Undercover Reverend: Paul Jacob VS The Culture War

By Ron Pohnel and Jack Felton

The culture war is leading an anti-Christian movement. Many of our religious leaders remain passive and unwilling to stand up against what we believe is “unacceptable.” Our thoughts and beliefs are now the enemies of the state. Freedom of religion and speech are diminishing. In this dire secular society, the courage of two men stands

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Jan 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781640885561

Book preview

Welcome to Palisades High

The sound of screams! Confusion, mass pandemonium, frantic teens running in all directions, scared and unsure for their safety. Fights were breaking out in the crowd. Security and administrators completely overwhelmed at what would appear to be a full-fledged riot.

A voice from the loudspeaker was repeating the same command: This is a lockdown, go to your fifth-period classroom immediately. Security was trying to break up fistfights, and administrators were directing traffic. The vice principal, a former wrestling coach, grabbed the student who appeared to be one of the instigators that caused the violent disturbance. After subduing the young hoodlum with a full nelson, they fell to the ground. Twenty-five feet away were his homeboys, watching with anticipation of retaliation. Unknowingly to the vice principal, the local gang came from a rival high school.

At that moment, the gang members were posed to rush him. Stepping in between the gang and the vice principal was a man who appeared to be unassuming and nonthreatening. He looked at the group of four delinquents and warned them, That wouldn’t be a good idea. Paul Jacob was the unassuming man who is a dashing, good-looking six-foot tall, lanky substitute teacher. Mr. Jacob is also a martial arts expert who stood in a disguised ready position to take on the challenge. The situation seemed surreal, equivalent to being in the eye of the storm. Three of the gang members charged simultaneously toward Paul Jacob! The first hoodlum closed in at Paul’s right. A well-placed kick to the head, and he dropped. The second delinquent charged straight on. Paul front-kicked him to the solar plexus, and he fell to his knees. Paul ducked under a right hook from the third attacker then delivered a quick jab, cross-placed directly on the boy’s chin, rendering him unconscious.

The fourth hoodlum turned and ran away in fear. The altercation took no more than three seconds. In defense of the vice principal, other teachers surrounded him after Paul warded off the attackers. Promptly, the police and SWAT team came running down the stairs to gain control of the unruly crowd. The arrival of the police officers and SWAT team caused calm and control, which restored peace and order, which resulted in several arrests.

Paul Jacob’s Journal

Now how did I find myself in this situation? Let’s back it up to about six weeks. My name is Paul Jacob. I’m a thirty-two-year-old bachelor just finishing up Bible college in Los Angeles, California. I am currently working as a youth pastor. I also teach martial arts at a local recreational center. I received a call from our district superintendent, informing me that there was a job opening at a church in Hawaii for an assistant pastor. I found this job opening as a great opportunity, explicitly because the senior pastor in Hawaii taught martial arts as a ministry. Without any hesitation, I accepted the job position as an assistant pastor.

Monday, September 17, 2012

I touched down in Honolulu, Hawaii. Meeting me at the airport was an older stocky fellow with a gray beard and holding a sign with my name Paul Jacob on it. He was the senior pastor, Jake Rendell, of the Pacific Community Chapel. Pastor Rendell had a unique scruffy voice when he talked. He stood about five feet and seven inches, wearing faded Levi’s shorts and an old aloha shirt. He looked in need of a haircut; he has salt-and-pepper beard and could easily be mistaken for a wandering beachcomber. It was a short ride to the church with a quick get-to-know-you session. Pastor Rendell was somewhat fascinated with my Los Angeles lingo then sarcastically remarked, You’ll fit right in.

When we arrived at the church, I noticed it was a bit run-down, but quaint. The pastor escorted me to my quarters, which was a modest room with a bed, dresser, and a small closet. I settled in for a little bit, and then we sat down for a meeting in the main office. In our meeting, Pastor explained, The congregation is small with only about twenty-five members. We have only two youths, a teenage boy, and a girl who grew up in the church. I Paul Jacob was brought in to build up the youth program and outreach ministry.

Classes for the martial arts ministry were held in a subterranean garage underneath the parking lot. Just a handful of students who were members of the church. Pastor and I had a strategy meeting to discuss how we will approach the outreach ministry. He mentioned that the high school named Palisades High was a mile away. One of the vice principals was part of our collective men’s ministries from other churches. We had a prayer breakfast scheduled this Saturday. He said this would be an excellent opportunity to meet the other pastors and leaders in our district.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

During the men’s prayer breakfast, Pastor Rendell led the benediction: Good morning, before we start, let us acknowledge Christ Jesus in our lives and invite God the Holy Spirit to be in our midst at this moment and time. Dear Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you that we can gather here today as men to honor you. We want to invite your Holy Spirit and holiness into this room. Let your thoughts be our thoughts, and communicate the message of love to us. Give us your strength, your wisdom, and your knowledge. In Christ Jesus’s precious and holy name we pray, amen.

