The Beginning(Chapter 1)

Jason Hulbert responded to his alarm clock a little perkier than usual. He was looking forward to this day more than most. He had been going to the same boring English class every other day for the last three months. The only reason that he still showed up to this particular class was to catch the eye of a certain young lady named Janiece. After all of these long, grueling months, Jason was finally going to go out on a limb and ask Janiece out on a date.

Janiece was an art major who at first glance was as normal as any other girl. Her straight black hair was often in a simple braid, which, in Jason’s mind, only accented her petite face and slender nose. Many of his close friends, at least those of which he spoke to about his secret admiration, said that Janiece was way too tall and skinny and for the likes of someone with his stature.

Janiece was a few inches taller than Jason. Her beautiful, black hair was long enough to reach her waist. Jason thought that Janiece’s long hair was one of the most beautiful features about her. However, the most mesmerizing attribute that made Janiece unique was her bright blue eyes. Whenever she looked at Jason with those eyes, he felt like he was melting from the inside out. Those eyes and her smile made Jason feel as though he could conquer the world if only she would ask it of him.

Jason reached up and eagerly punched the ‘off’ button on his alarm clock. His excitement gave him an extra dose of adrenaline to ward off his weariness. He jumped out of bed and darted into the bathroom before his mother or father could head him off.

Having morning classes forced Jason to compete for adequate time in the bathroom in which to take a shower and put some gel into his short, black hair. Exhaustion often forced Jason to wait until after his parents had gone through their morning routine. His week always had to start early in order to keep up with his studies. He was currently taking twenty hours of classes. That alone wouldn’t be so overwhelming if it wasn’t for the twenty hours a week that Jason worked in order to be able to afford books and food for school.

Not to mention the hours of homework and studying that Jason had to complete every night. Being an engineering major has its downsides. Mainly homework. This semester alone required that he take a computer programming class, advanced mathematics and physics, his English class, and advanced circuit analysis. Jason managed his time so that he could complete a portion of his homework during his lunch hour. The remaining portion often mandated that Jason stay up for hours after work to do a half decent job on his assignments.

Turning in late every night made Jason so groggy that he rarely made it into the bathroom before his parents. He wearily staggered into class every morning, five minutes late.

“Don’t spend an hour in there Jason. Your father and I have careers to show up for” Jason’s mom, Megan, shouted before heading downstairs to fix breakfast.

Jason, as always, didn’t bother to answer his mother. She wouldn’t have stopped long enough to hear his response anyway. Stretching, Jason quickly stepped into the shower and set the water temperature. Feeling the steaming hot water fall on his head was almost a jump-start for his day.

He quickly went through the motions of showering while he mentally checked his schedule for the day. First was calculus, followed by English, in which he saw Janiece, and then he had a two-hour break to eat and do his homework. Today, though, Jason was going to split out of his normal routine and ask Janiece if she would like to grab a bite to eat.

Jason was pretty sure that the feelings of admiration were mutual between him and Janiece. She was always asking his opinion on her writings and smiling when he looked her way. Well, today Jason was going to try and find out whether or not Janiece really felt the same way or not.

But what if she didn’t?

The same doubts that Jason had been having ever since he first thought about asking Janiece out were always reentering his mind. No matter how much he thought and prayed about the situation, he always had that lingering doubt.

Jason lowered his head and quickly said a little prayer. “Dear Jesus, only you can help me make it through this day. You know what my heart desires and you know what’s best for me. Please Lord, be with me this day.”

Jason began feeling a little better about the day ahead of him. He stepped out of the shower and hurriedly dried off.

“I’m done!” Jason shouted as he stepped out of the bathroom and headed to his bedroom. He shut the door and turned on his CD player. He looked through his closet for something that Janiece might find attractive while Kutless blared through the speakers.

Jason finally settled for a pair of blue jeans, black work boots, and a red-stripped button up long-sleeve shirt. Jason was pretty strong for his age and occupation. He had never felt that sports were worth involving himself in, but he managed to work out at least twice a week. His long-sleeve shirt would show off his broad shoulders and thick arms. He didn’t want Janiece to know that he was trying to impress her. He gathered up his materials for school and headed downstairs.

