Me: Hey, Sunny!
Sunny: Yeah?
Me: Guess who just got a new job?
Sunny: *Gasp* No way!
Me: Yep~
Sunny: Good job Peater!
Me: I won't be back for a month though...
Sunny: Why's that?
Me: I need to go to another country for it.
Sunny: What IS this job then?
Me: It's a job as an inspector at a border checkpoint.
Sunny: So, what? You check peoples passports and check them for bombs and stuff? *She says, with a giggle in her voice.*
Me: Exactly.
Sunny: O-Oh...
Then, we heard the sound of a taxi arriving.
Me: Well, I best be off now.
Sunny: Ok, bye Peater!
Me: Bye! Oh and Sunny?
Sunny: Yeah?
Me: Glory to Arstotzka!
I then left to go to my new job.
Sunny: ... HUH?!
After a 13 hour trip, I finally arrived at the apartment I was to stay at. It was a small place. It was a three room apartment with a kitchen/living room, a bedroom and a bathroom. The place smelled ok, not amazing, just ok.
Me: Eh, it's good enough for a month.
I went to sleep and in the morning, I made myself some food and checked the newspaper.
Grestin Border Checkpoint Opens At Last!
After 6 Long Years. Can the Ministry of Admission Keep Us Safe?
Me: 6 years? I better do a good job then...
I walked the quarter mile to my post, as I'm walking, I see a soldier in Arstotkan uniform. Due to my military background, I saluted at him as I went past.
Soldier: Good morning Inspector.
Me: Good morning sir.
I continued until I got to a little booth which I suspected was where I was meant to be. I went in. It was a nice and cosy little place. It was nice to be out of the cold. I took my hat and gloves off and saw a little book and a note on the desk.
Me: Huh?
I read the note and it told me to approve all Arstotzkans and deny the rest.
Me: Sounds easy enough.
I looked to my right and saw a button that said 'speaker' I clicked it and said what I needed to say.
Me: NEXT.
A few seconds later a man came in through the door to my left and and handed me his passport. Now, for the last two weeks I have practiced so I DIDN'T cry at the sight of a living, breathing human, because there will be a LOT of humans. But even then, I couldn't help but stutter a little.
Me: P-Papers, please.
Man: Finally I can return home. *He handed me his passport.*
He was an Arstotzkan. So I stamped his passport with the 'entry approved' stamp.
Me: G-Glory to A-Arstotzka.
Man: Thank you.
He took his passport back, and headed out the door to my right.
Me: Well that could have gone better... *I pressed the button* NEXT.
Then another man came in through the left door.
Me: Papers, p-please.
Man: This checkpoint is smaller then I expected. *He gave me his passport*
He was a Imporian. When I saw this, I gulped, and used the 'entry denied' stamp.
Me: S-Sorry, A-Arstotzkans o-only.
He took his passport and left through the left door.
Me: NEXT.
Then, a woman came in.
Me: Papers, please.
Woman: I have waited in this damn line for 8 hours. *She gives me her passport* I hope it was worth it.
I looked. She was a Republian. 'Entry denied'.
Me: Sorry, Arstotzkans only.
Woman: Unbelievable. Go to hell. *She yelled*
She took her passport and stormed out the door, leaving me a bit scared and sad.
Me: T-That wasn't very fair on me... *Sniffle* never mind. N-NEXT.
A man came in and saw that I looked upset.
Man: Are you ok sir?
Me: N-Not really...
Man: Why's that? Why's a cute little plant like you down in the dumps?
I went a little red from the complement.
Me: W-Well, a woman came in here and because she was a Republian, I had to deny her entry and she yelled at me to go to hell and stormed off.
Man: Well that's no good now is it?
Me: No...
Man: *He look around and sees no one is there.* Hey, how about I cheer you up?
Me: Huh? How do you mean?
Man: If I'm correct, you're a peashooter right?
Me: Y-Yes, I am a peashooter.
Man: Here~ *He gave me a bar of chocolate that was safe for me to eat as well as his passport.*
Me: A... Chocolate bar? And you're just... Giving me it?
Man: Hell yeah. You need something to cheer you up~
Me: T-Thank you sir.
Luckily for the both of us, he was an Arstotzkan. So 'entry approved'.
Me: *I blush more and smile at him* Thank you sir, glory to Arstotzka~
Man: You're welcome buddy~ Glory to Arstotzka to you too~
He patted my head, smiled, and left.
Me: What a nice man~ NEXT.
A man came in.
Me: Papers, ple-
Man: It was a mistake to open this checkpoint.
He then left.
Me: Umm... Ok...?
The rest of the day went by without issue. Even when I denied people, I said it with a smile on my face, and most people left with a smile too. Until it came to an end when a loud horn went off.
Me: Papers, ple- Huh?
Woman: Are you ok sir?
Me: O-Oh, sorry, I just got distracted. Papers, please.
Woman: Here you go.
She was from the United federations. 'Entry denied'.
Me: Sorry, Arstotzkans only.
Woman: Oh, ok. Thank you, you little cutie~
She took her passport and left.
Me: That was a nice day. *I pressed the button* COME BACK AT 6AM TOMORROW.
