Ambitions (Part 1?)

Power.

Cunning.

Resourcefulness.

Those were the words that described my family’s life. My name is Jake Lawrenson, and my family is a part of FEAR. Now, you might be thinking “What does FEAR mean?” Well, it means “Federation of Arsonists.”

My parents and grandparents are all a part of this group. They go around the world, setting fires to buildings, in exchange for money.

FEAR also had a school, called SCAR, or “School of Arsonists.”

SCAR’s job was to train cadets in incendiarism, or as my father calls it, “The wonderful art of arson.” SCAR is located somewhere near the Bahamas. At least, that’s what I heard from eavesdropping on my parents.

SCAR’s exact location was only known to the highest members of FEAR. Such as my parents.

In fact, I’m supposed to go there one day. My parents don’t know this, but I’m not really into setting people’s property on fire. My real ambition is to become a writer! In my spare time, I used to hide in my bedroom and write my stories. It’s the same with my older brother, Conan. Except for the fact that I have many more stories than he does.

My mother isn’t too fond of stories. She calls them a waste of time. She’s not exactly the best mother, (as you may have gathered) but I love her anyway.

I have an entire cardboard box full of my finished and unfinished stories hidden in a loose floorboard under my bed. I plan on publishing my stories later on in life.

Hopefully, just hopefully, I can get expelled from SCAR. And then, I could be free. Free to do whatever I wanted to!

TEN YEARS LATER

Log Entry 43 - 9/20/35

Today is my last day at home. I’m supposed to go to SCAR tomorrow. Father hasn’t told me anything about how I’m supposed to get there. I still haven’t told them that I don’t want to go. I’m scared of what they might do to me. Yesterday proves how angry they could be. Conan finally told them that he’s quitting SCAR to become an author. They actually disowned him at the end of the huge argument.

I just went and huddled in my room, listening to songs on my phone. I could still hear their shouts even when the phone was on full volume. That argument is the reason why I wasn’t able to write my log entries yesterday. Maybe one day I’ll see him again.

-Jake

Log entry 44 - 9/24/35

Sorry about that delay in log entries. I wasn’t able to write them because all my luggage was in the cargo hold of the ship that is taking me to SCAR. I’m inside it right now. It’s late at night, probably 11:30. I am still holding onto my writing ambition. I haven’t written any more stories lately because I’m still on the ship. The other kids, or cadets as the crew members call them, aren’t interested in anything else other than arson. Most of them have family members who were in FEAR beforehand. Some are new to the whole thing.

I just stick to myself. Some of the cadets have formed their own “groups.” I’m not a part of any of them. So are some other people, most of whom are newcomers. I did make one friend though. His name is Kit Langley. I haven’t told him about my ambition as a writer yet. I’ll have to be sure that I can trust him.

Our sleeping quarters are okay. They’re nothing like home though. All they have is a bed, a circular window, a cabinet for my clothes, a measly bathroom, and a small desk. I secretly smuggled in some of my books. I hid them inside a small air vent on my wall. The crew members have already searched all the cadets’ rooms.

 I don’t think they found my stories. If they did, my stories would probably be ripped and burned to ashes, and I would be sent home. I’d rather face my parents than have all my years’ hard work ripped to shreds and destroyed. Okay, I’ve gotta go, I think I hear Captain Blueridge coming down for a late-night snack.

-Jake

Log entry 45 - 9/25/35

We finally reached SCAR today. It’s HUGE! It has a large cafeteria, a place outside to train, and I think I heard that all the rooms have jacuzzis! If I was ever interested in arson, I think I actually would’ve enjoyed staying here. But … I’m not interested, so this year at SCAR won’t be the best for me. Our first-class of the year starts tomorrow. I wonder what it will be. Other than that, nothing new or interesting has happened, besides Professor Fern punishing Desmond Hallow for brawling with a crew member because he didn’t give him his phone back. (Man, that kid has anger management issues!). Nearly the whole school was there to watch Desmond getting pummeled by a super-strong jet of water as a punishment. 

