Vicky finished her shift at the CD store and hurried home to prepare for her band rehearsals.
40 minutes before the time, she made dough for making her pastries and left them in a warm place to leaven.
She then took a shower and dressed in a red woolen sweater over a top, and jeans trousers.
After having done practice on the mirror, she made short hasty prayers and picked her bag, leaving the apartment.
‘West Circuit West Circuit.’ Vicky murmured, following a pavement way that they usually circled during their morning jogs.
She was so excited about joining the band. She loved singing very much and she imagined that, the band was her opportunity of exposing her talent as a singer.
She longed to tell her mother that she joined the church band. She would be praising and lifting God’s name in Ortegun and probably, in the rest of New York and America.
Maybe there would be choir championship or battle of the Church bands.
She was so excited that, although she recalled Wayne offering to direct her to the music hall, she did not want to look for him first. In fact, Wayne was not available for the morning jog. Vicky already guessed that, he slept at his girlfriend's place and might not have even returned to Ortegun that day.
She lowered her pace when she neared a tall building with a dome shaped roof. It had a lit portico and some people walking on a couple of stairs below it, into and out of the building.
A label at the portico was the one that caught Vicky’s attention.
The Derby
“This must be it.” She said to herself and begun following the path to the building.
She passed two security guards at the entrance and entered the lobby which was huge with marble floors and the dorm shaped roof. Most of the people in the building were foreign to Vicky. She became a little nervous because they also seemed too older than herself or Wayne’s class.
She smiled however, when she caught sight of large swing doors at the end of the busy lobby.
The doors were labeled with golden italic letters.
Music hall I
She increased pace toward the doors and almost touched it before someone called.
“Hey Lady! Don’t go in there!”
She gasped and spanned around, already frustrated that, she had done something wrong.
A man in the University’s security uniform came running to her from the building’s entrance. He was one of the guards who Vicky left behind when she got inside. Maybe he followed her.
Vicky gulped, shaking on her feet. Oh my God please help me. She prayed inwardly.
“You are not allowed to go in there, that hall is under renovation.” The security guard said, halting in front of Vicky.
She sighed. “Oh I am sorry. I didn’t know. We have band practice and we were told to meet at the music hall. My friend told me that, it would be in The Derby.”
“The Derby is all this area; four buildings actually. This just happens to be the first one. What your friend must have referred to is The Derby opposite the Law Faculty building.”
Vicky sighed again. How could she have missed Wayne’s instruction?
“There’s the Music Hall there; neither one nor two. Just music hall. Alright?”
Vicky nodded. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome. Are you a first year student?”
“Yes.” She replied shortly.
“Okay. Just a tip, this building is normally used by post-graduate students so, you might seem out of place coming in here.”
She raised her eyebrows, nodding.
The man smiled and begun to leave, she did too.
Vicky was upset when she came back, outside The Derby. She was already thinking of returning back to her apartment. The little mishap took the best of her.
I was so excited. She thought, hovering around the stairs below the building portico.
She wished that she had a phone and then she could share her awful experience with her mother. But, she didn’t.
“Hey!”
Someone called.
She turned and her face lit up to glance at a familiar person.
She took the few steps to the ground and walked to Kyle, who waited for her across the pavement way.
“Hi," he greeted charmingly. “I see that you are already here.”
She blushed. “Yeah. But, I think that, I got lost.”
“Forgive me. I should have given you instructions.”
“It’s okay.” She replied, fixing her bag braces well over her shoulder.
He begun to move. “So, what type of music do you sing?” He asked as they walked side by side.
“Well. I sing Gospel. I can do Solo. I don’t know if that answers your question.”
He chuckled. “It’s alright. Have you ever been in a band before?”
“No.”
“Can you lead a band if at all you were to be in one?”
She was elated. “Wow. Yeah. I will be so happy.”
He grinned. “Listen Vicky, that’s your name. Right?”
“Yeah," she replied nodding.
