Snakes & Ladders

Chapter 1

  "Course he exists, I mean, how else would we all be here?" I protested, waving my hand.

  "My mother died of cancer! If he is there, then he killed her!" Toby yelled.

  "Alright! Alright! This should be a civilized debate, and I am afraid that heartfelt emotions will quickly turn this into a fight, and I do not need this. I am sorry Toby, truly, but please can we keep this a debate with strong arguments backed up by good proof with no emotion. Otherwise we simply will go to the written work. Continue," Ms Hayam said sternly, her cold eyes examining us. She gave us a nod and a student called Lily raised her hand to speak.

  This was what PRH was always like. Philosophy, Religion and Humanities. We had 2 lessons per week, one debating on a topic, and one writing and studying beliefs etc. The debates always managed to end up back to "does God exist" or, my personal favorite, "what happens when you die?" And I stuck to the same arguement all the time. You would think it would get boring, debating the same thing all the time, but I just wanted to get my message across. 12 of the 16 believed he existed. 4 had little faith or had not decided.

  Ms Hayam had given up a long time ago trying to get us to keep on the subject she told us to debate, because everything seems to connect back up to God. I wish the people would just see he was there. He had to be. I went to church every single Sunday, praying to him. There was no way I was praying to thin air, like my best friend Milly always said.

  Milly and I didn't argue about boys like most girls. We argued about God. Which we always did because we were in the same PRH class. PRH was an optional class, but I decided to take it, for debating and philosophy and religion was really my thing. Even if I couldn't get people to believe in God, it was the thrill of it. I was an argumentative person and I would argue my point.

  "Ehem," the girl Lily spoke. She pushed her glasses further up her nose before smiling terribly sweetly and saying, "I am not quite decided whether Lord exists..or, well, or not. It is a difficult one because life on Earth is so...so...well, just so cruel. But then again, it could be a test to our immortal lives." She spoke very quietly, and kept clearing her throat and smiling sweetly. She was one weird kid, that Lily.

  "Rubbish! What rubbish! Immortal life? We are mortal!" Daniel called, a boy who was all about science. I could not stand it when he backed all his beliefs by science. Science explained everything mechanically, theortetically, but things like emotion and things that happen have much more to them than chemicals and experiments and all that nonsense. Not everything can be explained by science, it has no depth in it!

  I raised my hand, flapping it in the air. "We have a soul! Which is immortal! Really, Daniel, some emotions are too deep to be explained by cience!"

  "Emotions come from the brain and the brain purely. What happens is the brain-"

  A huge uproar cut across him before he could start his scientific lecture. Last time he put us through this lecture, we almost died of boredom. I didn't understand half the words, really.

  "Let him speak, it's rude to interrupt!" Ms Hayam shouted.   

  "But Ms Hayam, they're terribly boring, I mean they go on forever and we don't give a sh...monkeys!" Milly stopped herself before saying shit. I nearly burst into laughter when she said monkeys. 

  "They're not boring! They're-" And everyone started shouting again.

  And that's a normal PHR lesson. No wonder why I always walked out with thoughts spilling out my head and my ears ringing.

  After much shouting and what you wouldn't call civilized debating, I walked out the classroom, Karis running behind me.

  "Just listen Rory!"