#170 The Enlisted

by Katarina Andersson

Sean woke up remembering that his head had been shaved. The roughness of the stubble was the first thing to jar him to consciousness. It didn’t feel right under his fingertips. Then it all came back to him in the 3am dark of the barracks—Fort Jackson. “Phase 1 is Red Phase and Total Control. That’s all you need to know.” “Welcome to Hell Week, kid. We’ll see how you adjust.”

Sean hadn’t told Jason that he was going to do this. He didn’t think he was going to do this, but his father had never been so pleased with him before.

Sean remembered looking away when his mother cried. He was bad at goodbyes.

No, he hadn’t told Jason, who probably had no idea where he was by now. Jason would never forgive him and Sean knew he deserved it.

He rolled over on the hard cot. It was a done deal and oh-four-hundred was fast approaching.

Right before his head was shaved and his boots were issued to him, Sean noticed a couple recruitment officers looking at him skeptically. But they didn’t ask and he didn’t tell.

And his father had looked him in the eye and smiled before driving away.