Omniscient Leaps by Kimberly Slivinski Read Free Book Online

comfortable for me.”
    Jenna began twisting her shirt. “Can I ask you something personal?”
    “I guess,” I replied, waiting for her ask me about Friday night.
    “Did…Did Gage Parton hurt you?” she stammered quietly.
    “Let’s just say he tried,” I replied quickly. “Did you have an encounter with him?”
    “Umm, kind of,” she replied softly. Her eyes had misted over and I knew she was contemplating whether or not she should reveal her personal business to me—a stranger.
    I put a hand on her shoulder and nodded reassuringly. While she agonized over how to explain what had happened, the doorbell rang. Tense and deeply engulfed in the magnitude of our conversation, I knocked my soda over just as Jenna leaped to her feet.
    Jenna’s mom had an internal radar for detecting spills and arrived out of nowhere with her handheld stain removing vac. My mess was cleaned up by the time the words I’m sorry floated out of my mouth.
    “It happens all the time, dear,” she smiled. “I expect this kind of thing when Jenna’s friends are here. Now give me your glass and I’ll go refill it.”
    I handed it over as I watched several familiar faces make their way into the house. Everyone was staring in my direction and whispering. It felt like Monday at school all over again. My stomach churned and knotted. I suddenly wished I was home vegging on the couch with my mom. I had enjoyed my time with Jenna, but I wasn’t sure about hanging out with a group of complete strangers.
    After taking notice of their welcoming and non-judgmental expressions, I decided to relax. They were all people I’d seen in passing at school, but my obsessive focus with my schoolwork had kept me from getting to know them on a more personal level.
    “Kara Benson, we are so happy to see you here,” a handsome male of Asian descent embraced me briefly. “Jer Ko. You’ve had a class or two with me over the years, but we’ve never officially met.”
    “I remember seeing you,” I said, giving him a wink. “I tend to get over involved in my assignments and forget about conversing with my classmates. Sorry.”
    “And I just thought you were shy,” another male added. After a quick glance, I knew I’d seen the tall lanky dark skinned male on the basketball team during the pep rallies. “Scott Finch,” he said, extending his hand. “Don’t worry. You’ll blend in fine with the rest of us after you attend a few club meetings.”
    “Thanks,” I giggled nervously.
    For the next ten minutes I was bombarded by greetings from every member of the group. Although I knew everyone was present to celebrate God in some capacity or another, no one was forcing his or her religious views on me. The setting was relaxed and genuine. Even if I could offer a strong testimony, I was certain I knew less about God’s personal plan for me than anyone in the room.
    “Now that we are all acquainted, let’s begin with a prayer,” Jess, the leader and young man who’d given me the flyer in the library, announced. We all bowed our heads. “Dear Lord, please help us to hear your message tonight as we celebrate through songs, prayer and a little mischief.” He paused while the girls let out a few giggles. “We are excited to have a new friend among us and we pray for your guidance tonight. We don’t want to scare her off, so help us make her feel at home while she is with us. Amen.” He glanced in my direction and winked.
    “Amen!” Everyone called out.
    The lights went out and an overhead projector rigged to Jess’ computer illuminated the room. A few taps on the keyboard and a montage of words was soon staring back at me. With a steady stream of music adding to the background noise, the group began to sing. Able to let go of my self-consciousness, I belted out the words to a wide variety of songs. From oldies to unfamiliar Christian tunes, I found myself enjoying the serenity of my new venture.
    When the singing changed to role-playing theatrics, I