the gasp and the disappointments in the crowed. “ We will mail your parents about any info that they will need to help them ease into letting you go to Japan, thank you for your attention” I walked down from the podium and almost threw up. I am not good in talking infront of people. All my friends in ether jumped me for a congraduation or an unfair speech. I almost jumped when Susan jumped me. “I’m so happy for you!! I wish I jumped up in authority” I was a little embarrass, I mean all the people getting on me really gets me freaked out. Now I had to repack all my belongings. “Raina!” I heard as I put my CD’s in my bag. “This is from the General, he said that you will be in charge of monitoring your group” said the 17 year old kid. “What is your name soldier?” “Seamen Payne Mam”, he “as you were”. He walks with no confidence at all. I still wondered about the whole idea of jumping