In the medium-sized town of Trinity, Missouri, Christianity rules and dissenters face social death.
As you can imagine, Caleb Caron, an atheist with a foul vocabulary, is Trinity High School's pariah and his best friend, Nova Beauchêne, is a heretic...
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"Did you go to jail or not?" Nova asks gruffly as we walk to the cafeteria.
Her hard eyes tell me she's angry about how I ignored her texts yesterday. Unfortunately for her, I still don't want to talk about it. Not yet. "Don't worry."
"That's not good enough, Caleb."
"I don't want to talk about this right now."
"You know what that tells me? It tells me you screwed up bad."
"Nova! Stop."
She inhales deeply before releasing a shaky breath. "F-Fine."
As we enter the winding lunch, I'm unsure of what to say. Nova has the right to be angry, but how am I supposed to explain to her that I punched Michael Miller in the face (something he deserved) and went to jail? And that now Papa wants to send me to some Christian Boarding School far away from here?
I look her way. She seems calmer now, so I figure this is the best time to steer the conversation elsewhere. "Isn't Erica such a bitch?"
She scoffs in a mixture of surprise and irritation. "I think she's about a step below that."
"So, a little bitch?"
"Stop!" She wrinkles her face though amusement twinkles in her eye. "Also, in breaking news, Nova Beauchêne is no longer a Christian! After not being banned from learning about Charles Darwin, she was excommunicated by the Baptist Church one hour ago."
"Also, in breaking news," I add. "Erica's opinion is irrelevant."
Even though Nova seems less annoyed, I notice that she's fiddling with the loose seams of her pants and looking around nervously. "What's wrong?"
"I just realized that I don't want to eat in here," She whispers. "Everyone's staring at us."
One quick scan of the cafeteria and I see what she means. Kids stealing furtive glances, casting odd looks our way. She pulls on a loose ringlet of her coiling, black hair. "Can we eat outside?"
I nod and after I get my lunch, we head for the doors. "Hey...is that Ren?" I point to the Dogwood tree atop the small hill. "And is he eating a cheeseburger?"
Nova stops in her tracks. "Maybe we should eat somewhere else."
"Oh, come on, he's harmless." I insist, pulling her along. "Yo, Ren!"
He raises his head as we trudge up the hill. "H-hi..." Nova whispers hoarsely.
I sit next to him, inwardly laughing at his confused expression. "Hey bro. How's it going?"
He gazes at us, nodding before returning to his lunch.
"So, Ren," I begin, ignoring the angry looks Nova is sending my way. "You mind if we eat here?"
He shakes his head.
"Awesome." I say, picking at my school lunch salad with my fork. Compared to Ren's burger, this doesn't look appealing in the slightest.
Annnnnnd, I've lost my appetite.
"You know, I saw what happened in class today. You're lucky your parents don't care what you learn about."
He shrugs timidly, but he seems pretty interested in what I have to say.
"Are you Christian?" I ask. Nova's eye bulge at me in horror but I pretend not to notice.
He nods again, taking a bite out of his burger.
Unable to suppress her curiosity, Nova chimes in, "Do you go to a different Church?"
Another nod.
"Your family's smart," I say. "Pastor Wright's church is brainwashing everyone."
Another bite.
I lean against the trunk of the Dogwood, closing my eyes. It's serene up here, isolated and separate from the noisy cafeteria. It was a nice idea coming outside. A part of me wonders what would happen if we ate lunch here every day.
Nova nudges my leg with her foot. "What is going on?"
"I want to be friendly with him," I whisper. "He seems nice. Plus, all of us have a common enemy—Mr. Pfeiffer."
"This is awkward."
I tug on her arm. "Sit down, it's quieter here. No one watching you. Just like you wanted."
Reluctantly, she sinks to her knees. "Yeah, I guess so."
"What are you so upset about?"
"Everyone probably hates me now. Since I'm "not" a Christian anymore."
"You mean now that you're an outsider? Like me? And him?" I motion to Ren whose ears twitch at the acknowledgment. "Who cares?"
"It is nicer here than in the cafeteria." She admits.
"Aww, you've finally converted to the dark side."
She rolls her eyes. "As if."
"Now, the next logical step is for you to become atheist." I laugh, patting the grass beside me.
She giggles, finally taking a seat. "Ren? Would you mind if we ate lunch with you from now on?"
His mouth parts, somewhat astonished, but he closes it immediately. After sending a curt nod our way, he takes the last bite of his cheeseburger.