I got my pay check, went home, made dinner, and immediately fell asleep.
The next day
Me: Good morning Arstotzka~~
I cooked a bagel and looked at the newspaper.
GRESTIN Checkpoint a Success!
Entry Restrictions To Relax, Admit Foreigners.
Me: Does that mean I don't need to deny anymore people?
I got to the booth and turned on the radio I just saw.
Peater: Ooh... I like this.
The note this time said what was and was not allowed.
Me: "Entrants must have a passport, all documents must be current, and a citation will be given for permitting entrants whose passports indicate invalid gender, expiration date, photo or issuing city/district." Ok... this is gunna be complicated... NEXT.
The first entrant was a man. I looked at all the documents, and he was ok. 'Entry approved'.
Me: Ok, you're in. Cause no trouble.
Man: Thank you sir.
He took his passport, and left.
Me: NEXT.
Another man came in and waved at me. I waved back.
Me: Papers, please.
Man: Here you go Inspector. *He said, as he handed me his papers.*
I looked and saw he was an Antegrian, and he had an expired passport.
Me: Umm... Your passport has expired.
Man: Oh? I swear I renewed it.
'Entry denied'.
Me: Sorry sir, maybe next time.
Man: Thank you.
He took his stuff and left.
Me: NEXT.
A woman came in.
Me: Papers, please.
Woman: Hello, nice to meet you inspector.
I checked her papers. She was a Imporian. Her papers were up to date and she was good to go. 'Entry approved'.
Me: Cause no trouble.
Woman: Thank you.
She left.
Me: NEXT.
A man came in.
Me: Papers, please.
Man: *He tosses the papers at me* Hurry up. I am meeting bus soon.
Me: S-Sorry sir, I'll work as fast as I can.
He spoke in broken English. He was a Atstotzkan. His papers were valid. 'Entry approved'.
Me: Glory to Arstotzka.
Man: Finally.
The next two had nothing to say. But the next one? Hoo boy that one was bad.
Me: NEXT.
A woman came in and smiled at me.
Woman: Hello handsome~
Me: Umm... Excuse me?
Woman: You look bored.
Me: A little bit.
Woman: If you want a good time, come see us.
She gave me her papers and a pink flier.
Me: What? *I stamp her papers with the 'entry approved' stamp*
Woman: I will be around a couple of months. Don't forget to visit~
She left and I looked at the flier.
Me: "The Pink Vice. For All Your Fantasies" What...? WAIT A SECOND?!
I then realised she was a prostitute. And I went pale.
Me: Why did I let her through... N-NEXT.
A Man came in and before I could say anything, I saw through the window that someone jumped the wall.
Me: HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE!!
The guard started shooting at the person but missed. Then the person chucked a ball like object at the guard as he was shot and killed. The ball then blew up, leaving the guard a red stain on the ground. The air was filled with the screams of people on the other side of the wall as they fled. I then had flashbacks of the war and broke down into tears. The man then went through the staff only door and sat next to me, looking scared too.
Man: A-Are you ok?!
Me: N-Not again... PLEASE NOT AGAIN! *I said as I was crying.*
Man: Hey, hey, it's ok, I got you. *He then hugged me to try and cheer me up*
I hugged him back as I continued to cry.
Man: It's going to be ok. It's going to be ok.
Me: I didn't want to have to deal with anymore violence...
Man: I'm sure that poor guard didn't want to kill the terrorist either.
Me: I wanna go home...
Man: Well, where do you live? In Arstotka I mean?
Me: I live a quarter mile away in an apartment.
Man: Look, I'm going to call a taxi so you can go home ok?
Me: Thank you sir...
I got the taxi home and went to phone Sunny.
Sunny: Hello?
Me: Hi...
Sunny: PEATER! *She yells happily* How are you?
Me: I'm sad...
Sunny: Why's that? Did someone upset you?
Me: No... Sunny, There was a terrorist attack.
Sunny: WHAT?!
Me: T-They jumped the wall a-and they threw a grenade at the guard and... T-There was nothing left of him! *I then began to cry again.*
Sunny: Aww, Peater... I'd hug you if I could...
Me: I wanna go home but I have to stay here for the rest of the month...
Sunny: Peater, what checkpoint do you work at?
Me: I work at the East Grestin border checkpoint.
Sunny: Peater, I'm coming to see you. I'm getting my passport now.
Me: SUNNY PLEASE NO!
Sunny: W-Why not?
Me: I'm worried that another terrorist attack will happen.
Sunny: *Sigh* Ok, I understand. I'll head off to Arstotzka in 5 days, ok?
Me: O-Ok. The checkpoint opens at 6am and I'll be the one working there. It stays open until 6pm.
Sunny: And you work the full day?
Me: *Sigh* Yep.
Sunny: That's horrible!
Me: *Yawn* It's ok, just a 12 hour day. Better then the 24 hour days back during the... Bad Times.
Sunny: Yeah... Well, good night Peater.
Me: Good night Sunny.
I sat down at the table and looked at a picture of me, Sunny, Chad, and the others all smiling. A single tear hits the photo and I begin to cry again.