The Hundredth Rejection

n ye

I' d been playing

that' s who I am in this life. I' m a

s all

n program," The Naviga

ted 100 times by Julian Vance, t

Montana, plus a big payout and a special tal

number ninety-eig

ry of starting this progr

ble shift. My feet ached

tion wing, probably schmoozing for

t. Number

verlooking the city lights. He loo

, my voice stead

smile on his face. "Ava. St

red, "about a volunteer medical mission. Doctors W

an eyebrow

would you consider something r

rejection. He' d laugh, or look uncomfortable,

me, for a long moment. The city

said, "A

"Alright? What do

u come back, we can talk

gator pinged in my mind. Anomaly det

my carefully const

. you

irmed, that calm s

ugh me. This wasn't supposed to

now, probably recalibrati

pposed to be easy.

t to one hundred if he s

e. One hundred rejections from Julian

ide he liked me. Not now.

e. "Okay. Well, somet

one buzzed. "Excuse me

dow, his voice dropping a

haustion of my shift mix with

just got a