Rock God

Chapter Two: Meeting DJ

Chapter Two: Meeting DJ

That Sunday my father couldn't wait to tell the rest of our congregation about how he would be singing in a rock band with his son. Which that was really the only good thing about our sermon that I remember. For the only other thing that I remember about how God kept punishing people and He seemed to be very angry with them all the time and it was quite scary.

However, that was nothing compared to the following afternoon. I was sitting in social studies class and it was the end of the day at school and the Mr. Larry the principal got on the loudspeaker to call me down to his office. "Michael Dawson, could you please come down to the office? Michael Dawson." He said in a rather low and dull voice.

I ignored the snickers of a few of my other classmates and gathered my things and went down to the office. I was completely shocked and horrified to find my mother already there waiting for me that looked white as a ghost.

"What is it Mama, what's wrong?" I questioned her anxiously. I only called her that when I was either really worried or upset about something.

"It's your father." She replied quietly and she told me that she had come to pick me up from school and drive me to the hospital because he had just passed out. While she signed us in I went into the waiting room and sat down next to a young man with short blondish-brown hair, blue-greenish eyes, peached skin, and was wearing a white T-shirt with a picture of the earth on it, a black leather jacket, blue jeans, white socks, and black and white sneakers.

That's when suddenly he turned to me and smiled. It was the brightest smile I had ever seen. "Hello there kid." He began happily and a few moments of silence passed as I just simply looked at him. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" He questioned me with uncertainty. "Come on and open up your mouth and let me see." He told me playfully.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." I told him and he slowly nodded at me.

"Ah I see, well that is a very good rule. Your mother has taught you well." He told me. "You can't be too trusting of anybody you don't know it isn't safe." He added as a few more moments of silence passed between us and I just couldn't help it anymore.

"Who are you?" I asked him for my curiosity had just gotten the better of me.

"David Goliath James at your service." He told me cheerfully before offering me his hand. "But all of my friends just usually call me DJ." He explained as I hesitated before shaking his hand.

"Mick Dawson." I replied.

"Well Mick, it is a pleasure to meet you." DJ began before simply just heaving a sigh. "It makes my job a little bit easier." He finished before slowly turning to look off into the distance.

"What job?' I wondered.

"My daughter is terminally ill and she doesn't have much longer left on earth." He explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that." I told him.

"Oh don't be. She's been suffering way too long and since she knows Christ she's about to go home." He explained. "And you, what are you here for Champ?" He questioned me and that's when I smiled at him.

"Hey, my father calls me that." I replied and DJ smiled back at me before my mother quickly hurried over to me and embraced me tightly. Her face looked like she had just been crying. "What happened Mama, what's wrong with him?" I inquired even though I really didn't want to know the answer. That's when suddenly she slowly began to pull away from me.

"Mickey, your father has lung cancer." She told me as tears silently rolled down her cheeks and that's when I got up and left the room. I was extremely pissed off. I was pissed off at my father for smoking all of the time, but mostly I was pissed off at myself for not saying anything or trying to do anything about it.

I had left the room in such a hurry that I hadn't noticed that where DJ had been sitting was now a vacant seat. "Michael, please wait up sweetheart!" My mother called as she quickly hurried after me. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked me.

"If I wanted to talk about it why would I have run off so quickly like that?" I questioned her back.

"Look, I know you're upset but you just have got to have faith that God will take care of us." She told me.

"Oh yeah? I already did and look where that got me!" I snapped.

That night I could barely sleep. Tears silently rolled down my cheeks as I laid inside my bed with my arms supporting the back of my head as I looked up at the ceiling and started to pray. "God,.. I don't know if you're listening or not, but please help my father get well and help me get through this. Also,.. if it isn't too much trouble, I would really like a friend." I prayed aloud before pausing a few moments later. "Amen."

After that I started thinking about DJ and his daughter. I wondered to myself how he could be so calm about her upcoming death. After all, no matter what people believe in it should be hard to lose any member of your family let alone a daughter. That's when suddenly I rolled over, closed my eyes, and slowly drifted off to sleep.