Complete Chapter 1 of a Broken Hallelujah

8/10/2019 Complete Chapter 1 of a Broken Hallelujah

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appendix removed; otherwise, she and Faith would have died. Faith s theory abouther disability is that the anesthetic from her mother s surgery affected her brain,causing her to be born early, resulting in her disability. However, no one reallyknows, but God s got his reasons. She prays, but often times her prayers are oftenout of desperation. She knows God is there, but she feels unheard.

Faith lives with her grandparents. When Faith was younger, her dad camedown with a type of cancer called non- Hodgkin s lymphoma, and he nearly died. Iremember that particular day quite well.

In June of 2001, Faith and I were around age seven. She made another bestfriend named Aaron who everyone around here likes to call, her friend who just sohappens to be a boy. The day started with some basketball. It was intriguing to thetwo of us even though we couldnt really play with peers. It was a hot summer day,and she was outside bouncing the basketball in her front yard. It escaped from herand there was nothing she could do about it. It wasnt like she could just chase afterit. A few minutes later, a boy a little younger than us showed up in her yard andasked

Is this your ball?

He gave it back, and then she took a phone call. It was her dad. He had been rushedto the ER of the nearby hospital. Basically, the doctors said:

Make funeral arrangements. This man s going to die.

Faith watched him go through months of agonizing chemotherapytreatments. I remember the nights she would call me so upset. She hated seeing himlike that. After months of prayer and a bone marrow transplant her father kickedcancers ass. He s a testament to what a little faith can do- although I m not sure hehas much himself.

Shortly after my dads recovery, my parents separated. The reason for theseparation is best described as two adults not getting along anymore and notwanting their children to be raised in a broken home. Each of my parents had to dealwith their own challenges while overcoming inner demons. When the decision toseparate was final, my heart was broken and my mom moved out. Shortly after that,my father, who is a kitchen manager for a restaurant chain, had to begin travelingevery two weeks or so for work. His first round of travel landed him in Baltimoreand Philadelphia.


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In addition to all of these changes at home, I also had changes at school. I wasassigned a PCA named Lindsey. PCAs are people whom society likes to callpersonal care assistants or personal care attendants. Basically, its a title that Ilike to refer to as a bullshit term. The government likes to label everyone andeverything these days so they can BS in society and get paid doing it. At first, Ididnt like Lindsey that much; she was just too friendly for my taste. She wouldconstantly try and make me laugh and spark a conversation only to face rejectionfrom me every single time. The thing about rejection was that I didn t give a damn. Ireally didnt care what she thought, what she said, or what she did, until one day Ireally had no other choice.

I walked into school quiet as always, but ran into Sam on my way to class.

Hey Sam

Hey Faith, how are you?

Doing great!

Whats wrong?

Nothing.

Well, um call me later please.

Bye Sam.

I arrived at class really early and was getting my stuff situated when Lindsey asked:

Do you want to tell me what that was about?

No, not really.

You can talk to me you know.

Yeah, I know, but theres this thing about adults. They tell me that they careand then, in the end I find out that they really dont.

Well, I care Faith.

Youre not giving up are you?

At least not until first period starts my dear. You need to focus on the Fruitsof the Spirit.

What?


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Wait, youre telling me that you dont know what the Fruits of the Spiritare?

Uh, no

The Fruit of the Spirit is talked about in Galatians 5:22-23. They are love, joy,peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self- control.

Do you read the Bible?

Not much.

Do you go to church ?

I go to Mass every Saturday with my grandparents. Its boring.

I see. Well, it seems as if you need to exercise more self-control as well assome other things. Now, would you like to tell me what is bothering you and whyyou were rude to Sam?

My grandfather is sick. He had a procedure done on his heart and it didnt goas well as wed all hoped it would. Hes resting comfortably, but I hate seeing him gothrough this stuff.

Oh well I will definitely keep your grandparents in prayer and you as well.I care about you Faith; you are more than just a kid. He has a plan for you.

Later that night, I called Sam to apologize and explain the situation.I would learn more about that plan Lindsey referred to having her as my

assigned PCA throughout middle school. She played a key part in my salvation. Shetaught me that there was more to believing in God than just going to mass for anhour every Saturday. My grandmother reconnected with her brother, and he invitedus to his church. It was there that I was taught about how much Jesus really lovedme, and I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. After that, my world changed;Lindsey and I became the best of friends, and were often referred to as Oreo cookiesand milk.

After my twelfth birthday, my dad was sent to Illinois. At first it was for a temporaryposition as a kitchen manager, but then it became permanent at least until arestaurant would open up in California where he could assume the same positionfull time. While living in Illinois, he met a woman named Shelby; eventually theystarted dating. From what he tells me shes pretty nic e.