“Oohh! Someone looks nice this morning. Is that cologne your wearing?” Megan asked when she spotted Jason coming down the stairs. She was just setting the table for breakfast.

Jason gave his mother a quick, lopsided grin on his way through the kitchen. He made his way through the living room and set his things on the couch next to the door. He was sitting down at the kitchen table just as his father, Robert, came down the stairs fully dressed and ready for work. Once his mother and father were seated at the table, Jason blessed the food and they began to eat.

“So… who’s the girl?” Robert asked while grinning mischievously out the corner of his mouth.

Fully catching his father’s meaning, Jason decided to play cat and mouse. “Pardon? What girl?”

“Normally your smell is pretty strong, but today it’s actually a good scent.” Robert had picked up on the fact that Jason was dancing around the subject. He wasn’t going to let his son get out of the house without a little teasing.

“Robert! It’s obvious that your son doesn’t want to talk about his little crush. Quit picking on him, you’ll embarrass him.” Megan feigned surprise at Robert’s joke. She turned her attention back to Jason. “So what is her name?”

“Your just as bad as Dad! That’s the same question that he asked, just rearranged into a different form.” Jason playfully protested his parent’s interrogation.

“Yeah, she is as bad as me. But she can get away with it. She’s a woman and if we don’t answer her questions, she’ll talk us to death!” Robert winked at Megan and quickly went back to his eggs. Megan shot a scowl towards Robert’s balding head.

“Well we have to keep dibs on you to make sure you don’t start hanging out with the wrong crowd. It’s our job as parents.” Jason’s mom recited this argument as though she used it often. Jason rolled his eyes.

“Okay. I’ll give, but next time you’ll have to interrogate me to my deathbed.” Jason finally decided to concede the obvious. “Her name is Janiece. She’s in my English class.” While this wasn’t the ideal conversation that he preferred, it was exactly what he expected.

“Is she a babe?”

“Robert!” This time the surprise was genuine. “Jason, I’m sure that she’s a nice girl. And I’m positive that she will say yes without even thinking about it. Any girl in her right mind would jump at the chance to date a handsome young man like you.” That seemed like a typical mom response. Truth was, Janiece was a babe.

“Gee. Thanks mom. I’m sure that all women in the world share your point of view. It’s nothing serious. I’m just seeing if she’ll want to get something to eat on our break.”

“Well she might turn you down if you keep that sarcasm flowing like you do.” Robert quipped between mouthfuls of scrambled eggs.

“Shows what you know dad, most women throw themselves at me when I pour out the sarcasm. The ladies dig it.”

“I don’t know how either of you ever got a date. You both act like animals when you get around women. Your father was wild when we were dating.”

Jason figured that this was a good time to leave. He put his dishes into the dishwasher and went into the living room. He busied himself with gathering his things and making sure that he had all of his homework with him. He hated having to run all the way back home just to get an assignment that he had forgotten was due. His parents finished their breakfast and came in to see him out and then head off to their jobs.

Jason was holding the door open for his father when he heard a flutter of wings behind him. He turned and saw a small blackbird sitting on the porch rail. The bird was acting as though it weren’t scared of being that close to humans. The bird’s black eyes were staring at Jason like it was expecting something.

“Hey dad.” Jason whispered to his father who was trying to carry all of his work materials out of the door without spilling his precious coffee.

“What? Ouch!” Jason’s dad didn’t whisper because he had just spilled coffee all over his hand.

“Do you think there is something different about that bird?” Jason pointed out the suspicious blackbird to his father.

Robert looked at the bird carefully for a few minutes before answering. “Hmm. It must be locally fed because it’s pretty tame. HAH! HAH!” Robert started shouting at the bird to see if it would be scared off.

The bird finally took its eyes off of Jason and focused on Robert without moving from its perch. The blackbird tilted its head like it was trying to figure out why this man was yelling at a bird. The bird answered with a singular “Caw!”

