Life must go on I

While the students of Lupus had found it difficult to adjust back to civilian life, they ultimately had to try and move on from this horrible experience. They were now closer than ever to each other, almost like a family. A family bonded through trauma and hardship, but a family nonetheless. Lupus had to push one another to recover from this difficult and painful trip.

Ljubiša had to go to court before they could have their normal life back. He was an illegal immigrant and now that his identity was discovered, the Immigration office took the case to the courts, who had to decide what to do with him and his family.

He was also being charged with a separate crime by the Military Inspection office, a body that evaluates the conduct of army officials on duty. Ljubiša failed to fulfill his duties as a guard, his flirting with Lei Mei had allowed Curro to plant the bomb. He had shown gross negligence and irresponsibility during the trip. If he had done his job, the bombing could have been avoided or the culprit could have been discovered a lot earlier.

All of the members of Lupus came to testify in court in defense of their friend (including Hitomi). They highlighted his bravery on NB011 and they all argued that their friend had potential to change.

Ljubiša was sentenced to 6 months of community service for failing to prevent the bombing and gross negligence on duty, he will be required to perform janitorial duties for the state 7 days a week, 6 hours a day right after school during workdays, during weekends 8 hours a day. However, it wasn't all bad for him, the immigration office settled his residential status taking into account the positive testimony of his classmates and friends. They granted him legal residence and a pathway to citizenship after completing his service in the army. Ljubša would as part of an agreement with the state, voluntarily go to therapy to address his kleptomania.

Ljubiša's parents also had to come to court over their illegal residence and claims of fraud from the Yugoslav prosecution. The court examined their lives and discovered that they hadn't committed any crimes in the almost 10-year period they had lived on Nova Occasio, they had put a stop to their criminal way of life since coming here. The Dominion of Nova Occasio came to an agreement with Yugoslavia to settle this dispute. Ljubiša's parents were made to pay three hundred thousand in restitution to the victims they scammed and stole from but they would be allowed to stay on Nova Occasio and avoid jail time.

It would take them years of hard work to pay off this massive debt, but once they did, and if they didn't commit any new crimes, they would be able to apply for citizenship of Nova Occasio. The immigration office took into consideration their lifestyle change, but they needed to make right to their victims. As they gained legal residence along with their son, the family finally acquired social security numbers and health insurance for the first time.

***

Ljubiša looked at his wristwatch as he was wiping the floors in the shopping mall, his shift was coming to an end. Hard at work on getting his community service complete, he swore he was going to take his assignments in the army seriously from now on. He had back pain from all of the cleaning, many floors needed swiping, trash picking up and toilets scrubbed.

He grinned as the clock's arms singled his end and a buzz from his radio that said he was free to go. With his backpack in hand, Ljubiša rushed to the nearest payphone in the mall, sliding in a quarter he called Khalid.

"Hello?" Khalid said on the other end of the line while yawning. The phone ringing had just woken him up.

"Yo bro, just calling to tell you that I don't have time to run home, take a shower, and run back here. If I am already at the mall where we are supposed to meet it makes no sense to go back and forth."

"But you need to shower, you got sweaty from all that cleaning," Khalid said scratching his head. "You need to make a good impression."

"Don't worry, I got a plan," Ljubiša grasped his phone tightly as if he was about to give some kind of state secret. "On the top floor of the mall, there is a tennis court. There are showers there those tennis clubs use. I will just sneak in there and wash up. They don't check everyone who comes and goes. I will be super quick."

"I don't know bro," Khalid gave a concerned sigh. "I don't want you to get in trouble, you just started clearing your community service, it would suck if they extended your time or kicked you out of school."

"Nah," Ljubiša shrugged, "There aren't any rules that say that you can't use the shower. You're only not supposed to!"

"Fine, don't be late, you don't want to keep Lei Mei waiting," Khalid chuckled.

Ljubiša jumped in excitement and ended the call. Today was the first time he was going to have a chance to hang out with his crush. His bro was going to be there too! Ljubiša hurried to the escalator of the mall and onto the top floor.

It was not until this moment that it dawned on him. He never took in the scenery of this brand new mall he was working in so much. Ljubiša was mostly staring at the floor and toilets, he felt a bit miserable while at the job but now he was finally going to be a customer in this mall and not a worker.

Looking around the mall was a shining example of the 20th-century technology revolution, there were shops on every corner selling all sorts of new gadgets and widgets, clothing stores lining up with the latest fashion, and cutting-edge new arcades and video games. Amongst the products for sale were self-folding clothes, robot assistants who can do math and give you endless useless trivia, holographic 3D space maps, laser toothbrushes, bottomless trash cans, reality simulation machines, eco-friendly reusable condoms, socks that are impossible to get stinky, flying scooters, and finally a new device that can produce a limited amount of bellow-average bread and soda.

