Bzzzt…bzzzt…bzzzt. The alarm went off repeatedly, announcing the arrival of morning. Jake woke up drowsily, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Turning to the alarm, he turned the buzzer off and glanced at the time. It was 6:00 A.M., and today was a Friday. Throwing aside his threadbare covers, he hopped out of bed. His mattress was lopsided because of the wear that the springs had endured for so many years. It was a used mattress, much like the other household articles in his home. Jake's room was scarce, containing only a bed, a dresser of old mahogany that had lost its polish decades ago, a desk missing one leg, and a rack that hung from one wall of his room to the other. He used this rack to hang his outfits on. He only had three, and so there was no want of space for more clothing. Jake picked his favorite outfit off of the rack, a white collared unbuttoned jacket with tattered sleeves, a white undershirt, and white khaki pants. With it, he proceeded to the bathroom. He shared this bathroom with his mother. Hearing his footsteps, Jake's mother, Kathy, opened the door of her room.
"Oh, Jake," she exclaimed, "you're awake. That's good. I made a lunch for you on the counter. It has a ham sandwich, an apple, some celery sticks, a Capri Sun, Fruit Gushers, and a Twinkie."
Kathy walked out, brushing her hair. She, like Jake, had sandy colored hair and a face of fair complexion.
"I'm sorry to be leaving so soon, but you know that I have to be at the preschool at exactly 7:00 A.M. Being late is unacceptable."
"Sure, Mom," Jake replied coolly. "It's cool."
"Are you sure? Are you okay with walking to school again?"
"No prob, Mom. Have a good day at work."
Jake laid his clothes down and embraced his mom, hugging her.
"I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, Jake. Be good at school."
Kathy walked to the kitchen and took the car keys off of the kitchen table. Just before she walked out the door, she turned, remembering something.
"Oh, Jake," she called.
"Yeah, Mom?" Jake replied.
"Don't forget your keys and don't try to come home too late, alright?"
"Gotcha, Mom."
Kathy walked out of the door and to her 1984 Ford sedan. It was an old model, seeing as the year was 2008, but it was all that she could afford. It was a reliable car, however, and it was built to last, unlike many of the newer models on the market.
Jake quickly showered, washed his hair, brushed his hair, cleaned his ears, washed his face, brushed his teeth, shaved, and put on deodorant. After getting his usual morning rituals out of the way, he put on his outfit and went back to his room. Going to his dresser, he pulled out his black belt and black boots. Jake absentmindedly put his belt around the loops of his pants, tightening it. He then put on his boots and tied them.
"What was the topic that we were studying today?" Jake thought, trying to remember. "Oh, yeah. We were studying up on terrain tactics."
Jake fished through the pile of books on his desk and found a bright colored one entitled, The Advantages of Terrain Supremacy. Stuffing it in his backpack, Jake tried to recall what else went on that day.
"We have a partner test today too. Oh, well. I'll just wing it as best I can."
Before leaving his room, Jake went to his dresser and opened it, revealing his most prized possession. It was a special music player. Ever since he became a Christian, he had it programmed to play through the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Every day, it inspired him to live out his Christianity for God and reminded him of God's plan for his life. He was rarely seen without it. Everywhere that he went, he had his headphones on, listening to it. Besides the Bible, he had contemporary worship songs. These helped him to keep his mind focused on God all day long, which was difficult.
Jake took his music player and headphones from the dresser. The music player he placed in one of his jacket pockets, and the headphones he fit snugly around his ears. Going back to his desk, he found his two red gloves and put them on his hands. Lastly, he approached his bed and kneeled, in prayer to God.
"Dear Lord," Jake prayed, "use me today for your glory. Let everything that I say and do be a reflection of your Son, Jesus Christ. I completely surrender my life to you today. I pray that through my actions and words, you would draw others to yourself. In Jesus' name, amen."
After shouldering his backpack, Jake got up and walked to the kitchen, where he found a lunch bag with his name on it. He grabbed it and headed out of his front door. Fishing his keys from his pant pockets, he found the right one and locked the door to his house. Turning on the steps, Jake took his music player and turned it on. Flipping the power switch, it began playing "Creation's Call" by Something Like Silas. The album Divine Inspiration was one of his favorite albums to listen to. Then again, he loved everything that was on his music player. Jake was in such a good mood that he put his player on skip play. Jake glanced at his watch. It was 6:35 now. It would take him at least an hour and twenty minutes to get to school, if he walked fast enough. Jake lived in the suburbs of town, twelve miles away from Omega Land Academy. It was a long walk, but Jake enjoyed the exercise. Listening to the words to the song, his steps fell into its rhythm.
"All my voice, all my heart couldn't capture the beauty of His arms: perfect holiness. All the glory, all the light flows from his omnipotent might, that the Heavens sing…"
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Before he knew it, Jake arrived at Omega Land Academy. A quick look at his wristwatch told him that it was 7:50, just enough time to walk upstairs to Room 211, Commander Jess's room. The bell rang shortly after he entered Room 211, and he took his seat in the front row.
"Good morning, class," Commander Jess greeted. "As you all may well know, Instructor Lash ran into an unexpected problem in one her experiments yesterday. I will be your substitute. She sends her apologies, but the terrain test is still underway."
Groans arose from the class.
"Aww, don't be sad," Commander Jess said. "You get all of first period to review for it, and to make it more interesting, I will have you all conduct team battles to finish the test off. The winners will receive twenty-five extra credit points each."
