It was like any other day at youth, yet it wasn't. It was one of my last few youth meetings till I had to start college. The sand slowly falling down in the hourglass of time, dwindling till almost noting was left. It was a nice winter evening, the sun was slowly sitting on the calm day. A few flakes of snow fell from the sky, dancing around the chilly air as I walked to youth.
It was well below the freezing point, around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. It was really cold. I pressed my nose into my red scarf, trying to keep my face warm. Fog covered my sunglasses as I breathed into my old scarf. Pushing my hands further into my pockets, hoping for some warmth as I finally stepped onto the sidewalk.
The joy and relief I felt as I stepped into the warmth of the church, that was a good fifty degrees warmer, made me feel safe and at peace. I pulled the door behind me shut, making sure it didn't make too much noise. The lights were all on and the youth room was rather quiet, informing me that the normal loud mouths weren't here this afternoon.
Smiling to myself, knowing that the normal loudness and annoying teenagers wouldn't being pushing my buttons, nor ignoring the very clear rules. Taking a deep breath, I adjusted the bag that hung from my shoulder the extended to my mid thigh. It held my HP notebook laptop and some copy paper.
I briskly walked down the hall and turned left into the next hall way that held the bathrooms and kitchen area. The church building was rather quiet, which I found rather strange. Brushing it off as having gotten there early, or that the cold was causing the others to be late, I entered the Kitchen.
It was strangely empty. Normally Ralph would be there cooking the youth dinner. Why was the door unlocked and the lights on, but no one was here.I hurried into the Fellowship hall to find it empty as well.
Unease built up in my chest till a familiar clang filled my ears. I perked up and raced to the door to find Ralph holding a bag with Pizza and another with juice. A sigh of relief left me, though I don't know why.
"Konichiwa Oji-san!" I teased. The man frowned at my use of the asian language that only I knew, if you counted knowing as the small amount that I had figured out.
"Maggie," he greeted. I smiled slightly as followed him to the kitchen.
It wasn't long after that everyone began filtering in. Della, who brought Isabella, and Wesley came next. Della and Wesley's farther, Eddie, arrived a few moments later. Next came the pastor's children, Eugenia, Justin and Paul. Lastly came Michal and Nolan.
It was a normal sunday youth meeting. Small.
Wednesdays were when everyone came to youth. Those days were the loudest and most trying days. Sunday meeting were my favorite, they were far more peaceful and quiet, well as quiet as a group of teenagers could ever be.
I sat at one of the many tables, listening to the guys chatter about video games and the latest Star Wars movie. The girls sat at another table chatting about something I couldn't quite catch, not that I really cared. My mind still was stuck on the unlocked door.
Had someone forgotten to lock it after church that morning? Had the Pastor, Brother Joe, unlocked the door to do something and had simply forgotten to relock it after he was done?
"Maggie?" Michal called out, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked up at my younger cousin to see what he had wanted.
"What?" I asked him softly. The boy smiled slightly before asking his question.
"Where are your sisters at?" he asked. The other boys looked over at me with a downwards angle. I sighed softly, figured.
"At home being lazy and not wanting to go outside cause it's too cold," I muttered before resting my head on my crossed arms. The scent of cooked Pizza filtered through the air. It wouldn't take much longer till dinner was ready.
The boys continued on with their conversation about what they were talking about, wasn't actually paying attention. A beep flared loudly, echoing through the church. But not loud enough to cause a reaction to the talking teens.
Beep. Beep. Beep
