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Another few weeks have gone by, another set of interesting times with my friends. We have just recently gotten into the month of November, which meant that Halloween had just passed. Nothing much to say about that other than running into a bit of trouble from religious extremists, protesting that I (wearing a dark suit with the anarchy sign on it) was worshipping the devil.

Each to his own I guess. No, now it was time for another celebration, not a single house didn't bear the American flag on this day. A day to honor the veteran's who gave their lives for our freedom, Veteran's day. Even though most were doing their own celebrations, I had absolutely nothing to do. Morrell was currently out of town visiting his grandfather, who had served in both World War 2 and Vietnam. Fortunately for me the boredom was going to get alleviated thanks to a special best friend.

***

"Hey Ryan," was the first thing I heard that morning when I got a phone call.

"Hey Ryan," I said back, wondering what my tiger friend had in store for me.

"You doing anything today?" he asked.

"Not really, why do you ask?"

"The schools are having an ROTC competition in honor of the veterans," he said with great pride.

"Sounds like fun, when and where?"

"It's at the Dixie College stadium, starting at noon."

"Great, see you then."

"You should get Morrell to come too."

"I can't. Morrell is out of town visiting his grandpa, who is also a veteran."

"Oh, sweet. I guess it's just you and me then, Hinori is with his brothers and family doing something else as well."

"Excellent, see you in a few hours." I hung up the phone and hurried to the shower. I wanted to look nice for Ryan so I wouldn't embarrass him.

***

As the clock stuck eleven thirty I was dropped off at the stadium with my mom. After a quick thanks and a kiss goodbye I was already half way in the door, where I noticed the multitude of school colors all trying to line themselves up in their units to get ready.

"Yo Ryan," I heard behind me. I turned to face my tiger friend with a tight cuddly hug. He was more than happy to return the hug with a chuckle. He was definitely all handsome in his uniform, fully garbed up. His cadence rifle was perched neatly over his shoulder. It was to be used for the cadence section of the competition. I wasn't (and still not) knowledgeable about these kind of competitions. Mostly I know it revolves around a set of physical competitions, followed by a marching and rifle cadence by the schools. Basically whoever performs the strongest wins. Or at least that was what I know.

"So how do I look?" He asked me, and I followed with a playful whistle, just to tease.

"You look great, all geared up for the win," I complimented.

"Well I just hope we do well, we've been drilling the cadence for hours on end the past several weeks."

"You'll do great Ryan," I began, "I promise you."

"Thanks Ryan," he said with a smile, "you had best get to your seat, the competition is going to start soon." I nodded and headed straight for my seat out in the bleachers. I wasn't far from the judging booth. But I was high enough to see the field quite clearly, not to mention that I was facing away from the sun, which helped tremendously with my eyes. Fortunately I didn't have to wait long for the schools to line up for the start of the competition. Dixie, Hurricane, Snow Canyon, Desert Hills, and Pine View were all lined up respectively. Within another few minutes, and a brave soul singing the national anthem, the competition got well underway.

Rivalries began early with Dixie and Pine View starting tug of war. Ryan was definitely giving his all at the front, his toned muscles showing exuberance. After three rounds Pine View barely snuck off a victory. The tug of war circled on until every school had their shot at each other, before making their way to other activities as well, including a large team obstacle course, which Dixie managed to sneak the win off of. I was pretty sure one guy from Dixie cheated out the Pine View kid, but the matter really wasn't pressed further.

Soon came the time for the cadences, and everyone was into their uniform for proper. Each team was scheduled to march and perform a specific rhythm and cadence for the judges, and competition was close. Pine View and Dixie was dead tied, and I was crossing my fingers for Ryan. The ROTC means a lot to him and a good number of his friends.

Because Desert Hills was the most new school in the area, they got to go first. And they managed to show just how much more the school needs to get into gear. Snow Canyon and Hurricane were very talented but didn't seem to get up to the snuff of the crowd's expectations. After Dixie's performance it finally cut down to the one I was really looking forward to, Ryan and his team. With a shouting command from their cadet sergeant they marched onto the field, their rifles clamped to their shoulders identically and their march was perfectly in sync. It was candy to the eyes to watch their graceful yet efficient movements. After a few minutes of marching and chanting they lined up and presented their arms. Ryan was in the front, leading the pack with spinning their guns, holding and shifting its position quickly. I could barely follow what was going on, but that meant they were doing their job. Another few minutes they ended their march and applause was heard. I Shouted cheered and whistled to my best friend and his teammates. As they departed, I kept my fingers crossed.

"Thank you all for coming," The announcer finally said, "I would just like to take a moment to thank all of you the audience for coming and the competitors for competing. But let us also owe our thanks to the real heroes of this day, the veterans. To those veteran's sitting in the audience please stand up and present yourself." I looked around and applauded to the extremely numerous amount that were present. It felt like I surrounded by celebrities, heroes of our time. "Now there are two awards to give out on this day. The first is the main trophy for the school that wins today, the second is an individual award to the cadet who has shown the most spectacular performance." There was a pause before he read the winner of the school.

"The winner of the school competition is," drum roll, "PINE VIEW HIGH SCHOOL." There was a thunderous applause, which I was a part of. I was so happy that they won. Now I was just curious who wins the next award.

"Now this particular cadet shall be presented with a 10000 Dollar scholarship to any college within the US. A cadet who has shown great excellence, loyalty, and respect to all those that matter to him, his friends, his family, his country, and to everyone. Let's all give a big round of applause to Ryan Godsey."

"YEAH! ALRIGHT GO RYAN!!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. I could see the tiny hint of blushing red in his fur as he approached the announcer, taking the trophy in his hand with a look of honor in his eyes. He gave them a salute then went to return to his troop.

"Let's give another applause to everyone here," The announcer said, "have a happy Veteran's day."

***

Okay, probably my shortest work ever, and definitely not my best. But I would just like to dedicate this chapter to two things. The first is to the men and women who have died for the United States of America, who fought to their last breath for our rights and our beliefs. To those soldiers I wish to say my thanks.

The second is to Ryan Godsey and Hinori, guys you two are my best friends ever and I only wish the best for you two. I hope you two are happy together.

Ryan Godsey copyrighted Tiger Dude.

Hinori copyrighted icesunrise77.

Ryan Lewis copyrighted me.

Ownership of these characters is exclusive to their owners only and their incontrovertible right. Use of these characters is strictly forbidden without the owner's permission. Thank you for reading.