I tapped my pencil againest my desk as I watched the second hand of the clock. I sighed. This class seemed to go on FOREVER!! I tuned out the teacher's droning voice and, only heard the tick tock tick tock of the slowly moving clock. I wanted to jump up and scream, "HELP!! I'm gonna be stuck in this class FOREVER!! NNNNOOOOOO!!!!" But of course I couldn't. If I did, I would probably get dinged with a couple weeks of DT's.

Right now my teacher, Mrs. Eimer, was blabbering on something about South America. South America, it seemed, was her favorite subject. (Like did you know that meat is the number one export of Argentina? Do you care?) I sneaked a look at Elroy. Sure enough, he was asleep. Sure enough, he was drooling. I looked around some more. Yup. Three quarters of the class were off in dreamland.  Since everyone else was nodding off, I thought, Hey? Why be the odd one out? So I stuck my head in my sweatshirt and took a nap.

***

RIIIINNNNGGG!!!! My school's annoying extra-loud bell rang in my ear. I (as well as the rest of the class) jumped up simply as a reflex action. Mrs. Eimer looked pleasantly surprised, and said, "Why, thank you all for joining!" Immediately everyone plopped down. Except for me, of course. I didn't have the brains of an amoeba, much less the common sense to sit down. (Of course, the fact that my ears were still ringing may have contributed to my temporary deafness.) Mrs. Eimer looked disappointed, but said, "Oh, well, I'll just put Ley down, anyway." Back to her lecture. I just sat there. What had I done? I knew then that if I was going to die, I might as well know the details. I leaned over to Angie's desk.

"Angie!! What did I 'volunteer' for?! I was asleep!!"

Angie grinned.  She was my best friend since grade one, when she made me eat crayons. She has what you could call knock-'em-dead looks. So many beauty contests had called her, that her parents broke down, and got a unlisted number. She was also an atheist. A die-hard one, I might add.  I had tried time and time again to drag her to church, each time with NO result. (I hadn't exactly been a good example of how Christians act, either. Oops.) "AGAIN? Hey, Ley, don't you EVER listen?"

I sagged. "Look, Angie, I'm in no mood for humor. TELL ME NOW AND I MIGHT NOT BREAK YOUR NECK!!!" I hissed between clenched teeth.  Angie held her hands up in surrender. "You volunteered to do some computer work. Highly confidential."

I perked up. I was pretty good with computers. I liked computers.

"What's so bad about that?" I asked.

Angie shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine!"

***

And that's what I did. I guessed. was it for.....the school's tax runs? Forms for our annual sausage sale? A letter to the marijuana kingpins?! Okay, so my guesses were a little far-fetched. (They usually are.)

The next day I bounced up to the office. There, Mrs. Zonkerman (?!?!) showed me how to operate the computer terminal and tole me what to do. I couldn't believe my ears. I was supposed to check everyone's grades and correct the ones that were wrong! My dream job!!  (Yes, I'm too nosey for my own good.)

"Now this is totally private, you understand? I'm trusting you to keep quiet about this!" But I barely heard her. It seemed like I had just started when I finished. Angie met me at breaktime, which was louder than the average jet plane.

"Man, who pumped you full of joy juice?" she quipped. I gave her a pained look. "Alright, alright. So, whaddya have to do?"

I grinned, showing my slightly crooked teeth. "I got to check out everyone's grades!"

"WHAT?"

"I SAID I GOT TO CHECK OUT EVERYONE"S GRADES!!!!!" I screeched. Dead silence fell. Wow. Even all the teachers, the US Army, the CIA, the FBI, and Scotland Yard couldn't have shut us up that fast. Amazing. It didn't last. Immediately, everyone homed in on me and started to throw questions at me.

"Yo!! What's-your-name!! What did I get?"

"What did Joey get?"

"Shut up!"

"You've got breath that would stun a yak!!"

"Do you accept bribes?!"