As I looked around the room, I saw new young pastors faced with the challenges of this generation. We saw manifested today what we see in Genesis 2:17, where God commanded Adam not to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In Genesis 3:7, mankind’s eyes were opened, in disobedience to God the Father, so that he would know good from evil, and that’s what we are facing in this generation. Is man or God going to define what is good or evil? Who is going to have the final say on what is good and what is evil? Is it going to be man and his relativistic arrogant thinking? Will man try to become like Satan, the devil, in all his pride and arrogance to try to raise himself above God and transform God’s word to his image, which caused Satan to become an accursed-forever fallen angel? Or is mankind going to humble himself like Christ Jesus and surrender his or her own free-willed spirit to be molded into God the Holy Trinity’s holy image? We grapple with this dual-natured battle. We as Christians continue to encounter persecution and the secular society changing what the Holy Bible says to justify their hidden agendas. No, we as serious believing Christians must find strength and courage in our God the Lord Jesus Christ alone and hold to His living Holy Word, verbatim.

At the prayer breakfast, I sat next to Jack Quinlan, who was a former missionary, now vice principal at Palisades High. We became fast friends while discussing our service to the Lord Jesus Christ and the gifts we use to glorify his holy name. I pitched Jack my idea for an after-school rock band club for Christian rock. Jack said that there were many hurdles to clear when we bring up anything about Christianity. The separation of church and state is a wide gap, favoring the state. Jack then surprised me with an unexpected offer. He stipulated the high school was shorthanded and he could use someone who will not be intimidated by the high school’s toughest students. Jack continued to explain the bully problem. He said, Students and teachers alike. I quickly accepted the job, and Jack told me to meet him in his office at 7:30 a.m. on Monday.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Be it God’s will and grace in Christ Jesus, I wasn’t in Hawaii more than a week, and I already had two jobs. Each position was service to our Lord Jesus Christ; however, the State job would require a low profile. Many were lost souls at the high school, but I’m sure the Lord will place me with those who were in great need of him. My official title was Emergency Hire Substitute Teacher. Covertly, without revealing my true purpose for working at the school, it will be like walking on eggshells in concealing my faith. Jack Quinlan explained to me at the meeting. Although he is a man of God, as an administrator, he cannot insert his faith at his workplace. The line has been drawn—no witnessing, no preaching, and no worship music on campus. I let him know that I was skilled in technology and video production, and that’s just where he put me.

The high school was located inland and constructed on hills. It’s up- and downstairs in all directions. The classrooms were in buildings divided into sections. A, B, C, and D buildings were to the east of the administration offices. All these school buildings were three to four stories high. The school building I was to work in was to the west of the administration offices known as the KLM building. At the bottom of the KLM courtyard, looking straight up, it resembled a five-story prison. It just so happens I’m working in the SPED Department, located in the bottom courtyard. SPED is an acronym for special education.

The video lab/English classroom was in the second story. I arrived at room K102. I introduced myself to Ms. Hendricks as Mr. Paul. She appeared to be a masculine female, a visible alternate lifestyle gay activist. Homosexuality is overt in today’s society; however, I still regard women who dress and cut their hair like a man as confused. Ms. Hendricks would dress like a PE coach, somewhat overweight with a flattop haircut. Perhaps she might appear attractive to a feminine lesbian.

Nonetheless, I observed the students there as a mixture of gang types, cross-dressers, and overtly gay students. I guess this was where the Lord Jesus Christ wanted me. Ms. Hendricks instructed me to separate the troublemakers from the others, so I told her to give me the worst of the worst. She sent me downstairs to another classroom with six hoodlum types who all wore hoodies. The hoodie boys had no problem intimidating other students and teachers. I told them to sit as I hooked up my computer to a projector. I seemed to look very nonthreatening to this group, so I was ignored for the most part while each of them was texting on their phones.

Once I got everything up and running, I asked for their attention. I showed the delinquents a video of my most recent Sports Martial Arts Tournament competition. I asked them, Do you know why I’m showing you these matches?

One of the hoodies replied, You want us to respect you, mister?

