The Transplant ✔️

8. You're Not Special

Jobe's POV:

I was sprawled out on my bed like Patrick Star from SpongeBob SquarePants, feeling sorry for myself after the horrid test results.

"Get out of bed, man." I felt a tug in my socks, but held onto the bed post to keep myself stable on the bed.

"Eff off, Andy. I'm not getting out of bed today."

"But I have something to tell you."

"Like what?" I rolled over with my back to the mattress, wondering what Andy could possibly be talking about.

"I found something that will change all of your problems." He nodded his head and smiled.

"You...fixing my problems? Fat chance in that ever happening." I took a deep breath of exhaustion.

"If you don't get out of bed, you might never know. I'm telling you, this is one of my better ideas. You might thank me for it later." Well, I didn't have much of a choice, and since I had lost all hope, I might as well try last resorts.

"Alright, what did you have in mind?" I popped my head up, sem-interested to find out what was so life-changing.

"Come with me and see." Andy grabbed his keys from his pocket, dangling them in my face.

"I have a feeling this is a bad idea, but what the hell?"

**

"It smells like a meat locker in here."

"See, I told you that you'd thank me for this." Andy was super proud of himself and as arrogant as ever.

"Yes, I'll put my fist in your face and you'll see how truly thankful I am." I was only joking, but with a cocktail attitude like that, I could have smacked him across the head for a wild minute.

Andy brought me to an army recruitment building, filled with men of all sizes and shapes, ready to serve their country. I had always admired men and women who served our great nation, risking to die for something that mattered, but Dad refused to let me do anything but focus on college. Any other dreams of mine were simply crushed in the process of college.

"Wow, not such a bad idea, Andy." I patted him on the back of his leather jacket.

"I told you so. I remember a recruiter coming to high school once and offered you a job because you were one of the few guys at school who was over six feet and built at the time. So, with that in mind, I had a conversation with the hot girl that runs the sheriff's office and she told me they were having this job fair for the army. I figured you might be interested."

"I don't know, it seems far out. But I'm willing to give this a shot; I'm already here."

I took a space in line under a white canopy, tapping my foot as I waited for the line to move.

A few people were tired of waiting, so they walked away before even being spoken to. One of the recruiters noticed this and decided to speak to the group as a whole.

He threw off his sweaty cap, turning to face the crowd as he did so. He stood up as straight as a door, his hands behind his back, and face in a strict scowl as he surfed through the crowd. The man licked his lips and prepared to speak.

"I can see some of you pansies can't stand the heat outside for a few minutes, so for those of you, and you know who you are, you might as well take yourself and head on over to the salon across the street and apply for a job there. And if my words hurt your feelings, there's a nice place in your mom's basement you can stay to cry for a little while. Now for those of you unlucky enough to still be here listening to my words of wisdom, not all of you will be fit to join. You must be physically fit, which some of you obviously haven't worked out in years. You have to work with others and still manage to stay out of trouble whether or not you hate each other's guts; it's called common sense. Last, but not least, there will be no one with a criminal record because we are doing a background check on all appliers. None of you will be getting special treatment, therefore, if you you're special, hit the road."

And there's the down side. I should have figured there wouldn't be a place to fit a person with a criminal record. The theft charge a few years back was still temporarily on my record. My father can only get me out of so much trouble.

"Nice try, but I'm going to pass on the offer. Thanks for trying to cheer me up, but I think my fate has been sealed for me. I'll just go through with the stupid surgery and keep my dad happy. I don't have much of a choice; I don't think I ever did, really." I hated bowing down to my father, but it was nothing new to me.

I walked out of the shaded canopy and back into Andy's truck. Usually, I hated when Andy put the air conditioner on high, but as hot as it was outside, I wasn't complaining. I might as well be as comfortable as possible before they cut me open for surgery.

"You're going to be fine, J. Don't sweat it. A lot of people have transplants and only half of them come out messed up." Huh, Andy surely has a way with word.

"Thanks, Andy, you sure know how to make someone feel better and brighten up their whole day. You're the best." I rolled my eyes, not sure if he could tell my sarcasm.

"Thanks, man. I'm glad you feel that way because I try." Nope, he surely didn't get my sarcasm. With inuition like his, he would never make it in the army.