The Chronicles of Jo-kiel

SIX: Jophiel

"Okay, Mary finally brought the letters" Ruth announced the moment I walked out of the bathroom and I shook my head. "I'm so tempted to report that she brought it a day later than she was meant to" she extended one of the letters to me and I took it from her.

I walked over to my bed and plopped down on it with a grunt before I began opening the letter, "to be honest," I paused "I don't feel like reading this. It's probably one crappy apology letter and I'm better off without it" I tossed the letter aside and laid down. Today was Saturday and there were no classes. We had a church service in the morning and that was it. It's currently 1 pm and all I've done was lazy around. I pulled the duvet over me.

I groaned and turned to the other side of the bed, there was nothing to do. It's scary to be so free, something bad always happens when one gets an opportunity to relax and they do relax. I can testify to that. The one time they left me alone for three days straight, I thought I could finally rest my nerves and relax. But they barged in the very next minute, and that day it wasn't just them.

It was them and three other men.

I struggled to catch a breath as their laughter resonated in my ear and their faces flashed before my eyes. I immediately peered the duvet off my body when it began to feel like their hands on my body.

"Are you done reading the book of Luke as President said?" Ruth's voice rang in my ear and instantly cleared up the images that were conjured in my mind.

I let out a shaky breath and slowly turned to her, my lips tugged up in a tight-lipped smile.

"I read it all during study time yesterday" her eyebrows shot up and I chuckled nervously.

"You didn't study your notes and revise all you learned in your classes?" I shrugged and shook my head. Truth was, there was nothing to revise. I didn't take notes cause I didn't have the materials to.

Ruth shook her head and sighed, "Basileia is a tough school, Jophiel, and you have to be serious or you'll be repeating a lot of classes. Or even worse, expelled. There's nothing wrong with reading your Bible, but there's a time for everything." she reprimanded and I lowered my gaze in shame.

"I'm sorry"

She stood up from her bed and rushed over to me with her arms raised. My entire body instantly tensed up and I recoiled from her. "Hey, I'm not going to hit you," she said I slowly looked up at her and she had a look of hurt on her face.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to hug you" I immediately let out a breath and gave her a curt nod before she slowly and cautiously wrapped her arms around me. She took that opportunity and sat on my bed with her arms still wrapped around me. "I'm sorry if I scared you" she apologized and I bobbed my head stiffly.

"You know it's been like 2 days since you came to this school, and we are already friends but I know nothing about you"

"You didn't ask" I retorted and she gasped dramatically, the corners of my lips tugged up in a smile at her reaction. "Since we are on the topic of knowing each other, who is the dude on those picture frames?" I pointed to her side of the wall, where pictures were pasted everywhere. All of them were pictures of a particular man, but there was a different picture of a couple, whom I assumed were her parents.

"Is he your boyfriend? Because he doesn't look like you nor the couple, but at the same time he looks a little too old to be your boyfriend" I dragged my eyes away from the pictures and turned to her, only to see her staring at me with her eyes wide open and her lips slightly ajar. "Ummm..." I breathed out when a few seconds passed and she was still staring at me like that.

She closed her eyes after a few more seconds and took a deep breath before opening them back up, "are you sure you have never seen that man's picture before?" She asked I glanced at the pictures before I shook my head, and she gasped dramatically. "Ever?" I nodded and she immediately stood up, brought out one of the pictures, and shoved it in my face, "you've never seen this picture before? This is Jesus' picture and I'm sure it's everywhere" the moment she said that I burst into laughter.