Title : Confessions of the Soul
Summary : Lucy Camden goes off to college. She meets people who will affect her life forever..
Author : Cj (aka ruthierocks)
Note : I wrote this story a long time ago and posted it with another account, but then deleted it after thinking I'd never finish it. If you read it then, please don't think that I'm copying someone else's work. I'm also very proud of this story. It's one of my best work's yet and is nothing like any of my other 7th Heaven stories here.
(this story takes place in the 6th season before she met Kevin and she is not engaged to Jeremy)
Confessions Of The Soul
***
Lucy lifted a book from the shelf. She needed the book "As for Me and My House" for a devotional. She read the front of it to herself. It said: As for Me and My House "Here's hope and help for building faith-filled families today" An 18-week Family Devotional Guide by Delores Hayford.
"Great, a guide to raising a Christian family," Lucy said. She turned it over to find the price. $9.99. She flipped through the book. There were 310 pages. "Is this a good deal?" Lucy asked herself. She started walking and by not watching where she was going, she ran into a guy who wasn't watching where he was going. They both fell on the floor.
"Oh great!" The guy said.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going!" Lucy apologized.
"It's ok, I wasn't either," The guy replied. There were books all over the floor. Lucy was overcome with the sudden urge to laugh. She laughed until he started laughing. They got up and gathered their books.
"I'm Ryan Jones," Ryan said, extending his hand.
"I'm Lucy Camden," Lucy replied.
"Are you a freshman?" Ryan asked. Lucy nodded, still smiling.
"Are you a freshman?" Lucy asked.
"No, I'm a sophomore. Are you eighteen?" Ryan asked.
"No. I'm twenty-one. I was going to a different college and then I quit and took a year off. Well, it was more like a half of a year," Lucy replied.
"I'm twenty-two. I took two years off. I though I could just get a job and that would be that, but I realized that that wouldn't work, so now I'm going for my degree in theology. It's a long bumpy ride, but somebody has to do it," Ryan said.
"I'm going to follow in my father's footsteps and become a minister," Lucy replied.
"Ok, that's cool," Ryan said.
"Yeah, I guess," Lucy said, thinking on her family. She missed them. She wondered what they were doing right now. Then she decided that they had told her to leave, and that she had gone as far from them as possible, or at least as far from them and into a good college as possible.
"I better go, my family is seven miles away and I told them I'd be home for lunch," Ryan replied.
"Oh, your family lives near?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah. Where does your family live?" Ryan asked.
"A small city several miles outside of San Francisco, California," Lucy replied.
"Oh, you're from California? Any siblings?" Ryan asked.
"Six. Two sisters, four brothers, my sister's ex-boyfriend, my parents, and a dog," Lucy replied.
"Wow, that's one big family. Your sister's ex-boyfriend?" Ryan asked with puzzlement.
"Yeah. His name is Robbie Palmer and he was kind of the bad boy and my sister dated him and they broke up, of course. Then he went to live with his other girlfriend who he had been dating even when he was dating my sister and she kicked him out and he was homeless, so he lives with us, with them, now," Lucy replied.
"Wow again. I have two sisters, one brother, one sister-in-law, and my parents," Ryan said, "But my brother and sister-in-law live in New Jersey."
"One of my brother's and one of my sister's live away from home, too," Lucy replied.
"Ok, so your house isn't as full as I'd imagined," Ryan said.
"No," Lucy replied, with a little chuckle.
"Like I said, I better go, I still have to pay for these," Ryan said.
"Ok," Lucy replied, "Bye."
"Bye," Ryan said. He waved and walked away. Lucy turned back to the shelf to find another book. She found "Hangman's Curse" by Frank Peretti. It was the first in the series. So far there was only two books, and the other wasn't required. She picked up the book. It looked very interesting. It was green and had fancy writing. She turned to the back and the price was $14.99. Lucy made a face, but it was required.
