Chapter 7: The Next So-Called "Community Service"

After Zac, Hadasa and her friends ate their lunches and drank their drinks at their community service, they walked down a certain street with Zac carrying a box of Interlinear Bibles. He expressed his annoyed face even more than ever before, twitching his mouth. Hadasa and her friends took a look around, holding bibles in the air. They hoped people would accept the Gospel.

-Okay, what the hell kind of "community service" is this?! I mean, why call this community service anyway?! Is this my punishment for lunch earlier?! Hadasa has a lot of explainin' to do, big time!

"I'm sorry but what does spreading the Gospel have anything to do with community service exactly?!" Zac snapped, turning his attention to Hadasa. "And why the hell do I have to carry this heavy ass box?!"

"Because we save people's lives from Gehenna," Hadasa answered, "And Eliezer jus' need a break from carryin' that box."

"Uh-huh, right..." Zac said, "I don't mean to be a Debby downer or anything, but don't you guys have anything better to do than to preach repentance and Elohim's judgement?"

Hadasa laughed a bit. "Nope! We're gonna stop doin' that." Then she looked up at Zac. "We're not only gonna preach repentance and Elohim's judgement, but we also encourage people to read the entire Bible and get to know Elohim and His Son. Having a relationship with Elohim and His Son and repentance comes first. Once they accept the Gospel out of their freewill, then Biblical laws and livin' in repentance comes second. That's how we save people from Gehenna."

"Uh, okay? Is that it?" Zac asked, raising his eyebrow at Hadasa.

"No, not at all," Hadasa replied, "We also help Elohim care for His creation."

"Like what?" Zac questioned.

A man in a grey suit walked past Hadasa's friends. His pale skin stared at Zac and Hadasa. He squished a piece of paper into a ball, and threw it on the ground in front of Zac and Hadasa. Hadasa kneeled down to pick up the paper ball, holding it up near her cheek, looking up at Zac with a wink.

"Like this," Hadasa answered. She stood up from the ground and placed it in her pocket.

"So just pickin' up some trash?" Zac questioned out of confusion.

"Yep, but it's not the only one we do out here for Elohim's creation," Hadasa responded. "We also give money for charity, help the poor and the needy, assist sickly people to the hospital, etc."

"Ah…I see what you're getttin' at," Zac said. "And is this community service about what I did at lunch break earlier today?"

"Oh, no, Zac. Not at all," Hadasa answered, "It jus' that my friends and I do this daily."

"Oh, okay. Cool," Zac said.

-Oh, whew! That was a close one. But man, this has to be the most unusual community service that I've ever done. Like seriously?! I can't wait to go home and tell my parents to transfer me to another community service, because I don't want to do this shit anymore!

Hadasa then held the Bible up and shouted, "Hey, everybody. Yeshua wants to get to know you and form a relationship with you by readin' the entire Bible, repentin' and accepting the Gospel. You'll enjoy His Kingdom a lot more than this Earthly kingdom if you do so."

Zac watched Hadasa and her friends spread the Gospel when people walked past them for a while. He saw that only a few people accepted the Gospel, as well as Hadasa and her friends performing some good deeds. He expressed his bored face when he put his head down.

-Goddamn, this shit is boring. How long do I have to be here?! I hate this community service so bad I jus' wanna get the hell out of here.

As time went by, the footsteps echoed on to the left of Zac. Zac didn't even notice it until somebody walked up to him. He turned to the left and saw Lia. Lia smiled at him. "Um, I need a couple more bibles, please."

"Oh, right. Here ya go," Zac said, turning the box towards Lia. "So, Lia."

"Huh?" Lia asked after getting a couple bibles from the box.

"How long have we been here exactly?" Zac questioned.

"Oh, uh, I don't know," Lia answered. "I'll have to check the time on my phone." Lia held onto one of the bibles underneath her arm and got her phone out of her pocket. "We've been here for an hour now," Lia said after checking the time on her phone.

"For one hour?!" Zac said, expressing his shocked face, widening his eyes, opening his mouth wide.

"Yep," Lia responded, excitedly smiling at Zac with her eyes closed while she put her phone up.

-You can't be serious! One freakin' hour?! I can't believe I've been here for that freakin' long.

"And when will we get the hell out of this place?" Zac asked.

"Oh, we'll be leavin' here in another hour," Lia answered.

Zac's face switched from shock to disappointment. "Oh…thanks…"

"Uh-huh, no prob, Zac," Lia said, walking away from Zac.

-Aw, great! Jus' freakin' great! Now I'm gonna be stuck here for one more hour?! That's it! I'm definitely gonna get the hell out of this place, that's for sure! Jus' ya wait! Once my parents find me a new community service, I'll never have to come back here ever again!