Cheers and applause rang out from all of the students.
"Alright, everyone. Let's get to work! Um, Jake?"
"Yes, Commander," Jake answered.
"School has begun. You are not allowed to listen to your music player. All electronic devices are to be turned off and put away during class time, unless permission is granted."
"Yes, Commander." Jake finished listening to Jesus' exhortations on being a servant and turned his music player off. Jake carefully put his headphones into another one of his jacket pockets. A few students behind him snickered, but he didn't mind. Opening his backpack, he pulled out the terrains textbook. Skimming the chapters that his class had went through for the pass few weeks, he refreshed his memory. All of the concepts were easy for him because he studied. Plains, roads, woods, mountains, pipes, pipe joints, rivers, seas, shoals, reefs, bridges, missile silos, headquarters, cities, bases, airports, ports, communication towers – he knew about them all and the effects that they had in a battle. He knew which ones offered the most cover, which ones made you the most vulnerable, which ones were practicably invisible in fog of war, which ones allowed the most movement, and everything else about the terrains.
"Piece of cake," Jake thought to himself. "I'm going to own this test!"
Jake looked around at the other students. Most of them, like Max, were goofing off. Others were simply chatting about mundane topics. Some were even napping. Scanning the room, he saw Colin, a small cadet from Blue Moon. He wore a blue uniform with red stripes around his hat, around his sleeves, and down his pant legs. He was the brother of the famous Sasha from Blue Moon. Colin and Sasha had the reputation of being rich, and they used this to their advantage in battles. Colin, now, was frantically flipping through pages, desperately trying to memorize the various terrains. From the look on his face, you could tell that none of it was sticking in his brain. Colin realized that he needed help. He forgot to study for the exam because he didn't write it down in his planner. Sasha had told him repeatedly to do so, but it slipped his mind. Looking around, he tried to find someone who would help him. Sighting Max, an impressive Commander from Orange Star, he sought his help.
"E-Excuse m-me," Colin mumbled.
Max looked down at Colin, angry at having his conversation interrupted.
"What do you want, twerp?" he snarled.
"C-could you h-help me with my terr-terrain tactics, th-that is i-if you aren't bu-busy with…"
"Beat it, shrimp," Max interrupted. "Can't you see I'm busy talking here? Now, go away!"
Max continued his conversation with Grimm, leaving Colin to slink back to his chair. After taking such a rejection from Max, he was afraid to ask anyone else for help. Now that he thought about it, nobody liked him that much. Sure he was rich, but he had a terrible problem with stuttering, and a miserable self-courage. In battles, all that he did well was bargain for troops. He was able to secure decent troops and save money, but the low prices paid showed in the performance of his troops. They had weaker firepower and defense than normal Commanding Officers had. For this reason, nobody really wanted anything to do with him, especially haughty COs (Commanding Officers) like Max. Commander Jess was busy preparing the test. Sasha was in a higher-level course. Colin had no one to turn to. He was a military outcast. Colin hung his head and started to sob. No one would help him. Why would anyone want to help a puny and pathetic CO like him? As his first tear fell down his face, he felt a hand touch his shoulder behind him. Turning slowly, he saw a teenager with sandy-colored hair and a fair complexion smile at him. He was taller than him, and he was an Orange Star CO by the colors that he wore, which were red and white.
"Sup, dude?" Jake greeted. "You alright?"
"No," Colin wailed. "I f-forgot to study for the t-test today. I d-don't know a-anything, and n-nobody will help m-me."
Colin broke into tears anew. Jake tried to calm him down.
"Whoa, whoa there. S'okay. All you've got to do is chill. No worries. I'll help you out."
"You will?"
"Sure. I'll sit with you and make sure that you understand every terrain that we know so far. Then you can ace the test and be happy! Nuff said?"
"Okay," Colin said, wiping away his tears. "Thanks. I'm Colin from Blue Moon."
"Name's Jake, from Orange Star. Nice to meet you."
"Alright, first off, I don't understand the difference between pipes and pipe joints."
"That's easy. Pipes are rock solid. You can't destroy them. You're only luck is to skirt round em. The weak points in pipes are the pipe joints. Blast them, and you can move troops between the broken seams. It also helps to break pipe seams when piperunners are around. With their long barrels, they're able to rain down some hot death, but I can brief you on them later. Anything else you want to know?"
"Actually, yes."
Colin and Jake spent the rest of the period in a Q & A session. On difficult concepts that Colin didn't understand well, Jake gave him examples on a battle simulator in the room. Jake patiently engaged all Colin's questions, helping him to understand the terrains so that he could better memorize them. Jake helped Colin learn all of terrains just before the second bell rang, announcing the arrival of second period.
"Alright class," Commander Jess said. "Second period is here, and you know what that means? It's time for the test. Everyone return to their seats, and I'll hand them out to you."
Jake walked back over to his seat, turning to Colin and giving him a thumbs-up sign. Colin was happy for Jake's help. He also felt comfortable around Jake. For some reason, his stutter problem went away when he talked with Jake.
"The questions are worth five points each, and they're multiple choice," Commander Jess instructed as she passed out the tests. "Each test has a total of twenty questions on it, so I expect you all to do well. Remember, if you do happen to miss five or less questions, you can make them up by being the first place team in the Team Battle later on."
Max was cocky and arrogant, along with another CO named Grimm. Grimm was a Yellow Comet CO. Both of them were known for their incredible power. Since everyone picked their partners, both Grimm and Max decided not to answer five of the questions purposely. For all they cared, that was five questions less to worry about. They had a decent knowledge of terrains, but they could care less. Even if they scored a C, which was average for them, they could raise it up a letter grade by winning the Team Battle.
