Take me to Your Leader - 1. Take Me Chapter 1

For the past few years, I have been nose down and studying hard. I was second from being Dux of School, but the top of the year in Physics, Chemistry and Applied Mathematics, and I did it two years ahead of most kids. Not only that but I was also accepted to study at university at the age of just 15 years and 8 months old, with my birthday in late June. I am very tall for my age, and although I didn’t do any gym work I had a strong build and was rarely teased about being super smart, and I never used my height or build to intimidate or threaten anyone.

Although I was born on Chatham Islands on the southeast coast of New Zealand, our family of six has lived in Adelaide Hills, South Australia, for the past eleven years, where all my siblings were born and where my father Lane Hamilton is an Electrical and Mechanical Engineer for a mining company in the north of the state, while my mother works part-time as a lawyer, as well as looking after me and my three younger siblings.

I was the oldest by eight years, with Anita being the oldest girl, followed by Kristy who is two years younger and last, there is Myles my younger brother, who is two years younger than Kristy and twelve years younger than me. As I was starting my first year at University, Myles was starting his first year in Preschool. I had always been interested in technical and mechanical things so it was no surprise to my parents when I applied for and was accepted to university to study Aeronautical Engineering.

The only University that ran this course is UNSW – University of New South Wales in Sydney, so my parents made sure that I was looked after at one of the residential colleges, which is associated with the Uniting Church, which is the religion our family attends regular services. Mum took a few days off from work to travel to Sydney with me, to make sure that I settled into the accommodation where I would be living, and as agreed on, we had decided to say that I was turning 18 in late June in my first year at University and that was put down in my University application.

On Sunday, after three days in Sydney, Mum and I attended Chapel together in the College where I would be living, and it was a very nice service before Mum left to return home. Although I found it a little unsettling at first, I was soon settling down to two-hour lectures, tutorials, seminars and study groups, as well as attending weekly Sunday services, mid-week evening service and bible study.

I was living in a standard room with a private ensuite which my parents insisted that I have, and I was getting three meals a day, and facilities to do my laundry, which Mum had shown me how to do from a young age, as well as learning to iron clothes and basic sewing skills and both of my parents each contacted me twice a week to check on me. For eight weeks I studied very hard and made sure that I attended every lecture, tutorial and study group that I had to attend, and a week before the short mid-semester break, I received a text message from Dad.

“Brett, I have booked you on a flight home for Mid-Semester Break. Details following,” and a second message had all the flight details for my two-hour Saturday morning flight to Adelaide, and my return flight the following Saturday evening. Mum had lunch ready by the time I arrived home, with a chauffeur car to get me home safely, and my young siblings were thrilled to see me home, even if it was for only a week, with Myles having happy tears, as he said that he had missed me terribly. Being off campus, I was able to relax the whole time that I was at home, and apart from attending church on Sunday morning, and a bit of exercise once a day, I spent most of the time at home, where it was very quiet when my siblings were at school for the day.

With Dad working up north and Mum spending part of the day at work, I was able to spend about four hours each day in a totally quiet house, which was a very strange feeling, especially when our home is located at the end of a road, in the Adelaide Hills suburb of Auldana, with amazing views of the city to the west. My bedroom and bathroom are located on the lower level, while the living area is on the main level and the master and three other bedrooms are located on the upper level, so I hear very little noise that is happening upstairs.

Although it was great to be home for a short break, I was ready to get back to Sydney and concentrate on my studies once more, and for the rest of the first semester, I was equally determined to do well in all of my subjects, and from the feedback I was getting from the weekly tutorials, I was doing just that. Mum had lined up some part-time work for me for the Mid-year holiday break at the law firm where she works, doing menial work, like photocopying documents, delivering documents to various locations, and whatever else needed doing.

I was happy to be doing the job, as it stopped me from getting bored for the two weeks that I was home, and I was kept super busy for the whole time there, but as it neared the end of my time home, I was ready to get back to my studies once more. For the second semester of my first year, I concentrated on my studies, with very little time for anything else, although I did spend a little more time in the college recreation space than I did in my first year there, just to be a little more sociable.

At each Semester break, I was asked to return to my job at the law firm in Adelaide, so I must have been doing something good for the firm to keep asking for me to come back to work, even if it was for just two weeks mid-year, two weeks at the end of the year and four weeks in the new year, and with a family education trust paying for all of my university and living expenses, I was able to save the majority of the money I earned at work.

As my second year at University fast approaching, I decided to get my pilot license as part of my Aeronautical Engineering degree, my parents were not too keen on the idea at first, but eventually, they agreed, and I spent a lot of my spare time during the holidays, preparing to enter flight school to gain my Grad Diploma of Aviation. Firstly I had to get a Class 1 Medical Certificate to fly, pass a Pilot Aptitude Assessment, and also gain an Aviation Security Identity Card before I could even start my training, which would take a year and a quarter to complete, so I would have a very busy year ahead.

When I arrived back at the University, I was surprised to see a note on the door of my allocated room. “Mr Brett Hamilton, please come and see me as soon as you have arrived. Dean of College,” the note read, and unsure what this was about, I quickly placed my luggage inside my room and headed back downstairs to the Dean’s office. “Sir, you asked to see me on arrival?” I asked when I arrived at the office, where the door was partly open and the Dean was seated at his desk.

“Yes, please come in and take a seat,” the Dean responded smiling as he said this, which made me relax a little. “I asked to speak to you as I have gained some new information about yourself. I believe that you are not 18 but actually 16 years old, turning 17 this coming June,” the Dean said, I swallowed, now very worried that I was not going to be allowed to continue my studies because I lied about my age and I decided to tell the truth. “Yes sir, that is correct, and I have the full support of my parents to attend this university and reside at this college,” I replied.

“Yes, I know, I spoke to your father earlier this morning, while you were travelling back here. It is very rare to have a student so young attending university, and do be doing exceptionally well too. I have spoken to the Dean of Engineering, and also with the Vice Chancellor, and it was decided to let you continue with your studies, but we will be keeping a much closer eye on you until you have reached the age of 18 years, and to do that, I have asked a current resident and Engineering student to be your mentor and minder of sorts, and he has agreed to do this. His name is Hugh Bartlett, do you recall if you have met him?” the Dean said to me.

“Yes sir, he was my tutorial advisor last year, a nice chap, and he is from Adelaide as well,” I replied smiling. “That he is, and as you know he is a year ahead of you in Engineering, but I believe you are in the more difficult Aeronautical Engineering, while he is doing Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,” the Dean stated. “Actually sir, I have requested a transfer to Aerospace Engineering, with what I have completed last year as a credit to the new course,” I announced.

“I see, so looking for more of a challenge are you?” the Dean asked, “In a way, yes sir, but I am also doing a Grad Diploma in Aviation starting this year, to gain my Commercial Pilot license,” I announced. “Well, that is a surprise. Do you not think that you may be taking on too much?” the Dean asked me. “No sir, I am confident that I will be able to do all of my chosen studies,” I responded. After the meeting with the Dean, I returned to my room and began to get settled in as I had a good 4 ½ days to get settled before the start of classes began.

A few minutes after I had completed unpacking, which included setting up my laptop computer and portable printer/scanner, and putting the books that I had brought with me up on the shelf, I was looking online at a few things when there was a knock on my door, and I smiled when I saw that it was Hugh standing there. “Hello mate, I was expecting you to turn up sometime soon, as I have just met with the College Dean,” I said as I stepped back to let Hugh enter my room. “Are you ok with this arrangement, and with me being your mentor and minder?” Hugh asked me, after sitting down at my office chair while I sat down on my bed.

“Yes, I am cool with it, especially since you were in my tutorial group last year. So were you surprised that I am younger than you thought I was?” I asked, “Yeah, was quite a shock, considering your build and height,” Hugh replied. After a ten-minute chat, Hugh left, as he had to finish unpacking his stuff and get settled in, while I finished my internet searching before I closed the laptop down and grabbed a novel that I had been reading for the past few days, as I found it very relaxing to layback and read a good book.

During dinner, Hugh came over and sat at the same table as me, and informed me that he had asked a few of his classmates to come and sit with us, which I didn’t mind, and I was soon introduced to Simeon Jarvis and Travis Archer. “So man, Huon tells us that you are a bit of a genius, doing Aeronautical Engineering,” Simeon said to me after we had finished chatting about just general stuff.

“Nah, I just like learning, and I have changed degrees, as of this year I will be studying Aerospace Engineering, and I am also going to be studying for a Grad Diploma in Aviation, which is a fancy name for getting a commercial pilot license,” I responded. “Wow dude, that is crazy, man you are going to have a very busy year,” Travis replied.

After dinner, we went to the recreation room to play some pool and chat for an hour, before I headed back to my room, as I needed to head to bed early, as it had been a busy day, travelling and settling into my new room at college, but after a shower, I had trouble getting to sleep, so I read a book for a while before I finally fell asleep.

For the whole second year at university, I concentrated on my studies with the occasional intervention by Huon, Travis and Simeon to stop studying and have some fun and relax. For the mid-semester breaks I remained in Sydney, to make sure that I was up to date with all of my assignments, and for the mid-year holiday, I was home for only a week, so I didn’t do any work at the law firm, to just rest and relax and to celebrate my 17^th birthday, as well as gaining my drivers licence. When I returned to college after the short break, I was able to spend two days doing absolutely nothing, and with minimal interruptions.

