The Veil (5 page)

“Turn over your test and begin,” Misha said to her class as they began taking the promised history test. She tried to get a jumpstart on grading the previous class's test while she carefully monitored the classroom for anyone trying to cheat. She heard an unusual ruffle and looked up in time to see a girl pass a piece of paper to another girl in the classroom.

“Bethany, can you bring me that piece of paper?” Misha requested.

“What paper are you talking about? I'm not finished with my test yet.”

“If you don't bring me the paper that Amber just gave you, both of you will get an F on the test and a trip to the principal's office for cheating.”

Both girls let out a long sigh as Bethany walked to the front of the classroom with the folded paper in her hand as the class watched to see what would happen next. Misha took the paper and opened it. She laughed at what she saw. The note said:

I really like Ms. Holloway's outfit today. I wonder where she got it.

Misha shook her head and thought that these two girls must have thought she was stupid. She had been warned while she was student teaching about this technique the students used if they ever got caught cheating. She knew there was another sheet of paper.

“Bethany, I asked you for the paper Amber gave you.”

“This is what Amber gave me,” she yelled. The other students stopped taking their test and looked at the two of them.

“Amber, come to my desk and bring me the paper or gather your things and prepare to go to the principal's office.”

“I didn't cheat!” Amber yelled.

When she yelled, a cold chill went over Misha. What she heard was a call for help. She looked at Amber and saw a man, an older man, with his arms wrapped around her and Amber struggling to get free. She shook her head, trying to get the scene out of her mind.

“Amber, what did you say?” Misha asked, coming to her senses.

“I didn't cheat. It was a phone number for this guy I know. That's all. See? Here it is,” she said, running to the desk, handing Misha the folded paper.

When she handed the paper to her, Misha saw the scene again. She sat at her desk with a blank stare on her face. She looked deeply into the brown eyes of Amber and she could see her life as clear as if it were a movie. What she saw frightened Misha.

“Ms. Holloway? Ms. Holloway? Are you okay?” Bethany tapped Misha on the shoulder to get her attention.

“What? I'm fine. You two go back and finish your test.”

Both girls walked back to their desks and slightly laughed, thinking they got away with cheating. Misha knew they were cheating. But, there was something much larger going on with Amber and she knew it. She could feel it in her soul. She didn't know what to do about it. Amber was one of the most popular girls in the school. She was a cheerleader, a member of the student government, and in the honor society and numerous other organizations. She even managed to volunteer at the local hospital. She was from a wealthy family and she had received numerous awards and scholarships to go to college and she was only a junior. Misha continued to stare at Amber until the end of the class.

“Amber, can I see you?”

“I didn't cheat, Ms. Holloway,” Amber said, placing her test on the desk.

Misha waited for the class to empty into the hallway and she closed and locked her door so the next class would not come in. There was a knock on the door and Misha told the students to wait outside.

“Are you okay?” Misha asked.

“I'm fine. I think I missed two on the test. I got a little confused about number six and fifteen. I think I did well though. I'm glad you put that extra credit question on the test. I really need it.”

“How's everything at home?” Misha sat at her desk, looking at Amber—her hair long and blond, her skin tanned from the tanning bed she had bragged about having at home.

“At home? Everything's great. We're planning a trip to Aspen this Christmas. I can't wait. I love going there.”

“No, really. How are you? Has anyone been . . . been . . .”

“Been what?”

“Has anyone hurt you?”

“Hurt me how?”

Misha saw the curious look on her face and realized the young girl had no idea what she was talking about. “I want you to know you can talk to me about anything, okay?”

“Sure, whatever. I'm going to be late for my next class. Can you give me a note?”

Misha wrote Amber a note and allowed her next class to come into the classroom. After handing out the test to the next class, she settled in to grade papers, but she could not shake the feeling she had about Amber. What she saw in Amber's eyes terrified her.

At the end of the day, Misha decided to stay longer at the school to grade her papers from the day's tests. She didn't want to go home anyway. All she would do at home was think about Roger. She was still upset about everything he had done, or not done, since she spoke with Bishop Moore. Just as she started to get upset, there was a knock at her door. It was Principal Davis.

“Ms. Holloway, is everything all right?” He noticed her wiping her eyes.

“No, my eyes are strained from grading all these tests. I'm getting ready to leave in a few minutes though. Can I help you with anything?”

“As a matter of fact you can. I'm still looking for people to help with the homecoming dance next week. Will you be able to do it? I could really use your help.”

“I don't have any plans. I guess I can help.”

“Good. I'll tell the homecoming committee you'll be there. Try not to stay here too long. It's the weekend and I'm sure you have plans with that boyfriend of yours; what's his name?”

“Roger.”

“Yeah, Roger, that's it.”

“No, we don't have any plans. Anyway, I'll be out of here in a few minutes. You have a good weekend, Mr. Davis.”

She watched as the principal walked out of her classroom. She could hear him talking to the janitor who had started buffing the hallway. The sound of the buffer would not allow her to concentrate on her work. She wasn't looking forward to the weekend. She didn't have Roger to spend time with, nor did she have a church to go to or have all the activities being in an active church involved. She didn't know what she was going to do. At that point, she only wanted to go to the store, curl up with some ice cream, and allow the television to watch her.

“Misha, you still here?” Judy peeped into her room.

“I'm going now. I'm surprised you're still here.”

“I didn't want to take any work home with me. My husband and I are going out of town to celebrate his promotion and leaving the kids with my mother. I stayed to grade some papers.”

“Me too.”

“Is anything wrong?”

“No, nothing's wrong.”

