Jackson couldn’t become a Christian. It went against everything he believed in. Yet something about the way Philip was filled with life when he spoke about Jesus intrigued Jackson. Something was different, he just wasn’t sure what it was. Jackson did his best to push events of that night from his head so he could sleep.
Jackson awoke the next morning to the sound of his cell phone ringing. He didn’t recognize the number, but it was a number with the local area code. He picked up the phone.
“Hello?” he asked hesitantly.
“Is this Jackson?” said a man on the other side who sounded quite familiar to Jackson.
“Yes… Who is this?”
“This is Mr. Rallison. I wanted to make you a deal.”
“What would that be?”
“I’ll give you the job you applied for, but it will be on a few conditions. First, you don’t go snitching about the meeting we had last night.”
Jackson thought for a moment. It would not be wise for him to tell anyone right now. Not while he was still living with the Longs, anyway.
“Okay.”
“Second, you have to stay in school and keep your grades up. I want you to graduate and get your high school diploma.”
Again, Jackson saw no problem with the condition. He was only a few months from graduating anyway.
“Okay.”
There was silence for a moment, and Jackson thought he heard Mr. Rallison take a deep breath on the other side.
“Last condition. I want you to attend our underground meetings. And before you respond, no, I am not asking you to become a Christian. I am merely asking you to come and try to see things from our perspective. If you meet these three conditions (and of course work hard), the job is yours.”
Jackson needed this job. He knew he couldn’t live with the Longs forever. This was probably the highest paying job he could get without a degree. What was the worst that could happen? He would just have to sit through some meetings.
“Okay. I accept the job,” Jackson said.
“Great. You start tomorrow after school. Our next meeting is soon. Make sure you talk to Stephen when you’re at school tomorrow. He’ll tell you how to get to the meeting.”
“Thank you Mr. Rallison.”
“See you in church, Jackson.”
Jackson went to school the next day, motivated to work hard in school and at his new job. He paid more attention than normal in his classes, and spent most of lunch doing homework so he could work that afternoon. When Jackson got to Mr. Evans’ class, he was treated no differently than normal. They discussed the Socratic Method. Mr. Evans managed to make the class interesting despite the fact that it was such an old topic. After all the other students had left, Jackson cautiously approached Mr. Evans’ desk.
“You’ve made a decision, I presume?” asked Mr. Evans, without looking up from his work.
“Yes. I want to go to your next meeting to learn more.”
“Very well. Our meeting is on Saturday at midnight. From the Longs’ house, you have to go two blocks north, then turn right and go to the second house on the right.”
“How do you communicate that with the rest of the church members?”
“That is privileged information that you will have to earn.”
“Okay. Thank you, Mr. Evans. See you tomorrow.”
As Jackson was heading for the door, a thought struck him. Mr. Evans had spoken poorly of Christians and their tradition many times. He had poked holes in every philosophical aspect of the religion. Even today, he had shown how one could destroy the average theist by asking a series of questions.
“Mr. Evans?”
“Yes Jackson?”
“Why are you going to church?”
“Let’s just say it’s for research purposes and leave it at that.”
Research purposes? Did he mean he was pretending to be a Christian?
“Okay. Have a good afternoon Mr. Evans.”
Jackson left the room and headed for his next class, with yet another question on his mind. It seemed like ever since his parents died, everything Jackson thought he knew had been turned upside down. He still didn’t know his place in the universe. Mr. and Mrs. Long, whom Jackson had always assumed were merely average, middle-class parents, were a part of a society that Jackson opposed, and Sophia had known all along. Mr. Evans, the man whom Jackson had trusted for unbiased philosophical teaching, was attending church with the Longs. Jackson was not as focused as he had been earlier that day when he went to his next class.
The school day passed mostly eventless. At lunch, Noah had gone on a rant about why Christians were backwards people. Jackson noticed for the first time that Sophia avoided eye contact whenever someone brought up Christianity. In his last class of the day, Jackson spent most of his time staring at the clock. Finally, the bell rang, and Jackson was on his way to his new job.
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