They were off, Philip's feet hit the ground as fast as they could. He could feel his pulse throbbing in his temples and the adrenaline rush. They were neck and neck, Andrew just inches ahead. Andrew flashed Philip a mocking grin and charged forward, pulling his sprint-at-the-last -moment trick. They were nearing their checkpoint. Their finish line, which was a tree. But Andrew was still looking at Philip as he ran. Philip saw what was coming. "Andrew, watch out! Ahead!" But it was too late. Andrew ran face first into the tree. And to Philip's surprise, the tree broke open. It was hollow! Andrew's head emerged from the tree, scowling, face and hair entirely dripping with golden honey. Philip laughed. Hard. "Looks like you won the gold medal, literally!" He burst in fits of laughter. Andrew scowled even more, licking the honey from around his lips, but even he too couldn't keep from laughing for long.
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(Pause) - THIS AMAZING DRAWING WAS BY @emlikesnoodles !! -Kae (A note by Em- ty Kae for the inspiration😌, If you have any cool fan art, that goes along with the any of the stories, you'd like to share please dm us on Instagram! @thechosen.stories)
"This is great though, now we can get some honey to bring back to camp!"
It was days before Jesus' big sermon would take place on the mount, and Philip and Andrew had been given the task of foraging for the next few days' supply. They needed to spend as much time as possible handing out invites, so best to get the food supply stocked ahead.
But now it was the bees they had to worry about.
Philip lit a quick fire below the tree to smoke the bees into a confused stupor while Andrew pulled out the comb, filling a large clay jar that he had retrieved from the cart they had left at the beginning of the 'racing stretch'.
Soon all of the honey was extracted, save for what they left for the generous bees, and berries were also collected, along with some fresh herbs.
They reached the camp, where, as expected, Andrew received several stares. Most of the group was sitting around the fire finishing up lunch. Before anyone could say anything, Andrew said, "yes, it's honey." And in a very sarcastic manner, swiped a finger across his face and licked it.
Eyebrows were raised, but they just shrugged, knowing Andrew often did strange things. The others made a few teasing comments. Philip noticed Big James looking miserable. "James, what's wrong?" He asked.
John rolled his eyes. "Guess what? James has indigestion again!"
"Apparently it runs in the family." Simon's voice came from nowhere.
All eyes went to Simon.
"...what..?" Said John, a puzzled look on his face.
"Yeah, I remember your Eema talking about herbs "for Zebedee's indigestion, back when Jesus healed the lame man," Simon answered, not even looking at anyone, but popping a grape into his mouth.
"I guess you're right, Simon!" John chuckled. "Glad that skipped me!"
Big James glowered at John, arms hugging at his waist. "I'd be happy to do 'target practice' for vomiting, using you as my first target." He huffed sarcastically. John shrank away from him.
"Now, if you all don't mind, I'm going to be miserable in privacy. Got to rest before we go into town." James said, retreating to his tent.
"Well...!" Said Philip, breaking the awkward silence. This was weird.
Mary Mother emerged from her tent. She walked over and squeezed John's shoulder as her face morphed from a smile to disgust. He yelped. She must have squeezed hard. "Best not to treat your brother that way, John."
"Yes Eema," he responded with a grimace. The group had taken to calling her Eema, because it was fitting and she really was Eema to the group, but also because it made it easier to differentiate between Mary's.
Eema Mary walked up to Philip and dipped a cup into the jar of fresh honey. What was she doing? "Honey helps the stomach," she simply said. There she was, being Eema again. Eema with sass - she thrust the bowl into John's hands.
"BIG JAMES!" She yelled. Everyone was startled. She looked around and saw everyone's reaction, and her face softened. James emerged from the tent, still sour-faced.
"I'm sorry everyone, it's just that we really, really need to solve personal matters so that we can get on to helping Jesus prepare for the sermon!" Mary Mother explained.
Philip was glad Jesus wasn't here at the moment, though he didn't doubt Jesus already knew what was happening. Jesus and Matthew were on the mount, preparing the sermon itself.
Still lost in thought, he looked back to the others. John's arm was around his big brother's waist as he helped him sip the honey. Mary and Ramah were talking to each other, and Zee was fidgeting - Philip knew he was always hungry for action. Simon and Andrew were now arguing, Nathanael and Little James were playing a game. Thaddeus was helping Thomas count out rations and sort the food Philip and Andrew had collected.
Then He looked up. Jesus was back, Matthew by his side. Matthew looked startled at the sight of James choking back a shot of honey, John supporting him. The Thunder brothers were always doing strange things so he didn't blame him.
"J-John, what are you doing?" Matthew asked, clenching his fists around his usual cloth he carried and his tablet. John whipped his head around and yanked his arm away from James when he saw Jesus. John always straightened when Jesus came. But this time, Big James, startled, lost his balance and almost fell before John caught him at the waist once more. Now John blushed, having created an even bigger embarrassment. Typical John. Philip chuckled.
"We were just-never mind," John stammered, taking his arm away from Big James at a normal speed.
Jesus surveyed the group. Philip was slightly annoyed at the way everyone had been acting. They needed to get this right, not be arguing or goofing around.
