Page 23 of Redeemed

“My best guess is they’re in this one.” She taps on a little square on the screen that has a picture of an open book on it, and the entire screen changes.

“Whoa, hold on,” I say, panicked. “What happened?”

“I opened the app,” she explains. “That’s what’s supposed to happen.”

“Oh,” I mumble.

“See?” She gestures to all the new things on the screen. “Each one of these rectangles is one of your textbooks. The titles are on the cover but then also below them.”

“Got it. So I just… poke the cover?”

She smiles. “I thinktapis probably a better word for it, but yeah.”

I tap one of the books, and the cover expands until it fills the whole screen. After that, Athelia walks me through how to turn pages, adjust text sizes, and even change what font the words are. It’s all overwhelming, but I think I can at least remember how to open the textbooks.

It takes me a couple tries to remember which button shuts off the screen, but once I’ve got it, I turn to face Athelia. “Thank you. I—”

“Are you Amish?” she blurts. Immediately, her cheeks turn red. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”

I’m not sure why it’s rude, so I shrug. “I’m not Amish, no. But I was raised in a similar way. It’s… too much to get into today.”

“Got it. Sorry, I’ve just never met someone who’s never seen a tablet before.”

“Yesterday was the first day I saw a phone that wasn’t attached to a wall,” I say, and when her jaw drops, I let out a loud laugh. “And it was also the first day I ever had quick food.”

Tilting her head, Athelia asks, “Quick food?”

Oh, shoot.I don’t think that was quite what Julie called it. What was the word she used?

“Um. Fast food?”

Athelia’s eyes light up. “Oh! Wait, you’dneverhad it before?”

With another grin, I shake my head. “Never. I almost choked from the bubbles in my drink. The French fries were really good, though.”

“Damn,” she mutters. “Have you ever had ice cream?”

“Never heard of it.”

“Holy shit! Seriously?! Girl, you haveno ideawhat you’ve been missing out on. We should get some later today.”

Mixing cream and ice together doesn’t sound particularly appetizing, but I smile and nod anyway. Maybe it’s not as bad as I think it will be.

“But right now, do you want to spend some time exploring campus?” Athelia asks. “I want to familiarize myself with the buildings so I don’t get lost trying to find my classes.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

We both stand, and my heart feels light with hope. Not only does Athelia seem to know all the things I don’t, but she’s willing to teach me, too. Just like Colton, she seems surprised by my upbringing but not judgmental about it. I was so afraid I wouldn’t fit in here, and maybe I don’t, but I think I can with people like her and Colton by my side.

Haven

Thefirsttwoweeksof classes fly by with dizzying speed. Even though Cornerstone’s education is state-approved, I feel like I’m behind. I went through our entire curriculum, but I have more knowledge gaps than freckles on my face. Evolution, history, geography—all things I learned about, but not to the depth that my peers have.Especiallyevolution. Whenever it came up in class, my teachers always mocked it.

That doesn’t even touch on everything else I’m missing. The jokes that go over my head, the references to things and people that “everyone knows about,” the ability to use a computer—things like that. If it weren’t for Athelia and Colton, I’d be completely lost.

As I walk back to my dorm after my last class of the day, I try to not get too worked up about it. I escaped. I’m free. When it comes down to it, that’s the only thing that really matters to me. The rest will come with time.

My heart still aches whenever I think of home. I left behind everyone I love—my parents, my siblings, Ruth. Leaving hurt them all, I know, but I couldn’t stay. Maybe it’s foolish, but I have hopes of freeing them one day. Then we can all be together again.

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