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Note: - This was a fun chapter to write - the typical boy meets girl with instant attraction scenario.
When he had finished writing the request for a meeting, A.J. remembered Noble had written something on the bottom of Bookmark Two instructing him to turn to one more bookmark - Chapter One, verse 7 of the second letter Paul wrote to Timothy.
He looked it up in the Table of Contents and turned to it.
For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. - 2 Timothy 1:7
The first thought that came to A.J.'s mind was that if God has not given us a “spirit” of fear, then it came from somewhere else.
The Monster … Of course.
“Not only does he call himself Fear, but he brings fear into our lives through intimidation, lack of confidence, and outright evil.”, he thought.
But he still had not figured out how to overcome this.
The note continued:
This is key to the true antidote to fear. You must acquire and develop a spirit (attitude or disposition) of confidence for success, as well as a proper motivation for success, and a disciplined mindset or self-control for success.
A.J. thought about what he read in Joshua 1 verse 8. It advised him to meditate on these things constantly until it takes root.
Noble had said to study each of these bookmarked passages separately before moving on to the next one.
“You will begin to see how all this works together”, he had written.
A.J. was encouraged. He was more determined than ever to defeat this “spirit” of fear.
Not long after this, when scar tissue had completely covered his mental wounds and bruises, A.J. met a girl whose family had lived in the town of Status Quo for many generations.
For the first time in his life, he experienced a feeling that was unfamiliar to him.
Actually, she and A.J. had been in the same schools since kindergarten, but for some reason, he had never noticed her before.
Plain Jane, affectionately known as P.J., went on to Conformity Community College to learn business and administrative skills. After graduation, she got a job working in the business office of The Conformity Chronicle, where she has been ever since.
Her job was relatively routine since nothing of interest ever happened in Conformity. Boring would be a better description.
“Is this all there is”, she would often ask herself.
Most of her time away from her job was spent with her girlfriends either shopping, eating at a local restaurant, or going to the movies.
Mindless entertainment.
She never questioned this lifestyle since almost everyone did the same thing.
It was during one of these outings with several of her girlfriends that she and A.J. met.
After a couple of hours of shopping downtown, they decided to go to Just Plain Pizza for a bite to eat before heading home.
A.J. had just begun working there the week before and this was his first solo night as a waiter. He was a little apprehensive as he approached his first table.
It was full of girls in animated conversation. No doubt about whatever the latest popular topic of the day happened to be.
After that last library visit, A.J. was determined not to let fear overtake him tonight.
So, he took a deep breath, gathered up what little courage he had, and headed over to the table.
“Hello ladies, my name is A.J. and I will be your server tonight.”
Now, A.J. was average in height, like most of the other guys around Status Quo, but he did have a winsome smile with little dimples at each end of his mouth, a clear dark complexion, and a sparkle in his green eyes that set him apart from many.
That these qualities were attractive to girls had not dawned on him.
Until tonight.
All of a sudden, the table became silent as all the girls turned their heads and stared at him.
“Whoa,” said the girl closest to him, “where have you been all my life, Prince Charming?”
“Hey, I saw him when he was walking up, so I get first dibs”, another girl chimed in.
“Not so fast, Miss Hoity-Toity”, said a third girl. “We don't know if he is already taken. And besides that, I believe I am the oldest, so if anyone has a right to him, it would be me.”
A.J. felt very awkward as he realized that they were talking about him as if he were a prize piece of meat and it was 'Winner takes all'.
He wondered if this was how it would be from now on, until he responded to the most aggressive girl out there, got married, and settled down to continue the cycle with a new generation.
A tinge of sadness flashed across his emotions.
He noticed that the fourth girl had not said anything, but she looked at each of the others as they spoke with a hint of annoyance, yet a twinkle of amusement in her eyes.
Interesting.
The table quieted down and A.J. took their drink orders – three “sweet teas” and one “water with lemon”.
Again, he noticed this one distinguished herself by ordering something different. Her voice was a little deeper and more deliberate than the others.
And, he noticed something else. She started her order by introducing herself and comparing their names.
None of the others had even bothered to acknowledge him with any sort of respect.
“Hey A.J., I'm P.J.,” she said and flashed a dimpled smile while looking directly into his eyes.
“Actually, my name is Plain Jane, but I have been called P.J. since before I can remember,” she said with a chuckle.
Her wavey blond hair, deep blue-gray eyes, smile, and easy laugh captivated him right off.
“I can see you're new here”, she continued, “I'm sure a table full of girls blowing off steam at the end of a rather routine work week is not your idea of a first-order”.
“Is it that noticeable?”, he asked. “Well, I have been shadowing another server for a week now, so unless you all throw a curve ball at me, I should survive”, he added with a grin.
He was intrigued by this girl who set herself apart from the others. Not deliberately, it seemed. It appeared to be natural.
She had characteristics that attracted him. This caught him off guard. He felt a quickening beat in his chest.
He wondered how often she came in here and if she always came with the same group of girls.
He took P.J.'s order last, a thin-crust pepperoni, mushroom, and onion personal-size pizza, and asked to have it a little crispier than normal.
“Wow, who would have thought? That's amazing”, he blurted out before he even realized it.
She stared at him a moment, then said with a smile, “I sure hope it is. I'm starving.”
“Huh? Oh yeah, well the pizza here is amazing, but what I was referring to was that exact combo on thin-crust is my favorite pizza. Including a little crispier. Wow, who would have thought!”
“That's the second time he used that phrase,” she thought. “How refreshing to hear a guy express wonder over something so ordinary as ordering pizza.”
Of the other two tables A.J. was assigned tonight, one had a young couple who were lost in their own little world and preferred little attention. The other one had an older couple who ate slowly and methodically and said that they would wave to him if they needed anything else.
That left A.J. with a lot of time to hover around P.J.'s table as much as he could without being obvious.
The other three girls did everything they could to attract A.J.'s attention, but it was all in vain. From the very first moment, he had eyes only for P.J.
He waited on all of their needs, however, most of his small talk was directed toward her.
He found out that she worked at the Chronicle and that she and her girlfriends came to Just Plain Pizza about twice a month. Given the circumstances, though, he didn't learn a whole lot more about her.
Then A.J. did something so uncharacteristic that it even took him by surprise.
At the risk of humiliation, he had written a note on the back of P.J.'s receipt, saying that she was different than any other girl he had ever met, even the ones she was with, and asked permission to call her.
He wrote his phone number and said to text him with her number if she agreed. Otherwise, he would understand.
Then he hoped beyond hope that she would see the note and respond favorably.
Did P.J. experience the same emotions as A.J.? She had longed for a “Soulmate”. Was he that one, or was she destined to conform to the life that everyone else seemed content with?
Find out more next week in Chapter Ten: Kindred Spirits.