First Draft: Chapter 27

David came to visit me the next day. I was sitting at my desk when he walked in. He had long ago gotten out of the habit of knocking.
"Hey Jon."
"Hey."
"What are you up to?"
"Just some homework. You?"
"Not much. Hey, I heard what happened yesterday."
"I figured you would. What happened to Icarus?"
"I think he’s meeting with the disciplinary committee tomorrow. He’s already started packing his bags though. He knows he’ll be expelled."
"At this rate I’ll be the only one from our old school to graduate."
David gave me a half smile in response, then quickly changed gears. "Hey Jon, are you coming tonight? We’ve got another youth group meeting." I remained silent. "Things are really starting to happen man."
"I’d like to stay out of trouble for a change," I replied.
David kneeled down next to me. "You saw what happened yesterday Jon. The state can’t allow us any freedom at all. Not even artists are free. We’ll all suffocate if we don’t break free."
I stood up as I closed my book. "Yeah, well none of this would have happened if our revolutionary friend could keep his mouth shut about things he knows nothing about."
The words were barely out of my mouth when David started his reply. He was so eager to disagree with me. "Did Icarus smash those paintings?"
"He might as well have."
"What did he do? His only crime was speaking his opinion." I just glared at David in response. Icarus knew full well what the result of his actions would be. Or at least he should have, if he would have stopped to think for once in his life. David spoke up again. "Did you see the way people were packed into that auditorium? How much attention he got? That’s a sign Jon, a sign that our generation is ready to fight. They just need someone to show them the way." He leaned in close to me. "These are exciting times we’re living in Jon. These chances come once in a thousand years, and I’m offering you a chance to be part of it."
Well, I had to admit he was a good salesman. "Alright. I’ll come."


I met up with Icarus, David, and Helen later that night and we went to the meeting. I hadn’t spoken to Icarus since the incident, and I was still a little upset at him, but he apologized to me as soon as he saw me, and that defused my anger. I told him he should probably apologize to Orpheus instead of me. He nodded, but I don’t think he had any intention of doing that. Then, Icarus began talking about his impending expulsion, and he made himself out to be a martyr. My urge to strangle him quickly returned.
We arrived at the chapel. Many of the same people who were there last time were again present. And the group seemed larger too, but maybe that was just my perception.
Angela greeted us at the door, but this time had no objection to letting me in. Once inside, Rosa was watching hawk-like over everyone present. She scrutinized everyone with her gaze, and soon I felt myself being examined by her. I didn’t dare make eye contact, so I just pretended I didn’t realize she was looking at me. She deemed me satisfactory and moved on to her next victim.
I looked around for Simon, but I couldn’t find him. I asked David about it. "Does Simon not come to these things anymore?"
David looked around. "Is he not here?" David twisted his neck to look in all directions. "He’s usually here. Maybe he’s busy tonight."
I was disappointed at not seeing Simon. That was part of the whole reason I came in the first place. After all, I’ve seen very little of Simon the past few years. Every one else was very friendly though. "Good to see you here again Jon," Emma said to me. "You were here a while back, right? How many meetings ago was that?"
"I don’t know," I answered. "How many meetings have you guys had since Thursday."
"Just a couple. But, you know Jon," she said smiling, "when you miss on meeting you miss a lot."
"I’m still new to this stuff," I replied.
"Well, good to have you Jon."
Even Rosa came up and talked to me briefly. "Jon, we missed you last meeting."
"I know," I responded. "I was busy."
Rosa gave me a strange look, but it was not a harsh look. I think she was just amused by me, because her eyes seemed to light up and there was a slight smile in her lips. "I don’t know what you’re keeping busy with Jon, but whatever it is I think your time is better spent here."
I nodded in response and Rosa went on her way. It was a short conversation , but the lack of hostility was a pleasant change.
Not too long after that, Rosa called the meeting to order. "I think everyone’s here," she said. "Let’s begin."
"I want to talk about Fenestram," Pax blurted out. There were several voices of agreement. I looked around confused, but did not say anything.
"We’ll have plenty of time to discuss the situation in Fenestram, "Rosa assured everyone. "Let’s take a seat first though. We have business to discuss."
We all sat down in a circle, just like at the last meeting I was at. David, Helen and Icarus all sat near each other, and I sat on David’s right. Emma sat next to me on my right. Rosa positioned herself on the other side of the circle form us.