“Well he seems content to stay there. So I’ll just leave him.” Robert took another sip of his coffee on his way to his car. “See ya later Jason, go get that girl!”

Jason looked at the bird for a couple more seconds and then turned and climbed off of the porch. The bird’s eyes followed Jason until he reached the driveway. The bird ‘cawed’ once more and took flight. Jason put the odd behavior into the recesses of his mind to analyze later. Right now he had to get to school.

Jason lived only a few miles from the college and often walked to school instead of driving. It was a beautiful spring morning that promised to blossom into a nice, warm day. Jason hooked his backpack behind his shoulder and headed off to school.

Jason was born into a family that attended a local church almost every time the doors were open. This church became a very important part of Jason’s life. When he was three months old, his parents had the deacons and elders to lay hands on him and pray for his safety and protection through life. Since that young age, Jason had been a part of the youth group and an active participant in its services. His favorite youth leader, Nicholas, worked at the college as a janitor when he wasn’t chaperoning youth activities. This close proximity to Jason, both in and out of the church, allowed the two to become good friends. Jason could always count on Nicholas to help him with any problem he might have.

On a day like today, with Jason finally deciding to ask Janiece out, Jason felt as though he could use all of the support he could get. He thought it might be a good idea to find Nicholas and ask his advice.

He remembered the first time that he met Nicholas. Nicholas had just joined the congregation of the church and wanted to help out with the youth. At that time, the pre-teen class needed the most extra help and Nicholas was assigned there. Jason went to his Sunday school class one morning to find Nicholas seated at one of the tables in the classroom reading over his notes on the lesson. Jason had been raised to be friendly to the people in the church so he started talking to Nicholas.

At first, Jason was a little shy and scared of Nicholas. He was a tall, slender man with dark hair that came down to his shoulders. His skin was a little darker than most other members of the congregation. Jason walked into the classroom and noticed this strange looking man sitting in the corner. Even though Nicholas had been in Jason’s Sunday school class for a few weeks, Jason was a little scared of him.

When Jason talked to Nicholas for the first time that day, he realized that Nicholas wasn’t really a scary guy. Nicholas told him stories from the bible as though he were there to watch it all. Jason started looking up to Nicholas and sitting next to him during services. Jason learned more while hanging out with Nicholas than he did in class. Nicholas knew so much about history and ideology. He took it upon himself to teach the intricacies of the bible’s history to Jason.

Jason finally reached the college parking lot and changed direction to head for the main building. He normally found Nicholas hanging around the employee lounge during the morning hours. The days that Nicholas worked were long. Because he was a janitor, the college had him work impossible hours. One of his daily duties was to make sure that the campus was clean and presentable at all hours of the day. College students didn’t care if they tracked mud across the floor that the janitor had just mopped. As a result, Nicholas almost always was pushing a mop bucket around trying to keep the floors from becoming a disgusting shade of brown.

It was almost a crime to have a man as brilliant as Nicholas mopping floors. He should be at a bible college somewhere teaching. Jason had once mentioned to Nicholas that he should find a job better suited for a man with his intelligence.

Nicholas just looked at Jason with the same, loving, smile that he always had and told Jason something that has never left Jason’s mind: “Son, when looking for a job its best to seek the Lords advice first. He will always tell you where you are needed most. This is my place. Not all jobs are glorious, but all jobs are necessary. My real job is with the young people like you.”

That one piece of advice humbled Jason. He had never thought that his ambitions at work and school should be for the glory of Jesus. That a man like Nicholas would push a mop bucket around for a living when he was qualified for much better jobs was a good example for Jason. Since that day, Jason had tried to do everything in his power to help those around him in the same manner that Nicholas did.

Jason was just reaching the staff lounge when he heard the sound of wheels moving across linoleum. He turned his attention down the hall where he spotted the back of Nicholas moving around the corner. Jason only had a few more minutes left before he had to actually show up for class. He started jogging down the hall to catch Nicholas before he had to face Janiece.

