The Philistine

Chapter Seventeen

Claire's religious tribe had tried to get the Comparative Religions class removed from the curriculum to be replaced by what they considered a traditional Christian Old and New Testament Bible class, but they had failed. The majority believed that a course which objectively discussed multiple religions where one was not favored above the others was educational and preferable to subjectively exposing the students to a singular religion when such proselytization did not belong in a school environment.

Jeicen, much to my surprise, decided to sit next to me during fourth period. I would have happily shared my textbook with him, except that he had been privided one of his own. He did not acknowledge me in any way upon sitting down, which I found odd, but I figured that he was perhaps more shy than the average individual. There was also the fact that he was still new in town and adjusting to his new environment.

I was going to greet him when Ms. Straethmere began the class by providing an overview of what we had learned in the past month. When she finished briefly touching upon Animism, Goddess religions, Egyptian mythology, and Hinduism, she called upon Jeicen to share his religious beliefs, or lack thereof, with the rest of the class.

He stood up and said, "I'm a pagan, a solitary practitioner."

"Our first pagan this year," said Ms. Streathmere rather gleefully. "Does anyone have any questions for Jeicen before we delve into Judaism?"

When no one raised a hand, I raised mine.

"Yes, Reigh," said Ms. Straethmere.

His eyes turned toward me and I asked, "Do you acknowledge any specific deity or deities?"

The shake of his head surprised me, then he said, "I acknowledge nature as the beautiful, unpredictable force it is, but I do not attribute anthropomorphic deification to it for that is purely a man made concept born of wishful thinking rather than realistic knowledge."

I almost fell in love with him as he spoke to me as though he was entertaining an audience of one instead of an entire classroom. He was speaking my language quite eloquently, in so far as his atheistic viewpoint seemed to mirror my own. I was still confused as to why he referred to himself as a pagan, thinking perhaps it had something to do with having referred to himself as a practitioner, but I did not press the issue.

He sat down and Ms. Straethmere began her lecture on Judaism. I listened, took notes, and snuck glances at Jeicen who I caught staring at me a few times. I smiled, to let him know I was friendly, but he did not return the smile.

At the end of class I tried to follow Jeicen out the door so that I could talk to him, but he had managed to lose himself in the crowd of students who were happy that another school day had come to a close. I even looked for Jeicen while waiting for Mel. She showed up with there having been no sign of Jeicen.

"You're coming with me to a party tonight," she said as soon as we sat down in her car.

I thought about declining, but then I remembered that it was my father's day off from work. I figured it would be easier to deal with him later that night rather than right after school.

"Count me in. Who's throwing it?"
"It's not a student party," she said as she started the engine and pulled out of the parking space. "Who would even invite me to one, anyway? Remember that party I told you about during the summer?"

I shrugged and she continued, "It's the annual pre-Halloween party my mother gets invited to every year. The one hosted by the Templetons. The one you promised you'd attend with me to alleviate my boredom. Anyway, I'd forgotten all about it, but my mother texted me a reminder after lunch. So, yeah, you're coming with me."

"I don't have anything to wear."

"You'll be borrowing my brother's old prom tux. He left it behind because he doesn't need it in college."

"But how will I know which utensils to use at dinner?" I asked as I comically feigned horror. "Maybe I'll use a fork to brush my hair."

"Don't be silly," she said as she turned down a street that led to her house. "You resemble Prince Eric, not Ariel. Speaking of redheads, any luck in the Jeicen department?"

"Not really, though it's not from lack of trying. He's just so gosh darn elusive."