And then, over all the noise and confusion, I heard Angie. "Ley!! What did I get?"

In total kindness and consideration for my friend, I yelled out her grades as loud as I could. I figured no one would hear it over the hubbub.

"ANGIE!! YOU GOT A "D" IN SCIENCE AND A "C" IN MATH!!!" Oop. Big mistake. Silence again. (Wowzers. Two times in one day. Must be a world record.) Angie's face was bright red, and her eyes were shooting sparks at me. If looks could kill, I would've written my Last Will and Testament right then and there. Angie pivoted on her heel and marched off without a second glance.

 "Angie! Wait!!"

***

Boy, was she steamed at me. I'd called her three times. No answer. She'd picked up once, but I had only gotten out a "An-" before I got a earful of dial tone. Oh, sure, she'd been mad at me before. It only took about FOUR WEEKS to even SPEAK to you again!! I had messed up big time. Not only was I losing a terrific friend, I was going to gain a reputation as a blabbermouth. (Which I already have, but....You know.) I also gave the impression that Christians were complete idiots. NOW what would the atheists in our school say? Not to mention what Angie would spout off at me.

But how was I ever going to say I was sorry?

***

I stayed up all night trying to find a solution. Oh, I found one, alright, but it was so hard, and so socially risky, that I wondered if it was worth it. But I had to do it. I would lose my best friend, and the trust of everyone else, if I didn't. I prayed for one hour, asking God for the courage I needed to pull this whole thing off.

***

The next day, before assembly, I scampered up to Mrs. Eimer and whispered my request. She looked a little mystifyed, but nodded and scrawled off a note to the principal.

"Class, attention PLEASE!! Line up at the door so that we can proceed." Of course no one listened but milled around willy-nilly. When we finally reached the auditorium, we all plopped down, save one. Me. I scurried backstage and took a deep breath. Mr. Gilman, our too-cool principal, walked out and began with the usual comments. I peeped out and saw him take out the note. His forehead scrunched up a little.

"Miss Caslon has something she would like to share with you. So, come on out!"
 I trotted out, but as soon as my eyes fell on the stage, I seriously considered backing out. But I couldn't. My conscience was too strong. My legs turned to jelly and I more or less staggered out there. I gulped a bit, then started.

"Most of you know that I was in charge of checking my grade's grades. And most of you know that I blabbed out Angie's grades. " A ripple of laughter swept the room. "But, I just wanted to say that I am truly sorry for being so nosey, and for saying out your personal marks. I did not mean to betray the trust you put in me, and I did not mean to be a total numbskull." Another ripple. "If there were any problems caused by this, I hold ALL responsobilitly for them. Thank you." As I walked away from the podium, I could hear my footsteps echoing throughout the room. Whoa, it was quiet. Mr. Gilman walked out, and, with a weird look to me, ended the assembly.

***

I was walking home after school when Angie caught up with me.We walked in silence for a few minutes. Angie broke it. "What were you thinking, girl?!" she screeched.

I gave a little shrug and listened to her rave on.

"...totally unexpected.......what got into your head?!......crazy...truly sorry....moment of insanity?!!.......what got in your head?!......ALL responsobilitly......" She stopped. "But it was really brave of you."

I nearly planted my face on the sidewalk. "Gah! Did I just hear ANGIE say that?! My ears need cleaning."

Angie had a sheepish look on her face. "Yeh..... You know, all this Christian stuff must have SOMETHING to it to drive you to all this. Do you think you can tell me more?" It was said in a matter-of-fact way, but I knew she had to swallow her pride.

"I take it I'm forgiven?...."

"You take it right."

As we walked home I told Angie all about Christ. Before, when I had tried to tell her the story of Jesus she had come up with a snappy remark or brushed it off. But now, I could see the wonder, the peace shining from her face. I sat down with her and prayed as she accepted Christ as her personal savior.

It's true, I thought, looking up at the brightening sky. Trouble and miracles go hand in hand.