Lay Me Down

Chapter Four

I was awakened by the nagging alarm clock my Aunt Sally had given me for Christmas last year. At the time, an alarm clock was pretty cool, but now that I had to use it...

"Katrina! Get up! You'll be late for school!" My father hollered to me from the kitchen downstairs.

I groggily sat up and slumped over to the closet to pick out an outfit. The winner from my selection was a blue 3/4 length sleeve T-shirt, a pair of tan kaki's and black flats. After I got dressed, I grabbed my book bag from the corner of my room and zombie walked down the steps.

I sloshed into the kitchen and sat at he table, groggily rubbing my eyes as my mom put a feast of bacon, eggs and pancakes in front of my face. My eyes popped open at the scent of freshly cooked meat and butter-soaked pancake batter.

I went to dig in, but my mom slapped my hand.

"Ah, ah ah," she said wiggling her forefinger. "Pray first. It makes the meal better for you."

I remembered an felt ashamed. I closed my eyes and bowed my head. I weaved my fingers together and whispered my prayer. "Dear Lord, thank you for this food in front of me. Please bless this day and help me have a great first day at my new school and make a few friends. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."

As soon as I finished, I shoveled pancakes into my mouth. My mom made the best pancakes in the whole world. Then I remembered, my dad had a job, but did my mom?

"Hey, mom?" I asked through syrup filled chews. "Dad has a job, but what about you?"

My mom laughed. "I'm gonna be staying at home for a while. Dad will work to usual times, but my job will be staying home and being here for you after school."

"But aren't you taking me every day and picking me up?" I asked, worried she might have changed her mind.

"Yes, sweetheart, no bus system comes to this neighborhood," she explained.

"Oh." Phew! I thought. I didn't like riding the bus. Kids always yelled nasty words and some made fun of you for getting off at a private Christian school. But this one is public... I told myself. I shook my head. Morning grogginess usually made me think random junk for no reason.

I finished my breakfast and filled my empty book bag with pencils, folders and a book or two. I didn't really know what to expect, so I kept my utensils to a minimum.

As I finished, my mom was already in the car, beeping the horn at me. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. My mom was always one for being early. School didn't start for another hour, and she was all gassed up and ready to go.

I walked down the sidewalk and out of the corner of my eye I see the same banged up old truck illegally going through a stop sign. I quickened my pace and slammed the passenger side door as fast as I could.

Luckily my mom didn't notice anything. "You ready sweetheart?" She questioned.

I nodded, still watching the truck. It seemed strange, alien like almost. The men inside of it were scarred and tattooed so much you could barely make out their skin pigments.

"School is going to be alright, you'll see," my mom stated, backing out of the garage. "This is an opportunity to share with others the gospel and help them towards a new and better life!"

I smiled and buckled my seatbelt. That was true. New relationships lead to new believers and new believers lead to saved souls.

But I still had a bad sensation flowing through my head.

Please Lord, help us remain safe.