Devil in Church

Before You

Sunday mornings are always the longest of the week, I was in the church before the sun even began to break the horizon, folding pamphlets as mother set out baked goods, dad preparing the oddly alert choir.

Father Thomas sat in one of the front pews, bible in hand as he dog eared pages and mumbled to himself. He was a passionate man, widely loved throughout the community. I watched him work as I folded, the stack growing slowly taller beside me.

"Ellie, what do you think about Proverbs 3:3-4 for today's preachings? We haven't spoken on love in our faith in a while" Father Thomas inquired, looking up from his bible with weathered blue eyes. I silently held out my hand, a small gesture he followed with ease. The heavily annotated bible weighed a bit, I steadied it in my lap, looking over the highlighted proverb. I read the words out loud silently, the words familiar from the countless times I was to read the bible.

"Well Father, I think it's a good choice. You can never go wrong with the teachings of love." I said, handing the bible back. He smiled his usual wide one, a non verbal thanks as he dived back into the book. With pamphlets finished, I wandered outside just as the sun had finally made its way into the sky.

I leaned against the building, frigid temperatures biting my nose as I watched birds fly between trees. I find myself wishing I was a bird yet again, wanting to leave this and go with the currents of the wind.

Church was something I put a polite smile forward for since the day I could remember, the faith people had so strongly I never found, but god forbid I went against it. The church was a second house for my parents, they had no issues raising me in between dedications to events and holidays.

I was ripped from my thoughts by a gentle bump of the shoulder, I looked over, Jordan stood there bundled up. His bright blue eyes accented with heavy bags, a hat thrown over clearly unbrushed hair.

"Had a feeling I'd find you out here," he said, leaning on the wall next to me, blowing into his cupped hands. Jordan Fish, my best friend since we had both been in diapers. His parents were just as big of Jesus freaks as mine, so we spent Sunday mornings in the church together. Keeping each other sane from drowning sermons.

"Folded those stupid phamplets in record time so I thought id get some fresh air before 3 hours of sitting in that dusty church" I said, pulling off my own mittens and handing them to Jordan. He silently thanked me and pulled them on his hands, glancing around the corner.

"Well the good news is Lee promised to swing by afterwards" Jordan reminded me, Lee, the third musketeer of our odd trio. While he and his family weren't church goers, in school his oddball attitude fit perfectly with ours. Before elementary was over we had become inseparable, and now as seniors we were thick as thieves.

"And he mentioned a winter bash at the Delta Nu frat" Jordan added, wiggling his brows. I felt a smile pull at my lips, a mix of Jordans dumb expression and the thought of booze making my mood hundreds times better. I lightly threw punches into his arm in excitement, him blocking them lazily as he laughed.

"Well let's get to prayin! We got some sinning to do later" I joked, we both laughed, making our way back inside the church. People had begun to file in, finding the usual spots they did time and time again, Jordan and I followed suit. We sat in the back most left pew, now moving topics to a dreaded math quiz coming up this week. Despite the talk of notes and theories, the excitement of a party lingered in the back of my mind.

Church carried on like usual, Father Thomas had his big emotional sermon, Dad led the choir through the same old hymns, and we all stood around and nodded to pleasantries afterwards. Jordans parents and mine always chatted up after service, both Jordan and I standing idly by while they chatted.