***
Hannah Jenkins walked into the Student Union for the first time. She had gotten her books and was going to meet Kinsey Conner and Lily Faye. They were bringing along Lucy, who Hannah wasn't too thrilled with. Hannah was a girl with reddish-blond hair that comes past her shoulders. She entered the Student Union to see a platform with different shaped tables and chairs. At the back of the room was a cafe. Separating the platform from the walk-way was a bar with stools to sit on. On the other side of the walk-way was a corner with couches. There was a stair-way on both sides of the walk-way and a room in the back with pool and Ping-Pong tables. Hannah sat at one of the triangular shaped tables. Lucy, Lily, and Kinsey walked in and pulled up a couple of extra chairs.
"Hey Hannah," Kinsey said.
"Hi guys, I see that you brought Lucy," Hannah replied, trying to act as cheerful as possible.
"Yeah, she's here. I thought she might as well come. She'll be hanging around with us anyway," Lily said. She smiled.
"Yeah. I came. I wasn't sure if I should or not, but Lily insisted," Lucy replied.
"Yeah. She didn't know if she was welcome, but I told her that God would be thrilled if she joined in with us!" Kinsey insisted.
"Taking private messages from God now, Kinsey?" Hannah asked, in a smart aleck manner.
"Hannah, why would God talk to me personally?" Kinsey asked. Hannah rolled her eyes.
"I think she meant that as a joke," Lily replied, laughing.
"Hey Lucy, cat got your tongue?" Hannah asked.
"No, I just don't have very much to talk about right now," Lucy replied.
"Oh," Hannah said.
"She doesn't have to talk if she doesn't want to," Lily protested.
"I know that, I just wondered why she wasn't talking," Hannah replied, tossing her hair. This time, Lucy rolled her eyes.
***
They spent a lot of time that night talking. They got home very late that night and were very tired. They went to their dorms and slept. The following morning, the alarm went off and Lucy put the pillow over her head. She didn't want to get up. She didn't want to start class. She knew where everything was located because of orientation, but she wasn't up to the challenge. Kinsey sat up and stretched. She threw a pillow to Lucy, who threw it right back.
"Get up!" Kinsey called.
"I don't want to," Lucy replied.
"Well, you're going to have to. Your parents are helping you pay for this, and you're going to have to start class, unless you like wasting your parents money, and your own," Kinsey stated, getting up.
"I know. I just don't want to. I'm tired, but I'm awake, and there's no chance I could get anymore sleep anyway," Lucy answered, sitting up and yawning. Kinsey went over to her drawer and picked out some clothes.
"You're going to have to put your clothes away sooner or later," Kinsey said, looking at Lucy's suitcase.
"No I don't," Lucy protested.
"Anyway, I'm going to take a quick shower. We've only got two hours before class and we've still got to eat," Kinsey said. Lucy nodded, still not wanting to get up. Kinsey went into the bathroom. Lucy pondered for a moment, wondering if she really wanted to stick this out. She'd never really been away from home for a long period of time, let alone four years. She thought about her family and decided that she'd call them and say hello after classes. She smiled when she thought of Simon, Ruthie, and the twins. Simon was a teenager and already dating. Lucy could remember fighting with him over toys. Ruthie had just grown up too fast. It seemed like yesterday that Lucy was playing games with her little sister, now she was thirteen, and had a little boyfriend of her own. A tear came to Lucy's eye when she thought of the twins. She could remember holding Sam and Dave, and singing to them. Now they were four years old, close to five. The Valentines day babies. Lucy smiled when she thought back on that hectic day. Then she realized that she better hurry up and get dressed, or she'd be late for class - which wasn't good. Later in the year, she would have to counsel someone and try to help them. She'd seen her dad do it all the time. He was always helping someone. That's what was so great about him. He was always willing to lend a hand to someone in need.
Lucy scrambled out of bed and bent near her suitcase. She un-zipped it (it zipped), and looked through it. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. It was raining outside, so she was trying to dress warmly. She dressed and looked at her hair. It was a mess.
"Oh great," Lucy sighed. She grabbed her brush from the nightstand and began brushing really hard. She gave up. It was no use. Then she grabbed a ponytail and put her hair up. She put clips on the sides. She looked at herself and figured that it looked ok. She put on socks and then her tennis shoes. By that time, Kinsey was out of the bathroom.
