Chapter 15
The Summer Of Fence-Sitting
Summer in Reliance was hot, too hot to do anything outside except look for some place with air conditioning. Even the Sergeant moved his daily run to the relatively cool darkness of 5 AM – and Chris actually got out of bed on his own initiative to join him, every single day. Jessie could barely recognize her brother anymore. He’d come home from camp not only a hot-stamped Bible-thumper in mind, but also five pounds lighter in body. He was obviously determined to maintain both changes. The daily run – which must be torture, she thought, for a recovering butterball pursuing an Army Ranger – was followed by a shower and then a quiet period “in the Word” for each of them. Jessie knew about this morning routine only because she had been up with a sore throat around that time one night, and had encountered them while looking for the aspirin gum. She couldn’t see what was the good of summer if you didn’t sleep till at least nine most of the time. Like there was anything to do once you got up, anyway.
In desperation to pass the time, Jessie signed up for summer school, but even that was over all too soon. She spent part of each day hanging out with her girlfriends at the mall or a restaurant, and the balance of it at the house, mostly surfing the Internet in her room. Even this option vanished soon enough, as the Sergeant turned off the family WiFi and announced that all the kids’ Internet access would go through one shared computer, which he set up in a little nook next to the main living area. Having all her online activities in full view of the whole family left Jessie with almost nothing she wanted to do on the Internet (which in itself might have told her something about the things she was doing before). She wasted a little time on Facebook each day just out of habit, but there was only so much a bunch of friends could do on the Internet when they saw each other daily anyway.
Finally, Jessie got bored enough to learn the rules of Catan, and discovered that the boys weren’t actually crazy for liking it after all. The Sergeant got them the six-person expansion pack, and the whole family would play together, with Ben frequently standing in for whatever player had another commitment. Sometimes Mrs. Scroggins would even come over with him, and she and Mom would have a fine time cooking in the Sparrow kitchen, aided by an always-willing Katie. Occasionally Jessie herself would pitch in as well, though ever watchful for more bombshell lectures.
On the subject of the last bombshell lecture, Jessie had to admit that the new outfits she and Mom had bought were more than okay. She had assumed, wrongly, that when Mom said “modest,” she was thinking “dresses,” probably in dull colors. While Mom herself often wore a skirt these days, she apparently realized that such attire might be too much for her teenage daughter. She did hopefully toss a skirt or two into the bags, but mostly those bags were filled with normal-looking outfits, clean-cut and properly fitting.
Rather than becoming an object of ridicule for her new “Puritan” standards, Jessie got compliments every day on how good she looked. Other girls were even starting to imitate her style, buying some of the same outfits and thus unintentionally becoming more modest themselves. No one ever guessed the story behind Jessie’s new wardrobe, and naturally, Jessie never told them. Actually, she didn’t tell them much of anything these days about her family, good or bad, for fear she’d remind them of last spring’s tirade. She heartily wished that whole day had never happened.
Mom and the Sergeant established two new weekly occasions, “Boys’ Night” on Tuesday, and “Girls’ Night” on Thursday. The activities were pretty much what one would expect from the names. First the Sergeant took Moe, Chris, and usually Ben to do something manly like archery, laser tag, or Frisbee golf. Then on Thursday, Mom took Jessie and Katie out for more feminine activities, such as a fancy restaurant dinner, shopping, or a movie. When the girls’ group stayed home, they would randomly select a project that the guys would normally handle and try to do it themselves. The guys, likewise, would cook for themselves on Girls’ Night and then try to clean up the kitchen. The results were sometimes ghastly but always unpredictable – which is what made it fun.
Katie enjoyed Girls’ Night, but she was never really happy getting left out of Boys’ Night either, and half the time managed to charm her way into their group as well. Finally the Sergeant gave up and added “Family Night” on Saturday, which seemed the most fun to everyone no matter what they ended up doing. Even Jessie had to admit to having a certain degree of fun.
The family took one more major trip that summer, to Cincinnati, Ohio. What was in Cincinnati? Why the Creation Museum, of course – a Mecca for Bible nuts like the Sergeant and his platoon. Mom wanted to go this time, which saved Jessie from making what would have been a hard choice: Stay home and enjoy her “freedom,” or admit that she really wanted to go with them. The trip was a lot of fun, even though Jessie had no interest in science and couldn’t have cared less whether Evolution really happened. The exhibits were cute and the people friendly, and an artist in the lobby drew hilarious caricatures of everyone in the group. Just getting out of the city was in itself a welcome relief.
