What really counts are good endings, not flawed beginnings. - Ibn Taymiyyah
He'd awakened that morning as usual, feeling good before he remembered. This wasn't a typical Sunday. No, today was Picture Day, when each of the kids got a new photo taken after Mass, to be posted on the wall in the auditorium. Everybody had one taken when they first arrived here, but after that they were all re-done once a year. Most of the kids left before they'd had more than two, sometimes three, pictures.
This would be Alvin's seventh.
He only knew of three others who'd been here that long. Two were "special", and the other was a Black kid. Alvin was never sure why she was still here, because she was really nice. Father told him that it was just hard to find a good 'match' for her. He didn't get that at all.
Then again, he hadn't understood why he was still here. At least, not until a week ago. That's when he'd seen Nathan leaving with his new parents. The dad had dropped the folder he'd carried, and Alvin saw the photos and a bunch of other papers. Curious, he'd asked Father Magill about it. It was the first time he knew that each kid had their own folder made up so people looking for someone to adopt could check them out.
Then Father made his first mistake. He hadn't let Alvin see his folder. His second mistake was never locking his office door. Why would he? No one would dare go in there without permission.
Except Alvin.
He was used to sneaking out of the dorm at night. He'd been doing it since he was ten, after all. Usually he went to the kitchen for a forbidden snack or just to be outside when no one else was around. But sneaking into Father's office... He didn't like to think about what would happen if he was caught.
Luckily, the file cabinets weren't locked either, and it only took a moment to find his folder, even less time to look through it. Nathan's had been much thicker. So were the others he pulled out. He didn't actually read them; he just wanted to see why they were different. He made sure to put everything back just as he'd found them and hurried back to the dorm.
So now he sat in his bed, watching as the other kids quickly got dressed, talking about getting their pictures taken, laughing as they decided what faces they'd make. He didn't really care. Because now he knew.
Nobody wants a kid whose parents' names were "Unknown", and whose date of birth included "approximately".
*****
The colonel looked up as Ray came stalking in.
"They must really be desperate for soldiers, Hannibal. This guy's file is bullshit!"
"Like?"
"Like he was born three years after you were. Like his birthdate is either the 26th or the 28th of August. Like his parents' residence is actually a restaurant. And that's on his 'official' birth certificate!"
"Won't be the first time somebody fudged their records. Won't be the first time the Army let them. The real question is, can he do the job?"
"Well, he passed your tests with flying colors."
Hannibal grinned. "Then let's go welcome him to the family."