Saint Joseph School

Jacob walked down the hall slowly holding the familiar book with both hands. He stopped just short of the lockers.

It was an old book barely still held together. Its spine was broken and now held in place by a strip of duct tape. The leather cover bent back at the corners from the many times it had been held open.

He ran his fingers over the over the cover feeling the gold foil embossed letters. The Holy Bible. Silently he flipped it over to the back cover and ran his hand over it as well. He opened the book from the back and flipped through the dogeared pages covered in highlighter marks and hand written notes.

He continued to flip until he came to the front inside cover. He looked down at the words written there and teared up.

This Bible is given

To: Jacob Carpenter

From: Rev. Daniel Carpenter

For completion of confirmation.

He stopped the tears and set his jaw. He could feel the anger building inside of him. Without a word he threw the book in the trash can next to the lockers.

Kat rounded the corner towards her locker at full stride. She was running late. Again. To make matters worse she had gotten halfway to her biology class when she realized her homework was still in her locker. Her dark ponytail bounced as she hurried down the hall, nearly running into Jacob coming the other direction.

"Oh sorry! My fault." Kat side-stepped him and watched as he walked by. He looked angry. Upset. As she turned back to her locker, she noticed a beaten book, lying in the trashcan. Curiously she craned her neck to see. The Holy Bible. Quickly Kat fished the book out and brushed it off. She turned it over and over. It was obviously worn, damaged not from neglect but use. She opened to the middle, careful not to strain the tape that held the whole thing together. Inside she found years of notes and marks. Reminders about certain passages. Interperatations of the meaning of others. As she reached the front cover, she saw the handwritten achievement. Her eyes darted back down the hall, but Jacob was already gone.

Kat recognized the look on his face now. She had seen it before, on her own face. When someone had told her after her parents had died that God had a plan for everything. She had been angry at the world. At God for letting her parents die. What grand plan could possibly call for that? It had taken her months to even go back to Mass, and she still didn't feel as close or connected as she once did.

But she knew one thing. She would again. And so would Jacob. And when he did, he'd regret throwing this book out. Kat unzipped her gym bag and dropped the battered book in on top of her athletic clothes. When Jacob was ready, she'd have it to give back.