The next morning at school, T.J., Vince, and Gretchen stood by their lockers.
"So nobody's seen Kurst?" T.J. frowned.
"No, but she never got to school early," Gretchen pointed out.
"What about Mikey?" Vince asked.
"Haven't seen him either," T.J. said.
Just then Spinelli stepped over to the three, adjusting the straps of her backpack as she carefully avoided T.J.'s eye.
"Did anybody hear from Mikey?" she asked. "Or Kurst?"
"No," Vince replied. "But seeing as Mikey hasn't really spoken to us in almost three weeks, it's not like we could expect him to just walk up to us."
"Well…there he is, walking up to us," T.J. said, nodding towards Mikey, who was approaching the group.
"Hi," Mikey said as he reached the group.
"Um, hi," T.J. said slowly. "We-We were actually looking for you."
"I was looking for you guys too," Mikey said, clearing his throat. "I wanted to thank you guys."
"Thank us?" Vince frowned.
"I know what you did," Mikey said, a smile. "For Kurst."
"How?" Gretchen frowned.
"When Principal Rogers called the police station to explain what happened, he said that you guys found proof that she was innocent," Mikey said. "He said you hacked the school security system and found footage of the real robbers."
"It wasn't hard," Gretchen said. "If Rogers had taken two minutes, he could've done it himself."
"Yeah, and um, we can see now that Kurst really is judged unfairly sometimes," T.J. added. "By everyone…including us. You were right; we really didn't treat Kurst as well as we should have."
"Yeah, we can't blame you for being upset with us over that," Vince said. "So I know we've said it before, but this time, we really are sincere. Mikey, we're sorry."
"Really, we are," Spinelli said. "And from now on, we'll treat Kurst way better."
"Wow, that means a lot, you guys," Mikey said. "And I hope we can go back to normal now. I have missed you a lot."
"Well…we might have to work on 'normal'," Vince said, looking back and forth between Spinelli and T.J.
"Where's Kurst?" Gretchen asked. "We should apologize to her as well."
"She took the day off today," Mikey said. "Her parents were really upset that she was arrested so unfairly. They're filing a formal complaint against Principal Rogers."
"Well that saves us a phone call," T.J. said.
"And where's Gus?" Mikey asked.
"No clue, actually," Vince said. "We haven't seen him since yesterday. We texted him about what happened, but he didn't respond."
"Is everything okay with his dad?" Mikey asked, concerned.
"Same as before," T.J. sighed.
"He's in my first period class," Spinelli said. "I can see if he's there and-"
"There you guys are," Theresa said suddenly, rushing over to the group. "I was looking all over the school for you!"
"Hey," T.J. said. "We were just asking where Gus is. Do you know anything about that?"
"I-I think so," Theresa said nervously. "He wasn't answering any of my text messages all of last night. This morning I went by to his house, but his mom said that he had left early to go to the library."
"I was just in the library, I didn't see him," Gretchen frowned.
"Well, I decided to check the ROTC classroom," Theresa continued. "And he was there…I didn't go in, but I saw through the window. He had some men talking to him…men in recruitment uniforms."
"But…Gus isn't joining the army anymore," T.J. frowned. "Is he?"
"His parents were going to get a divorce," Theresa said softly. "He felt guilty…I think-I think he's going to enlist just to try to keep the peace."
"Oh man," Vince moaned.
"Can we stop him?" Spinelli asked Theresa.
"Not if he's already signed his commitment form," Theresa sighed. "After he signs that, he has to go or he'll be in serious trouble. But if he hasn't…"
"Then let's go talk some sense into him!" T.J. said, already turning and heading off towards the ROTC classroom.
The others followed after him. When they reached the classroom, they saw Gus sitting at one of the long tables, staring down at a small pile of papers in front of him.
"What are you guys doing here?" Gus frowned, surprised at the sudden sight of everyone pouring into the classroom. "Mikey? What are you doing here? Are you-Are you talking to us again?"
"Yes," Mikey nodded. "But that's not important now."
"What do you mean?" Gus said. "Of course that is."
"Not as important as talking some sense into you," Spinelli said. "You can't enlist just to make your parents happy!"
Gus's face dropped. "How did you-"
"I saw you talking to recruiters," Theresa said softly. "I-I knew why you must be…I-I didn't know what else to do so I ran and told your friends. I'm sorry but-"
"Gus, you've always been saying that you would be miserable in the army," Vince said. "It's not for you."
"I can learn to like it," Gus said firmly. "And if it can keep my family together, then I'm going to do it."
"But you don't know if you joining the army will do that," Gretchen said. "Marriages are complex, and from what the research shows, they hardly ever fall apart based off of one single issue. And that means that they can't be fixed this simply."
"She's right," T.J. nodded. "Gus, joining the army is a huge commitment."
"I know that," Gus said. "But-"
"We know how hard it must be for you watching your parents fight, especially when it seems like it's your fault," Mikey said. "But it's not. You have your mother's support, don't you? She's standing by you so that you can do what you want with your life. Don't throw all that away. Your dad will come around."
"I highly doubt that," Gus scoffed.
"Remember what I told you about my brother?" Theresa said softly. "About how he was in the same situation as you when my dad wanted him to go into the Navy?"
"You said your dad still hasn't spoken to him," Gus pointed out.
"And I also said that he's actually happy," Theresa said. "He's told me; he has never once regretted not enlisting in the Navy. Even though he hates what happened between him and my dad…he had to do what was right for him. My dad's job was to love and support my brother, no matter what, and he-he didn't do that. That wasn't my brother's fault. And it's not your fault if your dad can't do it either."
Gus didn't reply.
"Gus, we'll support you either way," T.J. said. "But just know…you do deserve to have your own life. Even if it's not the one your dad planned for you."
Gus let out a soft sigh. "I can't go into the army. Boot camp, fighting…it's not for me."
"Have you signed the recruitment forms?" Theresa asked gently.
Gus shook his head.
"Think about yourself," Theresa said softly.
Gus sunk down in his seat. "My dad's going to hate me."
"He'll never hate you," T.J. assured him. "It might just be…different now."
"But you have a mom who loves you unconditionally," Mikey reminded him. "And a lovely girlfriend. And us. We're all here for you."
Gus nodded. "I'm going to need all of you…"
"Of course," Theresa smiled, sitting down next to him. "And like Mikey said, we'll be right here."