I was sitting at my desk with my legs crossed and my pen anxiously tapping my paper. I was getting anxiously hot, so I slipped off my jean jacket and draped it over the back of my chair so I was just wearing my short sleeve rainbow striped shirt. I had to talk to Fuller about something important today and I was nervous about what he was going to say.

Almost all of us were already at the chapel working, except for Fuller. He's sometimes late on Monday's but I think it's because he will go visit his son on the weekends.

Tom took a paper out of his typewriter and smoothed it out flat on his desk. Then he stood up and started heading to the stairs where our lockers are located up on a loft. I don't keep a lot of stuff up there since I have room down at my desk, but I usually keep some extra clothes up there just in case. Sometimes snacks and textbooks.

"Where are you going?" Doug asked Tom. He was leaning back in his chair, defying gravity by balancing on its back legs.

"My locker," Tom answered vaguely.

"Can you grab me my Mountain Dew? I left it in my locker," Doug asked.

Tom looked at him deadpan and continued his way up to the lockers. The chapel door opened, and my head snapped in its direction where I saw Fuller walk in. My palms got clammy and I knew I was going to have to talk to him before I went on my assignment for the day.

"Morning, everyone," Fuller greeted as he made his way toward his office.

"Morning," I mumbled back, blending in with everyone else's salutations to our captain.

Fuller went into his office at the same time that Tom slipped down the fireman's pole and started to head back to his desk. Doug's jaw dropped and he looked offended when he noticed that Tom was coming back empty handed.

Tom ignored Doug and when he headed off and disappeared into the bathroom, Doug spoke up, "I asked him to grab me a Mountain Dew. He came back down, and had no Mountain Dew."

I quipped, "I don't think he, uh, cared."

Doug jeered at me. "Ha-ha, very funny."

I rubbed my hands against the knees of my jeans and I knew that it was now or never. I hopped up from my desk and headed over to Fuller's office. I knocked on Fuller's door and waited for him to let me come in. I walked into his office and began saying, "sir, I've been meaning to—"

Fuller was already sitting at his desk, hunched over a pile of papers. He interrupted me by saying, "were you born in a barn? Close the door, Gregg."

I quickly turned around and shut the door. I took a breath, because I've been dreading this conversation for weeks.

"You were saying?" He asked to make me continue.

I turned back to him and said, "I wanted to tell you that I might have to take a step back from Jump Street."

This caught his attention. He put his pen down and stitched his eyebrows at me. He clasped his hands together on his desk and asked angrily, "say that again?"

"It won't be for long," I reassured, "I've been thinking about going back to school and I applied to a couple places for spring semester and I got in. I still want to work, but I'll be going to school too."

Fuller's face blossomed into a smile as he stood up from his chair. "Gregg, that's amazing!"

I was relieved by his reaction and I said, "thank you, sir."

"How about this... you work Monday through Wednesday, and you take the other four days to focus on your school work."

"That can work." I smiled at him.

"And if you ever feel overwhelmed, know that school comes first," Fuller said and walked over to me. "Just give me a ring."

"Of course, Fuller. Thank you," I said and shook his hand professionally.

Fuller began to escort me out of his office and he asked, "when does the semester begin?"

"In a couple of weeks," I said, "right after the holidays."

"And your degree?"

"Criminal justice," I said.

Fuller smiled bigger. He looked like a proud father. "Good choice."

"I'll let the team know that I'll only be working part time now," I said.

Fuller opened the door for us and said, "I think that's a good idea. Oh, and Mickey..."

"Yeah?" I asked, turning back to him.

He said, "I'm proud of you, kiddo."

I felt my heart skip a beat when he called me kiddo. Only Jenko had ever called me that, and it took me a moment to figure out how I felt about Fuller calling me his nickname. I smiled back at him and I could feel in my heart that it was all right. I said, "thank you."

Fuller has become sort of a father figure for us at Jump Street. We are all adults, but we are all still very young. Not all of us live near our families, or have relatives close enough to be considered family. They're all I got.

Fuller closed his office door and Doug approached me as I was trying to get back to my desk, followed by Tom and Ioki. They were like a pack of dogs.

Doug sat down at his desk with Ioki and Tom surrounding him as he asked me, "what was the meeting for, huh?"

I got to my seat and I told him, "I'm going to be working here part-time from now on."

Tom, Ioki, and Doug all dramatically gasped.

Doug asked, "so, uh, what, you got another job on the other side of town?"

I chuckled, "no, I'm going back to school."

"Way to go, Mickey!" Tom shouted and ran up to me to slap my hand happily and wrapped me up in a hug.

I laughed until he put me down. I said, "thank you. I start in a couple weeks, and I'll only be working Monday through Wednesday."

"How will we ever get through the rest of the week without you?" Doug groaned humorously.

I chuckled and leaned against my desk. "Looks like my returns on Monday will be that much more exciting."

"Where are you going?" Tom asked, taking a step towards me.

"Evergreen State University," I said proudly, "I'll be studying criminal justice."

Tom smiled at me fondly, it almost made me fold. "That's my girl."

"They might as well give you the degree now," Doug joked, "you've been in law enforcement long enough."

I chuckled, "I know right? They really should."

"You'll do great at ESU," Tom said, giving me another hug and a peck on the cheek. "We are so proud of you."

"Thanks, Tom," I said. I was so happy that my coworkers were so proud of me. We always support each other, and I hoped that my absence would not be too hard on our work. They really are my family.

"And we know who to send if there's a need for a bust," Doug added, "they'll never suspect you."

"That's an idea," I chuckled.

The sound of someone banging on a window caught all of our attention. We all snapped our heads toward Fuller's office, where he stood with the blinds drawn and he was knocking on the window. He pointed at us with eyebrows raised, and Tom waved to him and we all dispersed back to our desks.

I hope you this liked this one! Sorry it is a little short, but yay Mickey is going to university! Don't worry, she's not leaving Jump Street!
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