As the Girardi kids walked into school, Luke turned to Joan. "You seem a
little nervous. Anything up?" She replied, "I'm just not looking forward to
seeing Price again. I did accuse him of being the devil, after all." "He
knows you didn't mean it. Come on, Physics is this way."
Joan followed her brother, lost in thought. Price was actually only a small part of what she was afraid of. She was worried about seeing Adam again. He had visited her a few times since she revealed her secret to him, but there always seemed to be some kind of wall between them that wasn't there before. She wondered if she had crossed the line from the eccentric girl he loved to outright nuts in that conversation. All thought had to be put aside as she entered the classroom.
"Jane!" Joan cringed as she heard the voice behind her desk. Figuring that at least he wasn't mad at her, she turned around. "Oh, you're in this class too. How about Grace?" "Probably. You know how she likes to show up late." Before either could say any more, the teacher called for attention, and the class began. 75 minutes later, it was over and Grace had not shown up.
Joan soon ran into her in the hall. "So you didn't get into AP Physics?" "Actually, I did." "Well, you just missed the first class." "A word of advice: if you show up for the first class, they expect you to show up for all of them." As Grace walked away, Joan shrugged. At least one of her friends had stayed the same.
At her locker, Joan thought she saw-no, it couldn't be! She looked around, but there was no sign of the cute guy god who had first contacted her, just as she expected. She was then distracted by Adam coming up next to her. It may have not been real, but Joan had developed some courage to try things she wouldn't have before during her time talking to God, so she cut right to the point: "Are things going to be different between us?" Adam looked taken aback, then asked, "What are you talking about?" She went on, "You don't think I'm crazy?" "What, because of that thing you said? No, you were sick at the time, you were probably seeing lots of stuff that wasn't there."
He continued, "It is pretty interesting, though. You thought God was asking you to do all these weird things, so you did them? You never wondered if it was real?" Joan got a little flustered by the direction the conversation was going. "Do we really have to talk about this?" "I'm just interested. It'll help me know you better." Joan had to oblige to this, and answered, "Well, of course I didn't believe it at first, but when these visions kept popping up I really had no choice." "So after that you just did what you were asked?" "Not all the time. There were some doubts about it, like joining the cheerleaders, or wreaking the sculpture-"
Joan stopped, but she knew she had said far too much. Adam looked about as she would expect after that kind of revelation. He had some difficulty getting out words, then stammered, "Y-you're talking about m-my sculpture? The Thing Made of Stuff, or whatever your mother w-wanted to call it?" Joan let him continue. "So you thought God wanted you to do something that and you kept on believing it was real?"
Joan fought the tears that were welling up and said, "No, I wasn't being asked to do that, I just thought I was!" Adam spat back, "Seeing as it was all in your head, I'd say that's the same thing!" The bell rang before they could go any further. Joan ran off, hoping she hadn't blown the friendship for good.
Joan followed her brother, lost in thought. Price was actually only a small part of what she was afraid of. She was worried about seeing Adam again. He had visited her a few times since she revealed her secret to him, but there always seemed to be some kind of wall between them that wasn't there before. She wondered if she had crossed the line from the eccentric girl he loved to outright nuts in that conversation. All thought had to be put aside as she entered the classroom.
"Jane!" Joan cringed as she heard the voice behind her desk. Figuring that at least he wasn't mad at her, she turned around. "Oh, you're in this class too. How about Grace?" "Probably. You know how she likes to show up late." Before either could say any more, the teacher called for attention, and the class began. 75 minutes later, it was over and Grace had not shown up.
Joan soon ran into her in the hall. "So you didn't get into AP Physics?" "Actually, I did." "Well, you just missed the first class." "A word of advice: if you show up for the first class, they expect you to show up for all of them." As Grace walked away, Joan shrugged. At least one of her friends had stayed the same.
At her locker, Joan thought she saw-no, it couldn't be! She looked around, but there was no sign of the cute guy god who had first contacted her, just as she expected. She was then distracted by Adam coming up next to her. It may have not been real, but Joan had developed some courage to try things she wouldn't have before during her time talking to God, so she cut right to the point: "Are things going to be different between us?" Adam looked taken aback, then asked, "What are you talking about?" She went on, "You don't think I'm crazy?" "What, because of that thing you said? No, you were sick at the time, you were probably seeing lots of stuff that wasn't there."
He continued, "It is pretty interesting, though. You thought God was asking you to do all these weird things, so you did them? You never wondered if it was real?" Joan got a little flustered by the direction the conversation was going. "Do we really have to talk about this?" "I'm just interested. It'll help me know you better." Joan had to oblige to this, and answered, "Well, of course I didn't believe it at first, but when these visions kept popping up I really had no choice." "So after that you just did what you were asked?" "Not all the time. There were some doubts about it, like joining the cheerleaders, or wreaking the sculpture-"
Joan stopped, but she knew she had said far too much. Adam looked about as she would expect after that kind of revelation. He had some difficulty getting out words, then stammered, "Y-you're talking about m-my sculpture? The Thing Made of Stuff, or whatever your mother w-wanted to call it?" Joan let him continue. "So you thought God wanted you to do something that and you kept on believing it was real?"
Joan fought the tears that were welling up and said, "No, I wasn't being asked to do that, I just thought I was!" Adam spat back, "Seeing as it was all in your head, I'd say that's the same thing!" The bell rang before they could go any further. Joan ran off, hoping she hadn't blown the friendship for good.