Page 161 of Inbetweeners
“But if they were…”
“They’re not.”
“I still want to talk to someone. Please.”
“Archangel Gabriel.” Zedekial turned away and called the dogs to him.
“How do I arrange that?”
“Go to the Callitine.”
“What’s that? Where is it?”
“It’s the white building on the hill. Over there.”
He pointed and Emmett turned. “Thank you.” How had he not seen that before?
But as he walked towards it and didn’t seem to be getting any nearer, Emmett had the horrible suspicion that this was going to be one of those places he never reached, no matter how long he walked. He kept going. Hour after hour and it wasn’t getting any closer, but he didn’t stop. Every minute he delayed was a minute longer in Hell for Phoenix.
It took until late that afternoon before he turned a corner and suddenly found himself at the edge of the plaza in front of the building. The bad news was that there was a long line of people snaking up to a door on the right.
“What are you waiting for?” Emmett asked the last in line.
“My request,” the man told him.
“How long have you been waiting?”
“Two years.”
Emmett’s jaw dropped.
“That was to get close to the top of the list. If you’re not already on the list, you have to go to the other door.”
Two years?Emmett couldn’t wait that long. He hurried to the door on the left and went inside. A woman sat behind a desk with just three people waiting to speak to her. Emmett became the fourth. All she was doing was tapping into a machine, which printed out a strip of paper she then handed to the person.
When it was Emmett’s turn, she smiled up at him.
“Good afternoon. How may I help you?”
“I want to speak to Archangel Gabriel, please.”
She tapped into the machine and then handed Emmett the strip of paper. It said452,345,662,921.
“What’s this?” Emmett asked.
“Your place in the queue.”
What the fluff?As he looked at the paper the number went down by one.
“It’ll be your turn before you know it and you’ll be walking up those stairs to see him.” She beamed.
Emmett looked at the stairs. “I can’t wait. It’s too important.”
“Everyone has to wait their turn.”
“Is there no other way? What if I wrote a letter? Would he read that sooner?”
She pressed a few buttons and handed him another strip of paper.
