Shattered trust

Shattered trust

Claire Farron was feared. While still a very young officer, she managed to achieve considerable combat success. For her desire to reach heights in a short time, her peers, colleagues and even commanders considered her a good, talented, but dangerous warrior. Claire achieved her goals quickly and clearly. For this, she was nicknamed Lightning, and the girl truly lived up to the meaning of this call sign. Claire Farron was respected. Among the commanders, there were those who valued their subordinates not for their pretty eyes, but for their real combat merits. Becoming a captain at twenty-four was not within everyone's power. Noticing the great potential in the young soldier, the authorities offered her a part-time job. The capital's Polytechnic University with an in-depth study of high technology and military art introduced a new course on the basics of life safety and survival practices for students. It was this course, along with practical classes, that the invincible Lightning was to lead. At first, she was not thrilled with the idea, because she did not want to teach such important skills to greenhorns. She had no desire to get involved with spoiled, albeit very smart, youth. However, there was one nuance, one small condition, which played a major role in making the decision. Claire's younger sister, Serah Farron, studied at this university. Due to her work in the army, the elder Farron did not have the opportunity to spend time with her only family member. The relationship between the sisters gradually worsened. Serah had to quickly adapt to her sister's life rhythm and regime and become independent. Claire did not blame her for this. She blamed only herself for the tension in their relationship and the lack of common topics for conversation. After all, in order to provide Serah with everything she needed and give her a good education, Claire had to grow up early and start working. And to this day, her work took first place in her life, displacing the slightest chance to strengthen or maintain family ties. However, now she had the opportunity to see her sister more often. And all thanks to the walls of the university. That is why Claire did not risk rejecting the offer of her superiors and brushing aside such a gift of fate. It turned out that being a lecturer was not so bad. The work was interesting, and the elder Farron had a considerable amount of knowledge that she could share with gifted youth. The battle-hardened captain liked to look into the confused and frightened eyes of her students when she mentioned that they had an unforgettable second semester ahead of them, which would be filled with incredible and vivid impressions from practical training in the field and extreme conditions. The only thing she did not understand was the reason why all those gifted children with bright minds were doing in a strict military academy. Oh, yes. Now it was a technical university, although five years ago they still trained real specialists in the field of military affairs here. Many talented commanders came from this educational institution. Claire remembered very well how she herself tried to get into a prestigious military academy seven years ago, but then she did not have enough points. The selection was tough, and the competition for a place was so high that it was impossible to count. In the end, she did not manage to get in here. From such an irony of fate, her lips involuntarily stretched into a crooked smile. Who would have thought that now, already holding the rank of captain, she would become a professor and teach at this university the things she herself once wanted to learn. And everything would have been wonderful, if not for one far from a wonderful day for Claire. Within the walls of the main building she noticed how her naive younger sister was talking to some blond bull while smiling sweetly at him. The sight was so shocking that Claire barely held back her emotions and her fist ready to punch. In order not to make a scene of massacring a stranger in front of the students and lecturers passing by in the corridor, Lightning nevertheless decided to turn on a cool head and first make inquiries about the target of her sisterly wrath. To her great horror, that wardrobe on legs turned out to be the combat training instructor Snow Villiers. Also a professor. It was a mystery to Claire why all the teachers in this educational institution were usually called professors, when the overwhelming majority of these professors were pure soldiers without academic degrees. Soldiers, like herself. And like this Snow Villiers. Claire made even more inquiries about him. He had good references and several combat achievements under his belt. He had the rank of senior lieutenant, and, just like her, was invited here as a teacher. Everything indicated that he was a good guy. But no matter how wonderful a specialist he was, he was not suitable for Serah! Claire was one hundred percent sure of that. The refined and petite Serah looked like a delicate violet against the backdrop of this giant baobab. For some time, Claire silently carried negative thoughts and feelings inside herself, until she finally decided to talk to her sister about her unacceptable relationship with the teacher. And here the elder Farron stumbled upon an unexpected conflict called love. It turned out that Serah and Snow had been secretly dating for a year now and were planning to get married as soon as Serah graduated. That was about to happen at the end of this year. This news hit Claire in the gut no worse than the strongest sparring partner. It was as if she had been struck by lightning. The conversation turned to high tones. Neither words, nor shouts, nor reproaches led to anything good. The sisters quarreled, and neither wanted to give up their positions. They stubbornly stood their ground: Serah - that she would marry Villiers at all costs, Claire - that she would not let this happen at all costs. In the end, the younger sister, offended and in tears, called Claire a heartless boor and added that she was not able to understand what love was, because she herself had never loved anyone. “If you were in my place, you would immediately understand how difficult it is for me to keep my feelings under control, how difficult it is for me to realize that he is a teacher, and I am one of his students! But we love each other! And we will cope!” Then Claire also managed to say different things: that she would never allow herself to get into such a situation and get involved with a teacher; and that love was just an illusion that intoxicated the brain and made people do stupid things. And much more. A few days later, when the swirl of emotions subsided, and her soul felt even worse, Claire thought deeply about the fact that she had missed precious time. In pursuit of a career and high pay, she lost touch with her sister, leaving her to cope with her problems and experiences on her own. And they used to be so friendly. She remembered how a middle schooled Serah, with her eyes sparkling with emotions, told how she liked one boy from a parallel class. Whenever they shared a desk in physics class, Noel Kreiss's name would come out of Serah's mouth non-stop. Back then, this admiration for some kid had really irritated Claire. But now, compared to the giant Professor Villiers, Noel Kreiss was almost a prince on a white horse. At least, he was the same age as Serah. Well, and he awas not much taller than her. Back then, Serah still trusted her and shared her worries. Now everything was different. Trust was broken. If Claire hadn't agreed to work at the university, she would still be ignorant, and Serah hadn't even bothered to tell her about such important things that were happening in her life. She wonder if the lovebirds planned to inform the elder Farron about their intention to get married? Perhaps she was doing something wrong in her life. Perhaps it was time to set her priorities differently and try to find a way out of the current situation. One thing Claire knew for sure: she needed to make peace with her sister.