“Alright Vicky. Our band is the most popular known band in Ortegun. If you sing with us, you stand the chance of exposing your talent and becoming very famous. We also go outside campus and compete with the college bands of the colleges like MIT, NYU and more other renowned Universities in New York.”
Vicky was very excited. “That is great. So, I’ll be the leading soloist?”
“Yeah. Only if you agree.”
“I have no problem with that," she replied instantly, without a second thought.
By this time, they already arrived the Law Faculty Building. Vicky got a glimpse of it and realized immediately that, they were already there.
“Okay" he said, stopping. “We’ll just meet the rest of the band and we can go for the rehearsals.” He said, glancing behind her.
She turned around and saw another beatifully designed building.
There was a banner at the entrance written; The Derby.
That’s it. Opposite the Law Faculty building. She thought and turned back to Kyle but, he was already leaving, walking into the Law Faculty Building.
Vicky knew that she had to wait.
She crossed her hands below her chest and exhaled deeply. She could not wait to start.
As she stared at the Law Faculty Building that, Kyle disappeared into, she embraced the sight of Wayne and Gregory, coming down together with charm on their faces.
She offered a smile when Wayne glanced at her and, he smiled back.
“Hallo?” She called, through the cool breeze that also made her very chilly.
“Hi!” Wayne replied, walking down to her with Gregory. “Waiting for me?” He asked, halting a few steps from Vicky.
She laughed a little. “No but, it’s nice to see you.”
“Hallo," Greg greeted.
“Hi.” She replied.
“Oh. The band rehearsals. Oh gosh. I forgot that I promised to pick you up.” Wayne said in disappointment.
“You are with the Fangs, Wayne?” Greg asked first.
“No. I can’t sing," he replied.
“Don’t tell me that you are with the Fangs… who Vi…?” Gregory asked her.
“Vicky.” She helped. “Who are the Fangs? Another band?”
“Like the leading rock ‘n’ roll band in Ortegun. But, don’t mind him. So, where are your partners?” Wayne replied and asked.
“There’s one; Kyle. I think that, he went to call the others.”
Wayne frowned. “You are not talking about Kyle Johnson or are you?”
“She’s lost man.” Greg said, shaking his head.
Vicky was puzzled. “Anything wrong?”
“Vicky. Where did you meet this guy?” Wayne asked.
“In church.” She replied, worriedly.
“He must have gone out to look for a soloist. I heard that, he has been in search for one ever since Melissa lost her voice.” Greg said, confusing Vicky more.
“Vicky. You do not want to hang around with these guys. His band is full of boys and they will only harass you. They are not anything close to God or the church.” Wayne warned.
Vicky found her mouth opening but, staying in silence. She sighed deeply.
Gregory laughed. “Oh my God… don’t tell me that you thought that… I mean, I can follow Jesus even Wayne can but, Kyle? Not under this sun.”
Wayne glanced at him and back at Vicky. “They are bad news, Vicky. Take it from me.”
“I’m back.”
They all turned around to face Kyle. He was carrying a laptop and a guy in a dark outfit escorted him.
Wayne frowned at him, taking Vicky’s side. “Kyle.” He bawled.
He raised his eyebrows in queer, approaching the three. “Yeah Wayne. What’s the problem?”
“How can you lie to her?” Wayne shouted.
“Lie to who?” Kyle asked instead.
“Don’t you know that this girl is saved? She can’t join your band.”
“Listen Wayne, our band may not be about God but, we are not singing about the devil. Our content is about life, okay?”
“I thought that, it was a Gospel band.” Vicky said, letting out her disappointed voice for the very first time.
Kyle sighed. “Okay. Maybe it’s not a Gospel band. I mean… those songs have no market these days. People want to hear about life and love. No one believes in a God that they cannot see. I don’t either.”
“It’s fine that you don’t.” Wayne begun and took Vicky’s hand. “But, she does and you are not going to soil her image or reputation by making her sing for your band.”
