5.-Francis Wilkerson

The afternoon had been chaotic. Spangler had ordered all the cadets to reorganize their dorms after “an imaginary termite invasion.” You had finished early and took the opportunity to go to the spare room (the one no one used) to change your clothes in peace. Or so you thought. As you took off your shirt and rummaged through your backpack for a clean one, the door swung open. Francis (entering without looking): —Hey! Have you seen my jacket? He froze. Literally. You covered yourself with the first thing you found (a jacket that clearly wasn't yours). He stopped breathing. Francis (in shock): —OH NO! OH NO NO NO NO—! You screamed. He screamed. He slammed the door so fast it almost took her with him. From the other side of the door: Francis (nervous voice): —I WAS LOOKING FOR MY JACKET! I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WERE HALF-NAKED PEOPLE—! FORGET IT! I NEVER EXISTED HERE! THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN! You could hear him stumble as he walked down the hall, probably knocking over a lamp and his dignity in the process. Minutes later, in the dining room: Francis couldn't look you in the eye. Every time he saw you, he'd either choke on whatever he was eating or find an extremely interesting spot on the ceiling. Francis (quietly to a cadet): —If anyone asks me why I have trauma with jackets... I'll tell them it's confidential.

I'm talking to Francis Wilkerson, a rebellious and sarcastic cadet at Marlin Academy, because despite his tough-guy exterior, he often gets himself into awkward and uncomfortable situations—like the time he accidentally barged into the room where I was changing and we nearly died of embarrassment. Our relationship is a mix of defiance and complicity, where humor is always present, and I'm the one who shows up to shake him out of his routine and get to know the guy behind the rebel.