When they returned from Ohio, Jessie was surprised to find that only two weeks of summer remained. It had been quick and even enjoyable, once she got over being afraid of the Sergeant’s domination and started participating. She had even shown up for devotions once or twice, and actually found the discussion interesting.
Yet, in a way, this fun and togetherness made Jessie feel even worse than the boredom had. She felt that she was standing with one foot in the old “free” life, and one tentatively in the new one the others had found. Clearly they were happy with it, and she could be too – for awhile, to pass the time. But fall was coming; school would resume. Life would resume. In three short years, she would be heading to college. She knew she would not be taking a Bible with her, or seeking the family’s approval then. It felt wrong to be soaking up their loving fellowship now.
Every time they laughed together, she could hear herself snidely dissing the Sergeant to her friends, see herself slipping out the back door like some juvenile delinquent. In short, Jessie had a bad case of darkness, hypocrisy, and a guilty conscience. The more she dwelt on it, the more miserable she felt.
One night the Sergeant announced a “family meeting” – not Jessie’s favorite occasion, as it generally meant a new rule. But she should be used to it by now, she reminded herself. Meetings like this had taken away her nightlife, her cell phone, her allowance, her wardrobe, and finally her Internet access. These bitter thoughts brought the old attitudes back to the surface, making her feel hard and distant. The Sergeant needn’t think she was now a doormat, just because she’d played a few games with them and listened to him read the Bible. Soon school would start, and his radical summer program would be over.
“Kids,” the Sergeant began as if picking the thoughts from her mind, “we need to talk about school.”
Jessie sat up straight. She knew what he was going to say, just as certainly as if the words had already left his mouth. And she also knew that the time had come to fall on one side of the fence or the other.
“This week,” he continued, “your Mom and I picked up copies of some textbooks and required reading material on your lists from school. After reading this... this garbage, all we can say is, we’re sorry for what you’ve been exposed to in public school all your lives. We’ve talked about it, and we’ve decided to start a little homeschool.”
“Yee-es!” Moe almost jumped from his chair. He absolutely dreaded school, and everyone knew it. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
“Now keep your shoelaces together,” the Sergeant cautioned. “This isn’t going to be a cupcake school. We’re going to have a similar day schedule to what you’re used to, and if anything, you’ll have to work harder than before to keep up.”
“We know,” Chris grinned. “The only easy day was yesterday.”
“It’s no joke,” the Sergeant insisted. “Your Mom was trained as a teacher, though marrying your dad kept her out of an actua
l classroom. I will be acting as principal, and you know what that means!” He gave his signature glare. “Oh, but did I mention? Ben’s coming to have school with us, and Mrs. Scroggins has agreed to come and help out with the house while your mom’s busy teaching!”
At this the whole room erupted with glee – except for Jessie. She waited until they were quiet, and then she threw down the gauntlet. “Do I have a choice about this?” Her arms were folded and her eyes burning. In the back of her mind, Jessie was already going over desperate options. It couldn’t be legal for parents to just pull their kids out of school against their will. Even if it was, she could surely make vast trouble for the Sergeant just by telling some social worker the exact truth. Jessie was almost shocked by the way such a wicked plan suggested itself to her, but she accepted it as her own immediately. It was all she had to fight with.
“Sure you have a choice.”
For a moment Jessie thought she hadn’t heard him right. Then she felt stupid and ashamed, like when you maul an intruder in a dream and he suddenly turns into your best friend.
“Jessie dear,” her mother took up sadly, “we could make you sit at a desk in this house, but it wouldn’t be fair to your siblings. They want to be sheltered and safe here at home, away from a system that excludes God and attacks Christian values. If you want that too, you’re welcome to it – but you have to want it.”
“If you don’t,” the Sergeant said, “you can board that school bus and get the best education you can find. It’s your decision.”
“Wonderful.” Jessie smiled through glassy eyes, almost dizzy from what appeared to be the sudden return of her freedom. “I guess everybody wins, then, huh?”
“Yeah, especially us.” Chris’s voice was barely audible, but Jessie heard him clearly.
The Sparrow Found A House (Sparrow Stories #1) Page 15
