"GOOOOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!" Dad yelled in our door way. "Time to get up kiddos. It's 0700 hours and y'all ain't sleepin in all day."

I grumbled and rolled over in my twin bed, hugging my Stitch plush. "Dad, just because you signed up for the military doesn't mean we did."

"Dad it's Christmas break, school is out, we wanna sleep," Dakota grunted.

"Blair! Dakota! Up, that's a direct order!" Dad barked, turning on the bedroom light. Dakota and I both through a pillow at him.

"Meowrrrr," growled Midnight from Dakota's bed in the opposite corner than mine.

"I want no back sass from you either Major Midnight," Dad chuckled and left the room.

"If we don't get breakfast, I'm gonna be pissed," I growled.

"Why does Dad make us get up so early?" whined Dakota.

"Cause he's crazy," I laughed.

My name is Blair Ember Cooper, I'm 17 years old and my dad is in a Aircraft Structural Maintenance specialists, in layman's terms he's a an airplane mechanic for the US Air Force. We've been all over the country and France, but my mother, Sharon Oaks, was from Alabama (go ahead make the jokes, I've heard 'em all). She abandoned me as a baby two weeks before Dad went to the next base so I've been with Dad my whole life on various military bases. I spend my days helping Dad work on vehicles and I'm fascinated with how motors work. I enjoy animals: cattle, horses, dogs, cats, etc. I can also sit dow and watch football or basketball games back to back. I want to be a farmer or a diesel mechanic once I graduate in May.

I have long wavy dirty blonde hair, that's typically in a ponytail or braid, sun kissed skin, and crystal blue eyes. I'm tall, at around 5'9, and curvy but strong and I'm told my personality is loud. My wardrobe consists of blue jeans, flannel shirts, army camouflage t-shirts, t-shirts with sleeves cut off, and cowboy boots. I tend to wear clothes covering the tattoo of Dad's dog tags on my left shoulder and on the other is Lilo and Stitch for Dakota, I got them when I was 15 in Paris, France. Today was no different, I worn blue jean, a long sleeve blue plaid cotton bottom up, and my cowboy boots, I through my hair up into a French braid, tying it off at the bottom with a blue ribbon. I slipped my black feathered earrings into my ear lobes.

My younger sibling, Dakota Riley Cooper, shares the bedroom with me. Dakota is a 14 year old non-binary and uses she/they pronouns (honestly I think they only use she so people at school don't make fun of them more then people already do for not having many friends and their quiet demeanor and rare eyes). Dakota's mom is a African-American woman from South Carolina, named Vanessa Brown. She gave Dakota to Dad because he made more money than her and Dakota would have a better life, but still messages them and sends gifts on their birthday and Christmas. Dakota loves to draw and is obsessed with anime, I'll watch some with them but mostly it's their thing. Their side of the room is plastered with anime posters from Blue Exorcist, Fairytale, and Naruto. We watch Seven Deadly Sins and Pokémon together but other than that they watch it alone.

Dakota is a 5'4 scrawny kid with short curly purple dyed hair. They have Heterochromia, leaving them with one brown eye and one green that is framed behind sliver circle glasses. Their complexion is an olive shade. Dakota is shy, quiet, and can be very insecure, though I can't understand why, I think they are beautiful (I don't care if I may be a little bias). Their clothes are typically wild and bright a new crazy outfit. I find it absorbing to see what the outfit for the day will be. Today, it's a long sleeve black fishnet undershirt with a pastel yellow t-shirt overtop, black leggings, and black platform boots accompanied by a gold necklace sent by her mother and gold flame earrings.

Most people can't even guess we're related, we look and act so different. Even if people know we have the same last name they only think it's a coincidence.

The two of us walked down the hall to the kitchen, Dad was in his full uniform. Troy Cooper is around 6'4, muscular, has green eyes, black square glasses, tan Cherokee skin, and black hair. He grew up in a poor coal town in the Appalachian mountains and joined the Air Force after high school to try to make something of himself, other than a coal miner or moonshiner like the rest of his family.

"I've got pancakes and sausage for you guys, now I've got to get to work," Dad said, kissed both of us on the head, and went out the door. Normal weekday for the Cooper's.

Dakota and I ate our breakfast and discussed our plans for the day.

"So wanna highjack a truck and go out on the town?" I suggested.

"Dad'll kill us!" Dakota exclaimed.

"No he won't. He told the airman to let me use a Jeep anytime there's a free 'n. Come on I'm sick a 'is base." Our current base is Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. The high in winter for Texas is still in the 60s and I love it but the summer is brutal. I want to move to Colorado, few people, warm summers, cool winters, and plenty of farm land to build my own ranch.

"What have you got in mind if we go?"

"I was hopin' t' runnin' int' that cowboy from school."

"Well, it's nice to see you finally getting back out there after... Jessica."

That name made my blood boil and I stopped mid bite, "do NOT mention that name."

"Sorry B, I didn't mean..."

"I know. It's ok Kota," I sighed.

I knew Dakota wouldn't want to leave the house, they prefer staying in with their black cat Midnight, whom also has hereochomia, and drawing while a good show plays. I just don't want to leave them here alone. Dakota is the one person I've had my whole life. Moving so much, I stopped getting close to classmates because I knew I'd be leaving in a few months, but Dakota and I were stuck together and we make the best of it. Dakota had even made us matching army green bracelets out of paracord about four years ago in Hawaii, we never take them off.

"On second thought, why don't we stay home and watch Lilo and Stitch?" I said.

Dakota's face lit up. Lilo and Stitch was our favorite movie and when Dad was stationed in Hawaii for six months (which is my second favorite base only after Paris, France), we both learned to surf like in the 2005 Disney film.

We finished our breakfast, I washed the dishes, and went to our room to watch the movie. Dakota drew in their sketch book in their bed while I sang along with the songs of the movie. I made them laugh occasionally with my Stitch impression that I think is spot on.

When the movie was over, Dakota continued to draw and I grabbed my earbuds and my book, The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen. I read as I listened to songs like I Hate Alabama by Conner Smith, Angel Eyes by Love and Theft, and This Damn Song by Pecos & The Rooftops. Dakota hates country music so if I listen to it I wear ear buds so Dakota doesn't have to listen to it.

I was on page 73 while the song Dangerous by Morgan Wallen, when Dakota jumped on top of me in my bed. I put my book on the nightstand and paused my music, removing my earbuds.

"What?" I said aggravated, it was a good part of my book.

"I'm hungry. We can go out to eat. That way you can still get off the base for a bit and I can get food," Dakota grinned.

"Okay, okay. Grab my wallet and we'll go," I said.

We walked out the door and went to the garage station and spoke to Airman Winchester. He gave me the keys and the two of us went off to a near by town, Clyde.