Everyone worked furiously on the test and handed them in. The two highest scores were Jake and Colin with no questions missed. Many of the other COs received anywhere from A-s to B-s. Max and Grimm, however, scored grades of D+. After hearing their scores, they shrugged and were confident that they could raise their grades to C+s.
"Alright, everyone. The time has come to choose partners for the team battles. Everyone get into groups of two. If you don't get into a group of two, you could fight alone."
Colin developed another anxiety attack. His grade on the test was fine, but he wasn't too good with picking partners. If he fought by himself, he wouldn't last one minute against anybody. He didn't want to face anymore humiliation for losing battles."
"Hey, dude," Jake said to Colin, smiling. "Want to be partners?"
"Sure," Colin replied. "I'd be glad too."
"Alright. The first match will be between Team Max and Team Adder. Both teams can now approach the training simulator."
To put it bluntly, Max and Grimm layed the smackdown on Adder and Coal. Coal was a road warrior, and Adder was known for his troops' swift movement, but the combined might of Max and Grimm overwhelmed them.
"Ha harr," Grimm laughed. "They don't call me Lightning Grimm for nothing. Who's next? I'm ready to crack some more heads."
"Take it easy," Max told his partner. "Save some for me. I don't want you to have all the fun."
"Okay, Team Adder is now out," Commander Jess exclaimed. "The next match up will be between Team Max and Team Rachel."
The match ended up just like the last one. One by one, each of the teams fell to Team Max's power, until only one team was left.
"Man, these matches are too easy," Max huffed. "Those twenty-five extra credit points are in the bag."
"Ha ha harr," Grimm laughed. "Only one more team to beat."
"Last up to face Team Max will be Team Colin," Commander Jess announced.
Colin and Jake rose from their seats and approached the training simulator.
"U-um, I d-don't know if w-we should go up a-against Team M-Max," Colin mumbled to Jake.
"S'cool man," Jake reassured him. "Don't worry. You and I could totally take it to these dudes. All we've got to do is strategize. Now, I've got an idea. Here's what we'll do…"
Jake proceeded to whisper a plan in Colin's ear that utilized both of their strengths, allowing for both of them to also cover each other's weaknesses.
"Enough stalling, losers!" Max blurted out. "You're only prolonging your defeat."
"Ha harr, you're both about to enter Grimm's world of pain!" Grimm told them.
"Remember what I told you, Colin," Jake said to him, giving him a wink. Colin returned the wink and boldly took control of his army.
"Are both teams ready?" Commander Jess asked. Both teams nodded. "Okay, let the battle commence!"
The simulator turned on, revealing the standard battlefield. Both teams had a total of two bases, five cities, and one headquarters. The map was mostly a vast plain. One main road connected the properties of both teams, but it was a long road. Heavily wooded areas were dispersed a little ways from the road all across its length. Woods also surrounded each team's property.
Max commanded his team's army first. He didn't hesitate to build two tanks the first day. Max was all about the offensive. He didn't want to have a long, drawn out battle. All that he desired was to roll his tanks in and thrash his enemy. Colin, however, had a different strategy in mind. Colin's specialty was in purchasing troops. He had a knack for finding bargain basement prices, which saved his team a lot of money. Unfortunately, the troops performed poorly, lacking the power and defense that normally bought troops had. That's where Jake came in. Jake was an adept fighter in the plains. His skill was unmatched whenever anyone fought him on that type of terrain. Colin's role was to furnish a few decoy tanks, infantry, and artillery, while building heavy hitters behind the scenes. Colin was able to build two tanks to start off with.
The second day, Max advanced his two tanks on the main road and built two more tanks. Colin, after acquiring more funds, built two artillery units. The two tanks that he had built before, he advanced onto the main road.
On the third day, Max continued to advance his tanks and built a tank and a Md. (Medium) tank.
"Oh, yeah," Max said. "The fun's really about to begin now."
Colin was a little unnerved by Max's overconfidence but still calm. Today, Colin didn't build anything. He hoped that he and Jake's preconceived plan would work.
The battle drew on with both teams building until Max had amassed an assault force of ten tanks, seven Md. Tanks, and one Neo Tank. His troops had taken sporadic fire from Colin's artillery, so he decided to wait just outside of indirect unit range.
"Ha ha ha," Max laughed with glee. "You can all kiss your units good-bye. Dual Strike!"
Dual Strike is a term used for a technique where two COs use their strongest CO powers alternatively in one turn. Max opened the Dual Strike with Max Blast. Immediately, the firepower of each of his tanks rose greatly. Colin's small force that blocked Team Max's way to their HQ was obliterated with ease. Max swapped with Grimm, allowing the Yellow Comet CO to use his CO power, Haymaker. Haymaker gave Grimm's troops so much firepower that Max's firepower paled in comparison. Grimm had a daredevil and impetuous nature. His units, consequently, had incredible strength. Grimm used his turn to move all of his units into Team Colin's area and sent in an infantry unit to capture the HQ. Within one more day, their victory would be complete.
"Heh heh," Max chuckled. "You both are all washed up. There's no way you can win now. What do you say to that?"
"I'll show you what I can do," Colin replied. "Dual Strike!"
