by C V Ricks
There was a slight hum heard in the classroom as many of the students were discussing this with their friends. “Do I have any comments or other viewpoints from you?” Angel Addison asked.
“Well, you can't blame them for thinking that way. They have proved themselves in the past to be heroic and selfless in serving their country.” A freshman in the back spoke.
Another student raised his hand.
“Yes, David?” Angel Addison asked him.
“How do we know that the whole reason was a selfish one? Maybe they wished to accomplish the mission they were asked to do. Maybe they were being obedient. Maybe they didn't want to seem like cowards.”
“Possibly,” said Angel Addison.
Another student raised her hand.
“Julie,” said Angel Addison.
“I think that the motive to go forward was based on their desire to complete another mission. I think that if they were wise they would've turned back. I think that the result of their plane being shot down was a direct result of the selfish decision that they made. Had they made the wise decision to turn back, they would've possibly made it to their twenty-fifth mission intact and would've been able to go home to their families.”
“How many of you think that Julie is correct?” Angel Addison asked. About half of the class raised their hands.
“Okay, then I'm assuming the rest of you think that the crew were not totally acting on selfishness when they went forward with the mission?”
A freshman on the front row raised his hand. “Yes?” Angel Addison asked.
“I don't think the crew was selfish. Sure, they wanted to go home. Sure, they wanted to get credit for another mission. But, ultimately they risked their own lives for their country and for the world. They should be honored.”
“I tend to agree with both sides,” said Angel Addison. “However, I think that the crew's desire to get credit for the mission did overpower their better judgment and did result in the consequences that occurred. However, they very well deserved the help that the guardian angels gave them in preserving their lives. They were brave and heroic.”
By the way, Josie, as we saw in the film, you will do a great job out there. How do you think it will feel to save your son's life?””
I smiled and spoke the only word I could think of to describe it, “Awesome.”
Addison grinned. “Please read the next chapter in your textbooks and we will discuss various methods of Controlling the Elements tomorrow and we will meet at the practice rooms instead of this classroom. Have a good day.”
We walked toward our third hour class, Glowing. My head was still back at my future guardian angel experience and the marvelous things that will happen.
“I think this class will be a piece of angel food cake,” chuckled Journey. I think I already know how to glow quite well.”
I snapped back to reality and answered,“Yes, and you've proven that very point this morning.”
“It's not as easy for some people as it is for you,” said Felix. “I still can't glow at all.”
“It's like whistling,” said Journey. “Some people can naturally whistle and some never can.”
“Well, I hope that I'll learn it by the end of the week. Otherwise, I'll be like that one guy, Gary. He's a sophomore and he's in our freshman class still trying to learn to glow. That would be kind of embarrassing, being the only sophomore in a class of freshmen.”
“If you don't get it by the end of this week, I'll help you practice,” said Journey.
“Thanks,” said Felix, “I may take you up on that.”
Chapter 10
After glowing class, we went to fourth hour. We learned some techniques to thwart suicide attempts as well as using mind instillation to change a person's mind. After fourth hour we headed to the cafeteria for lunch. I told the others that I wanted to get something from my room first and then I would meet them there. When I got to my room, Emma was there waiting for me. We were going to plan our practical joke, revenge for Journey.
“After everyone is asleep, I think we should take everyone's alarm clocks, reset them and then hide them throughout the room. Then, in the morning, when the alarms ring at different times, they will have to find the clocks and turn them off. We'll set them earlier than usual.”
“That sounds like a good plan to me,” said Emma. We'll do it after everyone is asleep tonight.”
We headed out the door back to the cafeteria for lunch.
After lunch, we headed toward fifth hour, Evil Spirit Confrontation. We floated and walked. Floating felt good and once you got the hang of it, was easier than walking.
After we sat in our seats, Professor Anthony addressed the class. “Today we will talk about when Evil Spirit Confrontation may be necessary. There may be times when evil spirits are trying to thwart the work that we are doing. For the most part, evil spirits want to do the opposite of what is good. They don't want to see people succeed or do good things in their lives. They want people to make poor choices and may not want a person's life to be saved. If you are confronted with an evil spirit while trying to save an assignment's life, what should you do?”
No one raised their hand.
“Do any of you know the answer?” Angel Anthony pressed.
“I can guess,” I offered.
“Very well,” said Angel Anthony. “What is your guess, Josie?”
“I think that we have the power to command the evil spirit to leave and the evil spirit will be forced to leave.”
“That is correct. We do have the power given to us when we become Guardian Angels to command the evil spirits to leave while we are present. You may need to use this power if you see any evil spirits present while you are saving someone. If you turn to Chapter Four in your books, we will read about this and read of some examples of this occurring.”
Angel Persephone greeted us as we entered the classroom with her usual beautiful, sparkling smile. After we were all seated in the choir seats, she floated to the front to begin class.
“Today we will be singing one of my favorite songs, Onward Christian Soldiers.”
We sang the song over and over for the hour. By the end of class we could all sing it by heart without looking at the music or the words.