"I see you're ready," Kinsey said, brushing her hair.
"Yeah, I'm as ready as I'm going to be," Lucy replied. Lucy got her Bible. She picked up the books "Hangman's Curse" and "As For Me and My House". She also got her "Chicken Soup for the Christian Family Soul" book because they were going to be reading stories from it. She had her materials for three classes. Luckily, they were not back-to-back.
"Do we have any classes together?" Kinsey asked.
"Devotionals and Creative Writing," Lucy replied. She rolled her eyes at the thought of creative writing. Oh well, at least she could get a good education.
"Want to come down to the Student Union and pick up some breakfast and coffee?" Kinsey asked.
"I'm not hungry. If I eat, I'll throw up," Lucy replied, "But I will take you up on the coffee."
"You'll throw up?" Kinsey asked.
"I'm so nervous, I'm sure I'll throw up," Lucy replied.
"Oh. I thought you meant you were sick," Kinsey said. Lucy rolled her eyes and they walked out of their dorm. Lucy held the books over her head as they rushed to the student union. After they'd run a little ways, Lucy stopped.
"How much farther?" Lucy asked. She was soaked.
"It's just up here," Kinsey replied, pointing.
"I told you that I need a car," Lucy stated. They finally reached the Student Union and walked in. They noticed that it was more crowded. They sat their books on the floor and went up to get their refreshments.
"I'd like one coffee, and some cream," Lucy said.
"$1.25," The cashier responded. Lucy handed her a dollar. She secretly thought about the price. She got her coffee and sat down. She opened to the first page of "As for Me and My House". She passed the forward and the introduction. She had a memory verse. It said: Oh, that there was such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and their children forever! - Deuteronomy 5:29 . Kinsey sat down.
"What ya' looking at?" Kinsey asked, as she ate some biscotti.
"The Devotional. You should have one," Lucy replied.
"I do," Kinsey said.
"You're becoming a minister too, right?" Lucy asked, recalling that she never asked.
"Youth pastor," Kinsey replied.
"You have to go to college for that?" Lucy asked.
"No, but I am. I want to be smart in everything. I want be a role model for kids," Kinsey replied.
"Is that why you're taking a lot of the same courses that I am?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah," Kinsey replied. Lucy had never considered being a youth pastor. She liked the idea.
***
Lucy looked around the room as she sat down. There were at least eight guys and five girls. Lucy sat down in the second row and put all the books that she didn't need on the basket underneath her desk. It was a small desk, much smaller than those at Glen Oak Community College back home. She put her devotional book, notebook, and pen to the side and waited to begin. Hannah and Kinsey walked in and sat right behind Lucy. In a way, she was glad that they weren't right beside her because she had enough trouble concentrating already. A tall, dark man walked up to the front of the class room just as the bell rang.
"Why don't we get right down to business, people?" the teacher, Mr. Vern, said, "Open your notebooks and get out a pen. Be prepared to take notes."
Lucy got out her pen and opened her 5-subject notebook to the first page. Mr. Vern began to write on the board.
"Rules," He said, "Number one, no talking unless you are called on. Number two, I'm the teacher. Number three, you will put forth your best effort, and I'll be helping you to do that. Number four, keep a good attitude. Be aware that you are not the only person in this class and be respectful to your classmates. I'm Mr. Vern and I'll be your Devotional professor. Let's open our Devotional book to page twenty-one. This book is guided to help you in your journey to fulfill what God wants you to do. Be strong and listen to God. Raise a Christian family. I want you to have this memory verse memorized for tomorrow. Do whatever you have to do to memorize it, read it several times, write it. You'll have a quiz on it tomorrow. You'll be writing it down on paper along with the what you think it means. Ok, why don't we have you in the third row, third seat tell us your name and read us the goal and prayer focus."
"Kinsey Phillips. Goal: To see God as a loving, caring Father. Prayer Focus: Thank God for His great love and concern for our family. He wants to teach us. Psalms 35:10," Kinsey replied.
