Goodbye Days

Carver is preparing for his goodbye day for Mars. He has a flashback to how the boys met, which reveals that Mars was the final member of Sauce Crew. Carver arrives at Judge Edwards’s house at 5:30 a.m., as instructed. He’s wearing workout clothes, as the Judge requested. The atmosphere is tense. When Carver refers to Mars by his nickname, the Judge insists that they use Mars’s full name: Thurgood Marshall Edwards.

They drive to a running path and do a seven-mile run. Carver is exhausted, but the Judge doesn’t cut him any slack. They return to Judge Edwards’s house, and Carver showers and puts on church clothes. Then they eat breakfast and go to church. At church, the pastor ends his sermon early and welcomes the Judge, who gives a fiery speech. Carver has a panic attack.

Back at the house, Judge Edwards gives Carver the task of cleaning out Mars’s bedroom. He instructs Carver to divide everything into one of two categories, garbage or charity. He also tells Carver to put Mars’s artwork into the garbage. This is unthinkable to Carver because Mars took such pride in his art (and was a skilled artist).