Next we took our seats in floating class. “Today we are going to practice-float sitting,” said Angel Samuel. Samuel's ornamentation sparkled from his glistening white robe. He had saved many lives.
“You will need to learn to float-sit before going on to red level or you will be sitting in a freshman class as a sophmore. Who would like to come up and demonstrate float-sitting?”
I looked around the room. I sure wasn't ready to float-sit yet. I could float a little but I found float-sitting to be harder than moving and floating.
Kevin raised his hand. “I think I can do it,” he announced confidently while rubbing his hand through his blond curls.
I watched Kevin walk to the front of the room. I was surprised. He had never mentioned that he could do it and I couldn't recall seeing him float-sit.
“All right, Kevin,” said Angel Samuel, please show us how to float-sit.”
Kevin sat on the air as if on a chair. It appeared to be easy for him, well, at least for a few seconds, until he fell to the ground.
Everyone laughed. Not to be cruel, of course. Guardian Angels in training were not cruel. He just looked so funny, so I couldn't help but laugh, too.
Kevin just smiled a huge smile as if laughing along with everyone. I would've been embarrassed, but I think he was enjoying this and he got up and floated back to his seat. “Sorry, I can only hold it for a few seconds.”
“Very good,” said Samuel. “I give you credit for trying.”
“Would anyone else like to give it a go? Use what you learned in your reading assignments.”
A student with a round face and brown neatly combed hair raised his hand.
“Henry, come on up.”
Henry floated straight up and then float-sat
high in the air. He kept this up for about ten seconds before floating gently to the ground.
“Nice job,” said Samuel. “You must have done your homework.”
“Yes, this is my favorite subject,” Henry stated.
“I hope this gets you all excited to start floating,” said Angel Samuel concluded, looking at the class.
I smiled to myself. Soon I wouldn't need any furniture to be comfortable.
Professor Occult waited patiently as we entered the classroom. Many of us were now floating in through the door and to our seats.
He then addressed the class,“We will go to the practice rooms again today. Let's see if we can do better than we did last time. As you recall, yesterday no one succeeded in becoming invisible. How many of you practiced?”
A few hands were raised.
We floated and walked to the practice rooms, enjoying the warm sunshine and the blooming flowers along the path. I was feeling pretty confident because I did practice.
One by one, Angel Occult had us enter the practice room and try becoming invisible. When it was my turn, I tried my best. I couldn't see out to see the reaction of the teacher or students, but I could not see myself. I couldn't even see my robe. We have to be able to turn everything we are wearing invisible as well and I did it for a short time.
I walked back out of the room and the teacher complimented me. “Good job, Josie. You were invisible for seven seconds.”
I watched as others tried it. Although Journey was better at glowing than me, I was better at invisibility than she was. She was only able to do it for two seconds.
When we were all through, Professor Occult said, “Keep practicing and we will come here again tomorrow.”
Day three of Guardian Angel Academy was finished. I felt like I had been here for months for the amount that I had learned. After eating dinner at the cafeteria and spending some time in the practice rooms with Journey and some of the other girls in our dorm room, it was time to go to sleep for the night. I was excited to try out our prank. After lights were out, Emma and I waited under our covers until it looked like the other girls were asleep. Then we got up to put our prank into action.
We tip-toed around the room, carefully swiping the alarm clocks from each bedside. It seemed funny that all of the six girls in the room had their own alarm clock and set it for a little different time, depending on how long it took each girl to get ready. Emma and I quietly went out into the hall to reset the alarms.
“This one will be 5:00 a.m.,” I laughed. “It's Journey's. We'll make hers go off first. Where shall we hide it?”
“How about in my underwear drawer?” Emma laughed.
“Yeah, that will be great,” I chuckled. “She'll not want to look there. Let's hide one on top of the ceiling fan light fixture. They will have to float to get up to reach that one.”
“Yeah, that will be a hard one,” said Emma. “And, let's hide one of them right under Journey's pillow so it rings right in her ear.”
“Perfect,” I laughed. “Let's go hide them.”
We hid all of the alarm clocks, taking extra care not to wake up Journey while placing the alarm clock under her pillow, then went to bed, eager to get some sleep before the ruckus would begin.-
At 5:00 a.m., the first alarm clock blared. It was a low and monstrous-sound. It filled the air annoyingly as if begging the recipients to kindly turn it off. Some of the girls tried to ignore the sound and hid under their pillows for more sleep. Others began to waken and look around. Finally Journey spoke.
“What time is it? I can't see my clock.”
“I think it's morning,” I replied sardonically, enjoying every second of this. “Does someone want to turn their alarm clock off?”
“Whose clock is that?” Julie asked.
“I think it's mine,” said Journey, “But I can't find it.”
“Well, you better get up and look for it,” said Emma. “It's driving me crazy!”
“Yeah, I want to get a little more sleep,” moaned Julie.
So, Journey pulled herself out of bed and turned on the light.
“Hey, do you have to turn the light on?” asked Geena. “It's hurting my eyes.”
“Yeah, and some of us want to sleep a little longer,” I added, chuckling to myself.
