Pulling Down Heaven

A meeting, of sorts

As soon as the new boy had sat down, Mr Danforth began droning on in his scratching monotone voice. "Now, today we will be looking at St Paul's letters to the corinthians," the shuffling of turning pages ensued,"John, I see you've forgotten your bible, again?" John Hale looked flustered for a moment until he realised he was not the one being spoken to, "Well, you'll just have to share with Joh- ah." Mr Danforth pushed his small spectacles further up the bridge of his nose and looked at the 2 of them almost disappointedly. "2 Johns. Surnames will have to do I suppose- and Proctor," John scowled up at him,"try not to traumatise the new student too much."

John's chair screeched across the floor until it was positioned where he could comfortably see Hale's bible, and the lesson began.

"So are you like, super religious, or what?" Proctor whispered, leaning forward to study a particularly well read bible, the pages worn and yellowing from years of use. In some places page corners had been folded down, or passages underlined.

"I mean- uh-" Hale stuttered, surprised by Proctors closeness, "I endeavour in all things to be faithful to God." Great, thought Proctor, another crazy religious kid. Danforth's class seemed to attract them in swarms. "Though, I don't agree with the bible in all respects." Hale clarified, but he stretched up his hand to answer one of  Danforth's questions before Proctor could interrogate him further on the subject.

"St Paul, originally called Saul, was an extreme persecutor of the Christian faith for many years. When travelling to disperse a gathering of christians he received a vision from God of a blinding light, and a voice saying 'Saul, why do you persecute me?'. Saul continued to the city and was blind for three days, but had the 'scales' lifted from his eyes by a saint, and from that moment he proclaimed Jesus as the son of god and path to enlightenment. He changed his name to Paul." Hale answered fluidly, confident in his knowledge of the apostle. On the other hand, when Danforth turned to Proctor and asked patronisingly for a second fact on St Paul, he flailed hopelessly through the mire of ignorance.

"He... wrote- he wrote letters to the Corinthians?"
"Very impressive, Proctor. You remember something I told you not five minutes ago. Would anyone else care to enlighten him on the life of St Paul?"

Francis raised his hand. He was the oldest in the class and had always reminded John of a giant stick insect: long, spindly and sickly. Even though he was barely 17, he already dressed like a 90 year old man, and his copy of the bible had been handed down from generation to generation. "St Paul travelled to many countries and is widely believed to be the true founder of the Christian church as we know it today." His voice was hoarse, although Proctor had no idea what from, and he coughed a little after he'd finished speaking.

The class was set out in a wonky circle of brown plastic chairs slightly angled towards Danforth's chair, which was padded with a rough blue material. The hall itself had a varnished wooden floor that was scuffed from years of use and shelves of books along end of the building. The rest of the group session passed without incident, meaning Proctor had successfully avoided or deflected any further questions, and when partner work began, Proctor nudged Hale's chair as a signal that they should work together. They both moved their chairs around until they were facing each other, and the rest of the class moved off to sit in 2s or 3s.

"What do you mean 'don't agree with the bible in all respects'?" Proctor's curiosity got the better of him and he moved straight back to their previous conversation. Hale, however, ignored the question and looked at him quizzically.

"Do you know your commandments?" Proctor froze.

"Yeah, I- I am sure I do."

"Let you repeat them, if you will."

Proctor shook his head at the strange manner of speech and began to count on his fingers. He might not be as dedicated as the other students but he wasn't stupid- Hale was testing him. "Thou shalt not kill."

"Yes,"

"Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours goods, or- or make unto thee any graven image." He paused to scratch his wrist, deep in thought; Hale watched attentively, "Thou shalt not take the name of the lord in vain. Thou shalt have no Gods before me. Thou shalt..." another, longer pause, "Thou shalt remember the sabbath day and keep it holy, and- uh- not bear false witness. And, um- thou shalt not commit adultery." He counted back over his fingers. One missing. He cursed in his head and wiped a suddenly clammy palm on his jeans. "Thou shalt not make into thee any graven image-"

"You've said that twice,"

"Yeah, I know, I'm just..."

"Thou shalt honour thy mother and father," Hale sounded disappointed, although Proctor couldn't work out why. Surely his first impression hadn't given Hale reason to hope for anything better? And why was this guy making him feel so nervous? It wasn't like he actually believed in all of this crap or anything.

"Of course, of course."  Proctor smiled anxiously, "I think it's a small fault?"

"Theology, Proctor, is a fortress. No crack in a fortress may be accounted small."

With that Hale turned back to study the bible, leaving Proctor even more bewildered than before.