PREVIOUSLY:

Teenager, Mara Devlan, is given the gift of two concert tickets to see her favorite Christian Rock Band, Skillet. She invites along her only real friend, Jujee, but ends up being abandoned as Jujee goes off to sit with friends from their church. A young man from Mara's Spanish class. Gabe Sanders takes the opportunity to introduce himself and makes an offer. He's there to review the concert for a local paper and, not being Christian, wants to interview Mara as a way to get perspective for why these types of bands are popular. Mara agrees, and he takes the seat planned for Jujee.

**********

Mara turned her head in Gabe’s direction in a slow arc of movement. Her eyes were bright with tears, and her face glowed with a light that reflected her joy just as surely as a cloud reflects the rays of a setting sun. “Gabe, I’ve never felt closer to Jesus than I do right now.” Her gaze moved to the dispersing crowd; and she said in a sweet, sad voice, “I don’t want this feeling to end.”

“I can see why Skillet has such a huge following,” Gabe responded. His focus was on the stage, as well, where t-shirted technicians stacked equipment with practiced efficiency. In short order, they would load it onto the waiting motor coaches and head off into the night for the next leg of the concert tour. “They’re very good musicians, and they know how to play to the crowd.”

“Play to the crowd?” Mara’s voice dripped with disapproval. She stepped sideways and placed a hand on the back of a chair to steady herself. “You make them sound selfish. Like what they do isn’t for God’s glory but their own.” Her eyes demanded Gabe's attention as she continued, "I think they do this because they know Jesus came to save all souls, and they want to inspire Christians to share that message. It’s not an ego trip; it’s a mission.” 

Gabe slid a hand into his jeans pocket. “What you just said… can I quote you in the article?” His chin dipped, and his lips lifted into a  grin, emphasizing a prominent dimple.
 
Mara sighed and dropped her arm to her side. She felt a warm glow behind her breastbone, and before she realized the magic of Gabe’s charm was working its way through her, nodded her approval. “I guess so. It’s how I feel, so I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.” Pointing a finger at his chest, she added, “But I want to see a copy of the article before it’s finalized.”

“I’ll have a first draft ready Sunday night.” He took a small pad and pen from his pocket and handed them to Mara. “Write down your e-mail address, and I’ll shoot you a copy of it before class on Monday. You can let me know then if you’re okay with it.”

Mara scribbled the address on the page and handed the book back to Gabe. His jacket was zipped up to the neck, and he looked anxious to get moving. Mara was tempted to let the topic of her photography slide, but decided she needed to have an answer.

“I’ll be downloading my pictures into Photoshop sometime tomorrow,” Mara said. “If I send you a file, will you look at them to see if any would fit for the article?”

Seconds passed before Gabe nodded his head. “Something else we can talk about on Monday,” he said.

The notion Gabe didn't intend to keep his part of the bargain crept into her brain, but she pushed it aside. It’s not like he had to come up with a line so he could sit next to you because you're such a babe.

Words rushed out to cover her doubt. “Okay, that’d be great. Just remember they’re gonna be rough. I won’t have time to edit in Photoshop before school on Monday. My family spends most of the Sunday morning and afternoon at the church…” her voice tapered off into an awkward moment.

Gabe was distracted by a buzzing noise they both could hear coming from inside his backpack. He dropped it onto the seat and rummaged around until he found the source of the noise. He pulled out what, to Mara, looked like a very expensive phone, and ran his finger down the screen, stopping to read a message. He looked up, and she could see a tightness around his mouth that hadn’t been there all evening.

"My brother sent me a text telling me if I’m not at the car in fifteen minutes, he’s leaving.” He took out a ball cap matching his Michigan State sweatshirt, slapped it on his head and turned the brim backward. “After you read my article,” he said, “if you still want to be on board, I’ll talk with my editor about including one or two of your photographs.”

Gabe turned to leave, then hesitated. “Things didn't go as I expected tonight.” His voice was kind, and Mara felt her pulse step up when he added, “I had fun.” He flashed her a V-sign and hurried toward the exit.

"I did, too, Gabe,” Mara whispered. She watched his back until he disappeared through the entrance. The spell she’d been under evaporated the second he was out of her sight. Looking at her watch, Mara was shocked at the time. Dad's waiting in the parking lot, and I promised him we wouldn't hang around talking with friends after the concert.

Mara packed up the camera equipment with as much haste as was possible without damaging any of it. She grabbed up her jacket and scarf and, with one last look at the empty stage, rushed off to meet up with Jujee.

