Jesus Freaks: Sins of the Father(29)

“Anyway,” I clap my hands, “there are four girls and two guys,” I note. “Do you guys have any other friends from your floor or whatever that want to come? Either one or three more?” I add to highlight my understanding of the rule that there needs to be an odd number of people in a mixed-sex group.

As if that’s ever stopped people, I quip in my head.

Jonah stands and addresses Silas. “Let’s ask Brent, he seems like he should get out.”

Silas throws his head back, breaking his stiffness with full-chested laughter. “You’re right on that, brother.”

The group stands and dispenses of their dishes and trash. A mix of pure excitement and nervous excitement ripples through the crowd.

“Okay,” I say when we’re outside. “Meet at the bus stop in a half hour?”

Everyone agrees and goes off in different directions. Silas and Jonah head to their dorm to collect this Brent character and Bridgette and Eden are off to the room to get their money. I always keep mine on me, in case I feel the need to flee at the drop of a hat, so I walk excitedly to the bus stop.

As I lean against the chipped and slightly rusted post holding up the bus stop sign, I wonder how much of the outside world has changed since my week in the fold.





CHAPTER TEN


This Is the Stuff


“This isn’t so bad,” Silas says in near-relief as we wander the streets of downtown Asheville.

“Told you.” I grin and gently elbow his side.

Taking a deep breath of freedom, I lean my head back and observe the insanely blue sky. I’m relieved to see the trees blushing with the signs of autumn. It was one of the first things I’d researched when I decided to come to school here—did they have a normal fall? Being a New England girl, it’s an extremely important detail, and one Asheville seemed more than happy to deliver. Bright oranges and yellows highlight our walk past art vendors and clothing stores.

It just feels so good to be out in public. I feel about as giddy as my friends seemed on the bus ride down here. Well, there were a mix of nerves, for sure. Silas spent the ten-minute bus ride looking out the window and wringing his hands for a few seconds at a clip. Joy rode quietly, her permanently sour expression plastered on her face. I would have avoided asking her to come, but that would have been rude. And, after Silas and Jonah invited Brent, I literally couldn’t ask Joy to stay behind.

Oh, poor, sweet Brent.

Brent is the oldest of six siblings, and the first in even his extended family to go to college. From a tiny town I can’t remember the name of in Texas, this is the furthest Brent has traveled from home. Especially without his parents. He’s a ball of sweat, the poor kid, walking with his head down and barely making eye contact with any of us.

“Still wanna get your nose pierced, Bridge?” I slow down as we come across Lucky You Tattoo and Piercing.

Peeking inside the window, I find your standard cast of characters for such a place. A large, almost comically beefy man smeared in tattoos. Bald head, naturally. There’s also an equally tattooed female with shockingly short shorts and a tube top which reveals a soft showing of tattooed skin across her midsection.

The group goes silent behind me, and I turn around to find them looking anywhere but the shop. Bridgette’s fingers are knotted around each other and she’s biting her lip. Linking my arm with hers, I hurry the group away from this destination.

“Another time, maybe,” I whisper as I set my head on her shoulder.

She squeezes my hand. “Thanks,” she whispers back.

We walk for a few more minutes, rounding the corner to what I take to be the food district. While I’m not hungry, I smell fresh roasting coffee and breathe it in deeply, suddenly needing it. There’s coffee on campus, but I’m almost positive they weaken it.

“Rocks,” Bridgette calls over her shoulder as we weave through the crowd shouting orders for gyros at the man in a food truck.

“Thanks,” Silas mumbles.

“Rocks?” I ask Bridgette.

She shrugs and looks a little sheepish. Chalking it up to an inside family joke, I don’t question her any further.

“So, Joy,” I hear Eden ask behind me, “what do you like to do for fun?”

“Mission trips,” she answers flatly.

Eden doesn’t respond, but I can hear her deep breath behind me. Bless her heart, she tries so hard to find the good in everyone.

Crap! I slap my hand over my mouth even though I haven’t said anything out loud. I thought the phrase, “Bless her heart.” I’ve heard the words uttered no less than twenty times in the six days I’ve been on campus, and that’s a conservative estimate. But I’ve never said it. Or thought it.

I’m turning into one of them, I think comically. And semi-seriously.

“Coffee!” I shout, stopping our visual tour.

We follow the smell of roasting beans as we make our way down the street, stopping in front of a large storefront that hosts several outdoor tables and chairs, and floor-to-ceiling windows that open up to the inside of Word. “Coffee and Books” is in smaller type on the sign.

I turn to the group. “Coffee. Books. How bad can it be?”

“Sounds good to me,” Jonah pipes up for the first time since we dismounted the bus.

“That’s two,” I reply playfully. “Any more? Come on!”