Colin opened up with Power of Money. This CO power attributed each of his units with power in proportion to the funds that he had. In short, the more money he had, the more power his troops gained after using his CO power. All throughout the battle he had been saving money. Now, that money was going to be put to good use. Colin unleashed the power of his rockets that he hid in the forests around his team's region and along the road. Team Max was so bent on taking the fight to their enemy that they didn't probe the forests for potential indirect combat units. Furthermore, Grimm had a downside to his unprecedented offensive power. He was totally weak when it came to defense. His units were severely weakened by Colin's indirect firepower. The infantry unit that Grimm dispatched to secure their enemy's HQ was destroyed. Grimm also lost three tanks and one Md. Tank. The rest of his units lost hit points. It got worse for Grimm and Max. Seven Neo Tanks (a formidable tank that is virtually unstoppable in land battles) swarmed out of the wooded areas surrounding Team Colin's region. They destroyed any unit that happened to be in their way. This caused Grimm the loss of four more tanks, two Md. Tanks, and his Neo Tank. Finally, a Mega Tank rolled out of the woods (a gargantuan of a tank; this tank was the strongest land force available to date). It wiped out a Md. Tank before Colin ended his turn by switching with Jake.
"Back on the front lines," Jake said, more to himself than anyone else. Using his CO power, Block Rock, the firing range of his units increased by one and their movement range increased by two. All of his units on the plains also received a substantial boost in firepower. Jake easily crushed the remaining forces of Team Max and sealed Team Colin's victory.
"The victors are, Jake and Colin," Commander Jess announced. "Congratulations! I will add twenty-five extra credit points to both of your tests. Great job on your use of terrain tactics. I can tell that you both have studied hard."
"I w-won!" Colin said in disbelief. "Whew!"
"Rock!" Jake said smiling. "We won."
"You two got lucky," Max said, brimming with anger.
"Max," Commander Jess warned. "Don't talk with that tone in my classroom. Jake and Colin won fair and square. You were a little too reckless with your strategies. That's all that can be said."
"Grrr," Max growled. "I'll get them outside then," he said to himself. Grimm noticed Max's rising anger and laughed.
"Bad mood. Oh, yeah!" Grimm said.
"Well, class," Commander Jess addressed her class. "That concludes school for the day. That was a big test, and Lash didn't have any new material for you to learn yet, so you are all free for the day, and you have no homework. The rest of school is getting out early too, so enjoy the rest of your day and your weekend. I'll see you all next week."
All of the students packed up their things and prepared to leave. After putting away his textbook and shouldering his backpack, Jake put his headphones on. He was just about to turn on his music player when he heard Colin speaking to him.
"Hey, Jake," he exclaimed. "Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?"
"Not really," Jake replied. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, I don't know. I thought that maybe we could hang out or something. We could go somewhere to eat and do something fun."
Both Jake and Colin moved toward the door of the classroom and walked out into the hallway.
"Well, I'd love to take you somewhere, but I've got no funds. I'm broke."
"Oh, that won't be a problem. I have plenty of money. All I have to do is get a hold of my sis, and she should be able to arrange a chauffeur for us. Hold on just a sec," Colin said as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Colin dialed a number and held the phone up to his right ear.
"Hello, Sasha? … Yes, it's Colin. I was just wondering if I could invite a friend over to… Did I forget about the engagement? What engagement? … Oh, the royal family dinner at 11:00 A.M. … I'm sorry sis, I did forget. I wrote it down and everything… You're right. Maybe a better time will come around for me to invite a friend over… Okay, I understand the urgency. I'll be out in the parking lot as soon as I can. Good-bye."
Colin tapped a button ending the call.
"My sister said that we had an official dinner today for family only," he told Jake. "It slipped my mind, just like the terrain tactics test."
"S' alright, dude. No worries. I'll just chill at the school for a hot minute. Then, I'll probably just head home."
"I'm really sorry. I wish I could spend some time with you today. Hey, maybe we can do something tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I don't have anything then."
"Alright, let's shoot for tomorrow then."
"Do you have a cell number I could call?"
"Not really. Send me an email. I usually spend lots of time in the local library by my house."
"Okay, I'll do that then." Colin finished putting his books away in his locker and put his empty backpack on his shoulder. He closed his locker and turned to leave. Before going outside to the main parking lot where his sister Sasha was waiting, he turned around.
"Hey, Jake. Thanks for being my friend," Colin said.
"Any time, Colin. Make sure you send me that email, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."
"Alright. Good-bye."
"Bye."
Colin rushed outside, excited about having a friend. Jake simply smiled and put his terrain textbook away. Jake turned his music player back on to hear the words of Jesus speaking about loving your enemies rather than hating them. Jake stuffed his music player back into one of his jacket pockets, took out his lunch, and closed his locker. Lo and behold, there stood Max and Grimm.
"Sup, Max," Jake greeted. "Hey, Grimm. What's shakin?"
"Don't try to play things off as if nothing happened in class today, Jake," Max snapped. "You cheated somehow in the battle simulation; I know you did. Tell me how you did it, and I might let you go easy."
"Look, I didn't cheat. Cheating is weaksauce. Colin and I just used a little strategy, that's all."