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In October of 2006, I had to have Botox. Botox is a procedure whereinjections are done in my ankles to reduce tightness. After the procedure, I would becasted for a few weeks making the month of October fly by. It was very hard to walkwith my crutches during the time of my casting, but I did. It was so painful, but atleast I had Sam to relate to.

How are you doing with the casting?

Its super itchy and my heals hurt.

That is totally normal. Just a little while longer. Cmon you can do this. Here,lemme draw on you as a distractio n.

She took a marker and drew all sorts of funny faces and designs on my casts just tomake me giggle. Sam and I are more like sisters than friends.

After getting my casts removed, I decided to take a big step of faith and bewater baptized. I was never water baptized into the Catholic religion as an infant.This was a huge life event for me. Who better to invite, but Lindsey, the catalyst ofmy spiritual journey. This type of baptism is different than the traditional baptism. Iam going to be baptized by immersion meaning I will be immersed under water fora few moments after the pastor says some things.

I sat in church anxiously waiting for my name to be called.

Faith, if you would come on up here so I could assist you into the baptismal

tank here. Is there anything youd like to say to the congregation?

Since accepting Jesus into my life, things have really changed for the better.A lot of it is indescribable really, but I know that I am a better person all the wayaround thanks to loving friends, Jesus, and this church.

Alright, can we give her a round of applause for that beautiful testament? Ifyou could also just extend your hand outward toward Faith as I baptize and blessher church that would be awesome. Alright Faith, are you ready?

Yes.

Alright, having accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior I baptize youin the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Amen!

And into the water I went. I came out soaked, but with the biggest smile. The rest ofseventh grade flew by.


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That summer was nice; I spent a lot of time with Sam. We goofed off. We hadslumber parties. During those slumber parties, we made prank calls to friends. If wecalled anyone else like The Pizza Company we were bound to get in trouble. Webasically spent the summer being two goofy girls. Sam slept over my house prettymuch every weekend that she was not visiting her dad. Were so close that we evensleep in the same bed when she comes over.

As summer came to a close, it meant that Sam and I would be beginningeighth grade, a year that would soon be full of many memories as we prepared tograduate. On the last night of summer, we made smores and talked until we fellasleep.

For me, school went off without a hitch. I had no problems whatsoever andwas enjoying every minute; Faith however, not so much. Although we both had toshare he, PCA, Lindsey, that wasnt really bothersome to us. It all started early inSeptember as she approached me about her plans for high school.

Sam, I m going to apply to the Creative and Performing Arts High Schooldowntown.

What are you planning to study there?

Literary Arts.

So, like writing?

Basically, yeah.

OMG! Faith that s awesome! I really hope you get in there. You re so good.

And so began the beginning of Faith s first educational journey: to get accepted toCAPA High School.

Over our lunch breaks, Faith would eagerly show me what she had preparedfor her audition. She had it all nice and neat in a portfolio. We even did practiceinterviews together. Some days we laughed, and others we cried. That s the beautyof friendship: a good one can withstand pretty much anything.

Sam!

What mom?

Faith s on the phone for you.

Thanks mom. I said taking the phone from her hands.


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I waited for her to exit the room and said Hey Faith. How are you?

Sick.

Yeah, you definitely sound congested. Hopefully you get better by- oh no!

Your interview is tomorrow, can t you reschedule? No, I called them already and they said all audition dates are final.

Well, that s bullshit. Are you going to go still?

The only way I m not is if I wake up puking.

UGH! This sucks. Well, get some rest. I ll be praying for you to feel better sothat you can come to school tomorrow and then go to your interview.

The next morning I eagerly looked for Faith after I got off the bus and insidethe building. I sure hoped she was feeling better. A crowd of students came in, andFaith was the last to enter.

Faith, you re feeling better!

Not exactly, but good enough to try and pull this off.

You have your portfolio? Please God let her have her portfolio.

Yeah I do.

We went through another morning of the same old routine. Art class,Spanish, Music, and Faith chose not to participate in P.E in order not to get all grossbefore her audition. We parted ways at lunch, and I saw her off as she got into thecar.


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I arrived at CAPA. We had to park in a narrow alleyway and walk down a fewstreets. It was really hot. California weather isnt always enjoyable, especially intimes like these! I walked into the building and was amazed by artwork all done bystudents. CAPA is a school with eight floors, and not all of the students are allowedto use the elevators, which totally benefited me.

First, I met with the principal Mrs. Mead. She showed me around the schooland explained that classes at CAPA are done on block scheduling. With blockscheduling, students take fewer classes each semester, but each class is longer. Thisallows students to focus on their discipline of study.

