The door to their apartment opened into a small kitchen; the sink and dishwasher were on the left, while on the right were the washer and dryer, as well as the table. The refrigerator/freezer was against the wall on the left side as well. The kitchen led into the living room, from which a hallway led to two bedrooms and a bathroom, as well as many closets. Everything was immaculate and tastefully decorated, a drastic change from Mike's room last year, which had one wall entirely papered with Snapple labels. That was something.

Mike was not there - he was drying their laundry at his parents' home, about five minutes away, because their dryer had stopped working. Josh and I sat on the couch in the living room, reading the local newspaper. He arrived within minutes and we immediately moved past the boring "Hey, haven't seen you in a long time" stage to the far more entertaining "Let me show you the cool 50,000-CD changer my parents got me for the wedding" stage. A short trip to the local convenience store for Italian rolls, an introduction to the minister next door, and a quick dinner of sandwiches and crackers took up the hour before we were to assemble at the church.

A young boy had been calling Mike all day, hoping that a spot had opened up for him to go, while another who was uncertain whether he would go had been vacillating for a while. Mike worked the phones, trying to see whether one would decline and allow the other to go. However, it turned out that the one who was unsure decided he was ready to go after all, and Mike was left with the unpleasant chore of calling back the other. Before he could, though, his wife Jill offered to allow the boy to go in her place, and after some discussion, he was told he could come. Rather than 4 adults and 13 children, there would be 3 and 14, all of whom would have to drive with full carloads. This will be most important a little later.

Mike drove his parents' van, while I drove Mike's car and Josh drove another car, borrowed from a local resident for the occasion. Mike had taken care of this in advance, and did not need to wrestle anyone for the privilege. We followed him over to the church, picking up the kid who was allowed in on our way, and assembled in the parking lot. Josh and I stood in front of our respective cars, as we examined the crowd of unruly youth before us.

-TO BE CONTINUED- 

Part Nine

NHS Speech

"My View" Editorial

The October Surprise
|  Round 1 |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |
|   6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  |
|  11  |  12  |  Final Bell  |

Journey to Jersey II
|  Intro  |  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |
|   6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  |  11  |
|  12  |  13  |  14  |  15  |

Journey to Jersey I
|  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |   6  |  7  |  8  |
|  9  |  10  |  11  |  12  |  13  |  14  |
|  15  |  16  |  17  |  18  |  19  |  20  |

An Epic Saga
|  Act  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |
|   6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  |  11  |
|  12  |  13  |  14  |  15  |  16  |

Christian Rock Email

Freshman Room Draw
|  Part One  |  Two  |
|  Three  |  Four  |  Five  |