“Wayne, Fangs is the best band in Ortegun. We already sold more than 100K copies ever since our last CD was out. And that was just a few weeks ago. Singing with us will be her chance of debuting into the music industry.”
“Pick another girl.” Greg suggested.
Kyle turned to him. “I have tried searching in Ortegun. Only she has the best voice.”
“Really, how about Deborah?” Greg asked again.
“She only wants to sing for God.” Kyle replied quickly and added. “Anyway, what’s important is, the record company needs a song in two weeks, otherwise, our band is finished. We also borrowed money to pay for Mellissa’s hospital bills and the next song will be our only chance of clearing the debt and not get into problems.”
Vicky furrowed her eyebrows. Just then she recalled a verse from Romans chapter 8. All things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
I am here for a reason. She thought.
“You are not going to use her, Kyle. I am warning you.” Wayne threatened.
“Listen.” Vicky begun, freeing her arm softly from Wayne’s clutch. She looked at Kyle. “We’ll do a gospel song.”
Kyle shook his head. “It won’t hit.”
“Let’s try and err.” She insisted.
“I can’t afford an error, Vicky. My life and the rest of the band’s, are at stake.”
“Okay then, I will not sing with you.”
“Right.” Wayne supported her decision.
Kyle pulled a sad face. “But, you can help just this one time to sing one song. I promise that it will be only this once.”
“I am so sorry. I only sing Gospel, all the time. I am also telling you that, a Gospel song will hit; even more than your life songs.”
Kyle sighed deeply, looking down.
“Those are the terms.” Greg interjected, staring boldly at Kyle.
“It will hit Kyle. You have me and more importantly, you will have God. May it be that God wants to use your band because, it reaches more people, to spread His knowledge to the world.” Vicky told him.
Kyle shook his head. “No, you don’t understand Vicky. We need to sell another 100000 copies and we need a hit song.”
“I understand Kyle and I also want to help you help your friend and yourselves. I will join your band only on those terms. We will sing a Gospel music.”
Kyle sighed. “Gosh.”
“Take it or leave it Kyle. Make up your mind, now!” Wayne enforced.
Kyle turned to his company, Fred. He just shrugged.
Kyle turned back to them. “Who will write the song? I don’t know the Bible.”
Vicky smiled. “Don’t worry, I will.”
Kyle sighed again. “I don’t know guys if I am making the right decision but, I can swear to you that Fangs is going down.”
“And we are going to give it a new name.” Vicky announced.
“What!” Kyle exclaimed.
“Yeah. Fangs’ a bad name.” Greg commented. “It means what?”
“Snake teeth.” Wayne replied bluntly.
“Yeah. We are going to name it Faith.” Vicky said nodding.
Kyle sighed. “No, we can’t do that guys. People will laugh at us.”
“Relax, Kyle. It’s only going to be for two weeks.” Greg said.
“If the song doesn’t hit then, you can go back to the old name.” Wayne added, being aware of the routine now.
“Guys, if the next song doesn’t hit and we sell 100K copies, we go to jail.” Kyle explained.
“It is going to hit.” Vicky assured them.
“Why do you seem so sure?” Kyle asked.
“Because, I know the God in whom I believe. He will never let us be put to shame. That’s Joel chapter 2.” Vicky replied.
Wayne noted that in his mind. For further study.
Kyle sighed and decided, “Okay. Since, you are writing the song, we’ll postpone practice till tomorrow evening. We have to becoming every night and on Saturdays because, we have to record by next week.”
Vicky nodded. “It’s alright.”
“Okay good. And I will check you out from time to time.” Wayne promised.
Kyle just gave him a glance and turned to his company.
They left together and the three remained on their own.
“Lets’ go.” Wayne suggested and they began to walk out. “Are you cooking tonight Vicky?” He asked after a while.
“Yeah.” She replied.
“You cook? Ah you have plenty of time.” Greg said.
“I tend to minimize time for doing other things that I can skip.” Vicky explained.
“Example?” Greg asked.
“Watching TV or chatting.”