The most impressive was a tech demo presentation on the ground floor for a brand-new innovation. A wireless, pocket-sized mobile phone. The presenter confidently stated that this new technology would revolutionize the way we communicate. The device is capable of hosting video calls, taking pictures, playing music, and connecting to various AI and robot assistants. Ljubiša felt that this technology seemed almost unreal, something you would see in sci-fi movies. He couldn't help but let his imagination run wild in all of the ways he would use such a device.

As he was waiting on the escalator, he observed his surroundings, the families and children walking by, and the peaceful atmosphere, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. His body felt tension at random moments, especially when seeing normal everyday life. While he joked around a lot on Lupus' journey in space, he was, like everyone else, under constant stress and adrenaline for those 10 days.

All of the members of Lupus reported feeling anxious in every day, stress-free situations. Intense military missions warp the minds of soldiers into accepting sustained stress as normal and peace as abnormal. It was a common feeling many military personnel shared and the students had to deal with this anxiety now in waves. It would take time for them to heal and fully adjust to civilian life.

Ljubiša wasn't too thrilled at the idea of going to another mission in space ever again, but he wanted that citizenship and he wasn't going to give it up now. He managed to calm down when he reminded himself that he was about to see Lei Mei and Khalid.

The boy rushed to the tennis court showers and washed himself from top to bottom. He threw away his janitor uniform into his backpack and took out the best jeans and buttoned shirt he owned. He looked in the mirror, more of his brown hair was showing and he was happy with that. He was going to give up on dying it red and let the natural color take over.

After getting ready, Ljubiša met up with Lei Mei and Khalid, his heart rate sped up as he got close to Lei Mei. She was a lot cuter in her casual clothes than in her uniform to Ljubiša. Together they sat in a café on the ground floor and ordered drinks.

They casually talked about school when Khalid interrupted them and stood up from his chair, "Guys, I am going to have to leave you, I think I forgot to turn off the stove." He sounded serious and Lei Mei nodded. Ljubiša was a bit confused but just as Khalid was leaving he gave him a wink and a thumbs up.

What a legend! Bro did this so I could be alone with Lei Mei… Ljubiša thought to himself.

"I hope nothing serious happens," Lei Mei said concerned.

"Don't worry about it!" Ljubiša smiled, "I'm sure Khalid is just being paranoid, he probably turned off that stove. By the way, how are things going with you Lei Mei?"

"You're right, we shouldn't worry," Lei Mei took a sip of her juice, "About me? Yesterday I went to the video store and I rented a movie I ended up loving. It was a random movie I picked up, I saw Clint Eastwood and Richard Barton-"

"Where Eagles Dare?!" Ljubiša excitedly cut her off.

"Yes actually!" Lei Mei's eyes widen in surprise, "You saw it too?"

"I did with bro! He doesn't remember much but I loved it so much, I would totally watch it again."

The two went into a lengthy discussion about the movie, the action sequences, set pieces, twisty plot, and entertaining characters. Both of them were head over heels for Clint Eastwood, he seemed the epitome of cool.

After a few hours of chit-chat over various topics, Ljubiša nervously and bravely suggested they go outside for a walk and Lei Mei agreed.

Once outside, they decided to walk to a park, Ljubiša wanted to hold her hand but he didn't yet feel like making that step. Once they got to the park, the red foliage and crimson leaves beautifully contrasted Nova Occasio's green skies. Inside the park there weren't many people, there was a group of old guys playing chess and eating the below-average bread with soda from the device he saw in the shopping center. The machine became very popular with old men, especially those who for some reason spent most of their day outside drinking.

Ljubiša and Lei Mei sat together on a bench, close together. Ljubiša opened his backpack:

"I want to show you something," Ljubiša took out a cucumber, a peeler and salt. "I asked the school where they buy their cucumbers, remember the one you gave me when I bothered you in the mess hall, I thought it was the best cucumber I ever had in the world, but you said it needed more salt so I always eat a few of these when I am on break from work. They are so delicious and um…" Ljubiša's cheeks turned as red as the leaves around him, "I'm always reminded of you when I eat them…"

Lei Mei laughed which made Ljubiša even more embarrassed. It was not a laugh of ridicule though, Lei Mei honestly found it cute and adorable. "Do you want to eat some now," Lei Mei asked, giving Ljubiša an almost perfect smile.

Together, they peeled the cucumbers and spent the rest of this idyllic evening eating, laughing, and enjoying themselves.