The phone call didn't go well. Becky spent most of the time crying while Rob tried to comfort her. He had babbled on about his Aunt Helen, who'd never married or had children. She taught horticultural studies at La Trobe University, so it was understandable that her main focus in life was her garden.

Becky laughed when he'd told her how Aunt Helen's duck had snapped at Linc's ankles and chased him up the back stairs. However, her tears had quickly returned when he'd had to say goodbye.

Sleep hadn't been easy for Rob. Most of the night, he'd felt sick in the stomach thinking about Becky being so far away.

He now stood in his dorm and put his duffle bag on the end of a bed. Becky was right on one score. He smirked. Dormitory accommodation with nine other guys who were in the Officer Training School with him was not going to be very private. At least it wasn't a double bunk. Rob couldn't think of anything worse. Imagine having someone else sleeping above you, and every time they turned over your bed, shook too.

"Well. This is it." He turned to his parents. "I think Becky's got the better deal." Rob chuckled. "She'd cry laughing if she were here." Rob held back a surge of emotion just thinking about not being in the same bed as Becky.

"It'll only be for a short while." Michael looked around at the other boys and their parents. They seemed as bewildered as Rob. "This is the armed forces, after all. I'm pretty sure everyone who joins an Australian defence force puts up with the same thing."

"Yeah. I know." Rob sighed. He put his hand on Linc's shoulder. "So what do you think? Are you going to copy me when you're old enough?"

"No way." Linc shook his head. He'd been into the toilet and shower block at the end of the room. "You don't even have proper doors on the showers. If someone farts in here, you're all gonna hear it and smell it. I'm going to Uni like Becky. At least she gets her own room."

Rob laughed. Linc always pointed out the obvious. "Yeah, but she's not going to get to fly a jet fighter."

"I think you're both weird. One of you wants to kill people, and one of you wants to cut them up when they're dead." Linc thumbed his chest. "Maybe I'll be a famous sportsman and make lots of money playing a game that I love."

Rob crinkled his brow. He hadn't really thought about their chosen fields the way Linc just described it. He pulled his mouth back in a grin. Linc certainly had a way with words. "Maybe you should be a writer because you won't make money playing hockey." Rob chuckled and gave Linc a jab in the ribs. "Unless you go to America and play ice hockey."

"I'm thinking AFL."

"What..?" Rob rumbled. "You've never played it, and I'm pretty sure Rocky doesn't even have an AFL team. It's a Victorian sport."

"Why is it called Australian Football League then if it's not played in the whole country?" Linc smirked and shook his head. "They should change it to VFL if it's only played in Victoria."

Rob grinned. There was Linc stating another obvious. "There is a VFL. Victorian Football League, which includes all the Victorian teams. They play AFL in Western and South Australia too and in Brisbane, but it's not as big in Queensland."

"Ah, forget it." Linc flapped his hand to dismiss the idea. "Maybe I'll play basketball then. Or tennis." He shrugged. "I'll work it out."

*****

That night, Rob lay on his bunk, wondering what the hell possessed him to join the RAAF. His parents and Linc had said goodbye and were in a plane right at this moment heading home. Rob's mind had been on his family and Becky while he ate in the mess hall, so he hadn't retained the names of his dorm buddies. All he knew was that he had to be up and dressed in his uniform by six in the morning.

He lifted his phone. Twelve eleven am. Shit. If he didn't get some sleep, he was going to fail his first day. Not that he knew what was in store for him.

On the up, he and Becky had managed to talk on the phone earlier without crying. Rob rolled over and hugged his pillow. Becky. He smiled and felt his body harden. Shit. He wasn't going to be able to fix that by himself in a room full of guys. Rob shifted his thoughts to what he remembered of the day.

His parents had dropped him off. They hadn't been able to stay long. The Air Force didn't see long goodbyes as a good thing. After all the recruits had settled their belongings into their lockers, they had been sent to get their uniforms and been given the rest of the afternoon and evening to get to know each other a little.

Lights out was at nine.

Tomorrow, there would be a parade in which further instructions would be given. What surprised Rob the most was the number of girls who were enlisted. For some reason, Rob had the idea that this base was for those in the air force officer training program who wanted to be fighter pilots, but he'd been so wrong. All new recruits for every department were housed here to start. Rob couldn't wait to see what tomorrow would bring and be able to ring Becky to tell her all about it. He closed his eyes and smiled as Becky's beautiful face was the last thing he thought of.

*****

Rob stood with the rest of the recruits on the parade with his legs spread and his hands behind his back. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. All mobile phones were to be handed into their squadron leader by eight o'clock that night. Phone use was to be restricted to one hour per week for the next six weeks. They would have sixty minutes that evening between the hours of seven and eight pm to call their loved ones to inform them of this. Rob felt gutted. This meant approximately thirty minutes a week to talk to Becky and thirty minutes to talk to his family.

There would be no time to call his mates or share things on Facebook or Instagram. He felt like a prisoner instead of an air force trainee. How was he going to cope?

As the base leader continued to talk, Rob heard someone sobbing. He dared to look over his shoulder and saw a tiny blonde girl wiping her face. She lifted her eyes and caught him looking. Rob gave her a gentle smile. He knew exactly how she felt. She shrugged as more tears rolled down her cheeks. Rob turned to the front. There wasn't anything he could do to help her. They were all in the same boat. He chuckled. Boat wasn't a good metaphor. The aircraft was better.

*****

Becky was the first person he called, "I'm sorry. That's how it is here. I had no idea. I wish I hadn't bloody joined."

"Why do they do that? Everyone needs to be able to contact their family. Oh, Rob." She gasped back a sob.

"I guess it's to toughen us up. To get us to rely on our squadron rather than people outside the service." Rob sighed. "It was so fucking hard today. They threw us straight into physical training. I'm so sore and tired." He felt like he was going to break down, so quickly sucked in a breath. "Fuck, Becky. I miss you so much. I think I've made a huge mistake doing this. I want to be with you."

"Rob. It'll get better. Once you understand how it all works it'll get better. This is your dream." Becky felt like crying but she didn't want to use up their last minutes in tears. "I love you so much. Just remember that. Keep thinking about how it'll be when we see each other next." She sighed. "When do you get to call next so I can make sure I have my phone on me?"

"Every Saturday night between seven and eight." Rob looked at the time. He had fifteen minutes left and he still had to ring home. "Becky I gotta go. I have to ring Mum and Dad."

"Okay." She gasped. "I love you."

"I love you too." Rob clicked end and dragged in a lungful of air. He pressed dial and held the phone to his ear. "Mum. Yeah it's me, Rob."

Poor Rob and Becky. How are they going to deal with one phone call a week?

Just so you know, I've restricted the phone call time for the benefit of my story. I'm sure there probably isn't such a restriction for any of you who are considering signing up. ♥

Image copyright - WildBlueYonder.