Chapter 5 – July 2025
Previously on Heaven, Hell or High School…
Nuriel is an angel who’s been stripped of his Heavenly powers and sent to Earth for the sin of Pride – his sentence to live out one human life … and go to high school. Just when he thinks things can’t get worse, the demon Lamia arrives in town to taunt him. And she’d enrolled at the same school…
Chapter 5 – July 2025
Everyone looked up as I entered the classroom, and silence descended. I wasn’t sure what to make of the attention – it wasn’t as if I still had my wings. But with my newborn humanity, I was able to interpret some looks as lacking in interest, some glad of the interruption to learning, some irritated, and a few … well, rather lascivious.
The teacher, however, seemed friendly.
“Hello. Can I help you?”
“Good day. I’m in this class, I think.”
“AP US History?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, you must be my new student. Please take a seat, Mr…?”
“Nuriel Adams.”
“Welcome, Nuriel. I’m Miss Gale. There’s a seat free next to Jessie,” and she pointed towards a well-endowed young woman with bright pink lip-gloss.
A boy near the back of the classroom laughed roughly.
“Nuriel? What kind of pussy name is that?”
“It’s from the Bible, dufus,” said the girl sitting in front of him.
“Great. A preacher’s kid.”
I couldn’t understand why he spoke with such disapprobation. Wasn’t being the offspring of a preacher something to be acclaimed, something desirable?
Uncertain how or whether to respond, I handed the slip of paper I’d been given to the teacher.
“I think I’m supposed to give you this.”
Miss Gale looked surprised, compassion flaring in her warm eyes.
“You got this on your first day? Well, I think we’ll forget about it, but just this one time,” and she tore up the piece of paper.”
I recognized this as an act of kindness and thanked her.
“Sure, just give me a moment to take care of this. The rest of you, read pages 23 and 24 in your textbooks. Read them thoroughly because I’ll be asking questions when I get back,” and she left the room, sending a stern glance towards my classmates.
I stood for a moment, then took my seat beside the girl named Jessie.
She smiled up at me, showing a lot of teeth and cleavage.
“Wow, you’re hot!”
Puzzled, I touched my forehead.
“No, I believe I am of a normal temperature.”
Several girls giggled and the boys laughed out loud.
“Oh, man! The look on your face. What are you, dude? Amish?”
“You’re new, aren’t you?” said Jessie.
“New?”
In fact, I was as old as time itself.
“Just moved into town?” she persisted.
I nodded vigorously.
“Yes, I’ve just… arrived.”
She was clearly a kind-hearted girl because she laid her hand on my knee and squeezed it gently.
“Stick with me, sweetie. I’ll make sure you have a good time.”
“Thank you, Jessie.”
Her hand moved higher up my thigh as she stroked my leg.
“Hmm. You work out?”
I could not understand why, but her friendliness had become deeply uncomfortable and I was unsure what to do. Happily, another boy intervened.
“Leave the poor guy alone, Jessie. And keep your talons to yourself.”
“Eff you, Forrester. No one asked your opinion.”
Ah, perhaps that explained my sudden aversion to her. Clearly Jessie was a demon like Lamia. Surreptitiously, I checked to see if she really did have talons, but concluded that she was simply human after all. How strange.
The boy called Forrester had dark, glossy skin and iridescent eyes. I sensed a great magnanimity in him, a soul suffused with compassion. His grin was infectious and I found myself smiling back.
“It’s cool, man. What did you say your name was?”
“Nuriel. Adams.”
Another boy sniggered, this one wearing an overly-large football shirt.
“Nuriel? Sounds like an STD.”
His friends laughed loudly. I was puzzled why my name amused them.
“Shut up!” hissed the girl at the desk in front of me. “It’s from the Bible, right?”
“Yes, we believe in God the Father,” I said, my throat feeling oddly constricted.
“The thing is, man,” said Forrester, “you’ll never survive in this school with a name like that. I’m gonna call you Rell. Has more of an Alpha ring, doncha think?”
“Alpha?”
The only alpha I knew was also my omega, God himself.
“Trust me,” he said.
And somehow, I already did.
“Are your parents religious freaks or what?” the boy with the overly large shirt persisted.
An unfamiliar heat began to bloom in my chest. Was this what anger felt like? My family was a source of pride … and then I remembered why I was sent down to Earth to dwell in the dirt in the first place – for the sin of pride.
I was glad when the teacher returned and the lesson began in earnest. I was troubled in my heart, lost and alone. I couldn’t help but look out of the window toward the heavens.
“Father,” I whispered. “Why have you forsaken me?”
***
The morning passed in a kaleidoscope of blurred faces, incessant talking, students staring, inquisitive and insensitive questions, jokes I didn’t understand and a constant cacophony of noise.
I had witnessed examples of every sin, and several for which I was yet to think of a name. And it wasn’t limited to the students either. I saw lust, an older female teacher with her eyes tracking the anatomy of a male gym teacher as he strolled past; I saw greed, another teacher eating three donuts in a row; I saw students shovelling chips and candy bars into their mouths as if they’d never been fed; I saw greed, a student who’d won a bet waving a fistful of dollar bills in the face of his unfortunate rival; I saw sloth, students falling asleep in lessons and teachers yawning; I saw wrath, a math teacher yelling at his students, his face turning purple; I saw pride, football players gloating over a win and their desire to smash their opponents; and over and over I saw envy, students envying the clothes, the looks, the cars and possessions of others; and I saw teachers envying the students’ youth and beauty.
