New Believers Of God

CHAPTER THREE

After being dismissed, Hunter led us to a small room outside the loft, where both me and the others took a seat before starting our discussion.

"Okay." he said "So going off what Kenneth said, I want to ask you all one question. Why did you come here tonight?"

None of us answered right away, each hoping somebody else would.

"To have fun." I eventually replied.

The others laughed for a few seconds when I said that, knowing it was the wrong thing to say.

"Well, at least you're being honest." he chuckled "Does anyone have a different answer?"

There was no response.

"That's alright." he told us "I don't expect one. I mean, you're just kids, of course you're here to have fun. There's nothing wrong with that."

I couldn't have agreed more.

"But that doesn't mean your opinions can't change."

Until then.

"How does that happen?" asked Ethan.

"When the right time comes for it, you'll know." he answered.

"Did you have yours?" asked Victor.

"Yes, I did." he answered.

"How did it change you?" asked Shane.

"Well, when I was your age," he began "Let's just say I wasn't making the best decisions. I was failing in school, getting into fights, drinking, smoking, and disrespecting everyone. I didn't care about anything and it had me heading in the worst direction. Then, finally, my parents brought me here. They dropped me off and drove away. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled about it. But once I got more involved and opened up more, I quickly realized just how bad I had let myself go. From that day on, I made a promise to turn my life around, and I haven't looked back since."

He then reached into the collar of his shirt and pulled out a silver Celtic cross necklace from it.

"You see this?" he asked us "I wear it everywhere I go now. Because when I have it on, it makes me feel protected, as if God is with me."

I'm sure we all thought he was exaggerating. But he was right, necklaces like those were far more than just jewelry. They were symbols of our sacredness. Medals of our worship.

"I want you to do something for next week." he continued "I want you to go out and buy one of your own. Ask your folks for some money and find whichever kind you'd like. Then, bring them back here so you can show them to me."

"Why?" I asked, "We haven't done anything."

"Not yet." he answered "But sooner or later, you're going to, and when that day comes, you're going to need his forgiveness, and these are how we thank him for it. They're the very first step of getting closer to him. So, do we have a deal?"

"Sure." I said.

"Okay." said Shane.

"Fine." said Ethan.

"Alright." said Victor.

Daryl remained silent, too shy to answer.

"What about you Daryl?" Hunter asked him "Does that go for you too?"

"Yeah." he quietly answered.

"Good."

None of us knew where this year was going to take us. For the most part, we were just along for the ride, to simply have a great time. Then again, we had already gotten a basic idea of what was in store, and by the looks of it, I think it's safe to say we were highly unprepared.