Hayden Powell swore that the crew member that Desmond fought with had a broken rib and a sprained ankle. I told her that it wasn’t possible that Soren, the crew member, had a sprain because most sprains happen from twisting your ankle. She replied, “Mind your own business unless you wanna get your own sprained ankle.” Geez, these kids are maniacs.

-Jake

Log entry 46 - 9/26/35

Today was stressful. Our first-class was “Setting Fires 101.” It was taken by Professor Armstrong, who gave us a big speech as soon as we entered the classroom. He said stuff about arson, money, and other things that I didn’t pay attention to. When he started the class he told us to start a fire with just a stick and some kindling. Ferdinand Montgomery asked him why we were learning this, and Armstrong told him that it was building character and stuff.

I think we were made to do it because they wanted us to know how to start a fire even with our bare hands and some scrap materials. At the end of the class, none of the cadets managed to light a fire. For that, all of us got detention. We had to swim 100 laps around the pool, and we could only wear this weird, heavy gray suit for the day. It was horrible. My back and arms were paining from the laps and I felt like I was a tree, rooted to a spot when I was wearing the gray suit.

I still haven’t told Kit about my ambition yet. But I think I will soon. He doesn’t seem too interested in SCAR.

-Jake

Log entry 47 - 9/27/35

I made some new friends today. It’s almost like a gang. I just told them that I was the son of Mathew Lawrenson and Kiara Lawrenson. My parents are Board Members of FEAR, so it was natural that the cadets would fawn all over me. The cadets who are a part of my gang are: Hayden Powell, Kit Langley, Desmond Hallow, and I experimented with them, just to see how much they liked me.

At lunch, I ordered Desmond Halow to give me his food, and he did! Of all people, Desmond Hallow! Wow!

I think I can take advantage of this. I wonder if they could help me get out of this school.

-Jake

Log entry 48 - 9/28/35

I did it. I tried to get expelled. I, Kit, and Hayden snuck into the Faculty Meeting Room. I obviously had to tell them about my ambition, but they took it nicely! Only Kit asked me why I couldn’t be in SCAR, and at the same time write my stories. I told him that my parents wouldn’t approve of it and that they disowned my older brother for wanting to pursue his writing career.

He looked stunned. Kit didn’t ask me any more questions about my ambition, and about my relatives. Maybe he thought that I was uncomfortable with the topic. I’m ready to talk about it though. I admit I’m not proud of my family’s decisions, but I’m always ready to discuss it.

Also, they had a condition for helping me. None of them could be accused of what we were about to do. They all wanted to be arsonists, and I couldn’t ask them to give up their wishes even if they were … unusual.

So, back to the topic. We snuck into the cafeteria at night and stole some unwanted food. After that, we got some spray paint that Desmond had snuck in. Then, we sneaked to the Faculty Meeting Room. The door was locked. But lucky for us, Hayden had an idea. She took a hairpin from her pocket and picked the lock.

Once we got inside, we took the food and slopped it EVERYWHERE. On the walls, on the table, everything. And, on top of that, I had made a homemade whoopee cushion out of some rubber and a rubber band. I kept it on Professor Armstrong’s seat (He deserved it for giving us that detention).

Then, Desmond took out the spray paints and gave one to each of us. We wrote stuff like, “Jake Lawrenson wuz here,” and “We all have scars from SCAR.” It was kind of awesome.

-Jake

Log entry 48 - 9/30/35

I hadn’t been able to write yesterday because I was locked inside a classroom. The faculty found out about our little expedition the day before. Luckily, Kit, Desmond, and Hayden didn’t get exposed. We were careful to leave no evidence that there was anyone involved except me.

One other HUGE thing. They will expel me. FINALLY! I will be rid of this horrible school. I will pursue my passion freely. There won’t be any pressure on me or any secrets to keep. I will find my brother. I will definitely find him. No matter what. I’m coming for you brother, I’m coming.

-Jake