Spying Mara coming down the hallway toward her, Jujee ran up alongside and grabbed her arm, nearly upending her shoulder bag. “Hey, where’ve you been?” she hissed in Mara’s ear. “I texted you… like… fifteen times! Brooklynn and Sarah offered to take me home when I didn’t hear back from you.” 

“Sorry, Jujee. I got caught up in a conversation with… someone… and didn’t realize the time. I’m sure Dad is wondering if we've gotten lost." Mara hoped that'd be the end of it, but Jujee wouldn't back off. She jumped in front of Mara, stopping her dead in her tracks. “I thought I saw a dark-haired guy sitting next to you,” Jujee pressed, “but I couldn’t get a good look at him from where I was sitting.”

Mara tried to push past Jujee but the girl would not be deterred. Narrowing her eyes, Jujee peered into Mara’s face and continued to grill her, “You look different… kinda wired or something. C’mon, give it up. Who were you sitting with?”

Telling Jujee will be like telling the whole school, but I don't see any way out of this outside of a lie.

"The guy next to me was Gabe Sanders -- from our Spanish class -- he was at the concert to review Skillet's performance for The Beat, and we decided to watch the show together. He might add a couple of my pictures to the review."

Jujee’s mouth formed a shape closely resembling that of a gasping carp. “YOU sat next to Gabe Sanders?” she shrieked. Her hands flew up in the air and came slapping down against her thighs. “Shut up!”

Mara’s eyes narrowed, and spots of red blossomed on her cheeks. “Jujee, you have to promise me you won’t go around blabbing about this. I had an empty seat next to me – as you know – and Gabe… well, it was just because I was taking pictures, and he was writing the article. Don’t make this into a big deal.”

Setting her bags on the floor, Mara twisted her scarf up and around her neck and the lower part of her face. “Do you think you could maybe take one of these bags?" Her remark was sharp, but Jujee seemed super-glued to the spot and didn't react.

Mara snapped her fingers in front of her friend’s face, then pointed to one of the bags on the floor. “A little help would be nice… Dad’s got to be getting frantic by now.”  

Bending to lift the smallest bag, Jujee muttered, “Gabe Sanders and you. I just can’t wrap my mind around it.”
 
Mara slung the case holding the camera equipment over her shoulder and turned away. She had to fight, with every ounce of her will, to keep from telling Jujee to get lost. Her words stung and, in Mara’s mind, showed how little Jujee thought of her. It was the last straw, and seriously threatened to ruin the magical night.
 
 I won’t let that happen. Whatever the reason Gabe Sanders came into my life tonight, only God knows. But I’m glad he did. She kept moving without any thought of whether Jujee was keeping up with her. She frankly no longer cared.

                                                                                ****

Through the car window, Mara watched the familiar store fronts, neon-glowing fast food restaurants and neighborhoods pass by, feeling as if she needed to pinch her hand to prove she hadn’t imagined the last few hours. Beside her, Jujee sat with her phone in her lap, and Mara considered she might be texting the ‘news’ to some of their friends despite her plea otherwise.
 
Her father broke the silence. “You're awfully quiet, you two. Did you have a good time?”

“Yup, it was awesome, Mr. Devlan,” Jujee’s voice was as smooth as warm honey. She shifted her body to face Mara and addressed her for the first time since getting in the car. “How about you, Mara? I tried to get your attention a couple of times, but you were too busy talking to that hot guy next to you to wave back.”

Mara dug her elbow into Jujee's side as a signal to shut up just as she met her father's inquisitive look in the rear-view mirror.

"You didn't sit together?" Mara could hear the disapproval in her father's voice.

As luck would have it, they pulled into Jujee's driveway just then. Grabbing her purse and gloves, she slid across the seat and, with her hand on the door handle, said, “See you Monday, Mara.” She scrambled from the car, pushing the door shut with the heel of her boot. 

Mr. Devlan waited to be sure Jujee was safely inside her house before turning around to face Mara. “Jujee's never that quiet, Mara. What’s going on? You two have a fight?”

Mara sighed. “It’s complicated, Dad.”

“Yes, I gathered as much. It appears Jujee was somewhere else in the auditorium leaving you to spend the concert sitting next to a talkative, attractive young man.”

Mara felt a stab of anxiety. I'm going to have to tell him the truth about Jujee and Gabe, she thought, and I don't know how he'll react. I'm not even sure how I feel about all that's happened.

Her father's eyes hadn't moved from her face, and Mara turned to what helped her through every crisis -- she prayed: Please God, give me the right words to say just like you did to Samuel, Jeremiah and all your prophets. Right now, I need your help!
 
~~ to be continued ~~