Tom Sileo Read Online Free

brown hair during the ceremonial head shaving that serves as each freshman’s “oh shit, high school really is over” moment.
    As battalion commander, Gardner had been reluctantly accepting the resignations of plebes since summer. He wondered why Travis wanted to see him, but never imagined that this day could be one of Travis’s last as a midshipman. This young man wasn’t the quitting type.
    Travis was disappointed about missing out on the freedom of college life. He would spend his weekends on academy grounds, which sometimes felt like a prison, and listen longingly to his sister’s stories about constant parties and road trips. “It must be nice to be out there having all that fun,” Travis once told Ryan, his only sibling and most trusted female confidante, during a phone call.
    Chasing female midshipmen was frowned upon, and every time Travis talked to his high school buddies about their coed adventures, he was naturally envious. Of course, those same stories almost always involved alcohol, a substance that was nearly impossible for Travis and his fellow plebes to obtain.
    One Friday night, a particularly desperate group, which included Travis, bet each other about how many double shots they could do of Virginia Gentleman whiskey, the only bottle of liquor they could get their hands on. In a notably futile attempt to prove his manhood and catch a buzz, Travis won the bet, but threw up violently the rest of the night and most of the next day.
    Once Travis made up his mind about almost anything, there was little chance of his changing it. Given that Gardner was preparing to challenge his decision, Travis was an irresistible force about to meet an immovable object on the historic Annapolis campus.
    â€œSir, I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I’ve decided to leave the academy,” Travis said. “I know this might surprise you, and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but I think this is the best thing for my future.”
    Gardner was shocked. He always tried to talk midshipmen out of resigning, even those he wasn’t sure were the right fit for the academy. In this case, however, he would do everything in his power to keep Travis from leaving. As he cleared off his desk, Gardner was convinced he was sitting across from a young man who was about to make a serious mistake.
    â€œTravis, I appreciate you being up front about this,” he said. “But I have to ask why you think you’d be better off somewhere else.”
    â€œIt’s a bunch of things, sir . . . wrestling, schoolwork, missing my friends back home,” Travis said. “But I thought about this a lot, and this is what I’ve decided to do.”
    â€œHave you talked about this with your parents?” Gardner inquired.
    â€œNo sir,” Travis replied.
    â€œBut I thought you said you’d thought about this a lot?” the battalion commander asked.
    â€œWell, I have, sir,” Travis said, growing frustrated as he realized his decision was being contested. “I’m going to talk to them as soon as I get home.”
    After thumbing through Travis’s withdrawal packet, which included the midshipman’s excellent grades, Gardner looked directly at his friend’s son.
    â€œWell, I’m sorry, Travis, but I can’t accept this,” he said. “While I understand you’re having a hard time, like many others do, I think you’re about to do something you’ll regret for a long, long time.”
    â€œBut sir . . . ,” Travis began.
    â€œAnd either way, there’s no way I could let you do this before you speak to your parents,” Gardner continued. “I think you owe it to your dad, especially, to talk to him about a decision of this magnitude.”
    â€œSir, he will never agree . . . ,” Travis said as tears began to well up in his brown eyes.
    â€œI want you to go home for the holiday, relax, talk to your