Breaking Barriers: Jonah Finds His Voice

Chapter 17 - "Hi Jules"

I approached Jules right after the history class feeling nervous and uncertain. I wanted to apologize for what had happened and try to make things right between him and Noah.

"Hi Jules," I hesitated, my voice shaking. "I, um, I just wanted to talk to you about what happened in class today. I don't know, I feel like I should say something, but I don't really know what."

Jules didn't seem to be in the mood to listen though. He shot me an angry look and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You and Noah, you're just like all the others," Jules spat out. "You just want to make fun of people who believe in God and think you're better than everyone else."

I was taken aback, my nerves getting the best of me. I tried to stammer out a response, but no words came to me. I just stood there, feeling completely helpless and at a loss for what to say.

Jules continued, the anger evident in his voice, "You think apologizing is going to fix things? You're just making it worse. You're just trying to make yourself feel better, not actually make things right."

I felt my own anger rising. I was frustrated that Jules wasn't understanding my intentions and was instead blaming me for what had happened.

"I wasn't trying to make things worse, Jules," I retorted, my voice rising. "And for your information, I don't think I'm better than anyone else. I don't see why faith has to be such a big deal in the first place."

Jules' eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You just don't get it, do you?" he said, his voice trembling with emotion. "You're just making things worse."

With that, Jules turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, feeling confused and defensive. I didn't understand why Jules was so upset, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I had made things even worse between us.

Noah approached me with a confident swagger, still feeling victorious from the debate. He noticed Jules walking away from me and was curious as to why I was talking to Jules. 

"What were you talking to Jules about?" Noah asked, with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

I hesitated, feeling uneasy about sharing the reason for my conversation with Jules with Noah. I replied, lying, "Nothing much, just discussing some stuff from class," hoping that my answer would satisfy his curiosity.

"Really?" Noah raised an eyebrow, not believing my answer. "It didn't look like a casual conversation from where I was standing. Jules seemed upset."

I retorted, my tone defensive, "Well, it's not like I'm obligated to tell you everything." I didn't like the way Noah was questioning me.

"Whoa, take it easy," Noah put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I was just trying to make sure you're okay."

I said, my voice firm, "I'm fine, Noah. I can handle myself."

"Okay, okay," Noah shrugged. "Just let me know if Jules does anything out of line. I don't trust that guy."

It was lunchbreak and I was sitting with my boyfriend Noah, our friends Max, Kenjie, and my bestie Genevieve in the school cafeteria, chowing down on some lunch. Noah was still hyped up from the debate in our philosophy class earlier that day where he had totally shut down Jules.

"Dude, I just can't get over how Jules' face looked when I totally owned him in front of the whole class," Noah bragged to Max and Kenjie.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, used to Noah's bragging. "Do we really have to keep talking about the debate?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere.