By Joshua Ryan
Chapter 9: Someone Up There Likes Me
The answer was obvious: I’d keep up with my classes and try my best to keep up with my fantasies– same as always, because I was never gonna wind up on St. Bevons as a slappie anyhow. If I got rejected, big fuckin deal. But of course that’s not the way I felt. I wanted them to accept me! Cmon, after all those Steps, isn’t that what you’d want?
So the next few days were pretty miserable and anxious. Finally I had to make a rule that I’d check my mail only twice a day, instead of jumping into my phone every minute. That’s why it took me about eight hours to find the new message from SLPOUTREACH: “Joel Barlow: We are pleased to inform you that on review of your Application, Documents, and Interview, you have been accepted for admission to the State Labour Program. You are now permitted to proceed to Step 4. THIS STEP MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS MESSAGE, OR YOUR ACCEPTANCE WILL BE CANCELED. Use the following password.”
I’ve been serving in the foreign legion for years now…