Jason was going pretty fast when he turned the corner and ran right into Janiece. He tried to slow himself at the last second, but his momentum prevented him from avoiding a collision. Janiece’s books when flying out of her hands, and both of them headed towards the floor. Jason managed to use his agility to twist around so that he landed on the floor first. He was trying to soften the fall for Janiece.

They landed with Jason on the floor and Janiece almost on top of him. They quickly separated and scooted into a sitting position.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I never meant…” Jason could feel the heat rise into his cheeks. His day just could not get any worse.

Janiece smiled slightly while she was gathering her books. She wouldn’t meet Jason’s eyes. “It’s okay. I should have been paying attention to where I was going.”

Jason started helping her gather her things. It was one of those awkward moments that Jason never handled well. At least Janiece wasn’t handling it much better. “I’ll see you in class then.” Jason said quickly while he handed Janiece her books. She flashed one more, quick smile towards Jason and hurried around the corner.

“Smooth, Romeo. Smooth.”

Jason looked up to find Nicholas’s hand outstretched toward him. He took it and allowed Nicholas to help him to his feet. Nicholas gave his young friend a good-natured pat on the back. “Well at least she finally fell for ya.” Nicholas’s kind smile helped Jason cope with his embarrassment.

Jason smiled and glanced at Nicholas with a smirk. “Well a guys gotta’ do, what a guys gotta’ do.” Jason then remembered why he had sought Nicholas out. “Hey, do you mind if I ask you something?”

Nicholas held up his hand and gestured as though he were stopping Jason. “I know what you want. Go ahead and ask her. You’ll never be satisfied if you don’t find out for yourself. At least you won’t be moping around anymore and everyone can get back to normal.” Nicholas surrounded Jason’s shoulder with his arm and slowly walked down the hall towards the lounge.

“Am I that transparent?”

Nicholas smiled good-naturedly towards Jason. “Not to most people, no. But I’ve been around you long enough to notice the signs.”

“Signs? Have you been reading my palms or something?”

Nicholas let out a small chuckle. “You know that I would never read your palms without permission. No I meant the dazed look, the dreamy eyes, and the tripping over her.”

“Oh. Well maybe I tripped because of blood loss.” Jason grinned back at Nicholas. He hadn’t had the chance to tell Nicholas about his latest good deed. He knew that boasting about a good deed was kind of hypocritical, but it was different with Nicholas. There was a special bond between Jason and his mentor that dealt with emotions more important than pride.

Nicholas stopped in the middle of the hall and turned his attention entirely on Jason. “You didn’t hurt yourself again did you? I told you not to stick a paper clip in the light-socket anymore.” Nicholas’ grin spread to Jason.

“I would do no such thing!” Jason feigned insult towards Nicholas. “Actually I gave blood at the blood drive a couple of days ago.”

The warm reception to this news that Jason expected was not what he got. Nicholas frowned and turned his head to look out the window for a minute. Jason was almost sure he could hear Nicholas whispering a prayer. Jason didn’t understand why giving blood to someone who would need it would disappoint Nicholas so much. He reached out a hand to see if Nicholas was all right.

Nicholas turned his attention back to Jason before Jason’s hand could touch him. Nicholas’ eyes were a little wetter than normal, almost as if Nicholas was holding back tears. Nicholas slowly hugged Jason and held him at arms length. His eyes looked Jason up and down like he had never seen Jason before.
Jason opened his mouth to speak when Nicholas cut him off.

“I’m fine son. I’m just getting a little old, is all. My mood changes quickly anymore. You get to class before you miss anything. I don’t want to answer to your mother again.”
Nicholas turned away and began walking down the hall to retrieve his mop bucket before Jason could speak. Jason stood in the hall for a couple of minutes, dumbfounded by Nicholas’ behavior. He eventually turned and headed for his calculus classroom.

Calculus was the same as it always was. Jason tried to pay attention and take decent, readable notes, but he kept going back to the incident with Nicholas that morning. Why did he act so hurt and disappointed about Jason donating blood? It was possible that Nicholas was just having a mood swing like he said, however, Nicholas was always so lucid. Jason was beginning to think that something was seriously wrong with his mentor.