I told them that’s part of it, and then I explained to them, I’m putting together a karate team, and I need the baddest guys I can find. For this reason, I requested Ms. Hendricks to put me with you. I then said, Who’s in?

Two of the boys said they were on the wrestling team, two others looked high on marijuana, and the last two weren’t interested, thinking they were already bad enough. The hoodie boys thought I talked funny, but I take issue with the fact that not one of these boys can speak without uttering words of profanity. Another challenge. I was having a difficult time understanding their local dialect, called Pidgin English. The six hoodie boys told me that I don’t look so tough, so I put a well-placed controlled kick to the side of the six feet two student’s head, establishing my new reputation.

I worked with Ms. Hendricks during the fifth and sixth periods of school. Now during the first through the fourth periods, I was assigned to a freshman named Calvin Katz. Not popular with the other students. They call him haole trash, which means the stereotype white trash. Haole is a very derogatory expression that means non-Native in Hawaiian, but specifically directed and targeted at Caucasians or whites. Calvin was about five foot two with short blond hair, blue eyes, and on the heavy side for a fourteen-year-old boy. Calvin had multiple anger issues. My assignment was to shadow Calvin.

Furthermore, when I say multiple anger issues, it doesn’t take much to trigger Calvin’s furious rage. This condition also coincides with Asperger’s syndrome. When others provoked him, he used profanity along with death threats. The paradoxical side to this assignment was that Calvin reads the Holy Bible. Calvin was an only child living with his single mother. Calvin and his mother both belong to the Catholic Church in which Calvin attends their Youth Group. In a sense, his mother used these church programs to babysit him sometimes for weekends. Therefore, this youth program Calvin was in somewhat gave his mother temporary freedom and relief from her unruly son.

The schedule was becoming more comfortable after the first few weeks. It’s not like when I went to high school where you went from first to sixth period every day. Nowadays, it’s first, third, fifth, and sixth periods all day. On other days, it was second, third, fourth, and fifth periods. Somewhat confusing. I have also made many observations regarding the SPED Department. The majority of the students exhibited declining moral values and ethical standards. Rude behavior was the norm and went unchallenged by several of the teachers. I was in disbelief, for what before was punishable offenses are now acceptable behavior. For example, many students used profanity when speaking to the teachers and other students. I saw a total disregard for teachers as authority figures, and there was blatant disrespect for teachers as well. Apparently, for some reason, it appeared that the students have a great deal of authority, as if they could choose to cooperate or not. The punishment for incorrigible conduct was somewhat inconsequential or minimal at best. To get written up and sent to the vice principal’s office seemed to be standard procedure. It was, for the most part, nonthreatening to misbehaving teens. The Behavioral Management Center, or BMC, was the equivalent to a time-out for the worst offenders and delinquents, which was detention during school. The detention facility was in a classroom at the bottom-floor courtyard in building B. Two three hundred-plus-pound Samoan security guards were very intimidating and ran the BMC like correction officers to maintain order with the school’s worst of the worst.

Speaking of BMC, I had to accompany Calvin there on our first day together. He had a habit of folding paper knives and guns then threatening the other students. To solve his paper knife problem, I bought him an origami book. This colorful and constructive Asian idea impressed Calvin’s crisis counselor named Mr. Bookmen. Mr. Bookmen’s office was in a portable, at the top of a hill. The first time I accompanied Calvin to the crisis counselor, we were in room L104, which was Ms. Hudson’s Math class, when he received the summons. Ms. Hudson was Calvin’s first class of the day as well as his advisory homeroom. She ran her class very strict; she’s a no-nonsense woman who was, perhaps, in her late fifties, with a short haircut, wearing glasses. Ms. Hudson sent us on our way. The walk was quite a trek, all uphill. We finally arrived at Mr. Bookmen’s office, and there was a request for me to sit in for part of the session. Mr. Bookmen was a middle-aged man in his fifties; he’s about five feet seven on the stocky side with gray hair only on the sides and dark hair on top. He was a Baptist minister who I would hopefully regard as an ally after I revealed to him I’m a youth pastor.

He would summon Calvin a couple of times a month to monitor his behavior. He explained to me that shadows don’t usually come up with solutions to the students’ problems. Calvin was now folding dollar bills into rings, airplanes, frogs, and hats. This distraction strategy seemed to work, just because Calvin hasn’t been sent back to the Behavioral Management Center. However, Calvin also has an obsession problem. Once he gets involved with something of interest, it is hard to direct his focus on assignments. Ms. Hudson had to take the origami book away from Calvin because he wouldn’t do his work, so Calvin started crying. This behavior indicated to me he has a childish, immature mentality for a fourteen-year-old student.