"Very good, Kinsey. Our goal for this week is to understand how much God cares for each and every one of us. I can tell you that some of you here will not be graduating. I can tell you that some of you here aren't completely dedicated to God. Some of you are not ready for the challenge. My message for you today is to get ready," Mr. Vern said, "Follow along as this young man in the front tells us his name and reads the next paragraph."
"Jeff Denver. Allow your children time to think about their answers to your discussion questions. With encouragement it won't be long until they jump right in during discussion periods. Enthusiasm, sharing and brevity are essential to maintain your child's interest throughout the year," Jeff read.
"Ok, good," Mr. Vern said, "Your assignment tonight is to read Unit one, it's only three pages, and memorize the verse." The bell rang. "Class dismissed." Lucy got up from her seat and realized that Mr. Vern was going to be tough, but her assignment wasn't much, and she could handle it. She walked out of the class.
***
Lucy took a drink at a water fountain and then walked up to Hannah, Kinsey, and Lily.
"Hi guys," Lucy said.
"Hi Lucy. How is your day going?" Lily asked. Hannah just flipped her hair.
"Oh it's fine so far. How is yours?" Lucy asked. Lucy smiled. She realized that Lily seemed to be nice and considerate.
"Oh it's great. We have Creative Writing together," Lily replied.
"I have that too. What do you have Hannah?" Kinsey asked.
"I'm free this period," Hannah replied.
"I wish I was free this period. I've got four more classes to go. I'm glad they're not all in a row," Lucy stated. Lucy, Lily, and Kinsey walked off. Hannah watched them walk away and then turned the opposite direction and tapped some guy on the shoulder.
"What?" He asked.
"I want you to get all the dirt on that Lucy Camden, John," Hannah replied.
"How do you expect I do that?" John asked.
"You're a computer expert. I know. I've seen you work a computer and it's like magic. I'm sure you can find something on her. Her name is Lucy Camden and she's from Glen Oak, California," Hannah replied.
"Ok. I'll try, but, I don't think you'll get much. She seems normal," John said.
"Ok whatever," Hannah replied. She walked away.
Summary : Lucy Camden goes off to college. She meets people who will affect her life forever..
Author : Cj (aka ruthierocks)
Note : I wrote this story a long time ago and posted it with another account, but then deleted it after thinking I'd never finish it. If you read it then, please don't think that I'm copying someone else's work. I'm also very proud of this story. It's one of my best work's yet and is nothing like any of my other 7th Heaven stories here.
(this story takes place in the 6th season before she met Kevin and she is not engaged to Jeremy)
Confessions Of The Soul
***
Lucy lifted a book from the shelf. She needed the book "As for Me and My House" for a devotional. She read the front of it to herself. It said: As for Me and My House "Here's hope and help for building faith-filled families today" An 18-week Family Devotional Guide by Delores Hayford.
"Great, a guide to raising a Christian family," Lucy said. She turned it over to find the price. $9.99. She flipped through the book. There were 310 pages. "Is this a good deal?" Lucy asked herself. She started walking and by not watching where she was going, she ran into a guy who wasn't watching where he was going. They both fell on the floor.
"Oh great!" The guy said.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going!" Lucy apologized.
"It's ok, I wasn't either," The guy replied. There were books all over the floor. Lucy was overcome with the sudden urge to laugh. She laughed until he started laughing. They got up and gathered their books.
"I'm Ryan Jones," Ryan said, extending his hand.
"I'm Lucy Camden," Lucy replied.
"Are you a freshman?" Ryan asked. Lucy nodded, still smiling.
"Are you a freshman?" Lucy asked.
"No, I'm a sophomore. Are you eighteen?" Ryan asked.
"No. I'm twenty-one. I was going to a different college and then I quit and took a year off. Well, it was more like a half of a year," Lucy replied.
"I'm twenty-two. I took two years off. I though I could just get a job and that would be that, but I realized that that wouldn't work, so now I'm going for my degree in theology. It's a long bumpy ride, but somebody has to do it," Ryan said.
"I'm going to follow in my father's footsteps and become a minister," Lucy replied.
