The Beckett House

Chapter 20: Home

Kaz's Point of View:

I stuck close to Decker, I'm not sure why it wasn't like he knew what he was doing either but I felt as though if I stuck with him maybe just maybe we would figure it out together. Once we reached the front entrance Brian asked if Finn and Levi would stick around with us but that the rest should go to the gym. Like a row of ducks we followed Keith and Brian into what I assumed to be the front office. We were greeted by a slightly larger woman with rosy cheeks. She had a contagious smile and the sweetest voice. They knew what they were doing when they hired her to work the front office I thought. 

(Keith) - "Good morning to you too, Ms. Evans. Do you happen to have a schedule for Decker Beckett and Kaz Beckett?"

(Ms. Evans) - "Yes sir, right..." She paused as she rummaged through some drawers and stacks of papers on her desk. "here!" She exclaimed once she finally found them. Then she turned her attention to me and my brother. "We are so excited to have you boys here. If you have any problems with your schedule, finding a class, or really anything you just come find me and I'll take care of you."  We nodded our heads but were prompted to verbally respond with a yes ma'am by Brian who nudged us with his elbow.

Keith handed us our schedules I had the basics English, Algebra 1, World History/Geography, P.E. which I noticed Brian taught and my elective was creative writing.

(Brian) - "Keith and I have to go get ready for the day in our classrooms but Finn and Levi you need to show the Beckett boys around but first take them to the gym for morning meeting. You both have late slips just don't forget to turn them into your teachers when you get to class." Decker and I followed Finn and Levi to the gym where it was packed full of kids sitting in the bleachers. It appeared to be separated by gender, girls on the right and boys to the left.

(Finn) - "Every morning all the kids come and gather in the gym. Once the bell rings, Professor Martin will pray and read the verse or piece of scripture of the day. After that we'll break off into groups with our sponsors and talk about it for a bit then pray within the group and we're dismissed from there to go to our classes. Am I missing anything Levi?" 

(Levi) - "Sponsors are just teachers. We get put into groups and each group has two sponsors it's kind of like a homeroom. Here Kaz we sit on this side. Each grade level sits in a designated section on the bleachers."  Reluctantly, I parted ways with Decker and followed Levi up the bleachers. We sat with some of his friends and made our introductions. They all seemed like a good group of kids. Eventually, who I assume to be Professor Martin made his way to the center of the gym. What was once a noisy gym turned into what could be mistaken for a library.

(Pro. Martin) - "Thank you for your attention. Today's Bible verse of the day is Philippians 2 verses 3 through 5. 'Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.'  Before we break off into groups may we bow our heads in prayer. Lord, we come to you today thankful. Thankful for another day full of Your goodness. May we look towards You, Lord, in all we do today in hopes of becoming more like You. We pray for Your guidance and mercy, in Jesus's name Amen." Once the magic word was said the bleachers started to clear out and the conversations began to pick up amongst the other students.

(Levi) - "Hey man, come on. You can join the small group I'm in." As much as I hated to admit it, I was kind of glad Levi was there to help me out. I know he was told to, but it made everything a lot easier for me. I didn't have to walk around like a lost dog with its tail tucked between its legs. In small group they talked about the verses Professor Martin read and what they thought it meant, and what our response should be but after that it was just casual conversation. I kinda felt out of place, they didn't say it but I could tell that this group had been together for a while. It consisted of four other boys: Benjamin, Micah, Diego, and some kid who went by E. Levi later told me his name was really Enoch. There was also the two sponsors Mr. Arthur and Mrs. Sanchez. Mr. Arthur was a younger man who in my opinion looked like he was fresh out of college and couldn't be much older than Axel. He had a much more relaxed and less guarded demeanor than the other teachers around here. I could tell he valued having a relationship with his students and not just demanding their respect. Mrs. Sanchez had that motherly touch to her she was understanding but stern. When one of the boys started playfully kicking another during the conversation she gave 'the look'. You know, the one only moms have. The discussion became dull and the attention turned to me rather quickly. Something I was anything but thrilled about.