Journal 123

Kate had to leave us alone to attend to her duties at the rally. She didn’t want to draw suspension to herself. She cautioned us to stay below Anna’s radar. This rally was only for the most faithful of believers. Anna would not appreciate intruders.

It was like a sea of white. Everyone in the room was wearing hoodies. A white pullover with a hat attached to the back. Half the people in the room had their hats on their heads. Tony and I pulled our hats onto our heads so that Anna wouldn’t recognize us. It was a challenge to stay away from people I knew.

I had an awful case of giggles. I just couldn’t stop. Everything I overheard made me giggle. Tony kept pinching me on the arm. He didn’t find our situation funny at all. We walked around the room ease dropping on conversations. Most of the people were talking about how Aloysius had changed their lives and the changes that would come. I never heard what changes were coming but it sounded big. I kept looking for Joshua. After circling the room and weaving through the crowd at least a dozen times, I was finally convinced Joshua wasn’t in the room. I don’t know what I would have done if I had actually run into him. I know Joshua wouldn’t have followed me out the door.

I was eating mini sandwiches at one of the tables against the wall when suddenly the room became quiet. It was so quiet you could hear crickets in the background. Everyone in the room dropped to their knees. Except me, I stood there for a moment looking around the room. Anna and Joshua entered the room wearing formal gowns. It was very regal and a little unnerving. I had the sudden feeling of déjà vu. Tony grabbed me by my arm and pulled me down to the floor. It wasn’t a graceful kneel.