Four short nights passed in a blur. Brian had gone through a full medical checkup and handed in his health certificate along with the stack of enlistment forms for the Marine Corps. The recruitment center buzzed with men—strong, loud, and full of adrenaline—each one eager to prove himself worthy of the uniform.
The Los Desperado Training Center stood in the middle of a scorching desert, bone-dry and endless, with a man-made reservoir glimmering faintly behind the facility. Waves of heat shimmered above the water puddle, revealing its refraction.
Two hours of physical exams later, the doctors confirmed what Brian already knew—he was in better shape than ever. He passed nearly every test, only to wait three more days for final clearance. He went home, slept like a rock, and waited out the next few days. In just a week, he'd be stepping into boot camp for sure.
"Don't ask what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." The old quote floated through his mind as he lay sprawled across his couch, staring blankly at the ceiling. He chewed his lower lip out of habit, thoughts circling in silence.
The TV on the wall played a podcast he wasn't really listening to—some middle-aged Asian guy in a brown dragon-print suit, bald and heavyset, talking like he owned the world.
"My name is Xu Wen[1], though everyone knows me as Xu Kven. Kven—Kevin, a name I picked up back when I studied abroad thirty years ago. And Xu— from Mandarin. It means to be calm. Combine them, and you get the two worlds I live in. You don't need a degree to be a great businessman. I dropped out of college when i was—"
The voice started to fade as Brian's mind drifted further and further away. The words blurred into static. His eyes grew heavy.
Then—
"Oooh yeah~~" The sudden pitch of a woman's moaning from a commercial made him jolt upright. He turned to the TV—and froze. "thinkin' 'bout you makes me horny, sugar!"
"OH, NO NO—" Brian yelled. "Turn it off! I ain't jerkin' off!" The smart TV obeyed with a faint click, the room falling silent again. He stood there for a second, shaking his head and muttering curses under his breath before grabbing his towel and heading for another round of training.
Same drills, same sweat, but harder this time. He pushed his body until it screamed, until the soreness turned into focus. Every muscle line tightened; every rep drew out new strength. He stuck to his diet—protein, clean water, repeat.
By the last day, his reflection in the mirror looked like a real soldier—sharp, cut, and ready to take on the world.
[1] Playin' big part in Volume 2.