"Ok, that's cool," Ryan said.
"Yeah, I guess," Lucy said, thinking on her family. She missed them. She wondered what they were doing right now. Then she decided that they had told her to leave, and that she had gone as far from them as possible, or at least as far from them and into a good college as possible.
"I better go, my family is seven miles away and I told them I'd be home for lunch," Ryan replied.
"Oh, your family lives near?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah. Where does your family live?" Ryan asked.
"A small city several miles outside of San Francisco, California," Lucy replied.
"Oh, you're from California? Any siblings?" Ryan asked.
"Six. Two sisters, four brothers, my sister's ex-boyfriend, my parents, and a dog," Lucy replied.
"Wow, that's one big family. Your sister's ex-boyfriend?" Ryan asked with puzzlement.
"Yeah. His name is Robbie Palmer and he was kind of the bad boy and my sister dated him and they broke up, of course. Then he went to live with his other girlfriend who he had been dating even when he was dating my sister and she kicked him out and he was homeless, so he lives with us, with them, now," Lucy replied.
"Wow again. I have two sisters, one brother, one sister-in-law, and my parents," Ryan said, "But my brother and sister-in-law live in New Jersey."
"One of my brother's and one of my sister's live away from home, too," Lucy replied.
"Ok, so your house isn't as full as I'd imagined," Ryan said.
"No," Lucy replied, with a little chuckle.
"Like I said, I better go, I still have to pay for these," Ryan said.
"Ok," Lucy replied, "Bye."
"Bye," Ryan said. He waved and walked away. Lucy turned back to the shelf to find another book. She found "Hangman's Curse" by Frank Peretti. It was the first in the series. So far there was only two books, and the other wasn't required. She picked up the book. It looked very interesting. It was green and had fancy writing. She turned to the back and the price was $14.99. Lucy made a face, but it was required.
***
Hannah Jenkins walked into the Student Union for the first time. She had gotten her books and was going to meet Kinsey Conner and Lily Faye. They were bringing along Lucy, who Hannah wasn't too thrilled with. Hannah was a girl with reddish-blond hair that comes past her shoulders. She entered the Student Union to see a platform with different shaped tables and chairs. At the back of the room was a cafe. Separating the platform from the walk-way was a bar with stools to sit on. On the other side of the walk-way was a corner with couches. There was a stair-way on both sides of the walk-way and a room in the back with pool and Ping-Pong tables. Hannah sat at one of the triangular shaped tables. Lucy, Lily, and Kinsey walked in and pulled up a couple of extra chairs.
"Hey Hannah," Kinsey said.
"Hi guys, I see that you brought Lucy," Hannah replied, trying to act as cheerful as possible.
"Yeah, she's here. I thought she might as well come. She'll be hanging around with us anyway," Lily said. She smiled.
"Yeah. I came. I wasn't sure if I should or not, but Lily insisted," Lucy replied.
"Yeah. She didn't know if she was welcome, but I told her that God would be thrilled if she joined in with us!" Kinsey insisted.
"Taking private messages from God now, Kinsey?" Hannah asked, in a smart aleck manner.
"Hannah, why would God talk to me personally?" Kinsey asked. Hannah rolled her eyes.
"I think she meant that as a joke," Lily replied, laughing.
"Hey Lucy, cat got your tongue?" Hannah asked.
"No, I just don't have very much to talk about right now," Lucy replied.
"Oh," Hannah said.
"She doesn't have to talk if she doesn't want to," Lily protested.
"I know that, I just wondered why she wasn't talking," Hannah replied, tossing her hair. This time, Lucy rolled her eyes.
***
They spent a lot of time that night talking. They got home very late that night and were very tired. They went to their dorms and slept. The following morning, the alarm went off and Lucy put the pillow over her head. She didn't want to get up. She didn't want to start class. She knew where everything was located because of orientation, but she wasn't up to the challenge. Kinsey sat up and stretched. She threw a pillow to Lucy, who threw it right back.
"Get up!" Kinsey called.
"I don't want to," Lucy replied.
