Page 52 of In This Moment
A hero? Dwayne remembered being confused by that. Like a superhero? What was the man talking about? He had focused, really tried to understand.
“We’re all going to die. Every one of us.” Principal Quinn had a booming voice. Not angry, the way Dwayne’s mama got when he didn’t come home till after midnight. Just powerful. Kind of like a coach. The man explained himself. “We only get so many pages, and the ending of the story will never go well unless you ask Jesus to be a part of it. He’s the only One who can rescue any of us.”
Dwayne let that thought stay with him. Only Jesus could rescue him. Sounded pretty good. Where Dwayne lived people got in trouble all the time. A definite rescue would be a good thing to have.
That’s when Jordy leaned closer. “You listening?”
“Yeah.” He felt awkward. Like when he asked Brianne Sanchez to prom last year. “I never thought of this stuff before.”
“Maybe it’s time.” Jordy must’ve known how Dwayne was feeling.
Dwayne whispered, “How do you do it? How do you get Jesus?”
“I’ll tell you after club.” No hesitation from Jordy. Probably because he’d known about Jesus all his life.
Dwayne nodded. “Sure, man. Okay.”
Principal Quinn wrapped things up then. “With Jesus, you never die. You just move your story from here to heaven, where there will be no more tears, no more dying. Where the story never ends.” He smiled real big. “And when you learn to listen to Jesus, every page of your story is a whole lot better than it would’ve been without Him. He’s the Hero.”
Which explained Allen and the math.
After the meeting, Jordy talked to Dwayne and asked him if he wanted Jesus to be with him all the time. Inside his heart. If he wanted to turn away from all the wrong things he’d ever done.
Dwayne had felt unsure about that last part. “I don’t think... I mean, I’m sorry... but I can’t be perfect.”
“You don’t have to be.” Jordy looked right at him.
Jordy opened his Bible and showed Dwayne some more verses.
When they were done reading, Jordy told Dwayne how to pray. For Jesus to come into his heart and for God to forgive Dwayne for all the things he’d done wrong. The drinking and lying. The cheating and the way he’d treated girls. And for the gang stuff, too.
None of that was what God wanted from His people. Dwayne understood now. He still had a lot to learn, of course. Even after the Saturday field trip when everyone went to John Oliver’s house. John was a wide receiver for Hamilton High, and his family owned four gas stations. His pool was heated and that day five kids got baptized.
Dwayne was one of them.
He blinked a few times and turned right on Martin Luther King Boulevard. So why was he doing this? Why fight tonight? Just because a bunch of the guys on the team were going?
It was Billy Benson who’d convinced Dwayne. Billy and Dwayne used to be in the same gang. At least before Dwayne started believing in Jesus. Ever since Dwayne started going to the Bible club, Billy would laugh at him. Just shake his head and laugh. Yesterday after practice the kid found Dwayne at his locker. “You going to club today? That prayer stuff’s made you soft.” Billy gave Dwayne a shove in the shoulder. “You lost your edge, man.”
Dwayne felt anger light up inside him. “Leave me alone, Benson.” He clenched his fist. “I ain’t soft.”
“If you’re still tough...” The kid snickered. “Prove it. Halloween’s tomorrow.”
Dwayne told himself he wouldn’t do it. He didn’t need to prove anything to Billy Benson. But at practice today, Billy had laughed at him again.
The Bible club was having a Halloween party. Dwayne tightened his grip on the steering wheel. A Halloween party? He narrowed his eyes. Halloween parties weren’t for high school kids. They were for babies. If Billy thought he was soft before, he’d never let Dwayne live it down if he hung out at a Halloween party.
Up ahead was the alley where they were meeting this year. The two gangs always picked an alley. So they could hide in doorways and keep away from the cops. Dwayne slowed his car. Gotta hide anything that might identify him. He leaned down and tucked his wallet beneath his seat. Then he slid his phone into his jeans pocket. Rules were simple on Halloween.
Each man for himself. No guns.
Usually his gang won. More guys, more of them on the football team. Fists would fly and threats would be made, but after ten minutes or so the other guys would back off. At least that’s how it went last year.
Suddenly Dwayne remembered the year before last. When he was a freshman. Someone broke the rule and in the middle of the fight, at the worst of it, a gun went off.
And Jimmy Salvo lay in the alley bleeding. He died before he knew what hit him.
Dwayne parked his car and the voice came again. Like someone was sitting in the seat next to him talking to him.
