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Okay, Gerald. So you want to be famous? I suggest you take a look at Rebecca or go talk to her. She wants to be famous too but she doesn't seem to be too happy. Maybe you should concentrate on being a professional musician.

Kudos to the rest of the gang for recognizing that the band is only for fun and that they have other things in mind for their futures.

Suzanne R, West Suffield, CT

April -- no, no, no. When I advised you to "get out" last week, I didn't mean the band. The band is one of the things that makes you interesting. Pulling back on your music makes it feel like you're retracting into dull suburbiana a little more, like your siblings did. Keep making music, preferably with a better lyricist (and a new drummer who doesn't openly disparage the mentally challenged). And if you do throw over Gerald, as it seems you're going to, for God's sake don't come crawling back to him in a few years like Liz did with her unpleasant high school boyfriend.

Chris P, Boston MA

I have to say, Mrs. Johnston, that this week's storyline is extremely annoying. You treat extracurricular activities and school like they're somehow mutually exclusive, and they're not. Plenty of students balance good grades with being in a band, playing sports, or working at a job in the evenings. It can be challenging, but it's rewarding; I myself am a published author in part because I worked my tail off at it in high school and college, while getting straight A's almost the whole time (blasted first-year biology). Admittedly, I didn't get a $25,000 advance on the first draft of my first book, but that's the real world for you.

Anyway, back to the point: sending kids who read your strip the message that it's OK to give up on your music or other passion because it's somehow impossible to do well in school at the same time is, frankly, a bit irresponsible, and as an artist you should know that. Hopefully events during the rest of the week prove that I'm barking up the wrong tree ... but somehow I doubt it.

Richard H, Springfield IL

Some advice for Gerald: if the band isn't as serious as you want them to be, dump them. You'll all be going to different universities soon anyway, and you'd have to break up anyway. When you go to uni, find a new band. One with a guitarist who plays an actual electric guitar, has lyrics that might conceivably be sung by adults, and relies on talent rather than goofy gimmicks like the Hose-a-phonium. There'll be plenty of musicians there who are as serious as you. Then you can hone your talent and play some real gigs that don't involve high school dances or telethons. You might make it big, or you might not -- but you definitely won't get anywhere with the lackadaisical crew you're currently playing with, so nothing to lose there.

Alan T, Thorold ON

Elizabeth--

If I were you, I'd be remembering the words of Rhett Butler and wondering whether a man who "can't be faithful to his wife with his mind or unfaithful with his body" is such a good bet.

I'd also remember back to the end of your original relationship with Anthony and recall that both of you were feeling apathetic about the relationship and that you'd grown apart. Which was only natural as you were each becoming different people from the kids you were. I'd ask myself what made the difference...are you really interested in the person Anthony is now, or are you thinking more of the person he was then? And is the same true for Anthony?

I'd face my own culpability in the breakup with Paul--maybe what he did was wrong, but how could his feelings for you have been the same after you made such a one-sided decision? Trust is the foundation of a relationship, after all. And I'd talk things out with Warren--instead of just silently fuming over his unavailability without mentioning anything to him, tell him that if it's going to be a usual occurrence then you don't think it will work out. But lay it out clearly for him. And if you do find you want to work things out with him, make some effort to meet him halfway.

Finally, I'd ask myself if it's really fair to a community that depended on you to treat your experience wtih them as "just a fun adventure" and "a need to find myself."

Jennifer S, NJ