High School Possession Page #3

these last couple of days.

And when you didn't answer your phone...

Chloe's fine. She's sleeping over.

You mean sleeping it off.

She had a rough night.

So...

am I off the hook?

You mean, like "off the hook" off the hook,

or "really cool" off the hook?

Mom, no one's used the slang version

of "off the hook" in like five years.

Not even ironically.

Well, duly noted.

Just let Bonnie know

that her daughter's okay.

I already texted her.

Hey.

Are you too cool to give your

not-very-off-the-hook mom a hug?

Not too cool for that.

Mmm! I'll see you in the morning.

I'll make you guys some French toast.

Ooh, yeah. But not until 9 a.m., okay?

Because we need our beauty sleep.

If you and Chloe need beauty sleep,

then I need beauty hibernation.

I would be lucky to be as hot as you at 40.

You are good.

I know.

Is everything gonna be okay?

What do you mean?

It's taking me.

What's taking you?

Chloe, what's taking you?

It.

The voices.

You'll be okay?

How was last night?

A text at 1 a.m. doesn't

get it done, Chloe.

You know, I'm trying to do this alone,

so I'm gonna need you to help me.

At least a little bit, okay?

Look at me when you ignore me.

Look, are we done here?

So did you drive Chloe home?

Yeah. She said thank you

for letting her sleep over.

Where are you heading off to?

Church.

- Church?

- Yeah.

Any particular reason?

It might have something to do

with my impeccable journalistic impulses.

Well, that's vague, even for you.

Well, this is the part where I tell you

that information is privileged.

Okay, well, have fun.

One day, a shepherd took

his flock, 100 sheep,

away from the village

and into the wilderness.

As they made the journey,

one of the sheep wandered off and got lost.

Now, the shepherd could

have stayed with his flock

and let the animal go,

but he didn't.

He left his flock unattended,

and he went alone to

look for the lost sheep.

And when he finally found

it, and he returned home,

he called together his

friends and neighbors,

and he said, "Rejoice with me,

for I have found my sheep, which was lost."

Now think about that.

The shepherd was far happier

finding that one sheep

than the other 99 that didn't wander off.

So the important lesson behind this parable

is that we're only as strong

as the weakest among us.

And if we don't do all we can

to help the lost sheep in our lives,

we're failing the entire flock.

So as you go back to your

regular life this week,

remember each one of us,

in the eyes of the Lord,

is a shepherd.

And our challenge is to

always be on the lookout

for any sheep that might need

a little help getting back home.

[footsteps]

[screams]

Lauren?

I was just looking for a

place to check my email.

Oh. You know there's a

computer in the common room.

Oh, thank you.

I'm really glad to see you came back.

Yeah, it was nice.

I loved your sermon.

Thank you. Now go find

yourself some lost sheep.

I will.

Oh, Lauren...

you know if you have any questions

about anything that goes on here,

don't hesitate.

Just ask me.

Lauren!

I saw you outside after church.

I didn't get a chance to say hi.

Sorry, I, um, had some stuff to do.

How's Olivia doing?

Not good.

She still in shock about

what happened at the party.

Brad was her first real

boyfriend, you know.

Well, you're her friend, right?

Yeah.

Do you have any idea why she did it?

No. I wish I did.

It just seems like

everything's been going downhill

since her parents split up.

Did you hear that she got

kicked off the soccer team?

No.

She's just in a bad place right now.

But I promise you she's a

really, really good person.

She's not normally like that.

I just hope Olivia will be okay.

So, are you gonna come back

to youth group this week?

- We'll see.

- You should.

I know it all sounds really old-fashioned,

but it actually does really help,

especially if there's

something bothering you.

I'll think about it.

Great. So I'll see you then.

Yeah, you got it.

[engine starts]

- Are you following me?

- I'm not.

Stop. I saw you at the church last week.

How'd you find me?

I got your name from

Reverend Young's computer.

It said you worked here.

Go. Just go.

I saw what happened at the church,

and I was hoping that maybe

we could just talk about it.

Why?

I was just wondering.

About?

Did it help?

A month ago, my life was out of control.

I was drinking, doing drugs, cutting.

I felt like I'd lost

control of my own life,

like I was trapped on

the outside, watching.

I'd been to shrinks, counselors, hospitals.

I'd taken every crazy pill.

I came very close to taking my own life.

Finally a nurse at the hospital

told my mom about Reverend Young.

Do you need anything?

But when you found out about

what he did, didn't it sound...

Crazy? Of course it did.

And I fought it for a long

time, but I was desperate.

Then I had to take all kinds of tests

before Reverend Young

would even agree to help me.

You have no idea what it feels like

to have something controlling you.

Reverend Young recognized that.

He helped give me my life back.

Now I don't have to

hear the voices anymore.

Voices?

Look, all I want is to

live my life in peace.

I know, I... I know,

but I have this friend,

and she's in a very

difficult place right now.

Look, whatever answers you're looking for,

no one's gonna be able

to find them but you.

I've been through a lot,

and I'm not ready to relive the experience.

I have to get back to work.

Please, wait.

God bless you.

[hard rock]

You okay?

- [volume lowers]

- I just wanted some quiet.

I can tell.

Did Dad call?

Honey...

There's some money missing from my purse.

A hundred-dollar bill. I can't find it.

Well, obviously your

messed-up daughter took it.

I'm just asking if you've seen it.

No.

She thinks you took it.

She doesn't trust you.

No one trusts you.

Everyone knows you're a bad person.

[whispering continues]

[raises volume]

[bell rings]

VOICES:
Look at them.

They're all staring at you.

They hate you. They hate you.

Everyone hates you.

They're talking about

you behind your back.

- What a whore you are.

- [phone chimes]

Talking about what you did.

You're a cheap whore.

You're horrible.

Slut. [laughing]

You're a dirty, dirty girl.

[phone chimes]

"Whoever you are, now I

place my hand upon you,

that you be my poem.

I whisper with my lips close to your ear.

I have loved many women and men,

but I love none better than you."

Who can tell me what

Whitman is trying to say

about the state of romantic love in 1856?

That's not exactly fair.

We weren't there like he was.

[laughter]

Oh, Miss Mitchell, so

nice of you to join us.

You have a late pass?

You know my policy, young lady.

No pass, no class.

Goodbye, Miss Mitchell.

How could you do that to me?

That picture was supposed to be private.

What are you talking about?

I didn't send that picture to anyone.

But at least everyone knows

you pound more than just your teammates.

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