Results

The next morning felt too ordinary.

Ethan woke up before the alarm.

For a few seconds he lay still, listening.

Water somewhere in the kitchen.

A chair moving across the floor.

The low hum of the city outside.

Nothing had changed.

He got dressed slowly.

His shoulder still remembered the tatami.

Not pain anymore. Just weight.

By the time he stepped outside, the air was cool and clean.

The streets were already moving.

Platforms slid above the road.

Traffic lights changed on time.

People crossed in even streams, each one following a route already decided for them.

He walked the same way he always did.

At one crossing he caught himself counting steps.

Then stopped.

His father’s voice from the night before surfaced without warning.

Don’t stop.

It should have felt reassuring.

Instead, it only made the morning quieter.

The examination center came into view behind the glass and steel of the avenue.

Same walls.

Same lines.

Same order.

Ethan adjusted the folded paper in his pocket and kept walking.

The examination center looked exactly the same as a month ago.

Glass walls. Clean floors. Posters.

The future is in your hands. Choose your path.

Scientist.

Soldier.

Worker.

Ethan stopped near the entrance.

Marcus nudged him.

“Nervous again?”

“A little.”

“You’ll be fine.”

Marcus pushed the door open.

Inside, disinfectant and fresh paint.

Small groups. Quiet voices. Everyone pretending not to look at the board on the far wall.

Marcus whistled.

“Crowd’s bigger.”

Ethan didn’t answer.

They walked closer.

Names.

Numbers.

Marks.

Marcus leaned forward.

“Hold on…”

His finger ran down the list.

Then he grinned.

“Yes.”

He stepped back.

“Passed. Physical and theory.”

He turned.

“Your turn.”

Ethan stepped closer.

Looked once.

Then again.

His name was there.

Not in the main list.

Lower.

Additional results. Recommended for alternative programs.

He read the line twice.

Marcus frowned.

“What?”

“Didn’t make it.”

Marcus blinked.

“You scored higher than me.”

“Not enough.”

Marcus leaned closer.

“Where?”

Ethan pointed.

Marcus read.

His smile faded a little.

“Recommended for service selection.”

He looked at Ethan.

“That’s not bad.”

Ethan didn’t answer.

People kept walking past. Someone laughed. Someone cursed. Someone already on the phone.

Marcus clapped him on the shoulder.

“It’s not the end.”

“I know.”

“You can still go to GUARD. With me.”

Ethan smirked.

“That was your dream.”

Marcus shrugged.

“Plans change.”

Ethan looked at the board one more time.

Scientist.

Soldier.

Worker.

The poster above the results hadn’t changed.

The future is in your hands.

He wasn’t sure anymore whose hands they meant.

—

At home, his mother opened the door before he knocked.

“Well?”

Ethan took off his shoes slowly.

“Didn’t pass.”

She froze.

“Oh.”

Then:

“That’s okay. You can try again. Or another program.”

“I got an offer.”

She stopped.

“What offer?”

“Service selection.”

She didn’t like the sound of it.

“Army?”

“Training first.”

She looked at him.

“You want that?”

He didn’t answer right away.

“I don’t know.”

From the kitchen, Maya called:

“Who failed?”

Ethan smirked.

“Nice.”

She walked into the hallway, wiping her hands on a towel.

“You didn’t fail. You got redirected. That’s how it works.”

She looked at the paper in his hand.

“Service selection?”

“Yeah.”

“Figures.”

“What does that mean?”

“You always needed somewhere to run your energy.”

His mother frowned.

“Not funny.”

“Not joking.”

Maya looked at him.

“You thinking about it?”

“Maybe.”

She held his gaze a moment longer than usual.

Then nodded once.

“Just don’t disappear there.”

He snorted.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

From the living room, his father spoke without looking up from the news.

“Sometimes you don’t notice where you’re going until you’re already there.”

Ethan walked in.

His father muted the screen.

“You decide yet?”

“No.”

“Good.”

Ethan frowned.

“Good?”

“Means you’re still thinking.”

Silence.

His father leaned back in the chair.

“First path didn’t work. Happens.”

Ethan nodded.

“So what now?”

His father looked at him.

“Now you look at the next one.”

“And if it’s the wrong one?”

His father shrugged.

“Then you’ll find out later.”

Pause.

“You won’t always know before you step.”

Ethan stood there, holding the paper.

Service Selection Program. Limited intake. Recommended candidates only.

He folded the page once.

“Training starts in a month.”

His father nodded.

“Then you’ve got a month.”

Ethan looked at the window.

Outside, the city moved in its usual rhythm.

Everything exactly on time.

He wasn’t sure anymore if that meant safety.

Or something else.