"Well, you're going to have to. Your parents are helping you pay for this, and you're going to have to start class, unless you like wasting your parents money, and your own," Kinsey stated, getting up.
"I know. I just don't want to. I'm tired, but I'm awake, and there's no chance I could get anymore sleep anyway," Lucy answered, sitting up and yawning. Kinsey went over to her drawer and picked out some clothes.
"You're going to have to put your clothes away sooner or later," Kinsey said, looking at Lucy's suitcase.
"No I don't," Lucy protested.
"Anyway, I'm going to take a quick shower. We've only got two hours before class and we've still got to eat," Kinsey said. Lucy nodded, still not wanting to get up. Kinsey went into the bathroom. Lucy pondered for a moment, wondering if she really wanted to stick this out. She'd never really been away from home for a long period of time, let alone four years. She thought about her family and decided that she'd call them and say hello after classes. She smiled when she thought of Simon, Ruthie, and the twins. Simon was a teenager and already dating. Lucy could remember fighting with him over toys. Ruthie had just grown up too fast. It seemed like yesterday that Lucy was playing games with her little sister, now she was thirteen, and had a little boyfriend of her own. A tear came to Lucy's eye when she thought of the twins. She could remember holding Sam and Dave, and singing to them. Now they were four years old, close to five. The Valentines day babies. Lucy smiled when she thought back on that hectic day. Then she realized that she better hurry up and get dressed, or she'd be late for class - which wasn't good. Later in the year, she would have to counsel someone and try to help them. She'd seen her dad do it all the time. He was always helping someone. That's what was so great about him. He was always willing to lend a hand to someone in need.
Lucy scrambled out of bed and bent near her suitcase. She un-zipped it (it zipped), and looked through it. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. It was raining outside, so she was trying to dress warmly. She dressed and looked at her hair. It was a mess.
"Oh great," Lucy sighed. She grabbed her brush from the nightstand and began brushing really hard. She gave up. It was no use. Then she grabbed a ponytail and put her hair up. She put clips on the sides. She looked at herself and figured that it looked ok. She put on socks and then her tennis shoes. By that time, Kinsey was out of the bathroom.
"I see you're ready," Kinsey said, brushing her hair.
"Yeah, I'm as ready as I'm going to be," Lucy replied. Lucy got her Bible. She picked up the books "Hangman's Curse" and "As For Me and My House". She also got her "Chicken Soup for the Christian Family Soul" book because they were going to be reading stories from it. She had her materials for three classes. Luckily, they were not back-to-back.
"Do we have any classes together?" Kinsey asked.
"Devotionals and Creative Writing," Lucy replied. She rolled her eyes at the thought of creative writing. Oh well, at least she could get a good education.
"Want to come down to the Student Union and pick up some breakfast and coffee?" Kinsey asked.
"I'm not hungry. If I eat, I'll throw up," Lucy replied, "But I will take you up on the coffee."
"You'll throw up?" Kinsey asked.
"I'm so nervous, I'm sure I'll throw up," Lucy replied.
"Oh. I thought you meant you were sick," Kinsey said. Lucy rolled her eyes and they walked out of their dorm. Lucy held the books over her head as they rushed to the student union. After they'd run a little ways, Lucy stopped.
"How much farther?" Lucy asked. She was soaked.
"It's just up here," Kinsey replied, pointing.
"I told you that I need a car," Lucy stated. They finally reached the Student Union and walked in. They noticed that it was more crowded. They sat their books on the floor and went up to get their refreshments.
"I'd like one coffee, and some cream," Lucy said.
"$1.25," The cashier responded. Lucy handed her a dollar. She secretly thought about the price. She got her coffee and sat down. She opened to the first page of "As for Me and My House". She passed the forward and the introduction. She had a memory verse. It said: Oh, that there was such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and their children forever! - Deuteronomy 5:29 . Kinsey sat down.
"What ya' looking at?" Kinsey asked, as she ate some biscotti.
"The Devotional. You should have one," Lucy replied.
"I do," Kinsey said.
"You're becoming a minister too, right?" Lucy asked, recalling that she never asked.
"Youth pastor," Kinsey replied.
