After Story: Compassion

Chapter Ten: Failed Isolation

I bolted from my chair, angry. "You're one of those, huh?"

"One of what?" he asked, looking confused.

"One of those...those..." I flapped my hand at him as I tried to find the right word. "Priests, right? You're one of those, trying to get me to follow whatever whacked-out religion you follow! And an American one, at that!"

He smiled softly. "Yes, I am a Christian pastor, that's true. But I'm not here to try to convert you to Christianity or anything like that, if that's what you're worried about. Like I said, I live to serve; whether you choose to become a follower or not is up to you."

I still felt a little betrayed, but realized that he wasn't acting like most religious nuts. "Fine," I growled as I settled back into my seat.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I was so caught up in learning about your situation that I didn't think to tell you about my job. I didn't mean to give you the wrong idea."

"It's fine," I growled again. "I figure if you were one of those religious nuts, you'd be getting on me about every little thing."

"I know what you mean," he said, surprising me. "I used to be like that...then I realized that I wasn't showing a 'servant's heart' with that. I was lecturing people instead of supporting them in their growth."

I studied him while he spoke; I knew that I was still too young to be a really good judge of character, but something about him... "Listen...sorry for snapping at you like that."

"Don't worry about it," he said with a smile. "We Christians haven't exactly been the best examples for the last few centuries. I just want to be what He made me to be and show His love to others."

I sighed heavily. Even if I never became a religious nut, maybe he could teach me some things that would help me become a better person. "All right...Pastor...teach me what you know. As far as becoming 'one of His'...we'll see."

He nodded solemnly. "I'll do my best to not ram the Bible down your throat, but understand that that's where my knowledge and understanding of things comes from." He extended his hand again. "Can you work with that? With my limitations?"

I studied his hand for a minute; it didn't look very old, but it did look very open and honest. If his knowledge could help me win Ryou back...

I reached out and shook his hand. "Sure."

***

I was surprised when I made it to school the next day without being stopped by the police.

My classmates whispered amongst themselves as I entered the classroom and made my way over to my desk and settled into it, placing my bag on the floor next to it.

I heard the door slide open, and cringed as Kyou entered the room, her nose wrapped in a bandage and a bruise on her cheek. She walked straight up to my desk and looked down at me. Whatever she had to say or do to me, I deserved it.

"So the doctor says nothing's broken," she said with a slight 'honk' to her tone. "It's a good thing I didn't hit the desk any harder than I did, huh?"

"I'm sor-wait, what?!"

"I fell asleep and hit my nose on my desk, remember?"

"Oh...right..." Was she trying to cover for me? "Hey, uh...c-can I talk to you...after school?" I asked hesitantly.

She studied me for a minute. "Park area, you and me."

I sighed in relief. Even if she was going to lie for me, I still wanted to apologize properly for my actions. "I'll be there," I promised.