"How’s the leafleting going?" Rosa asked, the question not really directed to anyone in particular. A small chorus of positive responses filled the room. Rosa held up her hands for silence. "Good, good, I think we’re really doing an excellent job of getting our message out. And, as far as I know, not a single one of our fliers has fallen into the wrong hands. So, congratulate yourselves friends. You’ve been doing an excellent job." The room broke out in cheerful applause, which lasted for a little bit and then immediately ended when Rosa held up her hands for silence. "Now, a bit of news for you." Everyone in the room strained forward to hear what she was going to say. "We’ve received another letter from Clodius through the underground. We have a couple choices here. I could read it allowed right now, or we could just leave it out and those who are interested could look at it after the meeting."
"Read it! Read it!" The response was overwhelming, and from the smile on Rosa’s face I could tell that she had only been toying with the crowd when she made the second suggestion.
Rosa reached into her bag and pulled out a letter. "This is only dated a couple days ago, so they must have rushed it over here. I suppose they thought it was important, which isn’t surprising given recent events. So, we should remember to appreciate the brave women and men of the underground mail delivery system." She cleared her throat and began reading.
"Dear friends,
"I am greatly pleased to hear the work you have been up to. I am sure you realize the importance of what you’re doing. I frequently boast about you to my friends here in Amicae.
"The winters here are harsh and cold. Snow covers everything, and we rarely journey outside. As you know I have been staying with an older gentleman named Apollos, who is very sympathetic to our cause. He has spent his entire life protesting against his own government, and spent many years in jail. Although the government of Amicae has made no move against me, Apollos is constantly worried, and has no desire to spend his last few years in a government prison.
"So, to ease the mind of this friend who has already made so many sacrifices during his lifetime, I have moved into the house of a younger couple also sympathetic to our cause. Their names are Priscilla and Aquilla. They are only a couple of years older then me and newly married and they deserve much admiration for the way they have so freely welcomed me into their home. They provide me with shelter, plenty of food, and even some clothes in return for a few simple chores I do around the house. They are to be highly praised.
"I can’t help but miss Fabulae though. I miss our pleasant winters. I miss the streets of Urbae. I miss my friends. I comfort myself by remembering that I am only away for a little while. I am confident that the Revolution will take place in our lifetime.
"I have spent many of these lonely winter days at work on a new book. The laws governing the press are much more liberal here then they are in Fabulae, so I am thinking of even trying to get it published, although the last thing I would want to do is bring down trouble on my benefactors, Priscilla and Aquilla. If I do decide to publish it, you can be assured I will send you a copy through the underground.
"I am told that you are paying close attention to the upcoming war—"
I leaned over to David. "What’s he talking about? What war?"
"Shhh! Jon I want to hear this."
"—as well you should be. I have also been closely following events up here in Amicae. In fact, I am probably better informed about it then you, since news does not get censored here to the same degree it does back there. Nonetheless, Old Flash is now dealing with events he can no longer keep secret. Keep your ears cocked because information will soon pour into them. By now I’m sure you’ve heard about the boarder skirmishes. Don’t believe the official news. Our troops started that, not theirs.
"I speak with confidence about the approaching war because there is no question in my mind that war will take place. It is obvious neither government has any intention of settling things diplomatically. Flash has spent so much energy on getting the people to hate Fenestram, and so I can not imagine that he has any intention of peace.
"However, I do not want you to be afraid of this war. Flash wants a war because he believes it will distract people from the problems of inequality at home. However, if the war is unsuccessful, it will only magnify Flash’s problems.
"We must oppose the war from the start. We must remind the poor that their children are marching of to die to serve the interests of the wealthy. We must tell everyone who will listen that this is not a war of self-defense, but a blatant imperialistic move by our government." Rosa’s voice rose with excitement as she read out the last few sentences. I suppose it was only fitting given the intensity of what Clodius was saying. Her voice became calm as she read the next paragraph.
"My heart goes out to all of you. I wish I could be with you now. I received a copy of the flier you have been handing out. Most impressive. Varro is to be congratulated. I have enclosed my own flier, which you may also copy and distribute. This is not because I want to compete with Varro. I think he is doing a fine job. It’s just that I need to do something to keep my sanity during this long, cold winter.
"Best wishes and keep me in your thoughts,
"Sincerely Clodius."
Rosa put the letter back in her bag. The whole room was silent. "Well, she said, "Let’s keep those directions in mind. And Varro?" Varro perked his head up when his name was called. "Yes?"
"Let’s get our revolutionary printing press ready to make copies of this flier."
"I’ll do it as soon as the meeting is over," Varro answered.