"You have to go to college for that?" Lucy asked.
"No, but I am. I want to be smart in everything. I want be a role model for kids," Kinsey replied.
"Is that why you're taking a lot of the same courses that I am?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah," Kinsey replied. Lucy had never considered being a youth pastor. She liked the idea.
***
Lucy looked around the room as she sat down. There were at least eight guys and five girls. Lucy sat down in the second row and put all the books that she didn't need on the basket underneath her desk. It was a small desk, much smaller than those at Glen Oak Community College back home. She put her devotional book, notebook, and pen to the side and waited to begin. Hannah and Kinsey walked in and sat right behind Lucy. In a way, she was glad that they weren't right beside her because she had enough trouble concentrating already. A tall, dark man walked up to the front of the class room just as the bell rang.
"Why don't we get right down to business, people?" the teacher, Mr. Vern, said, "Open your notebooks and get out a pen. Be prepared to take notes."
Lucy got out her pen and opened her 5-subject notebook to the first page. Mr. Vern began to write on the board.
"Rules," He said, "Number one, no talking unless you are called on. Number two, I'm the teacher. Number three, you will put forth your best effort, and I'll be helping you to do that. Number four, keep a good attitude. Be aware that you are not the only person in this class and be respectful to your classmates. I'm Mr. Vern and I'll be your Devotional professor. Let's open our Devotional book to page twenty-one. This book is guided to help you in your journey to fulfill what God wants you to do. Be strong and listen to God. Raise a Christian family. I want you to have this memory verse memorized for tomorrow. Do whatever you have to do to memorize it, read it several times, write it. You'll have a quiz on it tomorrow. You'll be writing it down on paper along with the what you think it means. Ok, why don't we have you in the third row, third seat tell us your name and read us the goal and prayer focus."
"Kinsey Phillips. Goal: To see God as a loving, caring Father. Prayer Focus: Thank God for His great love and concern for our family. He wants to teach us. Psalms 35:10," Kinsey replied.
"Very good, Kinsey. Our goal for this week is to understand how much God cares for each and every one of us. I can tell you that some of you here will not be graduating. I can tell you that some of you here aren't completely dedicated to God. Some of you are not ready for the challenge. My message for you today is to get ready," Mr. Vern said, "Follow along as this young man in the front tells us his name and reads the next paragraph."
"Jeff Denver. Allow your children time to think about their answers to your discussion questions. With encouragement it won't be long until they jump right in during discussion periods. Enthusiasm, sharing and brevity are essential to maintain your child's interest throughout the year," Jeff read.
"Ok, good," Mr. Vern said, "Your assignment tonight is to read Unit one, it's only three pages, and memorize the verse." The bell rang. "Class dismissed." Lucy got up from her seat and realized that Mr. Vern was going to be tough, but her assignment wasn't much, and she could handle it. She walked out of the class.
***
Lucy took a drink at a water fountain and then walked up to Hannah, Kinsey, and Lily.
"Hi guys," Lucy said.
"Hi Lucy. How is your day going?" Lily asked. Hannah just flipped her hair.
"Oh it's fine so far. How is yours?" Lucy asked. Lucy smiled. She realized that Lily seemed to be nice and considerate.
"Oh it's great. We have Creative Writing together," Lily replied.
"I have that too. What do you have Hannah?" Kinsey asked.
"I'm free this period," Hannah replied.
"I wish I was free this period. I've got four more classes to go. I'm glad they're not all in a row," Lucy stated. Lucy, Lily, and Kinsey walked off. Hannah watched them walk away and then turned the opposite direction and tapped some guy on the shoulder.
"What?" He asked.
"I want you to get all the dirt on that Lucy Camden, John," Hannah replied.
"How do you expect I do that?" John asked.
"You're a computer expert. I know. I've seen you work a computer and it's like magic. I'm sure you can find something on her. Her name is Lucy Camden and she's from Glen Oak, California," Hannah replied.
"Ok. I'll try, but, I don't think you'll get much. She seems normal," John said.
"Ok whatever," Hannah replied. She walked away.