Page 32 of In This Moment
“Mr. Quinn?” She sounded beyond impatient.
“Hold on.” He thumbed through the folder.
He needed to share some of the quotes he’d gathered, quotes from the founding fathers. Or let her have a copy of the independent report, the one done by AnnaMae Williams. “Our school is a better place since we started the club. I could give you—”
“Mr. Quinn, theStarwill run a story on this matter in the next few hours. Do you have anything you’d like to say, anything we should include?”
Wendell felt like he was slipping through a dark hole. “You can’t run this story now. It’ll ruin everything.”
“Is that your final statement?” She sounded angry and impatient. Like she didn’t have time for his thoughts.
“No.” Panic slapped him in the face. “First of all, which parent called you?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.” Her answer sounded rehearsed. “I need to know if that’s your final statement, Mr. Quinn.”
“No.” His frustration grew. “That’s not my statement. What I’m saying is, I have a lot to add to the story. You need to come to my office and I’ll explain why we started the program. I can show you what’s happened since.”
“There’s no time for that, Mr. Quinn.” She huffed, as if she was completely put out at how Wendell was wasting her minutes.
“This is my statement, then.” Wendell was pacing, again. How could he quickly sum up what had happened at his school? “Since our Bible program began, since our students have been praying, we’ve seen miraculous results at Hamilton High. God has heard our prayers and met us where we are. We are a different student body because of Him.”
As soon as the call ended, Wendell tried to remember exactly what he’d said to the reporter. He called his secretary, Ellen Boggs, into his office. “We may... be getting other calls from reporters today. I’d like you to put them all straight through to me.”
Ellen nodded, her eyes the slightest bit fearful. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” Wendell nodded. “Yes, it is. There’s just... there’s some interest in our Raise the Bar program. That’s all.”
It didn’t take long for Wendell to realize how wrong he was. Saying the media had some interest in Hamilton High’s Bible study program was like saying North Korea had some interest in taking over the world.
The Indianapolis Star’s article ran online exactly two hours after the reporter’s call to Wendell. And immediately Wendell’s office phone began to ring. Ellen put the calls through and Wendell said the same thing to every one of them. Yes, the program had been meeting for a year. Of course attendance was voluntary. Yes, he’d been running the program. And sure, he definitely believed God was working a miracle in their midst.
Over and over and over again.
He took calls from theDispatchin Ohio and theFree Pressin Michigan. Reporters from Illinois and Kentucky and Oklahoma called, and nightly news programs contacted Wendell from stations throughout the Midwest.
By two o’clock, something else began to happen.
Local ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News vans pulled up in front of the school. Reporters attempted to come onto campus, but Wendell met them at the entrance. “This is a closed campus,” he told them. “You do not have permission to be here, and you may not talk to our students.”
By the time Wendell returned to his office, Jordy was waiting for him. He looked like he was about to pass out. “Dad... what’s happening? Hamilton High is trending on Twitter.”
Wendell wasn’t sure what that meant, but it couldn’t be good. “Some parent calledThe Indianapolis Starabout our Bible study program.”
“Why?” Jordy’s anger was instant. “They don’t want us to raise the bar? They want us shooting each other and doing drugs and failing out of school?” He dropped his backpack on the floor of Wendell’s office and pulled his phone from his pocket. “Listen to this.” He held up the phone.“Principal Quinn said that God has heard the prayers of the school. We are a different student body because of Him.”
Jordy stared at Wendell. “As if that’s a bad thing?” He huffed. “What are we going to do?”
Wendell had no idea. Outside his window another news van pulled up. The media that had arrived earlier were setting up cameras and reporters just off school property. When the final bell rang, in less than an hour, the press would be ready. Wendell turned to his son and held out his hand.
Whatever fear and frustration was coursing through Jordy, making him angry and coloring the tone of his voice, it faded in that moment. Wendell came close and took his hand.
“Let’s ask God what we’re supposed to do.” Wendell felt an otherworldly calm come over him. “I don’t see any other way through this.”
Jordy nodded. The hint of a smile eased his expression. “I knew you’d say that.”
“Yes.” Wendell looked at his son for a few seconds. “We’ll get through this, Jordy. We will.” He prayed then, that God would protect the students at Hamilton, and the program he’d started. “Lord, don’t let one student be dissuaded from attending the Raise the Bar club, but bring others into our midst because of whatever happens here today. And we ask for Your protection through it all. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
“Amen.” Jordy hugged him, the way he used to when he was a little boy. When he pulled back, the concern was still strong in his eyes. “It’s trending on Facebook, too.”
