Bridge to God

A boy of fourteen was running to school, because he missed the bus. Exhausted, he ran up the steps of Dorman High School, he sped through the halls and came flying into his science class. Nigel’s hair was brown, highlighted with red strokes. His hair was straight and thick. His eyes were as brown as his hair and seemed on fire with a hatred of God. His face was covered with thousands of freckles and a scar from a deep scratch from a punch from a bully; this bully’s fingernails were so long that Nigel got a cut and a bruise all at the same time.
“You’re late, Scott!” growled Mrs. Jameson.
“I’m sorry,” said Nigel, walking to his desk.
“Oi, Scott, what happened last night? New girlfriend?” whispered Folger, behind him. He had always been fond of making fun of Nigel.
“No, I just…forget it,” murmured Nigel.
“Now, back to our discussion about the origins of man,” said the teacher.
The door opened and Principal Nelson brought a girl in.
“This is Gloria McNally,” he said. Her hair was brown, curly, and thick
She walked to Mrs. Jameson.
“Well, Gloria, the chair beside Mr. Scott is empty,” said Mrs. Jameson, pointing to the empty seat beside Nigel.
“Thank you,” she walked to Nigel who picked up his backpack and threw it down to his feet. She sat down and smiled at him, but Nigel didn’t have a chance to see her eyes, because, Mrs. Jameson started talking about evolution. Gloria looked abruptly at Mrs. Jameson.

“What’s your name?” asked Gloria after school.
“Nigel James Scott Jr.” said Nigel.
“Do you know Jesus Christ?” asked Gloria.
“I don’t care for him, he never helped me, I’ve got to go!” said Nigel, abruptly, and ran off.
Gloria seemed untouched by his anger. In fact, she shouldered her backpack and ran to the edge of the street an old green car stopped near her. She ran to it and said, “Mum!”
Nigel kept running and finally stopped at his house; he turned at the driveway and ran up the steep hill of his house.

On Saturday the rain beat at the windows. Dad was reading a devotion to Nigel and he wasn’t paying any attention to it. He saw Gloria walking around the block with an umbrella and putting in their green box a sheet of folded paper. She walked on and looked up at the window he was looking out of, she waved. But he scowled at her. She shrugged and walked on, she stooped down and found Nigel’s soccer ball, she carried it up the hill and went to the door.
“Dad, someone’s coming up the hill!” he interrupted his father in mid-sentence.
Dad rolled his eyes and saw Gloria coming up the hill with Nigel’s ball.
“She’s just bringing up your soccer ball,” he told his son.
Dad walked to the door and opened it as Gloria got to it.
“Hello, Mr. Scott, the ball said your son’s name and I thought I should bring it up,” said Gloria.
“Come on Nigel, take the ball,” said Dad.
Nigel slowly and cautiously edged toward Gloria as she tried to hand the ball to him.
“Take it, son,” said Dad.
“I won’t bite,” said Gloria.
Nigel snatched it out of her hands and stepped back glaring at her.
“Thank you,” he muttered.
“You’re Welcome,” she said, smiling, “Good bye, I’ll be going home.”
“You are being a bit mean to her, Nigel, all she wanted to do was give you the ball.”

On the bus, after school, Gloria sat next to Nigel. Nigel muttered, “I’d like to sit alone.”
“Oi! Everyone Scott’s in love with McNally!”
“Shut it, Folger!” said Nigel.
“Ooooooh! That’s not very nice,” said Folger, in a mock baby voice.
Nigel turned around and punched Folger squarely in the face, Folger fell on his seat, nose bleeding.
“Nigel!” shouted the bus driver, “Walk home!”
“Yes ma’am,” the bus stopped and Nigel got out and came home.
Gloria was talking to Folger telling him to leave Nigel alone.
“What is your name?” she asked.
“Andoquino Folger,” said Folger.
“Andoquino does mean ‘without compassion’ does it not?” asked Gloria.
“Yes, it does,” said Folger, smiling proudly.
“Well, Andoquino Folger, it matches your stinky attitude, you will leave Nigel alone or…”
“Or what?”
“Or, I’ll tell you Mother that you have been bullying a 6th grader,” said Gloria.
“Don’t you dare tell her!” said Folger.
“I will, I mean it!” said Gloria.
Gloria turned around and Folger got an ice cube from his cup and put down her back. She screamed and turned to look at Folger.
Folger laughed with a whole bunch of other boys and girls, she turned around, tears rolling down her face as she thought, But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek to him also. Matthew 5:39.

