Living in the Shadow of Another Day

The Sign-up

The conscription office wasn't that far but to him it felt like walking for ages. Matthew somehow managed to keep himself calm and tried his best not to freak out. His was losing some of the battles. He was just nervous. He couldn't describe it on any other way.

He slowly began to pick at the bandaids covering his arms. Matthew had always been covered in scratches and cuts due to him being clumsy. He was always running into things and practically tripping over air. 

Matthew continued to walk in slowly as if testing if he was willing to go through with it. He finally managed to force himself to grab the doorknob and let himself inside. The door slammed behind him catching the attention of a man reading a newspaper.

The man was in his late 40's and had greying brown hair with piercing green eyes. The man stared at him with an unamused look. He looked Matthew down from head to toe, silently forming judgements on him.

"You here for conscription?.."the man finally asked. He gave Matthew a questioning look along with his previous words.

"Y-yes, Sir,"Matthew responded. He mentally slapped himself for his stutter. He hated it with a burning passion. It made him feel like a failure since he couldn't even talk right. Matthew offered a small anxious smile as the man stared at him.

"Name and Age?.."The man interrogated. 

"U-uh...M-Matthew L-Larkin and I-I'm 18."He lied. He hated lying and he also flashed a stupid nervous smile. Ugh..everything about his act was horrible.

The man gave him a skeptical look before writing down his answers. 

"Alright...Come back tomorrow and we'll get you situated.Bring a small bag to carry any items that you want to take with you. You can be placed in the training camps...We will need all the help we can get,"The man concluded.

With that settled, he left the place and wondered how he got away with this. Matthew just sighed and tried not to think about it. Little did he know, that the choice he made would change his life forever. Matthew gave out sigh before heading home, not knowing what the future would hold for him.