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This is a biiiig stretch, but could it have been My Petition for More Space by John Hersey?
I can't say that the title sounds familiar, but it does sound like that has many of the same concepts. One of the reviews on goodreads mentions someone remembering it from their high school. So either there is a short story that explores the same ideas (it was inside a much larger english lit textbook) or the textbook just contained a portion of it.
I remember such a story, but with a different end: having finally finished his paperwork, he has no idea what to do with his life, so he just starts over. I can't remember the source though.
I've read the story FiliasCupio mentions, but I don't think it's the same one the OP is asking about. (Unfortunately, I don't remember the name either.)
...say, I've just realized there's a trope page about people standing in line.
It mentions "In the Queue" by Keith Laumer, which sounds like it might be the one the OP is after.
[edit: And that's definitely the story I remember having read, so it looks like I was wrong about it not being the same one.]
Edited by PaulA
Thank you Paul A. I had a feeling that such a trope page existed when I began this odyssey but couldn't quite find it. You've not only found the trope but the exact story I was remembering. Thank you. Apparently I misremembered the ending a bit.
Like the title says. It was a short story I stumbled across years ago in high school. The narration was first person limited, detailing a man standing in line for some unspecified paperwork. As the tale progressed we heard of how long the line was (years in some cases) how society functioned along the line (further back people will swap spots for sexual favors but near the front no one dares give an inch) and the rules of the line (you can sleep, but one foot must be on the ground and below you. Special hammocks have been made for this purpose). The story ends with the narrator handing over his paperwork, a moment of nervousness wondering if he did it wrong and will have to go to the back of the line, and then handing his tent/hammock thing to someone a few spots down before leaving to see his family. Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?