Maybe Nicholas reacted so strongly to the mention of blood because he was having some kind of medical problems. If he was, then Jason should be with him instead of sitting in class. Jason quickly dismissed the idea of leaving class early. Surely Nicholas would have said something to Jason if there were a problem. He knew he could count on Jason the same way that Jason counted on him.

Jason made a mental note to take the time to sit down with Nicholas and find out what was bothering him. He turned his attention back to the professor and the intricacies of math.

Forty minutes later, Jason was on his way to his English class. Calculus had been a total waste of time. Jason didn’t retain any of the material that was lectured on. He was too preoccupied with the condition of Nicholas to concentrate on math. He couldn’t help but worry that Nicholas might be sick. Nicholas would not want him to worry and Jason knew that it was illogical.

He was still pulling these thoughts around through his head when he walked into his next classroom. He was a few minutes early because of the short walk to get from his calculus class to his English class. The professor had not yet made it into the classroom so Jason walked into a discussion of how bad the teaching was.

Jason walked to his seat at the back of the class and began taking his books out of his bag. He was just sitting down in his seat when he noticed someone sitting down next to him. He lifted his head and realized that it was Janiece.

“Well howdy stranger. I see you made it through the room okay without tripping over me.” Janiece’s smile was warm and kind. Her eyes were uplifting to look at. Jason was almost lost within those eyes as normal, but the thoughts of Nicholas kept reoccurring in his mind. But she was still as beautiful as an angel in his eyes.

“Uh... well yeah... I guess I did.” Jason tried to smile as though everything were normal. It wasn’t everyday that the girl of your dreams went out of her way to talk to you.

Janiece must have noticed the worry in Jason’s eyes. “What’s wrong? You look like something’s on your mind.” While she was speaking, she laid her hand on Jason’s shoulder.

Jason could feel the blood rising in his cheeks. He tried to keep his voice steady and his mind focused. “Oh... It’s nothing. One of my friends from church was acting a little differently this morning. I’m thinking that he may be sick or... uh something.” Great. He was stumbling over his words like a lovesick teenager. Actually, now that he thought about it, that’s exactly what he was.

“I’m sorry. I hope he’s alright.” Janiece moved her hand to lay it on top of Jason’s own. Her cheeks were starting to flush similar to Jason’s. They were acting like it was taboo to be interested in a member of the opposite sex. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Janiece’s eyes were full of caring and kindness. Jason knew that she was really concerned for Nicholas. Her compassion for people that she had never met was one of the attributes that Jason found attractive in her personality. “Well, we can’t now because class is about to start.” Professor Hartman had just walked in and was sitting down at the front of the room. “But maybe later, if you... I mean if you wouldn’t mind... that is, we could talk about it over lunch or something.”

Jason’s body temperature was fluctuating wildly now. He hoped that she would say yes. He had tried to sound as nonchalant as he could. He was afraid that his excitement and expectation was showing in his voice.

Janiece smiled that special little smile that she seemed to reserve only for him. “Sure. That sounds like fun.” She gave Jason’s hand a comforting squeeze before heading back to her seat.

Jason’s heart was on the verge of collapsing. He had prayed and worried about that moment for months. It seemed so ridiculous and easy now that he had been through the act. Jason couldn’t help but smile.

Professor Hartman stood up from his desk and started passing out the graded midterms exams. He was making small comments to each student while he was passing out the tests. The professor made it to Jason’s test and walked toward him. “I guess there are still students who study after all.” Professor Hartman handed Jason his paper face down. “Keep this up and I might start having faith in the average college freshman.” Professor Hartman normally made these kinds of jokes to his students.

Jason turned his midterm over to see his grade scribbled at the top in bright red ink. Jason had made a perfect one hundred percent on his test. His discomfort about Nicholas was receding into the back of his thoughts. In Jason’s mind, this day could not be any better.