Dwayne was a mess-up. He’d always been a mess-up.
This year was the worst—everywhere except the football field. Out there he was the best linebacker in the city. Gonna get a scholarship. That would show his momma and brother what for.
That’s why he’d started going to the Bible meetings. Bunch of his friends had been going since last year, and truth was, the dudes were really changed. Sam didn’t drink anymore. Like, not a drop. Allen was getting passing grades in all his classes.
Dwayne had asked Allen about it at the beginning of the school year when they were sitting at the cafeteria. “A Bible group is helping you in school?” Dwayne had laughed. Mostly because he was uncomfortable. “How’s that even possible? Like, what do you do? Sit around asking Jesus to help you with math?” Another laugh. “Sounds like sissy stuff, man.”
“Shut up!” Allen stood up and stared at him, real angry.
Allen’s eyes got all squinty, and for half a second Dwayne thought the guy was going to hit him. Allen was a lot taller. And bigger. An all-county lineman, so he could’ve, no problem. Would’ve knocked Dwayne out, first punch. But then Allen’s face relaxed.
A lot.
Allen sat back down and took a bite of his burger. When he looked at Dwayne again, Allen had eyes like a kid. Like he didn’t have a worry in the world. And right there he explained about faith and the Bible and math. “I’m a child of God.” He raised his eyebrows. “You are, too.”
Dwayne wanted to laugh. He was hardly a child of God. Allen mustn’t know him that well. But Dwayne kept quiet.
“The Bible isn’t just another textbook. It’s a letter from Jesus to us. When I read it, it’s like . . .” Allen smiled, and let out a quiet breath. “It’s like God wrote it straight to me.”
An uncomfortable feeling stirred in Dwayne’s stomach. “How’s that help you with math?”
“The words in the Bible . . . they’re not just words. They’re alive.” Allen didn’t look embarrassed. He seemed to really believe this stuff. Allen paused for a minute. “Like, there’s this Scripture that says, ‘I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.’?”
Allen patted the backpack beside him. “Even math. I remind myself of that every time I sit in Mrs. Barron’s classroom. Next thing you know, I’m remembering the formulas and stuff.” Allen took another bite. When he was finished with it he looked hard at Dwayne. “You only get one life, man. At least give it a try.”
The memory stopped there. Dwayne turned left on Briar Street. His stomach felt tight and he could almost hear a voice in his head.
Turn back. Don’t go this way, My son. Go home!
So strange, the voice. He had heard it before. Especially the third time he went to the Bible group. That day he sat with Jordy. Most of the time, Dwayne and Jordy didn’t talk. Jordy was one of the good kids. Good grades. Good dad. Good looks. It was all a little too much.
But that day when Dwayne walked into the auditorium, Jordy looked right at him and smiled. Like they were the same kinda dudes. “Over here,” Jordy called out.
Dwayne looked behind him, just in case Jordy was talking to someone else. But he wasn’t. So Dwayne took the seat next to Jordy. “Can I tell you something?” Jordy looked at him. Right in his eyes.
“Sure.” Dwayne squirmed a little. Where’s this going? he thought.
Jordy smiled. “I’ve been praying since last year that you’d come to this.” He smiled and gave Dwayne a light smack on the back. “You’re not a thug. I heard some of the guys on the team call you that.” He paused. “It’s not true.” Jordy grew quiet. He clenched his jaw. “You want the truth? You belong to God. It’s time you figured that out.”
He wasn’t a thug. Dwayne had liked that. And when Principal Quinn spoke that day, he talked about having a hero. “Everyone has a story. And every story needs a hero.”
A hero? Dwayne remembered being confused by that. Like a superhero? What was the man talking about? He had focused, really tried to understand.
“We’re all going to die. Every one of us.” Principal Quinn had a booming voice. Not angry, the way Dwayne’s mama got when he didn’t come home till after midnight. Just powerful. Kind of like a coach. The man explained himself. “We only get so many pages, and the ending of the story will never go well unless you ask Jesus to be a part of it. He’s the only One who can rescue any of us.”
Dwayne let that thought stay with him. Only Jesus could rescue him. Sounded pretty good. Where Dwayne lived people got in trouble all the time. A definite rescue would be a good thing to have.
That’s when Jordy leaned closer. “You listening?”
“Yeah.” He felt awkward. Like when he asked Brianne Sanchez to prom last year. “I never thought of this stuff before.”
“Maybe it’s time.” Jordy must’ve known how Dwayne was feeling.
Dwayne whispered, “How do you do it? How do you get Jesus?”
“I’ll tell you after club.” No hesitation from Jordy. Probably because he’d known about Jesus all his life.
Dwayne nodded. “Sure, man. Okay.”
Principal Quinn wrapped things up then. “With Jesus, you never die. You just move your story from here to heaven, where there will be no more tears, no more dying. Where the story never ends.” He smiled real big. “And when you learn to listen to Jesus, every page of your story is a whole lot better than it would’ve been without Him. He’s the Hero.”
Which explained Allen and the math.
After the meeting, Jordy talked to Dwayne and asked him if he wanted Jesus to be with him all the time. Inside his heart. If he wanted to turn away from all the wrong things he’d ever done.
Dwayne had felt unsure about that last part. “I don’t think . . . I mean, I’m sorry . . . but I can’t be perfect.”
“You don’t have to be.” Jordy looked right at him.
Jordy opened his Bible and showed Dwayne some more verses.
When they were done reading, Jordy told Dwayne how to pray. For Jesus to come into his heart and for God to forgive Dwayne for all the things he’d done wrong. The drinking and lying. The cheating and the way he’d treated girls. And for the gang stuff, too.
None of that was what God wanted from His people. Dwayne understood now. He still had a lot to learn, of course. Even after the Saturday field trip when everyone went to John Oliver’s house. John was a wide receiver for Hamilton High, and his family owned four gas stations. His pool was heated and that day five kids got baptized.
Dwayne was one of them.
He blinked a few times and turned right on Martin Luther King Boulevard. So why was he doing this? Why fight tonight? Just because a bunch of the guys on the team were going?
It was Billy Benson who’d convinced Dwayne. Billy and Dwayne used to be in the same gang. At least before Dwayne started believing in Jesus. Ever since Dwayne started going to the Bible club, Billy would laugh at him. Just shake his head and laugh. Yesterday after practice the kid found Dwayne at his locker. “You going to club today? That prayer stuff’s made you soft.” Billy gave Dwayne a shove in the shoulder. “You lost your edge, man.”
Dwayne felt anger light up inside him. “Leave me alone, Benson.” He clenched his fist. “I ain’t soft.”
“If you’re still tough . . .” The kid snickered. “Prove it. Halloween’s tomorrow.”
Dwayne told himself he wouldn’t do it. He didn’t need to prove anything to Billy Benson. But at practice today, Billy had laughed at him again.