The Journey

First Day
   A lone young teen stood in the doorway, backpack in hand. Moments earlier his mother had bid him goodbye, but, at the lad’s insistence, she had stopped and prayed with him.
    Now he stood alone, the other kids huddled in groups with their own friends. But soon a boy approached him.
“Say, I don’t think I’ve seen you before, are you new here?” he inquired with a cheery voice. “By the way, my name’s Jason.”
“Yeah, we just moved here this summer,” the newcomer replied. “And my name’s Aaron.
“Aaron, you say? I think you’re in my class. Come with me, and we’ll get you settled in no time.” Jason chattered on as they walked down the halls. “Oh, here’s our English room. All us sophomores start here. After that, well, let’s see your schedule.”
Digging around in his backpack, Aaron retrieved the desired item.
“It looks like next you have Algebra 2, like me, then…Yep, your schedule’s the same as mine. Now let’s find you a seat. Class will start soon, and…oh, there’s an empty seat. Right there, next to Anna Lee.” Seeing the uncertainty on Aaron’s face, Jason quickly added, “Don’t worry, she doesn’t bite.”
Suddenly, the bell rang, and all the kids scrambled to their seats.
“I see we have a new student here today. Would you like to tell us a little about yourself?,” the teacher asked warmly.
“Well. I was born on February 9, 1989. We just moved here from Washington this summer. I don’t have any siblings. I had a brother, but he died shortly after he turned one. And my name is Aaron Chadwick.”
“Thank you, Aaron. You may take your seat now. Class, open your English books to page 5.”
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Soon lunch came. Stepping into the cafeteria, Aaron joined the line and soon stood, surveying the tables full of laughing, talking people. Tray in hand, he wondered where he should sit.
“Hey Aaron, over here!”
With a sigh of relief, Aaron made his way over to where Jason, Anna Lee, and several other kids from his class were sitting.
“So, Aaron, how old are you?” Anna Lee questioned casually.
Momentarily mesmerized by her voice and smile, Aaron was speechless.
“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” Jason teased. Snapping out of his reverie, Aaron replied. “I’ll be 16 in February.”
“Well, I’m 16, and Anna Lee is 15,” said Jason. “Here, I’ll introduce you to the other kids. Our class is pretty small, so it shouldn’t be too hard to remember names.
“That’s Levi,” Jason said, pointing to the boy with dark hair sitting across the table from him. “He’s 16, and Chris, next to him, is almost 17. He likes to tease the girls, by the way,” he added, chuckling at the well-built boy with glasses, who was now glaring at him. “Then there’s Justine, the tall brunette one. She’s 15, but by the way she acts, you’d think she was 23. Finally, there’s Laurel,” Jason said, motioning to the girl with the long blonde hair. “She’s 16 too. So that’s our class.”
Aaron suddenly noticed that he hadn’t even touched his food yet. Bowing his head, he silently blessed his food, adding ‘And thank you, God, that I can come to an Adventist school. It’s such a blessing to attend Low Valley Adventist Academy*.’ Opening his eyes, Aaron picked up his fork and dug into his food.
“Oh, and choir auditions are tomorrow.” Jason added. “All who want to try out are to meet in the music room during third period.”
“Ok, I’ll remember that. Are any of you trying out?” Aaron asked.
“Oh, we all probably will,” Chris replied.
“I’m going to audition for the piano part.” Anna Lee said. Soon everyone had finished their food and headed off to their next class.
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“And that’ll be all for today, class,” the teacher announced. “Don’t forget about choir auditions tomorrow!”
All the students hurriedly packed up their books and spilled out the doors into the afternoon sunshine. Aaron soon spotted his mother’s car, and waving goodbye to his classmates, hopped in.
“So, how was your first day, honey?” Mrs. Chadwick inquired as Aaron reached back and dropped his backpack in the backseat.
” Pretty good. I’ve got a small class, seven of us, including me. They’re all really friendly, and, oh, choir auditions are tomorrow. I’m going to try out.”
“That’s great! All I did today was run errands and stuff. Oh, and your father said he would be late coming home. There were a few minor problems he had to work out at the office.”
The two soon arrived at their modest two story house. Hopping out, they soon had both schoolbooks and groceries alike inside the house.
Later that evening, Aaron sat writing in his journal before he went to bed. ‘I think I’m really going to enjoy going to this school. I can really sense God’s presence. The kids are all friendly, and they really care about others. And the lessons all have a way of pointing us back to God.
And, Anna Lee is one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen. But I can also see God working in her. I think I’m going to really enjoy knowing her.’
Aaron shut his journal and laid down his pen. Turning out the light, he crawled into bed and said his prayers before drifting off to sleep.
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*Not a real school. All names and establishments are completely fictional. Except Washington. Yes, that’s a real place LOL
A/N  So this is a project I’ve been working on. Thought I’d post the first chapter on here…see what people think. If I don’t get a positive response, I probably won’t post the rest….So if you like, comment! Tell me what you think. Is it good? Should I spend my time on something else? If you have suggestions, comment. If you have constructive criticism, comment. Don’t worry, I don’t get offended easily, so throw it at me!!! I want honest opinions. Thanks for reading! 🙂 🙂 Happy Sabbath!!!

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The Journey

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