The conclusion to the story.
Friday Morning
Nathan's parents would not give him any more details about what was going to happen at school or church, and he dreaded what would happen. After Pastor Stephens' outburst in front of everybody, Nathan knew that his chances of just quietly making it to graduation were slim, at best. He parked in his usual spot and walked toward the school worrying about what would unfold. He also knew that he no longer believed, at least not the way he had before everything happened, and he wondered if he would even be able to sit through all of the hypocritical religious doctrine that was somehow integrated into each class. He had increased respect for Shelby's willingness to question the authority, and her ability to do so without totally confronting what she clearly thought was wrong. And he kicked himself for having been such an unquestioning member of the flock for so long.
By the time all of these thoughts had swirled through Nathan's head, he was at the door to the school, oblivious to the looks he was getting from the other students. As he approached the door, he noticed that Pastor Cullum was standing on the steps, surveying the students and looking very pleased with himself.
"Nathan, come here," he demanded.
Nathan considered ignoring him, but wanted to know what he was going to say, so he approached the young preacher.
"I know that you wanted to have me fired," he said in a low voice so that only Nathan could hear him, "but the joke is on you, boy, because Stephens is gone and I'm still here, and running the church." He smiled malevolently at Nathan before continuing. "And I want you to know that I intend on making your remaining time here miserable, but that will be tame compared to what I intend to do to your slut."
Nathan again wanted to strike Pastor Cullum, but was able to restrain himself. Instead, he turned to the smaller man, smiled falsely and said, "And the Lord be with you too, Pastor Cullum," before heading into the school. When he closed the door behind him, he allowed himself to breathe deeply before heading to his locker.
His day brightened briefly when he saw Shelby approaching him in the hall before homeroom. She smiled at him, and he felt that warmth again filling the emptiness inside him, but he motioned to her, and she approached him.
"Did Cullum say anything to you?" Nathan asked.
"Yeah, it was strange. He called me over and said that now that he was in charge, the rules would be enforced strictly. And that I was warned." She paused. "Then he looked me up and down, and I feel like I need a shower."
Nathan fumed. He told her what Pastor Cullum had said to him, and they agreed that they needed to be careful. "I'll speak to my parents tonight," he said before they headed off to class, painfully without touching each other.
Later, on his way to lunch, Nathan was, as so often happened in the crowded hallway, jostled by an underclassman running to class. Nathan kept walking toward the cafeteria when he heard Pastor Cullum's voice.
"Nathan, come here."
He turned his head, and saw the clergyman standing in the hallway, smiling. Nathan walked toward him.
"I saw you purposely bump Henry before. I cannot believe that you would do that to a younger student. I'll see you in detention after school."
Nathan felt himself getting warmer, and not in the way he did when Shelby looked at him. He stared at the minister and realized what was happening. He knew that if he lashed out in any way, it would only get worse. He felt the eyes of everyone in the hallway staring at him. Nathan took a deep breath and said, in a low, calm voice, "You know that it was an accident, and that Henry bumped me."
Pastor Cullum smiled at Nathan and said, "That's not what I saw. Detention today, for the roughhousing, and tomorrow, for your insolence." He turned and walked away.
Nathan was fuming, but he gathered his wits and walked to the cafeteria, where he knew that Shelby would be waiting for him. He noticed people whispering and pointing at him, but he was rapidly becoming immune to that. But when he saw Shelby, sitting alone at what had become their private table, with puffy eyes betraying the fact that she had been crying, he felt a pit in his stomach and went running to her.
"What's the matter?" Nathan whispered.
"Cullum," Shelby said, beginning to sob again.
"What did that bastard do," Nathan said, careful that no one else could hear his language.
Shelby sobbed quietly, dabbing at her eyes with a crumpled tissue. Nathan sat, and in violation of school rules, took her hand and squeezed.
"Tell me," he demanded, firmly but with tenderness.
She looked at Nathan and he could feel her relax a little. "I was in the hall, and I dropped my notebook. I bent over to pick it up, and he....he.....he," she dabbed at her eyes and Nathan squeezed her hand. She continued, "He called out my name. I said, 'What Pastor Cullum?' as polite and calmly as I could. He looked me up and down, like he does, and said, 'I see that you enjoy displaying your rear end for everyone to admire.' I was stunned. I said, 'No, sir, I was just picking up my notebook.' At this point, everyone in the hall was looking at me. I started to walk away, and he said, loudly, 'Of course, a whore like you has no problem displaying yourself for anyone. Don't you have any self-respect?' I was humiliated. Everyone was staring."
"Oh my God," Nathan blasphemed. "I'm going to kill him." Nathan stood up. But Shelby held his hand.
"No, you can't do that."
Nathan strained briefly at Shelby's grip, but realized that she was right. "He gave me detention today for bumping into Henry Jepsen, who barreled into me in the hall and then another day for asking him what I did wrong."
"Well, I guess we will be in detention together, since he gave me a whole week."
"For what?" Nathan asked.
"He said that I was a woman of loose morals and needed spiritual guidance that I clearly wasn't getting at home."
"I'll have to talk to my parents tonight. I don't know what else to do."
They sat there, quietly, holding hands, not hungry for their lunch until it was time to go to class.
At detention that afternoon, Nathan was required to write an essay about obedience and humility and Shelby was required to write about chastity. After reading their essays, Mrs. Newman allowed them to go home. They ran out of the school and to their cars.
"What now?" Shelby asked.
"I think that we should go home. I need to talk to my father," he said, reluctantly. Because they were still on school property, there could be no kiss, so they looked at each other longingly before saying "I love you," and getting into their cars.
Later Friday Evening
"Can you prove it?" James asked. He no longer was sure whether to believe his son or Pastor Cullum. Although James' faith in the Lord was unshaken by the scandal at Harmony Church, he knew that the clergy were not guaranteed to be paragons of virtue. He also had some doubts about Pastor Cullum, at the very least whether someone his age had the background and experience to run a church.
"I'm pretty sure that if I went to Henry, he'd tell the truth," Nathan told his father across the dining room table. The little that James knew about Henry Jebsen made him confident that the boy would be honest if asked.
"What about the allegations against Shelby?" Marcia asked.