"'Used a little strategy,' eh?" Grimm repeated. "The way I see it, you've got two ways that you can answer the question. You can take the easy way: telling us how you cheated and accepting a few minor blows, or you could not tell us and suffer extreme pain." Grimm ground one of his fists into the other to prove his point. Jake was not about to back down. He was telling the truth, and there was no way that he'd lie just to get out of a pickle. Jake had been in these sort of predicaments before, but he wasn't a Christian back then, in about the 2nd grade or so. Jake was also familiar with fights. Before he met Christ, Jake was a troublemaker. He didn't care a lick about anybody else's opinion or views. All that he did was cut everyone off with his headphones, and when he didn't like any particular thing about anybody, he gave prior warning as to the time of day and the place where a rumble would go down. Jake wasn't a bad fighter either. He a reputation for beating teenagers with bodies up to three times bigger than his was.
"Listen, dudes," Jake reasoned with them. "I didn't cheat. Cheating is for losers who can't really think of any other way to take but the wrong way. I don't know what the problem is between you two and me, but I want it to end."
"Oh, do you now?" Max asked, cracking his knuckles with pleasure. "Well, I think that we'll be happy to oblige."
Grimm got behind Jake and locked arms with him so that he couldn't move. Jake offered no resistance. Instead, he stared Max in the eye, coolly.
"Alright, Jakey," Max sneered contemptuously. "Here's for all of the times that you made me feel stupid in class with your smart answers and intelligent questions."
Max balled his right hand into a fist and swung it hard into Jake's solar plexus (stomach). Jake doubled over in pain, but gradually was able to stand up straight again.
"Ready for more? Here's for your sorry, no good, miserable enrollment here at OMA."
Max now balled up his left hand and swung it into Jake's stomach. Jake felt even more pain this time, and it took him longer to straighten up again. By now, a small crowd had gathered around the scene. At first, the crowd was excited to see a fight, and the size of the audience grew. As time grew on, everyone could tell that Jake wasn't fighting back. This not only turned off the crowd's desire for a good brawl, but it also caused the crowd to have sympathy on Jake. What kind of ruthless monster beats up a victim that doesn't even fight back? They thought about Jake's change in personality lately and how he had done nothing to offend anyone. Some even recalled the awesome match up last class period, and how Jake and Colin, two of the unlikeliest teams in the academy, trounced two of the roughest and toughest COs around. Many of them were glad that Team Colin accomplished this feat. Jake and Colin did what most teams could not, especially to an overconfident and cocky duo of COs. Grimm himself lost interest in torturing Jake.
"Max," Grimm said. "I don't like this anymore. It's not fun. Something doesn't feel right beating up a harmless individual that won't even defend himself." Grimm loosened his hold on Jake. Jake now had a bloody nose, a black eye, and he coughed up blood.
"Just a minute," Max replied. "I'm not through yet." Max raised his right fist into the air to deliver one final blow when he felt someone's hand grab his right arm like a vice. The hand squeezed so hard that, despite Max's gigantic muscles, circulation was cut off to Max's hand. Max winced in pain as he turned around.
"Preying on the innocent is a testament to your weakness in character," Hawke stated. Hawke was a recent transfer student who served as a security officer during morning school hours. He wore a grey trench coat and black gloves over his hands. He had a calm demeanor and could fix the hardest of knuckleheads with his stare. Hawke was formerly a Black Hole Commanding Officer, but after meeting an Orange Star Commanding Officer named Andy, he had a change of heart so to speak. Hawke now twisted Max's arm so that it was behind his back. Slowly, he pushed Max's arm higher and higher along his back.
"How does it feel to be the innocent one being tortured," Hawke asked.
Max could not even respond. He was in so much pain that only one word would come out of his mouth.
"Mercy," Max whispered. "Mercy!"
"Why should I show you mercy? You who withhold mercy from others now desire it for yourself. Would it be fair for me to give it to you?"
"Jake," Hawke addressed him. "You know the rules here at Omega Land Academy. Those who get into useless fights are punishable by suspension, expulsion, and the addition of more credits required in order to graduate. I've known Max for a while now and have been watching him closely. He hurt you out of pure spite and malice, which are unacceptable at this institution of military training. I leave his fate in your hands. Choose now what his punishment will be and Grimm's as well."
Several onlookers from the crowd brought paper towels, water to wash his mouth out with, and a bag of ice for his black eye. Jake received these gratefully.
"Hold on just a sec," Jake uttered as he went to a water fountain and rinsed the blood from his mouth. Jake returned shortly, holding the ice pack to his left eye. He looked from Max to Grimm and back again. Max was now afraid. His parents had warned him not to get into any trouble at school. He had a history of getting bad grades and visiting the principal's office often. Max's parents were so fed up with him that they told him that if he screwed up once more, they would throw him out of the house. Max knew that his parents never joked around. Any one of the three punishments would put him in a terrible predicament.
"I don't choose any of the punishments," Jake stated calmly.
"What?" Grimm, Max, and Hawke exclaimed.
"Who am I to judge others? I'll leave that up to God. He's the only one that can change people's minds and hearts. Nothing that I did could do that."
"I will respect your wishes, Jake," Hawke stated, "although I do not completely understand your motives myself."
Hawke released his grip on Max's arm, much to Max's relief. Max couldn't believe it. After beating the crap out of Jake, Jake didn't even retaliate when it came to school rules and punishment, which could be way more effective than fists. Had he really scared Jake into not being able to deal out punishment? No. Jake had a strong spirit. It was easy to see. What Max couldn't understand is why Jake allowed Max to make him suffer. Why would he so willingly surrender himself to be beaten and bruised? What did Jake gain from that?
Hawke issued a stern warning to Max and Grimm before he resumed his duties of patrolling the halls. The crowds dispersed and Grimm, deciding that he had had enough excitement for one day, left the premises. Only Jake and Max were left.