The Incorrigible Gang

The situation in sixth-period class was becoming more out of control, even though I was there to enforce discipline. Smartphones are the number one priority with a majority of the student body. The Incorrigible Gang, as I so suitably named the group of six hoodie boys, seemed to come and go as they pleased. Travis Ringo was the leader of this gang, five feet eight, well-built, and good-looking by most standards, with a six-pack. A high school junior and star of the wrestling team. He’s a hapa boy, which means in local Hawaiian terms as half Asian and half Caucasian. Ranking: bully feared by all. Travis would bluff at me as if he was going to throw a punch, but since I didn’t react, he backed off knowing the situation would be one-sided.

Travis’s right-hand man, named Luka Tofa, was a Samoan teen, also five feet eight, with long and light-brown hair that he kept in a ponytail. Luka had tattoos up and down his muscular arms and legs, with the local style patterns. Luka was much like Travis, as a tough intimidator who won’t back down from anyone. The two other guys in the gang were two obvious stoners, who were also local boys named Justin Tavaris and Haku Koa. Justin and Haku were unlike Travis and Luka, only because these boys were a few inches shorter, of slim build, and with dark hair. Haku wore black-rim glasses that took away from his tough guy image, so he would overcompensate. Justin and Haku, both being a part of Travis’s gang, gave them an identity.

The last pair of the hoodie-wearing gang types was Jesse Gonzales and Dominic Kalao. Jesse was from Mexico; he was five feet ten with dark hair and muscular. Learning wasn’t a high priority for him, and all of the class assignments seemed to be a waste of his time. Dominic was six feet two with dark hair and of slim build. Among the Incorrigible Gang, he was the quiet one. The Incorrigible Gang of six not only was reluctant to do any of their classwork, they would also disrupt those who were serious about passing their class. At any time, one of the boys would get up and walk out of the room disregarding warnings of punishment. It seemed that the Incorrigible Gang would coordinate rendezvous, meaning they would set up meetings via their smartphones in the boys’ restroom, mainly to either hand off drugs or take them. I was in a challenging position. Chase them down or try to manage the others. At any event, there was a bullying situation right in front of me. The six would harass this one student who brought his guitar with him to class. The student’s name was Gary Nestor. Gary was about five feet eight, and he was skinny with dark hair and horn-rimmed glasses. He would be considered a preppy type the way he dressed and liked wearing a fedora hat right out of the 1950s. I would sit with Gary when tutoring him. Anytime I would give Gary an instruction, he would always answer with his catchphrase, Roger that. When tutoring Gary, I was offering him protection from these six high school thugs. Bullying was on the Incorrigible Gang’s daily agenda.

Activities at the Church

Being a man of modest means, I settled in my quaint scanty quarters. The church sanctuary would be considered small by most standards. It had sixteen pews with two rows of six, side by side, making a narrow aisle down the middle. To the right of those pews were three more rows, set up diagonally, and one pew flush to the side wall in the very back. The church could hold perhaps close to one hundred people packed in. Currently, this was not the case, for the stage area could hold up to a six- or seven-person worship team. I offered to help out on the bass guitar and vocals. The guitar player named Elijah was one of the two youths in my dismal youth ministry. Elijah’s uncle, named Manny, was the worship leader and lead singer. For the time being, it’s just a three-person worship team. Pastor Rendell took on anti-Christian issues in the community. He’s a very active opponent of the same-sex marriage initiative. As the senior pastor, he would go down to the state capital with a few other church members protesting same-sex marriage. His sermons would reflect these specific biblical values.

The women’s ministry leader was an elderly Japanese woman named Mrs. Oki. She’s very active in the community, especially at the local elementary school. Although as small as our congregation was, Mrs. Oki could fund-raise necessary school supplies for underprivileged children. The men’s ministry leader was MIA (missing in action), in which he claimed to be a full-time caretaker for his mother and rarely made it down to help out. I started working with the two youths, teaching them worship songs on the ukulele—Ester, sixteen years old, and Elijah, seventeen years old, who is on the worship team, and they have taken to the ukulele with ease. Ester and Elijah not only appeared to be best friends, but there also seemed to be a romantic connection brewing. Ester was very shy, and she could barely look you in the eyes when speaking. She’s a natural beauty with green eyes and long brown hair. Elijah has a heart for Christ Jesus with an angelic innocent-looking face. He’s a good-looking young man with light-brown short hair and was about five inches taller than Ester. They were two dedicated youths to the Lord, so anything romantic between them would be within the guidelines of virtuous Christianity.