It was Saturday and Gloria stood at her window and watched an unknown car drive up the driveway, Folger came out of it with two girls flanking him.
Her dad came out. He was a 10th grade teacher in Dorman High School.
“That’s the visitors, we’re going to take them to Golden Corral,” he said, patting Gloria’s head.
When they got to Golden Corral, the two girls went to the restroom, and the Gloria needed to go. The girls grabbed her and threw her head into a toilet and threw her to the ground they punch her until her nose started to bleed. She couldn’t scream because they had toilet paper in her mouth, they left and the Folger’s got out of the Restaurant. Mrs. McNally went into the restroom and saw Gloria on the floor, crying.
“GLORIA!” she screamed, running to her and taking the toilet paper out of her mouth, she helped her out of the restroom Mr. McNally noticed something wrong.
“Gloria!” he said, striding to Mrs. McNally and Gloria, he put her into the chair she was in last time. Gloria’s hair was wet, blood was trickling down her face from her broken nose and her leg was stiff.

Nigel lay on his bed hearing a terrible voice was saying, “Nigel! Nigel! Nigel!”
Light flooded his vision and his eyes opened, everything was blurry.
“Mum, Dad!” he shouted, his eyes hurt terribly and he could only see a blur of colors.
Mum’s voice said, “What is it, honey?”
“Everything’s a blur, I can’t see, and my eyes hurt.”
That morning they went to the eye-doctor and Nigel was forced to try to tell what the letters, he could not see were.
“What’s this?”
“I dunno.”
“What’s this?”
“I dunno.”
“What’s this?”
“I dunno.”
It went on like this for half an hour the finally Nigel got glasses, Mum paid for them. Nigel’s eyes became in pain for days upon days he had to take off his glasses more than once a day and wash his eyes out with water, then putting his glasses back on to hear. “NIGEL!”

While these happenings of Nigel transpired, Gloria was in the hospital having her nose and leg fixed, Mr. McNally had to work at school but he anxiously waited for school to close, he started to cry when it was lunchtime, he was in the restroom and he kept blowing his nose, allowing the tears to fall of his face. While he was crying Mrs. McNally paced the perimeter of the waiting room Gloria come out being helped on a wheel chair. Mrs. McNally turned, happily to her and pushed her while the doctor talked to her. Gloria was looking back and forth while each talked, but didn’t gather it all in, she wasn’t feeling too good.
“I have some crutches I used when I was her age, maybe those will do,” said Mrs. McNally as the doctor picked up Gloria and put her into the front seat.
“OK,” he said, closing the door. They talked some more then the doctor went back into the hospital as Mrs. McNally got in. They drove home.

Nigel sat on his bed, hands on his eyes, crying. His door opened, but he ignored it then the door closed and he heard voices. He stood up slowly and cracked the door open.
“Pastor Ray, Nigel’s not been himself, I don’t know what’s going on, his eyes hurt everyday and he can’t see well even with glasses.”
“May I see him?” asked the white-haired man, named Ray Hellings.
“Yes,” she said, she opened Nigel’s door, Nigel stepped back glaring at Pastor Ray.
“Why did you bring a Pastor in for Mum?” he said.
“You need help, dear,” she pulled Nigel out and pushed him towards Pastor Ray.
After a short talk Pastor Ray went to Mum.
“God’s working in him, that’s why he’s in this state,” said Pastor Ray.
“Why in this rough way, the poor boy’s going to be brought to death if He keeps it up!” said Mum.
Then Nigel shut his door and didn’t hear them anymore.
“O Lord, I am yours, come into my heart, please help me,” said Nigel, on his knees, praying, and crying.

Gloria moved slowly through the school and sat in class she looked at Nigel who seemed to be happier than usual, he wore glasses and listened more carefully to the teacher then he stood up when she called him.
“My project is about Creation,” he said to the class, he talked about how God created the earth in 6 days and on the 7th he rested and how he said the creation was good. After school Gloria sat on the seat beside Nigel, he let her and smiled, she smiled.
“How would you like to go to my house tomorrow?” she asked.
“If Mum and Dad give me the OK,” said Nigel, he wasn’t muttering anymore, he was new and clean. He loved God and Jesus.
“Of course,” said Gloria, “They can come too.”
“OK, maybe,” said Nigel, smiling.

