Dead!

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Talk to you later, Samantha!" I shouted as I ran to the front of the room. Thoughts raced through my head. Finally, I got called! But what if they send me to Hell? What's Hell like anyways? What's Heaven like? I hope all of this goes okay.

One of the Celestial Bureaucracy employees showed me which room to go into. I opened the door, and saw a group of people sitting around a table. All of them were bickering with each other. "I'm telling you, we should have sent that last girl to Hell," one of the judges said.

"Stop being silly, Arnold," another judge said. "She was the most innocent person we've had this week."

"You're just saying that because she's black," a third judge said.

"Arnold, maybe it's time for you to be reborn," the second judge said. "Or at least retire. Your archaic beliefs are going to get us in trouble."

"Yeah, we can't have the Black Afterlives Matter people after us again," a fourth judge chimed in.

"I don't care about those people," the first judge (who was apparently named Arnold) said. "Everyone has their place, and they need to learn theirs."

"Okay, now you're just being racist," the third judge said.

"See? This is why we think that you should retire," the second judge said.

"Can you all stop?" a fifth judge said. "We have to deal with Miss Livingston right now."

"Fine," the second judge said. She looked up at me and said, "Hello. Are you Ivy Livingston?"

"Yes," I said nervously.

"Great. You can sit down here," the second judge said, gesturing towards a chair at the end of the table. I sat down, feeling more and more intimidated by the moment. I just wanted to get all of this over with, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen.

"Miss Livingston, we have reviewed your soul analysis results, which I must admit, were rather unusual," the third judge stated.

"Your soul analysis results displayed a nearly even mixture of positive actions and negative ones," the fourth judge explained. "This made it somewhat difficult for us to choose whether to send you to Heaven or Hell."

"However, there were a few factors that helped us make our decision," the second judge said. "First of all, you displayed a high amount of remorse for your actions towards Anthony Wilson. We also noted your loyalty and compassion towards your friends, as well as your young age."

"Therefore, we have unanimously decided to send you to Heaven," the first judge said.

"Congratulations Ivy," the fifth judge said.

"Wait, what?" I exclaimed. "I got into Heaven?!"

"Yes, you did," the third judge said. "If you go through that door over there, Mrs. Tipton will help you sort everything out." He turned to the other judges and said, "Now, who's next?"

"Somebody named Samantha, I think," the fourth judge said. "Annie, could you go get her folder?" The second judge went to get Samantha's folder, and I went into the next room, which I recognized as the room that I was in when I was called the first time.

"Hello Ivy," Mrs. Tipton said. "How are you?"

"I'm great," I said. "How are you?"

"I'm doing alright," Mrs. Tipton said. "Ivy, when we last met, you listed your grandmother as the only adult that you knew that was in Heaven. Is that still correct?"

"Yes," I said.

"I have contacted your grandmother, and she said that she would be happy to take you in," Mrs. Tipton said. "She is currently taking care of another girl as well, and I'm sure you two will get along."

Heaven might actually be nice, I thought. I can have a sister again, and it will be like a new family. Maybe I can start over. "So I'll just live with Grandma?" I said.

"Precisely," Mrs. Tipton said. "Ivy, what sort of things are you interested in?"

"Why do you need to know?" I asked.

"We need to know what sort of jobs you might be interested in," Mrs. Tipton explained. "Most people have a job of sort sort in Heaven to keep themselves occupied, not to mention that we do a pretty good job of matching people to their ideal careers. Everyone actually enjoys their jobs here."

"Oh okay," I said. I paused before saying, "I guess I like photography. I'm not that good at it, but I enjoy it."

Mrs. Tipton started typing something into her computer. "You're in luck," she said. "There's an opening at the Cedar Creek Celestial Post for a junior photographer. Do you want me to send you the application?"

"Sure," I said.

"Don't get too stressed over it though," Mrs. Tipton said. "You're going to Heaven. Enjoy yourself for a bit, and then think about applying for that job."

"Okay, Mrs. Tipton," I said.

"Are you ready to enter Heaven?" Mrs. Tipton asked. I nodded. "Just go through that door over there. Have fun, Ivy," she said as she handed me a ticket. I took the ticket and went through the door.

I stepped into what appeared to be a train station. There were people everywhere, and I had no idea what to do. I looked at my ticket. It said, "Des Moines (Iowa Sector Station) to Cedar Creek, 11:30 AM." I glanced at the clock and saw that it was 11:24. I would be late for my train if I didn't find it soon.

Luckily, I found the train fairly quickly, and once I got on, I started talking to a group of older women who were heading home from a business trip. They seemed nice, as far as I could tell.

The train arrived in Cedar Creek after about half an hour. I got off the train, and I quickly spotted my grandmother. "Grandma!" I shouted when I saw her, but then I saw the girl who was standing next to her.

Of course. Grandma just had to adopt none other than Maya Jackson.