When Hugh arrived back from the mid-year holiday, he knocked on my door and as I opened my door, he looked to his left and right, before quietly saying, “Happy 17^th birthday my friend, did you have a good break?” he said to me as I stepped aside so he could enter. We chatted for about five minutes before Hugh headed back to his room which was just a few doors down from mine. As the second semester progressed, the tutorial sessions started to get very strange, with some of the students expressing an interest in UFOs and Aliens, and I was asked if I believed in them, I replied that I was going to remain neutral on the matter.

When my second year at University came to an end, after completing two weeks of tough examinations, I packed up my luggage in preparation for the trip home to Adelaide, when Huon appeared, as my room door was slightly open, “Hey mate, all ready for your trip home?” Hugh asked me, “Yes, just about done, I have a flight late this afternoon, leaving at 6.55,” I replied. “I had a chat with the college dean just now, as I will be doing my honours after I finish my degree next year, so I will be here for another year. The Dean had offered us the rooms that share a patio if you are interested in one of the three rooms next year,” Hugh said to me.

“Yeah, that sounds good, who will have the third room?” I responded, “Travis and Simeon will have to fight it out for that, with the loser having a single-suited room next door that has no balcony but has two lots of windows,” Huon replied. “That’s cool. Tell the Dean that I happily accept the offer,” I said smiling.

The trip home was uneventful with the usual extra luggage charges, as I had to bring home everything that I had with me for the year, and Mum and my siblings were at the airport to collect me. When I walked into the house, I was surprised to see Dad was home, and we shook hands before being pulled into a hug, which was a rare event and surprised me a little. As we neared the end of dinner, Mum informed me that if I wanted, the job at the law firm was still available for me, and she suggested to the bosses that I may want to have until the New Year to rest and relax and work for three weeks in the New Year, which I thought was a great idea, and I accepted the offer to work after the New Year public holiday.

“Did you have a look in the single garage when you arrived home?” Dad casually asked me, and when I looked up, he and Mum were both smiling. “No, what is in there that would…” I started to say before I excused myself from the table and raced downstairs, stopping at the bottom where the door to the single garage is located, I paused for a moment, before opening the door and flicking on the light.

Inside the garage was a new Ford Ranger Raptor, which is a burnt Orange colour. “Wow,” I said loudly, just as the rest of the family appeared and my siblings were equally amazed at what they saw. “This is mine?” I asked my parents, “This one is my new vehicle, your new one is in the double garage,” said, as Mum chuckled at this little bit of Dad's humour, as I stepped out of the single garage and walked over to the double garage nearby.

Inside the main garage, sat a secondhand 110 Landrover, which had a radio antennae, bullbar and winch on the front and was painted dark green, has a snorkel which meant that it must be diesel, and there was a large roof rack on the top. As I walked down the side of the vehicle, I saw that it was a four-door with an outside back tray, and there was a Batwing awning attached to the side of the roof rack as I opened the driver-side door.

Looking inside, I saw that it was a manual 4x4 and it had a UHF radio installed, and a rear bench seat, it was basic like all 110 models but it was perfect. “This is awesome, much better than your new vehicle, well for me anyway,” I said to Dad when he appeared. “Nice save son,” Dad replied, which made me laugh. “We thought we would take both vehicles for a long-distance road trip over Christmas,” Dad announced to everyone who had now gathered in the garage, and this is when I noticed what was parked on the other side of the Landrover, which was an offroad caravan. “Woah, where did this come from?” I asked in a shocked voice. “Took your time noticing it son,” Dad said to me.

“Yeah, I guess I was excited about my new Landrover 110,” I replied, as Mum opened the door to the large caravan, and stepped inside and I followed her in. Up two steps, into the living area of the van, with the master bed at the front, while in the centre of the van, there was a full-sized kitchen on the left, and a seating and dining area on the right.

Beyond this is a sliding door that leads into a three-bunk bedroom and beyond that is another sliding door into the full-size bathroom, with a large vanity and separate shower. “She is a Lotus 24.6 foot caravan, with all the comforts of home in a compact way,” Dad said to me. “Did you happen to see what was parked on the other side of your Landrover?” Mum asked me, “No, what…” I replied before walking down the length of the an and stepping outside. On the other side of the Landrover, was an Austrek Camper trailer.

“Wow, this is cool, so I am guessing this is my quarters for this family road trip?” I asked, “It is, and if Miles wants to and it is ok with you, he can sleep in there too. You have your own internal bathroom and external camp kitchen including a sink and fridge,” Dad replied. “We have planned an eleven-day trip northwards then west along the coast, as far as Penong, then south to Point Sinclair, which we will do in three days, with overnight stops in Port Augusta and Elliston, so we will be travelling for no more than four hours each day, and we will have a total of 5-days of caravan camping on the coast,” Mum announced.