“Oh C’mon. Watching Television is relaxing.”
“Truly but, it would be better to do that while, I already have my Masters and I have a good house and cars.” Vicky said.
Wayne narrowed his eyes.
“Woho. You are amazing” Greg commented. “I know a few girls who are so determined.”
“Thanks. I believe that, God guides us to do what is right.” She replied.
Wayne was silent, contemplating her reaction.
“Okay. So what are you making?” Gregory asked.
“Buns. Muffins as you may call them but, not exactly that.” She replied.
“When can we come around?” Wayne asked afterward.
“By ten. I’ll be studying after that.”
Wayne nodded. “You are reminding me to work on that time table.”
“Did you read John Chapter 2?” she asked.
“Yeah. And I also covered John Chapter three. I understood that, giving up Jesus was a way of God showing his love to mankind.”
“Yes.” Vicky nodded.
“Oh. You are on the Bible stuff Wayne?” Greg asked.
“It’s called Salvation, Gregory.” Wayne told him.
“I’m a Catholic but, I don’t get the word salvation. The only thing that you are doing is praying and reading The Bible, right?”
“Yeah but, there is more.” Wayne said. “There’s like, real faith in Jesus. I don’t know, like you feel him or something.”
“It’s all about a better relationship between man and God. That was the reason for Jesus coming down; to repair the relationship between us and God. He also revealed the Father that is, God, to us. We are supposed to know and serve God to the extent that he deserves.” Vicky explained.
“But, we do so when we go to church, right?” Greg asked.
“When was the last time that you went to church?” She replied with a question.
“Amh…” Greg begun to recall aloud. “On Christmas eve.”
“See? God needs all the attention.” Vicky said. “Do you also read your Bible often?”
“I don’t have a Bible.” Gregory said.
“So, get a Bible and get acquainted with God. The Bible says in Job 22:21 that, Agree with God and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. In another translation it says that; be acquainted with God and be at peace. Therefore, Jesus has already taken away our sins, we have boldness and confidence to come to God and ask him for his intervention in our lives.”
“Oh.” Greg said. “I never looked at it that way. But, then, won’t I have to stop doing the things that I like to do?”
“For example?” Vicky asked.
“For example, I know that, the Bible says that, it is not good to sleep with a girl before getting married. Something that it calls fornication. But, seriously, that is impossible not to do.” Gregory replied.
Wayne laughed.
Vicky didn’t. She explained afterward. “God is the one who gives us the ability to not do sin. The Bible says that, he who commits sin is a slave to sin. But, the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the fullness of him, sets us free from all sins.”
“You mean that, if I start to pray and etcetera, I will not want to sleep with my girlfriend?” Gregory asked.
“You will consider doing what is right and marry her.” She answered.
“Aah. C’mon. I am not ready for marriage.” Greg opposed.
“Ask God’s opinion for your life, Greg.” She concluded.
Wayne was following the discussion closely. “So, what do I do if I still want to sleep with girls?” He asked.
“Pick a girl, Wayne, and marry her. God understands the way he created us and the Bible says that; for this reason man shall leave his family and be joined to his wife. So, get married or stop doing what is wrong before God.” She said simply.
“And if I don’t want to marry?” Greg asked.
“Get closer to God and he will help you to set your life aright; including giving you your spouse at the right time.”
“Really? It will work?” Greg asked.
“Try and err.” She replied.
Greg nodded. “Since I have nothing to lose, I’ll get a Bible and start reading it.” He resolved and turned to Wayne. “You at John, right?”
“Yeah. Chapter three.” He replied.
#
They parted at the fountain and she ascended to the dormitory building.
At 9pm, Wayne came to pick his buns and also repay Vicky the money that she used to buy him his Bible.
Before he left, Wayne returned back to Vicky's door again.
“Coming.” She called.
He heard footsteps coming closer to the door and it was opened. Vicky appeared behind it. “Oh. Yeah?”
“Amh… I don’t know how to put this but… I am going to tell you anyway.” He said.
