in parentheses

Dominik Slusarczyk is an artist who makes everything from music to painting. He was educated at The University of Nottingham where he got a degree in biochemistry. His fiction has been published in various literary magazines including moonShine Review and SHiFT – A Journal of Literary Oddities. His fiction was selected in The Fictionette Monthly Flash Fiction Contest.

---

Education

I

            I hug the teddy bear to my chest. Memories flood my mind. I remember holding this teddy bear in the car. I remember holding him on the beach. I remember lying in bed at night and hugging him as tightly as I could. I knew he would protect me. The monsters under the bed couldn’t get me when he was with me. I knew that I would always be safe if I kept the teddy bear close by.

            Then I grew up and forgot about him completely. By the time I’d finished primary school I hadn’t seen the teddy bear in years. He must’ve got shoved in some wardrobe or cupboard and left there, rotting, alone, amongst the forgotten socks.

            I will not forget him again. From now on I will keep the teddy bear close to me. I am going to take him to my new flat. He can sleep in my bed.

I am no longer worried about the job search, the fact that I didn’t get into university, my parent’s obvious disappointment in me. The teddy bear is protecting me from all of that sadness. I am a child again but I am old enough to know that monsters are not real.

            II

            I can see the disappointment in their eyes. All the interviewers look at me the same way when we get to the education part of the interview. They ask me about my hobbies. I answer the question well. They start considering giving me the job. They ask me about my work experience. I got my first proper job the day I turned 16. Before that I’d been doing a paper round since I was ten. The interviewers look seriously impressed when I tell them that. They understand that I work hard. If I worked hard in the past I will work hard for them.

Then they ask me about my education. I tell them I failed my A-levels. They look at me like I am a baby crying in the middle of a fancy restaurant.

            School just didn’t interest me. I’d already spent a decade learning pointless things. I’d had enough. I’d had enough of stupid exams that were so stressful I couldn’t sleep properly for weeks leading up to them. I’d had enough of sitting there in silence and writing whatever boring information the boring teacher wrote on the board. I’d had enough of the whole damn education system.

            I should have tried. I understand that now. All I had to do was try for another couple of years and I’d be in a much better position now.

            III

            I ignore the email. They didn’t address me as Ma’am. I don’t respond to people who don’t treat me with the right amount of respect.

            I will give the job to someone else. I’ve had over a hundred emails applying for the position and the advert’s only been up a day. I can afford to be picky.

            Halfway through the morning my boss gives me a cheque. Five grand bonus. I’m not even sure what I did. I do not complain, though. You take what you can get, no more and no less.

---