"We should only do leaflets concerning the war from now on," Rosa said. "We must undertake every effort to undermine Flash’s war campaign.
"What about the workers?" Emma asked.
A door creaked in the back of the room. Everyone turned around to see who was entering. Simon waved sheepishly from the back of the room. "Sorry I’m late," he said, slightly uncomfortable at all the attention.
"What about the workers?" Rosa countered, drawing everyone back to the subject at hand.
"They need to be involved," Emma said.
"I trust you’ve been educating them politically about what this war means," Rosa responded.
Ares nodded. "We talk about it at every meeting."
"They’re the ones who’ve been educating us," Emma corrected. "They’re more politically aware than you give them credit for."
Rosa ignored this jab. "So what is it you want, Emma?"
"The workers need a printing press. They can start putting their own literature together."
Rosa made a face as if Emma had just asked for a golden cow. "We only have one printing press," she responded, looking around the room as if to share her amazement with everyone.
"And we won’t even have that," Varro piped in, "if the University ever finds out what we’ve been using it for."
"The working people deserve an equal stake in our movement," Emma insisted.
Turning away from the debate, I looked back to see Simon, still standing respectfully by the door, not wanting to disturb things anymore by approaching the circle. Besides, he could hear everything fine back there. I slipped out of the circle and walked over to him. "Simon, good to see you my man." Everyone seemed to think the meeting was so important, and so I didn’t dare talk louder then a whisper.
And even that appeared to annoy Simon. "Later Jon, I want to see what they’re talking about."
"Ah, it’s nothing big. Come on Simon, you showed up ten minutes late, just give me thirty seconds."
Simon looked longingly toward the center of the meeting. The debate over the printing press was continuing, and Simon evidently decided I was right. It wasn’t that important. "Alright Jon, but let’s talk in the other room so we don’t disturb anything." Simon gave one last look at the meeting, and he appeared to be reconsidering his opinion. Then, he walked through the door with me.
There wasn’t really anything as nice as another room on the other side of the door. It was just the bottom of the stairwell. We sat down on the floor. "Sorry I haven’t been in touch lately," Simon said.
I playfully boxed his elbow. "Knock it off man, you say that every time I see you. What is that, your new greeting?"
Simon smiled wirily. "I guess I have been saying that a lot. But, with good reason Jon. You wouldn’t believe how busy things have been."
"With Joshua?"
He nodded.
"But things are always busy. Haven’t you gotten used to it by now?"
"Now we’re planning something new."
I gave a short laugh. "Hasn’t that kid run out of people to offend?"
"Oh, you’d be surprised Jon. There are people to offend behind every rock."
"Well, don’t keep me in suspense here Simon. What have you guys got planned?"
"We’re taking our message to campus."
"To the University?"
Simon nodded. "Joshua thinks a lot of the students are living empty lives. He says they really need to hear the message."
I thought of all the gloomy faces I see in the hallways. "I don’t doubt that," I answered. "But you guys won’t last ten minutes on campus. It’s considered government property. As soon as you start talking , security will be there to escort you off."
Now it was Simon’s turn to hit me lightly. "Give us some credit here Jon. We’ve thought of that. We’re just going to go in and start talking until they physically force us off. We plan to make them carry us away. In the meantime, we’ll have talked to as many people as we can. Hopefully, some of them will follow us to hear us off campus."
I made an impressed face. "Joshua’s going to break the law?" It seemed like such an unfitting thing to do for the timid boy I remembered from school.
Simon laughed. "Ah, Jonny, if you only knew. We break the law every day in some way or another. We follow God’s laws Jon, not man’s."
"I’m sure Old Flash loves that."
"You can’t please everyone Jon." Simon abruptly changed the subject. "Hey, we’re coming on Tuesday, at noonish."
"Hitting the lunch rush, eh? Clever planning Simon."
"Yeah, come on out and meet me there, will you? I’ll keep you on the inside track."
"Okay, Yeah I can do that."
"Now, what did I miss at the meeting."
"I don’t know. Something about a war."
"Well, obviously Jon, but what did they talk about?"
"I don’t know."
"Let’s go out and see." Simon motioned toward the door, and we both went out.


Now to be completely honest, by the time Tuesday came around I had more or less forgotten about Joshua’s visit. It’s not that I wasn’t interested, but a University student has so many things to keep track of: classes to attend, papers to write, test to prepare for, study sessions to join, not to mention various social events.