"Why did you let me off the hook?" Max asked. "You had the opportunity to repay me for all the wrong and injustice that I've caused you."
"'Vengeance is mine,' says the Lord," Jake recited from memory. "Case and point. God rules everything. He sees all, knows all, and is all-powerful. Why not leave the judging up to him? He doesn't make mistakes like the rest of us, and I'm sure that he'll do a much better job than I ever could."
"That makes since, but why didn't you retaliate just to get revenge?"
"Because that, my friend, is pointless. Jesus taught his followers to love your enemies. If I were to retaliate out of pure anger, what good would that profit me? I wanted the problem between us to be resolved, not exacerbated. Fighting in this instance would only make things worse."
"I still don't follow."
"If you'd like the simple answer, Max, I love you because Jesus Christ loves you. The two greatest commandments that Jesus gave his disciples to follow involved love. He first said to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Second, he said to love others as you love yourself. I believe that love is the one thing that could truly change our war-torn and ravaged world. So much hatred and malice is poured into wars these days that I'm sure that the end of human civilization as we know it is not far away."
"How could you love me after what I did to you?"
"Oh, Jesus was totally owned by sinful men when he died on the cross for everyone's sin. Even though He died one of the most excruciatingly painful deaths, He found it in Himself to love his enemies. I figure that if He could do it, I can do it."
"I still don't understand. How could Jesus love his enemies? How is loving an enemy possible?"
"S'alright, Max. It's a lot to take in. Here," Jake said fishing into one of his jacket pockets and pulling out a pocket-sized version of the New Testament, including Psalms and Proverbs. "Read Matthew, the first book of the New Testament. It talks about the life of Christ from his birth, to his resurrection. It's great stuff. You could ask me about it later too, if you'd like. Fair enough?" Jake asked, handing him the little green book.
"Okay. Oh, and Jake, I'm sorry about earlier and for all the other times that I was mean to you."
"It's cool, Max."
"Are you sure? I wish that there were some way that I could make this up to you."
"Don't worry about it. The fact that we're cool now is enough for me."
"Alright. Well, I guess I'll see you next week then."
"See you then."
Max walked away, opening the small green book of the New Testament, including Psalms and Proverbs, to the first page. Jake went into the boys' bathroom and walked toward the mirror. Taking the bag of ice away from his eye, he examined the purple ring that had formed around it. When he felt it with his fingers, he noticed that it wasn't swollen anymore. Jake smiled and threw the ice bag in the trash. He then put his headphones on and turned the volume up on his music player. Exiting the bathroom, he decided to walk to the school library. It was now 11:45 A.M., and he wanted to check his email and surf the web for a little while. Signing on with his school ID number, he launched the internet browser. To his surprise, Colin had already emailed him. Colin wrote that the dinner ended at 12:00 P.M. and that his sister Sasha had invited him to go to a party. This party started at 1:00 P.M. and went on until 5:00 P.M. All that Jake had to do was send a reply email back stating whether or not he wanted to go. He didn't have anything better to do, so he immediately sent a reply saying that he'd love to go and asking if Colin was going too. After surfing the internet for half an hour more, he received another email from Colin. Colin told Jake that he was to meet Sasha and him in the parking lot. It also said that he couldn't go to the party because it was for adults only who were at least eighteen years of age. This aroused suspicion from Jake, but he resolved to go anyway. Jake closed the web browser and signed off of the library network computer. Jake left the library and sauntered over to the front parking lot of Omega Land Academy. It was a beautiful, bright, and sunny day that day in Omega Land. Jake couldn't help but wonder what the party would be like. Jake's favorite pastime was clubbing, but the right kind. He used to club daily. Going to clubs hyped him up and took his mind off of the troubles of his life, especially after his dad left his mom for another woman. Now, he clubbed a lot less, and was much more controlled in his participation. Jake walked out onto the parking lot and stood, examining the cars driving around.
"Hey, Jake," he heard Colin shout. "Over here."
Jake looked in the direction of the shout, and he saw Colin waving to him from the front seat of a blue Rolls Royce. Jake walked briskly over to the car.
"Jake," Colin said, "you have to meet my sis. Sasha, this is Jake, the guy I told you about. Jake, this is my sister Sasha."
"Nice to meet you, Sasha," Jake said, extending his hand to her.
"The pleasure is all mine," Sasha returned, shaking Jake's hand firmly. Sasha had long dark brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a casual outfit now, rather than her Blue Moon uniform. "Go ahead and hop into the back seat."
Jake hesitated before opening the door and getting in. The car was such an expensive one, with a leather interior and everything else that people like Jake rarely saw. Jake and his mom were on the lower end of the economic spectrum. He feared accidentally messing up any little thing in Sasha's car. If he did, he wouldn't be able to pay for it. He did get in, however, and strapped his seatbelt on.
"First off," Sasha said, backing the car out of its parking spot, "Colin, I'll be dropping you off at Uncle Olaf's. He said that he could use some help with some chores around his house."
"Aww," Colin complained. "Do I have to?"
"Yes. Besides, Uncle Olaf promised that he'd give you something special if you're good and you help him a lot."
"What is it?"
"It's a surprise. You'll have to work in order to find out. You can be sure that you'll enjoy your gift though. I can assure you of that."
It didn't take long for Sasha to reach Uncle Olaf's house and drop Colin off.
"I'll pick you up at 6:00 P.M. sharp, alright Colin?"
"Yes, sis. I'll be here waiting for you."
"Good. Be good and behave yourself."
