JOSHUA BOOK 2: THE TIES THAT BIND

CHAPTER 7: COLLEGE/ ATTACK OF THE CLONES PART I

FRESHMEN YEAR

Joshua applied for fall semester classes at Ohio State University later on in the year. He planned to major in theater and to study the human body so he would know what was going on inside his heart and take extra steps to ensure that he stayed hydrated and on top of things if risks were involved. He also was training in the Mystic Arts in the place Mordo was showed him in Kathmandu called Kamar-Taj, and whenever he could, he would study shields, spells and weapons.

But Joshua was well-known for being a pacifist, and no one could argue that in time, Joshua would become one of the most powerful sorcerers under the Ancient One, preferring negotiations over war. He would soon become a Master of the Mystic Arts in under a year, always had been a fast learner.

Mary went to OSU as well to study nursing and theater. She studied nursing so that when Joshua's heart was acting up, she would know what to do and take immediate action. She was also pregnant. She and Joshua had experimented with making love by accident and as a result, here she was about a month pregnant and loving motherhood. Joshua was at first shocked, but then he was over the moon with happiness with the news of becoming a new father.

Liam once again was training for the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games after winning another gold medal in the 1984 Olympics in Men's track and field. Maria was now four years old, and ready to start preschool. Miranda became a stay at home mother as soon as Maria enrolled at William Patrick Day Preschool.

Rebecca had become a school teacher's assistant, while David and Tammie were happily married. Joanne became a singer part time and was available to her family all the time. Chloe, not long after Andrea had been abducted, had been taken as well, but it was not McCoy. The police had given her up for dead.

Keisha and Jackson stayed down in Atlanta Georgia to take care of their sick grandmother and sadly, she had passed of natural causes. Joshua and Mary along with Miranda and Sunny went down there for the funeral and expressed their condolences to their friends and their family. Soon thereafter, Keisha and Jackson stayed in Atlanta and enrolled at the university there.

Sunny went to New York City to enroll in a beauty school to study hair and cosmetics and to eventually come back to Lakewood and apply what she had learned.

Nadia was now enrolling at Harding Middle School at 10, and so was Lily at 9 years old. They both had grown three or four inches, and before Joshua and Mary left for college, the couple gave them advice on middle school and high school.

"Don't worry about the way you look and dress. Just be yourselves; you don't have to pretend you're someone else." Joshua said of middle school. "Don't lie to others because you'll lose friends that way."

"Yeah, and don't join any popular group that will just talk nasty about you behind your back." Mary instructed. "It's brutal and you could get hurt. Just ignore them and go your own way. Oh, and don't ever join a gang."

"Gangs are violent and someone is bound to get hurt or killed. They're vicious, they smoke, and they drink, make poor choices and carry weapons." Joshua warned. "If you go up against a gang member, tell an adult. If an adult is not there, then you scream as loud as you can. Remember Andrea and what she had to go through, and my situation back almost three years ago."

"Yeah, and now...this is what you do when you're in high school," Mary added. "Keep in mind what we said about being you, telling the truth, joining cliques and gangs. It still applies to high school as well. if you see someone cute, call me and I'll give you tips on how to catch him." the older sister winked.

"Whatever you do, don't get pregnant. You're still way too young, and that's what happened to Liam and Miranda." Joshua said turning red with embarrassment.