So, when Tuesday noon came, I was busy heading from class to the cafeteria. I might have missed the whole event if I hadn’t run into Simon along the way. As soon as I saw him, I immediately remembered everything. "There you are Jon," Simon called out to me. "I’ve been looking all over for you. Come on, you’re going the wrong way."
I changed directions and went with Simon. "What’s going on?" I asked him.
"Don’t you remember?"
"Yeah, I remember, but where’s Joshua? Where are the others? You’re all by yourself here."
"We all came separately. I told you Jon, a lot of planning went into this. We’ve all come at different times and entered campus at different spots, but at five after twelve we’re all going to meet at the campus center."
"Not a bad idea," I admitted.
"Well, we knew if we all came together, security would sweep us right out. This was the only way."
It was impressive the way everything had been so well timed out. Simon walked at a deliberate pace, as if he was afraid both of arriving too early and getting there too late. I more or less just followed his lead. Simon stopped once along the way to run into an old building and check the time. When he came out, we went slightly faster.
The campus center is, as the name implies, the exact center of campus, therefore a logical place to stage a rally. There was a fountain right there to mark the spot. Quite an elaborate fountain too. At its height, the fountain was about three meters tall. Water flowed our of the top, and into a small pool of water directly below, where it spilled into another pool of water only slightly larger, and so on. In all, the water went through five small pools before it reached the basin at the bottom. Fortunately for Joshua, it was a quiet fountain. The water didn't make a loud splashing sound, but a quiet rippling sound, and so Joshua did not have to compete with it. The fountain was in the middle of a common area, all paved with brick. Outside of the bricks was grass. It was the perfect place for attracting a crowd.
Simon and I arrived at just about the same time all of Joshua’s other followers were walking toward the fountain. It was during lunchtime, so all sorts of people were there. Some were passing by, others were eating their lunch on a bench.
I was just about to ask where Joshua was when he came walking up. He had deliberately, I think, plan to arrive just a couple minutes after his followers had scoped out the area. I’m not quiet sure what he was worried about. Did he think someone might hide in the trees and shoot him?
Joshua walked to the fountain, and climbed on top of the ledge to the basin. Some of the students around became coming closer to see what he was planning to do. Others recognized him, and a few even shouted his name out and cheered. A small crowd began to gather before Joshua had even said a word. Once a small crowd was gathered, it quickly turned into a larger crowd as passerby’s came forward to see what all the excitement was about. Most of Joshua’s followers sat on the fountain ledge right next to where Joshua was talking. They looked vigilant, as if ready to leap in front of a bullet to save Joshua, or to tackle someone who wanted to hurt him. Again, this was hard for me to understand. Who would want to hurt Joshua? Why was it necessary to keep such a sharp look out on the crowd?
Simon and I didn’t make it to the ledge soon enough, and pretty soon a thick crowd had formed around Joshua, and we were pushed to the outskirts of the crowd. "It’s okay," Simon told me. "We’ll still be able to hear fine from back here."
"How’s everyone doing today?" Joshua asked the crowd in his usual calm voice. The crowd responded enthusiastically. Joshua smiled. "You all know who I am, right?"
"Joshua!" the crowd shouted back.
"No, that’s just my name. Who am I?" The crowd was silent. "Who am I?" Joshua repeated with more feeling in his voice.
"A teacher," someone shouted out.
"A prophet," someone else voiced.
"A revolutionary!"
"A leader!"
"A philosopher!"
Once a couple people had started, the crowd began shouting out answers. Joshua eventually held up his hands for silence, laughing at the crowd’s response. "No, no, no," he said, his words mixed with laughter. "Don’t you understand? I’m none of those things. That’s not what I want. It’s not what I’m hear to do." Joshua had a pleasant voice, but it was rather soft and calm, and not always suited for public speaking. It’s really amazing that he became as popular as he did, given that voice.
"Then who are you?" someone asked.
Joshua grinned, and pointed in the direction of the crowd where the voice had come from. "Thank you," he said. "I was waiting for that question. But let’s start with something much easier. Who are you? All of you listening to me, who are you?" Again, the initial response to Joshua’s question was only silence.
"What do you mean?" a young man dressed in blue asked after a while. "That question is too vague."
Joshua nodded. "Alright, fair enough. But try and give me an answer anyway." Joshua looked right at the man in blue.
The blue man looked around him, and then back at Joshua. "We’re students?" he said in a hesitant voice.
"Yes, you are, but you’re so much more then that," Joshua responded. "What else are you?"
"We’re human beings," someone else blurted out.