"I will. Have fun at the party."
"I'll do my best. See you later."
"Good-bye."
Sasha continued to drive until she and Jake reached their destination: Teen Scene. Teen Scene was a club for teenagers. It was frequented by many teens and made good money. Today's party was for the older and more mature teens (18 and up). Sasha and Jake both got out of the car. They walked to the entrance of the club, where they found a guard.
"ID, please," he asked.
Both Sasha and Jake showed the guard their school IDs.
"Right this way," the guard beckoned, opening the door. He led them down a large hallway that had plenty of doors. The guard entered the seventh door on the left, which opened into a large room. Loud music greeted them as the door was opened.
"There you are," the guard said. He then left them and went back to his post. Sasha spotted Sonja, a friend of hers.
"Jake," she said. "I'm sorry, but would you be okay with hanging around by yourself for awhile? I need to talk to my friend about something very urgent."
"Sure thing," Jake said, turning the volume level of his music player higher. "I know my way around clubs."
"Good to hear. If I'm away for longer than expected and you can't find me by the time the party's over, go to the car and wait for me. I will also be taking one of my friends home after the party. Her name is Rachel. She's an Orange Star commanding officer like you. I can introduce you to her later. I'll see you later as well. Bye, Jake."
"Bye, Sasha."
Sasha went over to Sonja and they both started talking. Meanwhile, Jake took in his surroundings. The music blaring was definitely techno rave type music. He did, however, notice that they changed the music to hip hop every other song. All sorts of teenagers were there. A bar in the back accommodated several male and female teenagers who drank shots of martini and alcohol. In the center of the eating tables stood a platform. Female dancers performed on the around poles, dancing for money. To his left, he saw many teens dancing to the techno music, if what they did could be called dancing. Most of them were freak-dancing and others were dancing in ways that computed as sexual foreplay in his mind. Each one of the dancing teens was feeling the music. Jake remembered what it was like to totally get into the music. He could see his old self out there, dancing harder than anyone else and not caring what anyone thought of him. That was his release, his way of relieving the stress that he had in life. Now, he had a better way to relief himself of stress: Jesus Christ. He could always talk to Jesus about anything and everything. Jake then turned to his right and saw a particular teenage female with short orangey blond hair and of medium height. She wore a light red shirt with white shorts and had two bracelets around her left wrist. She also wore a necklace and had on high heels. She had just finished receiving paperwork from a gentleman behind a counter on the eastern side of the room. Taking the papers in hand, she sat down on a couch by herself and perused the documents. She uttered a long sigh before putting them down and putting her face in her hands. Jake decided to walk over and talk to this person. He walked on over and plopped himself down right next to her.
"Go away," the teenage female said without even lifting her head from her hands to see who it was. "I'm tired of being asked by you lecherous young men to fulfill your desires. Leave me alone!"
Jake was taken aback by the young woman's statement. He was so shocked that he didn't react initially, but only sat there.
"Didn't you hear me?" the young woman demanded, raising her head from her hands. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized. I thought that you were someone else."
"Uhh, yeah…" Jake said, not knowing what to say.
"You look strangely familiar. Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"Are you an Orange Star CO? Nell might have initiated us both in the same group."
"Yes, that's where. Nell is my big sister."
"No kidding? That's cool. My name's Jake. What's yours?"
"My name is Rachel."
"Nice to meet you, Rach. Oops. You don't mind me calling you Rach, do you?"
"No, not at all."
"Rock. So, what are those papers about?"
"Oh, some job interview questions and contracts that I have to answer and read before I take on a job."
"What job is that?"
"Uhh, I'd rather not say."
"Could I look over them then?"
"Go ahead."
Jake skimmed the papers as Rachel looked away in embarrassment.
"What!?" Jake exclaimed. "You're applying to become a dancer here?"
"Sshhhh," Rachel said. "I don't want anyone else to know. My family is falling on hard times financially. At first, we were doing okay with everything, until my dad recently ran off with another woman. Now, only my mom and I are left. She earns a fair salary, but it isn't enough to pay for both my schooling and all of the bills at home. She needs help, and I have to provide the money somehow. This is the highest paying job that I could find."
"Would you like this job?"
"Heck no! I'm only doing it so that I can help my mom out with the bills and stuff. That's all."
"Call me crazy, Rach, but I don't think that this job is worth the money. I mean, the stuff's straight up demeaning. There are other ways, aren't there?"
"Well, yes, but they are longer ways of getting the money I need. Why not do something that will get me the money instantaneously?"
"All I can say is that you won't be satisfied. What things are you good at?"
"Well, I understand school topics pretty well."
"Aha. You could be a tutor."
"A tutor?"
"Yeah. Rach, I could totally see you as a tutor. Tutors set the prices, just as long as the client/client's parents are willing to pay. The price is an hourly one. Plus, you can tutor more than one person at a time. Take me for example, and I do this because I'm in the same financial predicament that you're in; I tutor five students Monday through Thursday on plain warfare, since that is my specialty. I charge each student $10.00 an hour and I tutor them one hour each day. That doesn't include Fridays and Saturdays where I'm summoned to help them particularly one-on-one by their parents. All things considered, I make about $200 a week on tutoring, which helps my mom out a lot. Tutoring is also beneficial not only to society, but to me because it helps me to remember things better by forcing me to teach them to somebody else. That way, I'm getting paid, and I'm reinforcing my knowledge. If you ask me, that's way better than getting up and dancing around for some young men and men who pay you so they can look at your body."