“You sure? You don't look right. You haven't looked right in a while. You want to talk about it?”

“No, I'm fine.”

“Okay. Well, if you need someone to talk to I'm just down the hallway. But, if I can't perk you up, maybe a look at that new soccer coach will do the trick. He's a cutie. Lord, have mercy. God allowed me to be married for such a time as this. That man is fine and if I weren't married . . .”

“Don't say it.”

“You're right. We both are happy in our relationships and nothing or no one is going to tear them apart. Right?”

Misha didn't respond. She pretended to be focused on packing her bag to leave. Judy looked at her and could see the tears well in Misha's eyes. Then it came to her. “Oh, I'm sorry. Don't tell me you two broke up. I'm here running my big mouth. What happened? I thought the two of you were in love.”

Misha could no longer hold back her tears. She hadn't talked to anyone about this except her grandmother. She thought Roger would be back by now. Her heart was now hurting so badly she couldn't breathe. She held her chest and sat down in the chair, trying desperately to catch her breath. She had tried to be strong. Suddenly she felt it all come down on her. Misha was crying so hard it felt like she was sipping air through a straw.

“Misha, are you okay?'

“I don't understand what happened. I can't talk about it.” Misha gasped for air as the salty taste of her tears flowed into her mouth.

“Breathe slowly. Take your time. I'm sorry. I didn't know. Come on, breathe slowly.” Misha couldn't control the tears that flowed down her face. Judy closed the door and walked to Misha and hugged her. “Do you want to talk about it?” Misha shook her head. “I understand. We won't talk here. Come on, get yourself together. We don't want these nosey people all up in your business. Here's a tissue. I don't want to be nosey but does this have anything to do with the gift?”

“What gift?”

“You know, your gift. I've been watching and listening to you since you got here. I know you have the gift. You knew about my husband's promotion among other things you shouldn't have known. Did God show you something about your boyfriend? You know not everyone can handle being around someone with the gift. They're afraid their secrets will be revealed.”

“How did you know?” Misha looked at Judy.

“God told me. I know people think I'm a heathen. I believe in God and talk to Him every day. I'm a worshipper too. I don't go around talking like everyone else here trying to prove they're so holy. He reveals things to me too. I've been through what you're going through now.”

Misha sat up in her chair. She wanted to talk to Judy more. She wanted to praise God for sending someone she could talk to. “I don't want to talk about it here.”

“I understand. Here, get yourself together. Let's go to Roscoe's. We can talk there.”

“I thought you and your husband have plans. I can't take you away from your family. I'll be all right.”

“He'll be fine. We're not leaving until tomorrow anyway. I'll call him and let him know I'll be a little late coming home tonight. Right now you need me, and what kind of a friend would I be leaving you like this? Now get yourself together. Let's walk to my class so I can get my stuff and we'll walk to the parking lot together.”

Misha reached into her purse to get out a wet wipe to wipe the now-dried white tearstain from her face, and walked down the quiet hallway with Judy. They quickly walked to the parking lot and on to Roscoe's. They sat at a table in the back of the restaurant. Misha looked around the almost-empty restaurant. She knew in a couple of hours there would be lines spilling outside the door and onto the sidewalk with people waiting to get in.

“Misha, what happened?”

Her tears started to flow again as she told Judy about the incident with the bishop and how Roger reacted. She even told her what her grandmother said about her being born with a veil over her face.

“You were born with a veil?” Judy's hands flew to her mouth.

“That's what Grandma said. I don't understand it. That's just what she said. I don't know if I believe that old wives' tale.” Misha didn't fully believe the story her grandmother told her. She felt it might have been just a part of her grandmother's James Island background—just another Gullah tale.

“Well you better because it's true. If you were born with a veil, you're a prophet. There's nothing you can do about it.”

“I'm not a prophet. Roger seemed to think the gift was manifested because of my trial sermon.”

“Trial sermon? You're a minister?” Judy sat up with her hands fisted on her waist. “Why didn't you tell me? How long have you been in the ministry?”

“A few weeks.”

“You just went in the ministry and you didn't say anything? I would have come to your trial sermon. I bet you did a good job. What did you preach?”

“I wouldn't call it preaching.”

“Still, you should have told me. I would have liked to have been there. So how are you getting along? I know you still hurt.”

“It's been hard. I don't know why Roger is treating me like this. We used to talk every day and . . .” Misha tried hard to hold back the tears but they seemed to escape no matter how hard she tried. She could no longer walk around as if she wasn't in pain and she didn't care. She had just given this man the last three years of her life.

Judy reached across the table to grip Misha's hand. “Hey, girl, it's going to be all right. Everything works for the good to them who love the Lord and are called for His purpose.” She squeezed Misha's hand. “It will all work out.”

Misha was hurting too much to let the words melt her pain. She didn't understand why she had to go through so much hurt in her life. First it was the abuse she received from her mother, now the church and Roger. She wondered how long the pain was going to last. She only wanted it to stop.

“Misha, I don't know what's wrong with that bishop of yours. He'll probably never find another person to take your place in the church. From what you tell me, you did a lot in the church. A lot of people are not committed like that anymore. He may have to find several people to take your place.” Judy tried to console her.

“I won't talk about Bishop. He did what he felt was necessary. I don't understand it. I did nothing wrong. What I really don't understand is the way Roger is acting. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be a Christian. How could he just drop me after all we've been through?”

“It's his loss. You're a special person. Not everyone can handle the anointing on your life.”

“I'm not that anointed. I don't even know what I'm doing. Maybe it wasn't meant for me to go in the ministry. I don't know.”