Chapter 5

[March 6th, 2021]

It's been about 6 and a half weeks since I got discharged from the hospital and I can walk and run again. Running and walking hurt a little bit, but I can do it. Especially running, that hurts more than a little bit. I decided that I'd go down to the recruiter later today but I haven't talked to Brandon yet. I have something that I need to do. We haven't told my parents that I'm enlisting in the army. My parents are the ones that I want to talk to the least. You see, the entire time I was in school I was getting A's, but the reason I always tried so hard is because I wanted their attention. They've never really been there for me, and I'm sure that I would've been kicked out of the house way earlier if the law didn't prevent it. My mom of course loved me, but it was my father that was the problem. He didn't want me but my mom had me anyways. I pick up my phone and go to my contacts. I need to call Brandon. I hear him answer the phone and speak. "Hey, Jack!" "I'm ready." I hear silence on the other side of the line. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I don't even have to think about the answer, nor do I hesitate with my response. "Absolutely" "..." "Brandon?" "I'm on my way." "Alright, see you then." I hang up the phone and throw a hoodie and some jeans on, and 10 minutes later I hear the engine of Brandon's car. I step outside and towards the car. "I need to stop by somewhere before we go." He looks over to me. "Where to?" "My parent's house, and maybe Jess's." "Alright." I get into the car and we're on our way. I look to my side and roll the window down. My brown hair blows in the wind and I look at the very city that I thought that I dreaded so much. The Electric City. I remember many memories from years ago. We drive by an old building with a sign that says "Battlecat Sports" on it. It's an airsoft arena that me and Brandon used to go to all the time. Then a NAPA Auto Parts that I took as a part time job back when we were first starting high school. Only then do I notice how good a life I really lived here. I had many friends that came and went, but I've had two that always stuck with me. Brandon and Jess. They're all I ever needed, just those two. I'm going to miss this place once I leave. While I was thinking about all of this we arrived at my parent's house. I get out of the car and start to make my approach to the door. "Good luck." "Thanks." I get up to the door and knock on the door three times. I hear footsteps and the door opens. There, my mother is standing in the doorway as I tower over her. "Sorry Jackie, your father isn't here right now." "That's fine, I'm sure he wouldn't want to talk to me anyways. I came here to at least talk to you." She looks shocked for a moment and moves out of my way so I can step in, smiling. I walk into the living room and there sits my father. I'm not shocked. I had a feeling that he was going to be here. I sit down and look at him. My bitter father starts to speak. "I don't want to talk." "You don't have to." I say in a cold manner. This seems to shock him. I realized that he doesn't care for me when he didn't visit me in the hospital or even call to make sure that I was ok. His mouth opens and he just shuts it. I watch as my mother sits down, and then I speak. "I'm leaving." they look at me either confused or like I was stupid. "Well, you already have. If that's all you have to say, leave." "Like hell I will." He looks at me angrily. "Don't talk to me like that, boy! I am your father!" "Like hell you are. I'm leaving this place and joining the Army." He recoils when he hears me say that, looking almost hurt. He looked much more surprised than anything though. "What?" "I noticed that you didn't care about me when you didn't spare a day to visit me in the hospital or even call me to see if I was ok. Don't give me 'What?' you know what you did." My mom looks at me surprised that I stood up to my father and scared that I'm joining the Army. She starts to slightly tear up. I stand up and hug her as she starts to silently sob into my chest. "Please.. Don't die, please come back okay..." "I will mom, you don't have to worry." A few minutes pass and I pull away from the hug. "It's alright, I'll come back. Brandon's going with me, we've got each other's backs." "Ok.." "Ok?" "Ok." I start to walk towards the door, but something calls me back. I look behind me and see my father standing behind me. He simply reaches out his hand. I stand there, staring at his open palm. Does he want me to give him a hand shake? Hesitantly, I reach out and grasp his palm and for the first time he looks at me in the eyes. "Good luck." With that I leave. I walk out and Brandon looks at me and leans over to the other side of the car to open the door. I walk to the passenger side and get in. That's odd. What's up with the sudden change in character? "How'd it go?" "It went well, I think that it went pretty damn well. Let's forget about stopping by Jess's. I'll wait til we're off to basic." "Alright." With that we're off to the recruitment center. "Do you remember where it is?" "I remember when I'd go out with friends to an ice cream shop called 'Broosters' you remember that right?" "Yeah." "It's kind of behind and beside it." "Alright, so I just turn next to the shop?" "I'm pretty sure." With that, we're off. We drive down the road once more and I soon watch as we turn into the recruitment center. I look upon the green sign on the face of the building that says "Army." I'm ready. I have to be. It doesn't feel like I am though. This whole situation feels so… surreal. I walk into the door, and then to the desk. A man in a uniform looks at us. I look at the symbol on his chest and see that he's a sergeant of some kind. We sit in silence for a moment and he raises his eyebrow to question why we're here. "Good afternoon, I have some questions regarding enlistment into the Army."