CHAPTER 46
"Mr. Schue! Please can we take a break! We've been rehearsing for ages!" Liam exclaimed. Their preparation for Regionals had just begun, and Mr. Schue scheduled extra morning and evening rehearsals for the 4 boys. They would arrive at school every morning at 6 am, and rehearse for a couple of hours in the morning, and they would end up leaving school at around 6pm, squeezing in an extra 2 hour rehearsal after school.
"Yeah, we've been rehearsing for so long!" George added. Mr. Schue shook his head furiously.
"No! We've gotta keep on going! This is our final chance to take Nationals before you all graduate, and we need to be absolutely perfect to be able to challenge Vocal Adrenaline for the title. We got so close last year, and this is our year. I can feel it!"
The four guys sighed and got back in position to restart the song. Despite the fact that there was little to no choreography in their performance, Mr. Schue had to make sure they hit every single note perfectly. Finally, a long hour later, the boys were finally allowed to leave.
"Jesus Christ, that was rough." Harry commented out of the room.
"Yeah no kidding." Liam added. "I got to sleep every night worrying that my vocal chords won't be working the next morning due to exertion."
The other three guys muttered in agreement. They then split up - George and Finn got into one car and Harry and Liam got in another. Finn drove back to George's house, and when they arrived, he looked at George.
"Hey dude, can I talk to you about something?" Finn said, hesitantly. George looked at him curiously.
"What's up, bro? Is it about sex? Cause if so, there's no way I'm listening." George exclaimed. Finn laughed.
"No, I swear it's not. Trust me, I don't need any help in that area. It's about my future. I know what I'm doing next year."
Everyone in the New Directions was starting to look at colleges for next year. Rachel and Kurt, if course, wanted to make it on Broadway so we're looking at colleges in New York; A lot of the Cheerios and football players were looking for scholarships which probably none of them would get; George, Liam and Harry all planned on going back home for college - they were going to University of Toronto. Finn was still "unsure" about his future - he knew what he wanted to do, but was scared to tell anyone. He didn't have the money for college, and he hadn't earned a scholarship, so that left just one more way for him to be able to escape Lima and see the world - the military. He wanted to tell George first, and get his advice before telling Bella and the rest of his friends.
"Oh yeah? Did you get a scholarship?" George asked excitedly. Finn shook his head.
"No, no I didn't, and by now, it's extremely unlikely that I'm going to. So I've found an alternative."
"Really. What?" George asked.
"Well, I received my fifth college rejection letter today, and I'm running out of options. My grades aren't good enough, and a football scholarship ain't happening. We did have some recruiters at the town hall a couple of weeks ago, and I went by and talked to one of them."
"I thought you said a football scholarship wasn't happening. Which schools were the recruiters from?" George asked, hopefully.
"The recruiters weren't from schools, dude. They were from the military. I talked to the recruiter from the Army and I'm thinking about enlisting. I wouldn't have to leave for boot camp until August when Bella leaves for college."
George's face went pale.
"No. No. Hell no! There's no way you're being serious right now. I mean the Army? Come on, get your head out of your ass."
"Dude, you know I didn't get a scholarship. I've accepted that. I don't have the money for college! Hell, I don't even have the money for community college!"
George stopped pacing, and looked at Finn with nothing but desperation and fear in his gaze.
"Everyone is leaving." Finn continued. "You, Liam, Harry, Bella, even Puck and Sam! I don't want to be stuck in Lima without an education or a career. I think this is my one good shot to make something of myself."
"Look dude, I know I can't stop you. I'm not your mom."
"No, you're not. But you're my brother, and it would really mean a lot if you could support me. You know, be ok with this."
"Finn, no matter how many stupid things you do, I'm always going to support you. But I'm not, and never am going to be okay with this. What about your mental health? You already suffer from depression, and it's only going to get worse when you're sent to a shit hole like Afghanistan." George shouted.
"I spoke to the recruiter about that." Finn replied. "He says that as long as I haven't had to endure in-patient care at a hospital, I'm still eligible to enlist. And as for after, there are various initiatives that are set up for veterans with PTSD."