By lunchtime, my head was aching. I longed for solitude and silence, and so walked in the opposite direction from the other students as they streamed from the classrooms as if it were the day of revelation and the dead were freed from their graves.
The room I found was a haven of peace with sun flooding through the large windows, and books, so many books.
I had discovered the library, and for the first time that morning, I felt at home.
Humans spend their lives wondering what Heaven is like but there is no single answer: for each person it is different, for each angelic being, it changes day by day. But for me, Heaven is a vast and limitless library, a repository of all human knowledge and all Godly wisdom; it is a place of learning and contemplation, of reflection and understanding; and it is where I spend much of my time when I’m at home.
Home.
This library also had rows of computers and workspaces sprouting with what I now knew were USB cables for students’ portable computers.
The girl from the parking lot was sitting alone, sunlight turning her curls into spun gold.
“Hey! How are you? You look a little shell-shocked.”
“Pardon me, but where is everyone?”
“Um… at lunch, I guess.”
I nodded in understanding.
“So, the students come here after they’ve eaten?”
Her lips crept upwards in a small smile.
“Some. Not many. It’s a nice day. Most will be out on the field.”
“But … this is school. Don’t they want to study?”
Her lips twitched and she looked as though she was trying not to smile.
“When the sun’s shining? Not so much.”
“I don’t understand.”
I really didn’t. School was from 8.30am to 3.30pm with an hour of breaks during the day. It was little enough time to absorb the knowledge of mankind, surely? And students would have the same length of time for their own interests afterwards.
“Gee, what kind of school did you transfer from?”
I knew I had failed in some way, but wasn’t sure how.
“Sorry, none of my business.”
Again, I was lost, unsure what the correct interaction should be. I browsed the shelves, allowing my racing heart to calm a little, when I found a small section of poetry, and smiled to find one of my favorite poets, Edwin Arlington Robinson.
I could feel Esther’s eyes on me and I wished she would find something else to gaze at. I felt wrong and awkward, my body unwieldy and all too human.
I tried to rid myself of all negative thoughts and sink into the poem as I sat at a large table, letting my mind drift. I hoped that re-reading his work which explored the complex and often contradictory nature of human relationships would help me in my new life.
Esther leaned towards me, her eyes bright.
“Where was he going, this man against the sky? / You know not, nor do I.”
“You know this poem?” I asked, surprised but pleased.
She smiled.
“Sure. It’s on the curriculum for AP English this year. It’s about the human condition, right? We must be taking the same class. Why are you reading it now? We won’t be studying it till next month.”
“I thought it might … help.”
“Are you worried about your grades?” she asked. “I could tutor you, if you like.”
“I’m not worried about my grades.”
She blinked several times.
“Oh. Okay.”
I went back to reading, finding peace in the rich words.
Until the last creature I wished to see strolled into the library.
“Isn’t this cozy,” Lamia laughed, a small, mean sound. “Nuriel with the bookworm.”
“May I help you?” Esther asked, her tone cool.
“Honey, you can’t even help yourself. You dress like a nun in a casino.”
Esther gasped and her face turned red.
“Leave her alone, Lamia.”
“What? Just when we’re getting to know each other? Me and the bookworm are going to be total BFFs, I just know it.”
“I severely doubt that,” Esther said brusquely.
“Yeah, and you don’t recognize sarcasm either. Whatever.” She turned her vitriol towards me. “I thought you’d be out with the sheep, doing good works, smiting the wicked. Looks to me like you’re hiding. With the bookworm. And she totally has the hots for you.”
Esther gasped again.
“What? I do not!”
What was this preoccupation with bodily temperature? I would have to find out.
Lamia laughed loudly.
“Oh, please! You think I can’t spot lust at a thousand yards. It’s my favorite sin.”
I stood up abruptly, knocking my chair backwards as I glowered at the demon.
“I said, leave her alone!”
She sauntered towards me, sitting on the desk in front of me.
“Or what?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Did you forget the Big Guy stripped you of your powers? You can’t do anything to me.” She raised her voice again. “Besides, we have an agreement.”
Anger flashed through me, and I finally understood the heat of which they talked.
I grabbed Lamia by the arm and forced her from the library, slamming the doors behind her. Her eyes flashed red with fury and I prayed that Esther had not seen the sign of her demonic powers.
There was a long silence while I fought to command my temper.
Esther was the first to speak.
“Let me guess – your ex-girlfriend.”
“What?”
“Only an ex-girlfriend would be such a bitch for no reason.”
“We have never been friends,” I said firmly. “But I have known her a very long time – she is not to be trusted.”
“I heard she transferred from the east coast. Salem. Is that where you’re from?”
“No.”
I was too angry with myself to notice the hurt look on Esther’s face at my curt reply.
I sat back in my seat, furious that Lamia had provoked me so easily. Our battle was going to be more testing than I’d thought, now I was human, with human emotions, famous for their lack of self-restraint.
Esther looked as though she was about to say something else, but from the window I saw Lamia walking towards the couple from the coffee shop, the ones whom I had successfully reunited with my impetuous hailstorm.
“Oh no!” I said quietly, then hurried after the demon.
***
Look out for a new chapter next month! It’s August – things are getting hotter…
***
While you’re waiting, why not check out my high school heartbreaker, the novella Playing in the Rain. Listed by Huff Post as one of their top heartbreaking novels www.huffpost.com/entry/oh-you-little-heartbreake_b_8812004
Amazon https://geni.us/PlayingInTheRain
Apple https://books.apple.com/us/book/playing-in-the-rain/id915468149
B&N www.barnesandnoble.com/w/playing-in-the-rain-jane-harvey-berrick/1119938291