Our Saviour - Christian Stories

Punches in Return

Casey McMullan is a strong Christian, but attends an extremely non-religious school. Will she continue to keep her religion, or will she become overpowered by the bullies?

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"Aaaie!" Casey McMullan shrieked as she received another punch to her gut. "Stop!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jeffery apologized sarcastically as he took a step back. "I thought I'd let God save you." He and every one of his followers laughed cruelly at Casey, and they began to close in. She eyed a hole between two of them - big enough to escape!

Maybe I can make it, she thought. I'll get beat up anyways.

She sprung from her right foot through the starting-to-close-in gap, and landed on her right.

Yes!

Before she could sprint, Jeff's girlfriend grabbed her wrist. Jamie looked in disgust at her rolled up skirt.

"Where you going, you dumb hoe?" Katy laughed. But before any harm could have been done to Casey, she slapped Katy, freeing her. Finally running for her life, the others followed close behind. Good thing she was a runner. Run, thought Casey. Just run.

About a minute passed, and the crowd was nowhere to be seen - the sound of their footsteps had vanished. She found herself in the one room bathroom - or, in other words, her hideout. Before staggering to the floor, she looked in the mirror. A bruise existed on her right cheek - a dark purple. She looked at the rest of her body as she fell, when tears escaped her eyes. She laid her head on the ground, not giving a care in the world about the germs which crawled.

"Oh, God, why do you let this happen to me every day?" She noticed that her voice was raised, but knew she had to quiet down - they could be nearby. Sobbing, she silently prayed for help.

Casey, being in the 11th grade now, could no longer be a "tattle-tale". She feared getting adults involved with her bully hardships would only make problems worse.

Ever since she was in grade 8, classmates picked on her religion - she was Catholic, and a strong one too. Bullying was too out of hand at her old school, so Casey moved to Riverdale Public School in grade 9 - but problems only became worse. She decided to never tell a soul on what was happening to her.

"What the heck she was even doing in an Atheist filled area?" she cried. "If only my parents knew, I would be out in a heartbeat."

But, she had a goal. She wanted to change the people in her school. In fact, that was a big reason why she was a target to fellow students. She taught the word of God, but only received abuse in return.

Casey looked at her watch. The lens had cracked ever so slightly - probably from the constant punches, falling, and being slammed into lockers. It read 6:00 - she had been sitting there for over two hours. She needed to get home, or her parents would suspect something.

Slowly opening the door, she saw no one in sight. Still, she exited the room quietly. Tiptoeing through the halls, she looked left, right, forwards, and back. No one was here. She let out a sigh of relief, and walked to her locker.

It was covered in marker again - it read Go to Church, Slut, and other messages. She tried to smudge it.

"Sharpie," She moaned. "Will it never end?" Grabbing her bag, she exited the school and walked to her car. Driving home, she knew that things needed to end. She couldn't take this anymore.

As Casey arrived at her home, she saw her parents waiting for her at the door. They had worried expressions stamped on their faces.

"Where were you? Your food is cold!" her father reprimanded. Casey entered her home with no reply, and her mother looked closely at her face. She gasped.

"Oh, honey, what happened to you face?" her mother questioned, eyeing the bruise which stained her right cheek.

"I... I..." Casey trailed off, since she hated lying. "Tripped on my way home, face first." She stuttered. Her mother gave her a suspicious look.

"But this does not explain why you are home late!" her father exclaimed with worry. "Casey, you're hiding something... I feel it in my gut." There was a pause. "Tell us the truth."

"No!" Casey yelled, not being aware of what she was doing. "At least not yet." Her parents looked back at her with shock and disbelief. Before they could say anything to her, she ran off to her room.

She heard her parents knocking on her locked door, but tried to ignore them.

" Should I prove it to them. A skit?" she thought aloud, but then laughed at herself. "Stupid." Casey spent the next hour pondering on how she was going to survive this, until her dad knocks on her door once again.

"Casey," her dad whispered helplessly. "I can't help you unless you tell me what's going on." Casey sighs, and he opens the door. He sits on the edge of her bed.

"I'm not going to tell you what it is," Casey muttered, looking away from her father.

"Just remember that you're beautiful, and you have a lot going for you." He tried to put his hand on her shoulder. She moves away.

"It's not that!" She shouted. "Does God even exist? Why does he let bad things happen to good people, people who follow him?!"

"Casey, is something happening to you?" Her dad asked in a concerned tone. She paused.

"No," she started. "I'm talking about other people... like poor people. The homeless..." She began to think. "People at war. Honestly, anyone. Why does he let these things happen?"

"Because Earth is not Heaven. This is a place of suffering, and place of free will. God is with everyone who wants him to be with him -"

Casey interrupts him. "If he's with those who want him, why do they suffer too?"

"Everyone has their cross to carry. And whatever it is you're hurting about, is the cause of other people's sins - or your own, in some cases. But this doesn't mean he's not by your side. As I said before, Casey, there's free. As long as people are ignoring God and indulging sin, this Earth will be far from perfect."

Casey started tearing up.

"This is a place where we get closer to God, and then finally join Heaven - where it is perfect." Her dad kisses her forehead, and then makes his way to the door.

"Daddy?" Casey asks. He stops and looks around, and she continues. "Are they any believers anymore?"

"Yes," he starts, "some of them are just scared. Reach out to them if you can."

The next day, she saw another girl across the hall. She tucked a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear, and the girl greeted her with a half smile.

Hope filled her heart as she saw another message on her locker.

I believe, too.