Chapter 11- Academy Chapel

Tyler had made sure to pass along Tony's interest in chapel and his need for a wake-up call. As a result, Daniel found himself gently shaking Tony's shoulder at 8. Tony's blue eyes opened slowly and blinked a few times trying to adjust to the morning light.

"How are you feeling today?" Daniel whispered so as not to wake up the others not attending Chapel.

"Fine" Tony immediately replied. Daniel rolled his eyes slightly at the response considering Tony hadn't even thought about it before responding. It was one of those auto pilot answers someone has been conditioned to use.

"Try again Tony. I want details. I'm not sure I can trust your fine as far as I can throw it."

Tony started abet at that response not used to someone actually caring how he felt. One look at Daniel told him that he meant it though so Tony started to reevaluate his body.

"Ummm my head still hurts some, but it's pretty dull. I'll probably still take it slow today. I'm fine for chapel though."

"Okay. Get dressed then and we will go down to breakfast and then walk over. The Twins are coming too."

"Yeah Tyler said they would. I'll just be a minute."

Daniel nodded his understanding and soon both boys were getting ready for the day.

By 8:30 the boys had made it to breakfast. Around 30 kids were in the Cafeteria this morning indicating Chapel was probably fairly well attended. Breakfast was a quiet affair and by 9:30 the majority of the hall was headed towards the chapel.

The building reminded Tony of some of the catholic Churches in his hometown. The Front door was decorated with ornate Stain Glass Windows depicting different scenes from the life of Christ. The familiarity brought a sense of comfort to Tony. He had attended Mass for as long as he could remember first with his mom and later with their cook Maria.

Upon walking into the chapel Tony crossed himself before sitting with his dorm mates on a pew toward the back.

"Catholic right?" Mark asked.

"Yeah?" Tony asked puzzled by the comment.

"I don't mean anything by it. I just noticed you did the sign of the cross and the Catholic kids are pretty much the only ones who do it. We're Baptist so I noticed the difference. Chapel here is non-denominational though I think once a month there is a visiting Catholic Chaplin.

"Oh. I was raised Catholic but I have been to plenty of other churches too- so I don't mind the differences though I will probably check out the Catholic Mass also."

"I'll go with you. I'm Lutheran, but the liturgy used in Catholic Mass is often more similar to my upbringing then some of what we do here." Daniel added.

Before the boys could discuss more the sound of a bell let them no service would begin shortly.

"Good Morning gentleman. It is good to see you this Sunday Morning. Today we will be discussing the idea of Identity and who we are in Christ. Please stand and join in our opening song- Here We are to Worship."

Tony stood with the rest of the boys and closed his eyes as he listened to the words of the song. It was one he was less familiar with as it was more a contemporary Christian song as opposed to the hymns he was raised with, but the melody was simple and pleasant and he let the words wash over him.

Before long the Pastor was reading a passage from Romans about not living for yourself, but living as Christ. The message followed as a lesson on forgiveness and the promise of new creation through Christ. New creation sounded pretty good to Tony. There was a lot of his past he wouldn't mind reshaping and he sure hoped his future would be filled with less angst. He liked the idea of second chances and not being alone. There had been times growing up that his faith in God was the only thing that allowed him to keep trying each day. Living without love was painful and he clung deeply to the promise of a kind of love that never failed or disappeared. He wasn't always sure he trusted that the love was real. He couldn't always understand how God worked, but somehow he always ended up back in church and when he was their the words, songs and people always lifted him up and gave him just enough hope to make it through another day. Tony supposed this had to be God. Maybe he wished God would do more for him, but really who was he to question the one who created the world. He supposed for now he'd try not to question too much and just be grateful for any sense of peace he could find and hope over time God would reveal more to him.

Altogether the service was nice. No Eucharist a clear difference from Mass, but the words and songs were uplifting and hopeful. The message was far from fire and brimstone thankfully- Tony got enough of that from his dad. If you believed that man he was destined for Hell a long time ago. Good thing Tony stopped believing him years ago.

As the boys walked out of church Daniel spoke up "So what did you think?"

"Somewhat different from what I was used to but I liked it. The Minister has a nice way with words and paints a picture nicely. I liked that last song too. The one about God never letting go. I liked it's connection to Psalm 23 that is one of my favorite passages."

"Yeah that song is pretty cool. I think it is called Never Let Go by Matt Redmond. We sing it sometimes at my church back home." Daniel added.

"Your head still okay I noticed you squinting a bit at the end?"

"Geez nothing gets by you. I guess I could use some more Ibprophen or something and I may lie down again before lunch but it's not bad. "

"If it still hurts after lunch maybe we should go to the infirmary just in case."

"No, that is not necessary. It is just a headache and I am used to them. There just part of life. They can't do anything more for me at the moment than what I can do myself. I have some of my stronger medications with them already if I was to get a real bad one, but that is not the case right now. Thanks for caring though."

"Don't think too much into it little man- he probably just wants to make sure your talents are ready for football practice Monday." Mark joined in trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah that is true as Captain I want all my best men out on the field." Daniel quipped back.'

Tony laughed and was soon chatting back and forth about football and its many merits.

The rest of the day passed in easy camaraderie between the boys and by evening Tony felt almost a hundred percent and was ready to tackle a new week.