Never Underestimate Others

Every few Saturdays, ________'s small JROTC Drill Team gets together to practice for the big competitions. These competitions include Color Guard, Armed Exhibition, Unarmed Exhibition, and a few others. In our last competition we could only participate in the Color Guard competition; which is pretty much a few extra moves that you don't see when you go to the football games and five people with guns and flags march on the field to do their thing and then leave. And there is a short marching routine we do in a 60X100 foot area. Yeah, we were pretty pathetic out there. I think in total only about fourteen of us actually did something that day and when we had to stand next to the other schools they were all at least three times larger than us. Although we could do a lot more if people would come to practice instead of going out on a date with another older cadet or even remember that we had practice.

But I think I'm getting a little off track here. You see even though we're small the cadets who have been in the program for more than one year think that it would be too boring to simply do just those two things every time we practiced. So they teach us the other things we can learn on the drill team.

One day after being bored to death from marching up on the track for about an hour and a half we were walking down to the JROTC classroom that’s next to the water fountains by the gymnastics room that’s above the Heath Center. As we were walking down the Football team was taking a break from their practice or something like that by the pick nick tables in front of the classroom. We sauntered down, (minding our own business mind you) talking and laughing and what not, but not the Football team. They're nice and all-or at the very least that’s what all the popular people who are friends with them say. But as we were coming down the only things I could hear was whispers like, "Dude, look at them," and "What losers," and "Man, how lame are they," and responses like, "Yeah, and look most of them are just stupid Freshmen!" from some of their other team mates, while others simply rolled their eyes or sighed and went on to their conversations. I didn't say anything and I doubt anyone else on the drill team was really paying attention to their comments. After all they were too busy talking or poking each other to hear what they were saying about us.

I held the door open for the other cadets as we came back out of the room a few minutes later and eyed the heavily padded gang that had taken over the tables, as each of my teammates came out holding a very large and heavy rifle. Now these rifles had some combat history behind them and were now antiques that have been slightly altered so that they can never fire again. We use them for Color Guard or Armed Exhibition; you know the type of things that were done in that Disney Movie, Cadet Kelly where they throw the guns around. However, the Football team didn't seem to know that little bit of information. I haven't seen a large group of teens get that quiet with out being told in a very long time, a few of them even backed away from us. But they all watched us very carefully as we walked back up to the track.

Now, I'm not a particularly violent person. I wouldn't hurt a fly-well, yes I would. But I wouldn't go off and hurt animals like rabbits or birds. Unless it was a chicken, I might think about throwing a rock at a full grown chicken, but that’s only because I hate chickens and they tend to come and eat the food I put outside for some of my less friendly cats at my house. In any case, I just couldn't help but crack my knuckles and snicker while passing by them. It was just too good of an opportunity to get back at them for making fun of us. I then looked over at them briefly to see their priceless facial expressions before catching up to one of my friends.

By the time I caught up to him he was pointing his rifle at the cadet in command, who was humming to a Disney song. I lightly jabbed my friend in the side as punishment for pointing a once very lethal military weapon at the very same guy who was supposed to teach us how to use them for the Drill Team. "Ow! Gees, what was that for?!" he complained.

"What was it for? You idiot, you know that you're not supposed to do that. Even if it is just a joke," I replied, though he just laugh my comment it off.

About forty-five minutes past as we practiced before they came up to the track to warm up. Unlike last time they made no comments about us while we attempted to master balancing the butt of the rifle on one hand and drop in on our shoulders without hitting our heads. They also came to a hush and most of them pasted us quite quickly too before acting their normal selves again.

A few of us laughed a little, after all it was the first time we had ever seen a bunch of big and strong Football players run like that from a group of small freshmen and a few regular upper classmen. All in all I think we taught them never mock others before thinking about what they may be capable of. Yes, that sure was an eventful Saturday morning.