I walked downstairs slowly, preparing myself to see everyone again. I took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen. "Hey," I said. Lisa and Samuel turned to me and smiled. "Good morning, are you feeling better?" Lisa asked, handing me a plate of eggs and bacon. I smiled and nodded. "Yeah and I, um, I decided to go through with the case." I said. Samuel smiled and patted me on the back. "We're there every step of the way, buddy." He said. I smiled. "Yeah, and I also wanted to apologize for last night. My behaviour was terrible." I said. Lisa pulled me in for a hug. "Don't you worry, we know you're going through a tough time and we understand, alright?" she said. I nodded. "Thank you." I said, looking at them both.

We ate breakfast and then Rachel came downstairs. She was wearing a yellow sun dress with a white cardigan and white converses. She looked beautiful. She looked surprised. "Oh, is Carson coming to church with us this morning?" she asked. I looked at her, shocked. What? I looked to Samuel to find he was already looking at me. "Do you want to join us this morning? It's only two hours." He asked. I looked from him to Lisa to Rachel. She smiled. "You can help me out with the kids, if you want?" she offered after I didn't say anything. I thought about it then smiled. "Uh, okay sure, why not?" I said. She smiled and went to grab a bag filled with toys and whatnot. I sighed.

What have I gotten myself into?

When we arrived at the church, Rachel led me to the back, where the kids went. She walked in and placed the bag down on the floor. "Why are we so early?" I asked. She walked over to a radio. "I have to set up here and my father needs to open up so that worship team can have one last practice." She said as music filled the room.

From the highest of high to the depths of the sea

Creations revealing your majesty

I knew it was probably a religious song, since we were in a church after all. I watched Rachel as she scrambled around, setting up a board and sticking pictures onto it. She caught sight of me looking and called me over. "Here, could you stick these on the board for me?" she asked. I looked at them. They were just a bunch of pictures of a man. She smiled at me. "It's the story of Moses. The kids wanted me to make them a storyline of a bible character." She said. "Who the heck is Moses?" I asked, looking at the one picture which had a guy cowering away from a flaming bush. "And is he scared of fire or something?" I asked, showing her the picture. She giggled. I looked at her, amused.

"Moses was a prophet who was born as a Hebrew, but grew up Egyptian. And the fire in that picture was the Lord talking to him, telling him to set his people free. I'll tell you the story some time." she said. I didn't understand, but just nodded. I don't know much about this 'God' of theirs, but how could He be fire? Isn't he supposedly in the sky? I stuck them randomly, like she told me to, and then looked up to see what she was doing. She was setting out crayons and pictures. I looked back to the board and shook my head. This religious stuff sure is weird. I thought as I looked around. I hadn't noticed, but a new song had started playing and this one didn't even sound like a religious song. It sounded just like the music I listen to, which isn't even close to gospel music.

My God's not dead, He's surely alive

He's living on the inside, roaring like a lion

My God's not dead, he's surely alive

After an hour, I started seeing people coming into the church and a few kids started arriving. They didn't dress all fancy or religiously or anything. I mean, I saw girls in shorts, weren't girls supposed to wear dresses like Rachel? And the men weren't wearing suits, they were dressed normally, but I could tell they were wearing their best never-the-less. "Hey Rachy!" a little girl yelled, running into Rachel's arms. "Are you working with us today?" she asked. Rachel smiled and nodded. "Yeah, and next Sunday then Amy's going to take over for two weeks." She said. "Okay." The little girl said. Rachel looked up at me and smiled at me. A few more kids arrived and then Rachel started clapping her hands.

"Good morning, guys! Grab a seat, grab a friend and let's start!" she exclaimed. I saw all the little kids grab onto their friends and sit down facing Rachel. I saw a little boy sitting alone. He spotted me and walked up to me. Uh oh. "Hey, I'm Brian." He said and shook my hand. I smiled. "Carson." I said. He sat down next to me. The boy looked about 9 or 10, he had brown hair, brown eyes and he was also wearing glasses. I saw Rachel smiling when she saw him next to me, but then she started talking to the kids. "Okay, so I prepared a little story for today, but I forgot how it goes. Could you guys help me out?" she asked. A bunch of kids stuck up their hands. She laughed. "Okay, Denis, Grace and Ryan, come up." She said. Three little kids got up.