Eight years later Nigel was running to Spartanburg Technical Collage, because he just wanted to, he had gotten up at 3:00 AM and started running when he got there he was there before anyone they came in and saw his hair wind swept and face red, Mrs. Sherwin came in as grouchy as can be.
“Scott, your project, please,” she said.
He got up, excited and picked up his report and board.
“Jesus Christ died to save you many, many years ago…”
“Oi! Scott this is a reality project!” shouted Folger.
“Yes, I know that and this is reality… you think there was a big bang? Well, there wasn’t, but there will be!
“Seven seals and seven horns, seven plagues are coming, Jesus is coming to judge the world…”

Nigel was sitting on his bed, his eye stinging, but he didn’t complain, he was satisfied with being a Christian. His journey of trials weren’t over in fact they were just the beginning. Nigel knew it was the beginning in fact he was getting trails from the time he was talking about Revelation he knew that was going to happen because it was in the Holy Bible, so he told them. The doorbell rang, Nigel walked to the door and opened it.
“Yes?” he said, there stood Mum.
“NIGEL!” she screamed throwing herself on him, grabbing his cheeks and wiggling them.
“I’m 22 years old, Mum,” he told her.
“Oh yeah, sorry,” she said, moving away from him then Dad came and patted him on the shoulder.
“Good man,” said Dad.

They went downstairs and put some food from Mum on the table, and the wine and tea from Dad. Another ring on the doorbell told Nigel Gloria must be here. She was and she brought homemade popcorn and a few movies and a few sleeping bags. Nigel couldn’t help noticing she was beautiful now. He could finally see her brown eyes.
“Come in, come in!” he said.
A knock, it was his new friend, Lyle Johnson, and his children with more food, juice, and ice, his old friend Timothy Whitt, who had children and a wife with him with sleeping bags, CDs and The Holy Bible.
“Come in!” said Nigel, smiling.
They went downstairs, ate, drank, and then went to the room that Nigel put bunk beds and put the sleeping bags in, there were curtains around each bunk bed. They covered the beds and slept.

That night, Nigel couldn’t sleep, so he went outside where Gloria was for some strange reason.
“Oh Nigel,” she said, her eyes were unusually bright, and hair sparkled with the abnormally big moon’s light.
“Gloria!” said Nigel, adoringly.
“Yes, Nigel?” she said, smiling.
“You’re so beautiful!”
She blushed, “Is it the moon or me?”
“Both,” said Nigel, smiling back.
“Nigel, you are just so silly!” she replied.
“I’m not silly.”
“Yes, you are!”
He walked to her and kissed her cheek.

They were married a year later as they walked down the aisles.
Is this right? I don’t feel God wanting this, thought Gloria.
Why am I doing this? It doesn’t feel right, thought Nigel.
“Do you, Nigel James Scott take Gloria Suzette McNally to be your lawful wedded wife to have and to hold until death depart you?” asked the priest.
“I do.”
“Do you, Gloria Suzette McNally take Nigel James Scott to be your lawful wedded husband to have and to hold until death depart you?”
“I do.” What am I doing?
“I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride.”
They kissed.

6 years later… Gloria held a baby in her arms, they named her Arianna Joy.
“Hello, Ari, hello,” she said in a babying voice.
“Gah!” said Arianna.
“Aw!” said Nigel.
Nigel’s son, Aric Job was at school at the moment, the bus would drop him off here, in the hospital to his mum and little sister.
Aric was there, so was Nigel 3rd the nurse knocked the door.
“Come here Aric,” she said he ran to Gloria and touched Arianna’s forehead, lightly.
“Is she mine?” he asked.
“Yes, and mine and your father’s,” she replied.
“So, we’re sharing her?”
“Yes, dear,” said Gloria.
Aric sat down, watching Arianna, as Nigel 3rd leaned against the doorframe, smiling
Jesus is the Bridge to God but Gloria was merely a bridge he used to save Nigel. Thank you