Heaven, Hell, and Earth

Chapter 26

A girl, about thirteen or fourteen years old was sitting in a church waiting for someone. She had medium brown skin, raven black hair, and a very familiar set of eyes. Eyes that were red and swollen from crying so much over the recent tragedy she had been through. But she knew that she couldn't cry over it forever. She needed to pull herself together and be strong. It's what her family would have wanted.

After awhile she turned her attention over to the church window. She could see two boys around her age playing by a tree. One was sitting under the shade of the tree, studying a book while the other, a skinny boy with audburn hair, was hanging from the branches.

"Put the book down teacher's pet." The skinny boy said. "We've done enough studying in class. Why don't we have a little fun?"

"Well that depends." His friend said. "You're not going to drag me into another one of your juvenile schemes to terrorize the vatican are you? Like the time you set off a cherry bomb in Father Josef's office?"

The other boy laughed.

"Oh come on, you have to admit that was pretty funny. A lot more entertaining than that lecture he gave us about the 'evils of overindulgence'."

"We're not here to entertain. We're here to learn. When are you going to get that through your head?"

"To be fair I never wanted to take these classes. I'm not going to become a preist or anything when I get out of here."

"And what, pray tell, are you going to dedicate your life to once the Vatican can no longer house you?"

"Okay first of all, for once can you talk like a person and not a dictionary. I get it, you're well read. And second, when I leave this place I'm going into show business."

"Ha!"

"Don't laugh. It can happen."

"Not to you. You have as much talent as that tree you're dangling from."

"I'll have you know that Sister Agnes says I sing like Tom Jones."

"Sister Agnes is 86 years old and senile. She thought the janitor's parakeet sang like Tom Jones."

"You're just jealous. You've always been jealous of my good looks, my charm, my talent , my- Whoa!"

His grip on the branch slipped and he fell right on his head.

"Your lack of brains?" His studious friend chuckled. "I don't think so."

The audburn haired boy glared at him when he picked himself up. But then his attention was caught by the sound of another person laughing. Their gazes followed the laughter to the young girl watching them from the window. She had a very cute laugh and a very lovely smile.

"Hey who is she?" The rambuctious boy asked his friend.

"Oh you didn't hear about her in the morning annoucements? She's new here. Remember when Father Josef and Mother Superior volunteered to aid that pandemic in Lousiana? Well everybody in her neighborhood caught the disease but she was the only one who recoverd from it. She doesn't have any family and you know how foster systems work, so they brought her here."

"Wow she's pretty. I can't remember the last time there was ever a pretty girl here."

"Don't even think about it casanova, she's going to become a nun."

"I'm not thinking about anything bad. All I'm thinking is that she's pretty."

"Yeah well just remember what Father Josef did to you when he took us to the annual carnvial and caught you at the kissing booth."