She raised her eyebrows in queer.
Although she could have, she did not let him in. She did not want to.
“Yes, tell me?” She asked.
He took in a deep breath and said. “Well, I usually have scary nightmares and they give me terrible days. Yesterday I slept alright but, only because I was in Boston beside Sasha. I don’t know if tonight, I will be able to sleep well.”
“Oh.” She said. “Just ask God.” She answered him simply.
“Ask God? Can he help me to have a good night sleep?”
“Do you have a Bible right there?”
“No, no but, I have a Bible app in my phone. Tell me the word and I will bookmark it.” He said, feeling his pockets with his free hand. The other hand held a plastic bag containing Vicky’s Prettiz.
“Okay. Read Psalm Chapter 127 from verse 1 to 2.”
He scrolled the screen. “Is it in the Old or the New Testament?”
“Old Testament. It is also the longest book in the Bible.”
He nodded in understanding. “Say it again, Sam?”
“Psalms, with a ‘p’ like psychology.”
“Oh alright I get it. Wow. It has one, one fifty chapters!" He exclaimed as he perused the screen of his phone.
“Yes. Go to chapter one twenty seven and read verse 1.”
“It says; unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it, labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” He read and paused, looking up at her. “So, God is supposed to protect us and do everything for us.”
Vicky nodded.
“Am I also God’s beloved?”
“You are his son, Wayne.”
He smiled, that made him a bit joyful. “Alright. Thank you.”
“Before you go. Have you heard anything from Annie?”
He shook his head. “No but, I did text her a few days ago.”
“How about calling her?”
“I can try right now.” He said and turned back to his phone, tapping it.
She waited silently as he placed it against his ear.
He lowered it shortly afterward. “She’s not reachable but, I will try calling her again.”
“I just hope that her father’s okay.”
“If anything happened, she would have told us, right?”
“Yes. I guess so.”
“Has she called the apartment?”
Vicky shook her head. “Not while I was around.” She said and added. “Is she from Mexico?”
He chuckled. “Not Mexico but, New Mexico. Anyway, his father lives there. He divorced her mother when Annie was young. All I know is that, the dad didn’t call or look for Annie and Mrs. Earl for over the past ten years or so. They had no communication until last week when they found out that he was sick.”
“Oh. That’s too bad.”
Wayne nodded.
“Mrs. Earl… is she also called Linda?”
“That’s what few people call her. Especially girls, the lady is very strict.”
Vicky laughed a little. “I didn’t notice that.”
“That’s maybe because you don’t take psychology.”
She smiled, remaining silent.
He sighed with exhaustion, pocketing his cell phone. “Okay. I gotta go. Good night?”
“You too. Don’t forget to pray before you sleep.”
He shook his head. “I won’t.”
She shut the door and he left.
Vicky went to her room afterward and prayed for Annie’s father. She was also worried because, there was no news from Annie ever since she left.
After having tea with Vicky’s Prettiz and studying, Wayne drafted a timetable of how he would be spending his day. He saved enough time for reading the Bible and working on his assignment.
Then, he reclined to his bed with his Bible and looked for the Psalm 127. When he read it again, he shut his eyes and prayed for a comfortable sleep.
“Just like yesterday,” he requested God at the end of his prayer. “If you would like but, a better sleep would be welcomed.” He concluded, “In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.”
He pulled the sheets above himself and dozed off.
A couple of miles away, Greg was watching like he usually did. He did not have trouble sleeping but, this time he was supposed to be watching a movie.
But, instead of the couch, he sat on his work desk. He took out a borrowed Bible from the desk drawer and placed it on the table.
“Okay, God. I want to follow you and hear your plan for me in my life. I was told that, there was more of you than I do know right now. I do know much about relationships and mine have never been long lasting. Can I start a permanent one with you?” he said with his eyes staring at the closed Bible. “Let’s begin.” He said to the atmosphere and opened the Bible to the book of Genesis.
#twoweeks stay tuned....