"Good, good," Joshua said, becoming more animated now by this answer. "Look," he said, spreading his arms out as if to embrace the entire audience, "you are all children of God. God is your mother and father. Your parent is the most powerful being in the universe. Imagine that!"
Joshua’s voice was filled with happiness, and it was beginning to be contagious. Smiles light up around the crowd. I was becoming intrigued myself, not so much by the words Joshua was saying, as by the joy that he said them with. I was distracted, however, by Simon elbowing me sharply in the side.
"What is it?"
"Look behind you Jon," Simon told me, "but do it slowly."
My curiosity made me disregard Simon’s directions, and I jerked my head around. Standing off at a distance, where the brick pavement ended and the well-cut grass began, were three well-dressed men. They had on black suits, sparkling white shirts, and red ties.
I turned back to Simon. "Who are they?"
"Local ministers. They’ve started following Joshua around everywhere. I don’t know how they do it, but somehow they always know where we’re going to be." I turned back to look at them again. "Easy Jon," Simon said. "Just ignore them for now. Maybe they’ll go away."
Joshua was continuing his talk up at the front of the fountain. "Now you all have earthly parents. You know how parents operate, right? Of course, now that you’re all grown up and studying at the University, you probably don’t see your parents anymore. You spend all day going to class, and then go out with your friends all night, and maybe you even have time to study somewhere in between there, but who has time to go see their parents?"
I glanced back again at the three ministers. Simon noticed. "Hey, cut it out Jon," Simon said much more harshly. "Don’t let them know we’ve spotted them." I obediently turned my attention back to Joshua, but I think one of the ministers had locked eyes with me.
"Except," Joshua went on, "except when you need something. Then we go back and talk to our parents. What if we’re out of food, or need some more money to go out at night, or need a place to stay during the holidays? Then all of a sudden we race home and we suddenly become sons and daughters again." Joshua stopped to take a breath. "Am I being to harsh here, or is that the way it works?" There were several nods from the crowd. "And what do our parents do? When we ask them for food, do they give us poison? When we ask them for a bed, do they make us sleep out in the cold? Of course not. They give us the best they possibly can."
The three ministers were all dressed identically, but they did not have the same body types. One was tall and rather thin. Even his face looked long and thin, and his eyes were rather sunken into his head. I wasn’t close enough to see his expression very well, but it looked like he was scowling. Then again, he had that kind of a face were it was very hard to imagine that he ever looked happy. His hair was thin and rather wispy. It was parted to the left, but it didn’t stay in the part like it was supposed to. Instead, it fell all over his forehead.
"That’s the same way it is with God. He wants the best for us. When we ask him for food, he doesn’t give us poison. When we ask him to keep us warm, he doesn’t kick us out into the cold."
The second minister was much the opposite of the first one. He wasn’t particularly tall, and he certainly wasn’t very thin. He looked like someone who has always eaten well. His belly protruded out, making his belt buckle invisible. His face was fat and flabby, and filled with perspiration, despite the fact that his hair was short and sticking straight up.
"Now, I want you to look around. Go ahead, look at the person next to you. Do you realize you have the same father and mother as they do? You’re all brothers and sisters, children of God. So you must treat everyone, everyone on the whole earth, as if they were your brother or your sister. Never treat anyone like they’re an enemy."
And the third minister was perhaps a mix of the first two. He was neither as tall as the first one, nor as short as the second. He was neither thin nor fat. His fair was black and curly, and he was balding slightly on top. Unlike the other two, he did not have a scowl on his face, but rather a look that could perhaps be best described as passive indifference.
"So, you are children of God, and you are brothers and sisters of all humanity. That is who you are, first and foremost, before you are students, or citizens of Urbae, or citizens of Fabulae. You are much more important then any city or country. And, who am I? I am a child of God as well."
"This is blasphemy." One of the three ministers, I wasn’t sure which one, shouted this out.
Simon put his head in his hands. "Here they go again," he said. "They’ve always got to disrupt everything we do."
The three ministers advanced towards Joshua. "Careful," Joshua warned them, "you are talking about things you know nothing about. Do not lead anyone here astray."
"You are the one leading people astray," thundered the short minister angrily. "How dare you speak to us in that patronizing tone."
The tall minister spoke to the crowd. "Young people, do not fall for this man. He knows no more about God than you do. He is immoral."
Joshua was becoming visibly upset. "You hypocrites," he yelled out at them.