"You know, you have a point there," Rachel said, taking the job application papers into her hand. "No, I'm not going to work here. I think that tutoring is much more appealing."
Rachel got up and returned the papers to the man sitting behind the counter in the eastern side of the room, and came back to the couch."
"So, Jake. Do you have any dance moves?"
"Do I? I don't know," Jake said getting up from the couch. "I haven't danced in a club for a long time now. It's not because I think it's wrong, it's just that music has changed. The oldies were the best songs to dance to. I doubt that they're even around anymore."
"Let's go ask the DJ and find out."
Jake and Rachel made their way over to the DJ's booth.
"Excuse me," Rachel said.
"Yes, miss," the DJ responded. "What can I do for you?"
"Do you have any oldies music?"
"Do I have oldies music? I've got tons of it. Did you want me to put a few oldies songs on for you?"
"Yes, if that wouldn't be too much to ask."
"Of course not. Man, and all this time I thought that there were no more oldies fans out there. I've wanted to put an oldies record on for such a long time now. The only problem is that teens these days only like techno and hip hop. They are music too, but nothing beats the oldies."
"Rock," Jake said in agreement. "That's partly why I dropped dancing in clubs. Taking away oldies music from a club is like taking a firearm away from a soldier. It's essential for goodness' sake!"
"Yes," the DJ agreed. "Hey, I have an idea. How would you two like to help me get oldies music back into this place, at least for today. Technically, I'm only allowed to play one requested song for each person that requests a song, but many times, a trend will occur because of a requested song. If you two were to request an oldies song and get down on the dance floor like we used to in the old days, I think that everyone else will want to do try it too. Then, we can keep on playing oldies, and everyone will have fun. What do you say?"
"I say, let's do it!" Rachel said.
"Count me in," Jake said.
Okay, I'll get a record and put it on. Does it matter which one?"
"Could you put on 'Pick Up the Pieces' by Average White Band?" Jake asked. "That one is my favorite."
"That's one of my favorites too. I'll have it on just as soon as this song ends."
"Oh, and Mr. DJ? Could you hold my music player and headphones with you in the booth until I'm done dancing? I don't know where else to put it."
"Sure thing, kid." Just leave it on the counter here and I'll get it once I come out with your requested song. The DJ vanished into a closet of records to find the requested song. Jake turned his music player off, and put both it and his headphones on the counter. Jake and Rachel then went out to the dance floor and waited on the edge, waiting for the song to end. Soon it did, and the DJ happily announced that an oldies song had been requested. The dancers on the dance floor immediately started to get off, not desiring to dance to an oldies song. All of them were off of the dance floor when the rhythm guitar broke out. Jake and Rachel stepped out onto the dance floor with it all to themselves. Jake held nothing back. He did old school dances and new school. He did break dancing, pop locking, the worm, and all sorts of other things. He was surprised at how quickly his moves came back to him. Rachel for her part enjoyed herself immensely, doing the old dances that she used to do with her mother as a young girl (Rachel grew up listening to oldies music because it was what her mother grew up listening to; Rachel's mom taught her all the moves that she knew as a teenager). When everyone else saw how much fun Rachel and Jake were having dancing to oldies music, they slowly gathered onto the dance floor and tried to dance. Jake and Rachel helped them all to find their grooves and before they knew it, they were all having a good time, and they weren't even grinding on each other or freak dancing. The teens, excluding Jake and Rachel, were surprised that they could have fun with oldies music and enjoy themselves. They did dances like the hustle, the electric slide, had a soul train line, and had plenty of fun. Everyone got oldies music fever. The time flew by, and before they knew it, the clocks read 4:57 P.M., and everyone was asked to leave. Jake and Rachel, along with the other dancers, were exhausted, but happy.
"Wow," Rachel said. "I didn't know that dancing was so much fun. I didn't know that I'd remember so much of what my mom taught me."
"You're telling me," Jake agreed. "I had a blast."
Jake
and Rachel ventured to the DJ before leaving.
"Here's your
music player," the DJ said, handing the music player and headphones
to Jake.
"Thanks for holding them for me," Jake said.
"Thank you, both of you, for bringing the oldies music back. So many people were into it that they want to have an Oldies Day on Fridays from now on. I can't thank you two enough."
"We're just glad that everyone was able to have a good time," Rachel said. "See you later."
"Bye-bye."
Jake and Rachel went to Sasha's car. They talked about how life was without a father in the house, and Jake told Rachel about how much of a father God has been for him lately. They discussed the topic until Sasha showed up. She drove both of them to their respective homes, asking both of them if they had fun and what they did. Jake got home at around, 6:10 P.M. Kathy hadn't quite come home from work yet. Jake got out a pencil and some paper and wrote her a note, describing his day to her: the things that happened, where he went, what he did, who he met, and everything that happened in his day. After leaving it on the dining room table, he went to his room and decided to turn in early. He took off his clothes, put away his music player, and put on his pajamas. Afterwards, Jake prepared for bed, brushing his teeth, washing his face, cleaning his ears, flossing, brushing his teeth, using the restroom, and washing his hands, although not particularly in that order. Finally, he went to his bed, and kneeled down. He said a prayer to God, thanking Him for the day's events and for His goodness. He prayed for his family and friends and that God would bless them all, concluding his prayer with an "Amen." Jake slid underneath his threadbare covers, grateful to get rest. Jake laid his head back on his pillow and went to sleep. Friday was another day, just another day in the life of Jake.