"Okay, Denis can you tell me who this is?" she asked him, pointing to a picture of a little baby in a basket surrounded by water. He smiled. "It's Moses." He said. Rachel looked at him and faked a shocked face. "It is?" she asked him. He nodded. She laughed. "Grace, could you please tell me who this is?" she asked the little girl. "The evil Pharaoh." she said. Rachel nodded. "You're right." Rachel said. "Now, Ryan could you arrange these pictures into the story of Moses for our new friend, Carson, at the back there?" she asked, pointing to me with a smirk on her face. I chuckled as all the little kids turned their heads to look at me. "Hi Carson!" they all bellowed out and waved. I laughed and waved to them, earning another smile from Rachel.

I could get used to this...

"Okay sure." Ryan said. He seemed to be the eldest of the three kids. He started arranged the picture from a woman, who must've been Moses' mother, to an old man climbing a mountain. Rachel clapped and gave the three kids each a chocolate and a sticker for doing such a great job. "Okay, now we're going to colour Moses, okay?" she said. All the little kids cheered and ran to the little tables. They picked a picture then started colouring. "I'll see you later dude," Brian said to me and walked over to the colouring tables. Rachel walked up to me with a smile on her face. "Did Brian come up to you?" she asked me. I nodded. She smiled. "Thank you for sitting with him. He's having a tough time fitting in." she said. I nodded.

"He's a pretty cool kid. Have you ever considered becoming a teacher?" I asked her. She blushed and looked down. "That's actually what I want to become. I want to major in English." She said. I nodded. "Cool." I said. "What do you want to become?" she asked me. I thought about it for a minute, but only found a blank space. "I actually don't know." I said. "I just figured that I wouldn't reach graduation before my father killed me, so I never planned ahead." She looked at me like she wanted to hug me, but she smiled.

"But surely you have a dream?" she asked me. I smiled and shrugged. "I did always want to become a singer, but I don't know anymore." I said. Rachel gasped. "You can sing?" she asked me excitedly. I nodded shyly. She smiled at me. "Well, keep chasing your dreams, because one day they're going to get tired of running and then you'll catch them." She said. "That's what my grandfather always tells me, you might even meet him someday." She said. I smiled at her. "You're grandfather is wise, but in a funny way." I said. She giggled. "Yeah, he is." She said.

~&~

And I found love where I wasn't supposed to be

Right in front of me

Talk some sense to me

And I found love where I wasn't supposed to be

Right in front of me

Talk some sense to me

I sang as I lay on my bed that afternoon. This was one of my favourite songs. I had my eyes closed as I sang. Singing calmed me when I felt stressed or upset, or just downright grumpy. It cheered me up. I heard a knock on my door. I looked up to see Rachel standing in my doorway looking at me. "Can I come in?" she asked. I smiled and nodded. She came in and sat down on the edge of me bed. "Carry on singing, I like you're voice." she said. I blushed. "I usually don't sing in front of people." I said. She pouted. "Pretty please," she asked. I sighed and smiled.

And I'll use as a makeshift gauge

Of how much to give and how much to take

Oh I'll use you as a warning sign

That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind

And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be

Right in front of me

Talk some sense to me

And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be

Right in front of me

Talk some sense to me

I finished singing and looked at Rachel. She was smiling. "You should really pursue a career in singing, your voice is amazing." She said. I smiled. "Thanks, can you sing?" I asked her. She blushed. "Maybe, I don't know." she said. I smirked. "Sing." I said.

I found myself dreaming

In silver and gold

Like a scene from a movie

That every broken heart knows

We were walking on moonlight

And you pulled me close

Split second and you disappeared

And then I was all alone

I woke up in tears

With you by my side

A breath of relief

And I realized

No, we're not promised tomorrow

So I'm gonna love you

Like I'm gonna lose you

I'm gonna hold you

Like I'm saying goodbye

Wherever we're standing

I'll never take you for granted

'Cause we'll never know when

When we'll run out of time

I'm gonna love you

Like I'm gonna lose you

I'm gonna love you

Like I'm gonna lose you

She sang like an angel. I don't know why she didn't think so. I sat there looking at her, with a smile playing on my lips. She looked at me, concerned. "Was it that bad?" she asked me. I laughed and shook my head. "No way, you're amazing." I said. She blushed. "Thanks, Carson. I usually have to sing my little brother to sleep. He has sleeping problems and it's one of the only ways to make him fall asleep." She explained.

I wouldn't mind you if you sang me to sleep...

I thought then pushed the thought to the back of my mind. "Well, I have to go and help with dinner, want to help?" she asked. I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, let's go." I said and jumped off of the bed.