The crowd was shocked. Everyone was surprised by how quickly Joshua’s pleasant demeanor had turned to anger. I looked at Simon, wordlessly asking for an explanation. Simon leaned in and spoke in low tones so the rest of the crowd couldn’t hear. "He’s not usually like this. He’s just like everyone else though, if you push him enough, he’ll snap. Those jackasses have been following us all week. They always interrupt his speeches. I think he’s just losing his patience."
"Did you know," the short minister spoke to the crowd, "what is going on at this very minute inside that building?" He pointed to a building that was a ways off, but still visible. "Do you know, Joshua?"
"I don’t want to hear it," Joshua declared.
"A young woman is inside. A follower of yours if I’m not mistaken. She claims you’ve transformed her life. She’s very enthusiastic. She’s been telling all her friends about you."
"She sounds extremely devoted," the tall minister said.
"Oh, she is," the short one continued. "I think she would follow you across the sea and back Joshua if you only would ask her. This young woman was a student here at the University until last week. Right now, she is in the process of being expelled. It appears she was caught having sex with her boyfriend right in the dorm rooms."
Joshua’s face reddened with rage. "How convenient," he said. Joshua’s implications were clear. The ministers had probably planned that this expulsion ceremony would correspond with Joshua’s speech. It was a likely possibility certainly.
"Well Joshua, what do you have to say about this," the balding minister asked. "Is this the kind of behavior you endorse."
Joshua leaped off the edge of the fountain, and began walked right into the crowd. "This is outrageous," he proclaimed. "She should not be expelled."
The ministers exchanged smiles with each other; confident they had gotten Joshua. "Really?" the tall one asked.
Joshua walked right up to the tall one. "Are you perfect?" Joshua asked.
The tall minister faltered briefly, surprised by the question, and then answered proudly. "I am a man of God."
"God knows your heart," Joshua said confidently. "He knows your life of luxury and ease you have lived while you see poverty around you everyday. How dare you judge her. You are a worse sinner then she’ll ever be." Joshua pointed to the building. "How dare they judge her!" he yelled loudly, as if hoping the occupants of the building might be able to hear him.
The balding minister spoke up. "Surely, Joshua, you’re not saying it is wrong for a man to own a few nice things."
"If you want to be perfect," Joshua told him, "sell all that you own, and give it to the poor."
"You’re a radical," the minister said accusingly.
"Campus security is coming." The warning came from Stephen, who could see security approach from his seat.
Three of the security officers approached the meeting area. Joshua and the ministers stopped their debate to listen to what the officers would say. One of the security guards was clearly in command. His uniform was much more decorated then those of his two companions, who flanked him on either side. He stopped, and the other two obediently stopped as well. He looked around, surveying the situation, while the other two guards kept their eyes fixed straight ahead.
"Alright," he said at last in a tired voice, "you all know the rules. This is government property. No unendorsed rallies or speeches here. This is an illegal gathering. If you leave at once, you will not be prosecuted." The words came out of his mouth in a monotone, which suggested he was only reciting a memorized speech, and was himself disinterested with whether Joshua actually stayed or continued talking. Joshua was cooperative though.
"Alright," he said. "Let’s go." Joshua started walking away. His band of followers immediately leaped from their seats and followed Joshua as he walked quickly, but confidently away. The rest of the crowd seemed more confused, some of them following Joshua, others looking around to see what their friends were doing. "Anyone who wants to hear more can follow us off campus," Joshua declared. About half the crowd decided to follow him.
Simon looked to me. "Well Jon," he said, "do you want to come with us?"
I shook my head. "I’m supposed to go out with Clio tonight. I want to get my homework done before then."
Simon nodded understandingly. "Okay, well hopefully I’ll see you soon." Even as he spoke those words he was backing away. Then he turned and ran to catch up with Joshua.
The chief security guard approached the ministers, who were also following the crowd off campus. He lightly touched the tall one on the shoulder, and all three security guards stopped to hear what he had to say. "You gentleman are welcome, of course, to stay as long as you please. In fact, if I’m not mistaken the University President is about to have his lunch at this time. I’m sure he’d love our company."
The short minister spoke up. "Please give our regrets to the President. We think it is much more important that we keep an eye on this young heretic, but tell him we’d love to meet him at another time."
The officer nodded, and the ministers returned to following their prey. I was one of the few people left at campus center, and the security guard noticed me as he was turning to leave. "Are you a student here?" he asked me.
"Yes sir," I answered.
"You’re not a trouble maker, are you?"
"Certainly not."
"Well," he said as he walked away, "keep it that way." The other two security guards briskly followed their commanding officer, all the while not saying a single word.