****

Once Zac, Hadasa and others returned to their community service with the box full of rejected bibles, they said their good-byes to Mrs. A before they leave. Zac exited the building with Hadasa and her friends, walking towards the wall. He leaned against it with his foot placed on it.

Hadasa looked around both in front of her and behind her. As soon as she saw Zac, she walked up to him, grinning at him. "Hey, you did great back there. You made Elohim, His Son, your parents and us proud. Keep up the good work, Zac."

"Oh, sure…thanks for the compliment," Zac disappointingly said, ignoring Hadasa.

Hadasa growled at Zac. "Hey, why are you bein' such an asshole to me?! I jus' complimented you, and this is how you repay me?!"

"You're that crazy if you think spreadin' the Gospel for two hours is good 'community service.'"

"That's what Elohim wants from us through Mrs. A, bro! It's not our fault that we had to do that, y'know!"

"Pfft, whatever, bruh!" Zac snapped, "We still coulda done that for half an hour instead of two hours, and none of this would've been an issue. End of story."

"Oooh!" Hadasa tightly closed her eyes, put her head down and stretched out her fists away from her legs. "We're done talkin' here!"

"Good!"

After Hadasa walked away from Zac with her friends, she looked at Zac with her sad face before she and her friends left the area for good. Once they were gone, Zac pulled out his dumbphone to dial it.

He placed it by his ear. "Hey, mom…Can you stop callin' me Zaccai already?! It's seriously such a dumb name!...Anyway, I'm done with community service. Can you pick me up?...Okay, thanks, mom. Truly appreciate it…We helped people while we…spread the Gospel…I'll tell you more 'bout it in the car, mom…Okay, well. Bye, mom…Alright, mom. I won't leave this place…I promise…I love you too, and can you tell dad everything I said including 'I love you'…Okay, great. I'll see you when you get here…"

As soon as Zac hung up the phone, Mrs. A opened the door and stuck her head out from it, seeing Zac there. "Hey, Zac. I want to speak to you for a moment. Is that okay?"

"Sure thing, Mrs. A," Zac said, standing up from the wall.

"Great!" Mrs. A exclaimed, closing her eyes with a grin.

When Mrs. A exited the building and walked towards Zac, she crossed her arms and gazed at him. "You're waiting for your parents to come pick you up?"

Zac shook his head. "I already called them a few moments ago and they're on their way here now."

"Oh, okay. That's good to hear. So did you do good on two community services today?"

"Yeah, but I hate doin' them though, especially with that spreadin' the Gospel thing. I hated that more than tying the shoelaces."

"Well, it's good that you hate doing them. I mean, it's not only part of your punishment, but also helps you see what Elohim's truly like through my volunteers."

"Uh, I don't get it. How do Hadasa and her friends' actions express Elohim's true identity exactly?"

Mrs. A unfolded her arms. "It's simple, Zac. They represent Elohim and His name by doing good deeds through their faith. You see, they have faith in Elohim that He'll use them to help redeem you of your sin in your heart…"

Zac raised his eyebrows upwards towards one another.

-Oh, man. Not this shit again! I can't wait to get the hell out of this place and ask my parents to take me to a new community service. Lord, help me!

"And besides…" Mrs. A continued, raising her palm hand up in the air. "He also wants you to see His character through their actions. They demonstrated to you that He's just, righteous and loving, just as if He was your parent. And that's what they did. That's why they did what they did."

"I understand that but why do a two hour ministry work instead of thirty minutes?"

"They're trying to be spiritually disciplined like what Elohim wants them to do."

"I see…it all makes sense now…" Zac turned his head away from Mrs. A's attention and expressed his annoyed face.

-Well, doin' two freakin' hours of ministry work was a pain in the ass. I sure as hell won't be doin' that shit anymore. Couldn't wait to go home, that's for sure.

When time went on and the sound of the car honk echoed three times, Zac and Mrs. A turned to that noise's direction. There they saw Zac's mother in the driver seat, waving at them with her husband.

"Op, looks like your parents are here," Mrs. A said.

"Yep, I see that," Zac said, walking away from the wall and Mrs. A towards that car, waving at Mrs. A. "Good-bye, Mrs. A."

Mrs. A waved back at Zac and his parents. "Good-bye, Zac. I'll see you tomorrow then, yes?"

Zac stopped by the car and opened the door, closing his eyes when getting into the car with his awkward smile on his face. "Why, yes. Of course, I will. Ha-ha-ha!"

-As if, lady! Two community services my ass! Go screw yourself for all I care!

Once Zac closed the door and put his seat belt on, his mother drove him home from his long day of community service. Zac watched Mrs. A entered back into the building while the car was moving. His determination and desperation gave him strength to try transfer him to another community service.