I met a CAPA student named Jodi; she was a sophomore majoring in LiteraryArts. She explained to me that students receive their own MacBook Pro uponacceptance to the school. Too bad it would only be a four-year loaner if I were one ofthe lucky ones to make the cut.

Jodi and I did a practice interview. That didnt t go well at all! I totallybombed it, but there was hope for me, seeing as all of the other auditions wererunning behind. Jodi ran to Starbucks down the street, offering to buy me some, butI don t drink coffee, so I politely declined.

I waited for what seemed like forever, but it finally came time for myinterview. I did better than I thought I would, considering that I had a cold. Theinterview I had long been excited for and dreading at the same time was over beforeI could even take it all in. They said I would be notified by mail within the next two

weeks of my acceptance or of my denial. Here s to hoping it wasn t the latter.

I had prepared a little party with a little assistance from our PCAs in order tocongratulate Faith on her acceptance into CAPA. We had cupcakes and balloons setup and were all grinning from ear to ear. Faith walked in that morning with themost serious of faces.

Aww , you guys! she gasped.

You didnt have to do this

We know, but we wanted to. I said.


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She held an envelope in her hand. I was praying that inside would be an acceptanceletter with CAPAs mascot on it, the unicorn. She handed me the envelope. I couldnt bear to open it, so I handed it off to one of the PCAs. It read:

Dear Ms. Patterson,

We would like to thank you for your interest in CAPA, the finest high school for thecreative and performing arts in Los Angeles. We were very pleased with your audition.We regret to inform you that a record number of students applied for the Literary Arts program and you did not make it to the final round of selections. It has been said thatacademic careers are not made by the school you attend, but rather, that you, as anupcoming freshman must make your academic career.

Best wishes in all of your endeavors,

Principal Barbra A. Mead

Fuck! We thought for sure that she was a shoo- in. We all felt bad about therejection, but nonetheless we still all enjoyed the cupcakes, why let them go towaste?

As if being rejected from her dream high school wasnt enough, teachersconsistently piled both Faith and I with homework. We never had any time forourselves, except around Halloween when the school decided to throw a two-periodholiday dance in the gym. It was nice, there was free pizza, but neither of us hadtime for much of a social life outside of school, although Faith still managed to havetime to become seriously involved with her neighbor Aaron. All was well until oneday this happened:

Sam, he hit me.

What?!

We were playing Star Wars in my brother Luke s room and he hit me.

Faith, that s not good, you need to tell someone before I kick his ass myself.

I can t Sam.

You can Faith, or I will make sure someone knows and he gets his asskicked.

She finally caved one day, and told Lindsey. Upon finding this out, Lindseytold her to tell her family, but she wouldnt t. Lindsey gave her some motherlyadvice. Things didnt t seem to be going well at all for her. This boy had her


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captivated. Faith considered the advice she had received from Lindsey to bejudgmental, and it caused a big argument. Eventually, Faith found the courage to tellher family and she apologized to Lindsey. : The matter was dealt with, but thingsbetween her and her Romeo didnt end there.

In mid-May, Faith made a pledge before God that she would stand in puritykeeping a pure heart. For the past few months, shed been taking classes at herchurch on Wednesday nights. When she completed the classes, a purity ceremonywas held where each student had one or more adult sponsors. A sponsor served asthe students accountability partner. The sponsors presented the students with apurity ring engraved with True Love Waits. and the students were asked to recitea pledge. To Faith, that meant keeping her v-card, remaining honorable, andmaintaining her integrity. However, that pledge meant much more than that to God.

Aaron was at our 8 th grade commencement, and as Faith was called forwardto accept her diploma, she could not hold back her emotion with tearsoverwhelming both she and Lindsey After the ceremony, Faith had a party at herhouse. It was a blast. The food was good. My salad was just okay. Her grandfatherput the end of the cucumber in, as well as the plastic! He served me my salad, and Isaid:

Mmm. This is really tasty.

Then, I came across the piece of cucumber with the plastic. I told Faith, andeveryone in the room started laughing. Our former aide Lindsey attended the partyas well. It was an emotional, but fun time for everyone. For Faith, the party wasnt such a party. On the inside, Faith was screaming, and it felt like someone had rippedher heart out. She enjoyed the day overall, but wasnt happy, despite the pink iPodNano she had received as a gift from her family.

After the party, Faith and I emailed Lindsey an e-card as a token ofappreciation for all that she did for us, and we began to cry. Faith s boyfriend wasthere to support her all the way, and at the end of the night, Faith had her first kiss. I

wasnt there to see it, but Faith called me before bed, practically blowing out myeardrums screaming:

Oh my gosh! Sam guess what?! Me and him, we, we kissed, and it was soawesome, he s so awesome. My ears still ring sometimes

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Complete Chapter 1 of a Broken Hallelujah