My light chuckles gave our secret away. Journey realized what was happening. “Hey, is this you guys' idea of a joke?”
We didn't say a word. Let her figure it out, I thought. Serves her right.
Journey made herself glow just enough to see, but not enough to cause the other girls to start yelling at her. She started opening drawers and cupboards near where the sound was coming from. Finally she found her clock in Emma's underwear drawer. She quickly turned it off and went back to bed.
After everything had quieted down for a few minutes, another alarm clock beeped. This one sounded a beep, beep, beep, at a rapid speed, persistent to annoy us.
“Hey, it's only 5:15,” said Journey. “Who did this? We don't even have to get up until 6:30.”
Once again Emma and I didn't say a word. I tried not to laugh.
“That sounds like my alarm,” said Cami. “I'm going to have to turn on the light to find it.”
“No, don't do that!” Emma moaned, secretly loving it.
“I can't make myself glow just a little like Journey,” said Cami. Cami was a twelve-year-old looking girl. She must've died as a child on earth. She had short blond hair, braided back.
“I'll turn on my glow for you,” Journey offered.
Cami searched for the sound and looked up. Cami's small spirit body floated easily up to the ceiling, where she picked up her clock from the top of the light fixture. Then she floated effortlessly back down, turning off the alarm.
“Okay,” Journey yelled in exasperation. “I know it was you, Josie. How many more alarms are going to be going off before we can get some more shut-eye?”
“That you will have to find out for yourselves,” I laughed. “Now you better get some more rest before the next one goes off.”
Chapter 11
At 5:30 the quiet was disrupted by chorale music coming from one of the alarm clocks. “Who has the Hallelujah Chorus for their alarm?” Journey asked.
“Oh, that's mine,” said Geena.
“Well, how come it is right under my pillow?” Journey moaned. “Come on, guys, a joke is a joke. What I did was nothing compared to this.”
“We thought you'd like it,” said Emma.
Journey turned off Geena's alarm. “Will you guys just get the other alarm clocks turned off so we can go back to sleep, please!”
“We must let the joke play out to fruition,” I answered. “No use letting a good practical joke go to waste.”
At 5:45 there was a loud buzz. “Whose is it now?” screamed Geena.
“Oh, that's mine,” said Julie. “I think it's coming from the garbage can.”
“Please turn it off so we can get some sleep,” I said.
Julie fumbled through the trash for her alarm and quickly turned it off.
“Okay, let's go back to sleep. We still have Josie's and Emma's alarms to go,” said Julie.
Fortunately for everyone, Emma and I didn't bother to set our own alarm clocks. So, we all woke up at 7:50. We had overslept. We would have to hurry and get dressed, skip breakfast and go straight to class.
We grabbed our gowns, put them on, brushed our hair and ran out the door.
We arrived in the big auditorium just in time to go to our places in the choir loft.
Angel Crystal floated to the front of the choir. “This morning we are going to practice our numbers for the graduation ceremony. The fourth week students will be graduating at the end of the week. The songs we will be singing are: “God Be With You Till We Meet Again,” “Oh That I were an Angel,” and “Lead Kindly Light.”
We practiced singing for an hour. Then Angel Angelique told us that we would be watching another movie showing how a little girl's life was saved by he
r guardian angel. This will be one of your futures again. This one is one of Kevin's future assignments.
Kevin grinned and watched eagerly.
The lights went out and a young girl, about 8 years old came into the vision. She was jumping rope in her back yard. She had blond braids and a toothless grin. A young man about 25 years old and two boys came out to the back yard.
“Hey, Kerry, do you want to go with us to get a hamburger?” Uncle John asked.
“Yeah, we're going to get a burger and fries at the new fast food place down the street.” said her brother Mark.
Normally Kerry would be thrilled to go somewhere with Uncle John. Her family rarely went out to eat. But instead of saying yes, she said, “No thanks. I just want to stay here and play.”
“You're sure?” Uncle John asked.
“Yes, maybe next time,” said Kerry. She continued to jump rope. The two boys, Mark and Steve, got in the car with Uncle John. Mark got in the front seat and Steve got in the back. Off they went. But before they could reach the hamburger joint, a car darted out in front of theirs. Uncle John put on the brakes, but it was too late. They were hit.
The vision then unfolded with Uncle John's bloody head against the steering wheel, unconscious. Mark was staring at Uncle John, trembling. Steve, in the back seat, hit his head on the floor and was unconscious. The other back side of the car was smashed in, the side of the car that Kerry would have been sitting in had she come.
The lights went on and the vision ended.
“Any thoughts on where the guardian angel fits into this scenario?” Angel Angelique asked.
Felix answered, “It doesn't look good for the people in the car.” He frowned and paused, thinking of his own car accident. “Maybe the little girl's life was saved.”
'Let's see.”
The lights went back off and the vision started again at the beginning. This time a guardian angel could be seen floating next to Kerry. The angel whispered something in her ear and then waved his baton. The thought was entered into Kerry's mind and that is when Kerry said no.