George took a deep breath and put his head in his hands. He couldn't believe what he was listening to. His best friend was joining the Army. What the hell was going on?!
"And what about Bella? Does she know yet, Finn? How do you think she's going to feel when she finds out her boyfriend wants to join the Army?"
Finn winced from the sting of truth, knowing full well that if his friend was this angry, Bella would probably be much, much worse.
"She'll understand. She has to. She always understands me."
Saying it with all the conviction in the world, he knew it was the truth. Bella had always known what he was thinking, feeling. Hell, she knew better than he did most of the time. They were always in perfect sync with the other, something that had kept their relationship strong for the past 7 months. "I have to do this, dude. If I ever want to have a life with Bella after she's done with school, then I need to have an education and a career. The Army can give that to me. I'll go for a few years, come home, and they'll pay for my entire education. And you know how bad things are getting in the Middle East. The Army needs recruits, and being a soldier is in my blood. My dad was a hero - it was only after his enlistment that he became a psycho."
"Yes, Finn. A psycho! One who beat up and almost killed his son! What if you see some bad shit down there, and you become like him? Is that what you want? Is that what you want for Bella?"
"George, I have to do this. I need to do this."
George looked up at him, and he could hear the anguish in his tone.
"Why? Why do you have to throw yourself in a war zone? What possible reason do you have to justify this?" George challenged.
"Because I know I'm more than just a dumb jock who wasn't good enough for a scholarship!" Finn shouted. He continued, lowering his tone. "Bella is going to NYU. NYU, dude! The best school in New York City. What's going to happen when she gets there? She's going to meet a million other guys who are just as awesome as she is, and she's never going to pick a Lima Loser over them. I need to prove to her, and to myself, that I can be responsible and successful. I just need this chance."
George sighed.
"Look dude, it's like I said before, I know I can't stop you, and I'm going to support your decision, but I'm not happy about it."
Finn let out a huge sigh of relief. He had the backing of his best friend. Now to tell Bella. That was not going to be a fun conversation.
"So, when are you telling Bella?" George asked, reading his mind. Finn shrugged.
"I'll tell her a bit later, when my enlistment is confirmed. No point getting her worked up over nothing. I've already filled out all of the forms and assessments, and my recruiter says that I'll most likely make it, but there's always a chance that something goes wrong and I don't get an enlistment offer. I should get the call from my recruiter in the next few weeks, so PLEASE don't tell anyone. Not even Harry and Liam. Just keep it between us until I tell everyone."
George reluctantly nodded.
"OK, fine. Good luck with telling Bella. That's gonna be a fun convo. I wish I could be a fly on the wall for it."
Finn laughed.
"Thanks, man. I'm gonna need all the luck I can get. But I've still got a week or so before the recruiter's due to call, so I've got a while to plan what I'm gonna say."
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
A week later
On Friday afternoon, exactly a week after Finn's talk with George, Finn and Bella were in Finn's bedroom, getting ready to go out for dinner.
"Hey babe, I'm just going to use the bathroom real quick. Then we can leave." Finn said. Bella nodded as she lay on his bed. Finn walked out of the room, leaving his phone on his desk. While he was in the bathroom, his phone rang. Bella ignored it and waited for Finn to come back, but when it kept ringing, she eventually answered the phone on his behalf.
"Hello?" She said.
"Hi. This isn't Finn Hudson." The person on the other end of the line said. It was a very gruff sounding man, definitely not a teenager. Probably an adult.
"Um… he isn't here right now. This is his girlfriend. Can I take a message?" She asked, politely.
"Yeah, actually. Please let him know that it's Jared, his recruiter, and that his paperwork went through. We would like to offer him an enlistment in the U.S Army starting August 1st, and he needs to sign the final contract any time in the next two months…"
A/N
I am planning to, after I finish this story, write a sequel, which is a five years later story. It will contain the same characters but with huge plot twists. My question to you guys is should I just tack the story onto the end of this one, or should I use a new story and call it Part 2? P.M or review your recommendations.