The Anti-Bully

Now, five weeks have gone by in the blink of an eye. I have become more familiar with Calvin’s classmates. Individual students would anger him solely to witness a meltdown. Calvin enjoyed spending his lunch period in Mr. Klein’s L101 classroom because he has him for fifth-period science directly after. Mr. Klein was a kindhearted Caucasian man of about six feet two, in his early fifties, with a mustache and glasses. He’s almost entirely bald with a low hairline. Mr. Klein made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and provided cookies for the underprivileged students. Being an elder at his church contributed to our instant friendship. Despite all of the chaos that went on in the SPED Department, Mr. Klein maintained a cordial demeanor. His classroom, L101, was the social hub in the courtyard during recess and lunch, where many of the students congregated.

Calvin didn’t have many friends, but since I had been shadowing him more, more students had joined us. My reputation had expanded through the school. Students came to hang out primarily for protection. A fascinating group of teens I was mentoring. Appearances indicated that the majority of these special education adolescents were outcasts who band together out of necessity. The one friend that Calvin had from elementary school was Jordan Santos. Jordan was a Filipino boy who didn’t talk much. He’s about five feet five and very thin with thick horn-rimmed glasses and short black hair. Jordan as well was a typical victim of bullying. Daily he silently hung out with Calvin during recess and lunch. Furthermore, when I asked him questions, he either nodded or smiled, without verbalizing an answer.

Jason Woo was a talented Chinese boy who sang and played the piano. Jason lived in a world of his own. He regularly acted out he’s on an imaginary two-way telephone conversation. His symptoms would suggest that he has autism, but high functioning, with slightly physical Down syndrome facial characteristics. Jason’s haircut looked as if a bowl was put on his head and cut around it.

The 3M Girls—I have dubbed a group of young female sophomores named Mackenzie, Matsuko, and Mickey. Each one of them was entirely different but alike in a way that if they didn’t have each other, they would have no friends. Matsuko was the leader; she’s quiet and very talented at drawing anime. From Japanese descent, she has long black hair and wore it in a ponytail. Also, Matsuko wore glasses that often broke. The other two girls seemed to struggle not only with their schoolwork, but low self-esteem issues and inferiority complexes. Mackenzie was short and on the heavy side. She had dark hair and was also mostly quiet. Mickey was the haole, or white girl, with short light-brown hair, big blue eyes, and was very insecure. She was comfortable around her friends, but when in class, she would do her best to be by herself or stay separated from the others.

Dean Angelou was our local football fanatic. He has to take medication after lunch, or he would be bouncing off the walls during class. Dean has a classic case of autism. He spoke with a lisp and slightly slurred speech. He’s Filipino Japanese, five feet five, with short brown hair. His football hero of all time was Peyton Manning. Dean could go on for hours nonstop obsessing over football players and games. I kept up with the sport joining in the conversation, providing Dean with much-needed attention.

Lono Nakakuli was a student who needed a full-time skills trainer due to a combination of autism and anger issues. He and Calvin were best friends and archenemies. They tend to set each other off. Lono generally remained calm for the most part, but he’ll erupt if someone said the wrong thing or touched him. He’s big for his age and was about five feet eight, two hundred pounds—a local boy that would fall under the category of a quintessential nerd. He has a tremendous talent for memorizing statistics and trivia. Lono’s skills trainer was a beautiful local woman in her late twenties, only known as Ms. Kalani. She looked like a Miss Hawaii beauty contestant, about five feet ten with long dark black hair, which she wore in a high ponytail. Her eyes were emerald green that can be hypnotic. Ms. Kalani’s body was of perfect proportion, sculpted like a bodybuilder’s and somewhat Amazonian. She was very professional at her job and seemed to have a handle on her challenging assignment, Lono. The majority of the male student body had a crush on her, and understandably so.

Rounding off our group was a couple skateboarding surfers named Titus and Jimmy Gyro. A pair of stoners that believed school got in their way of what was most important to them, surfing. Titus and Jimmy each have a minimal vocabulary, which was mostly profanity. The good news was that they liked me; thus, there was a good chance I could reach them. Titus has sun-bleached short light-brown hair with a slim frame. He had casts on both of his arms from skateboard accidents. Titus was cantankerous and would antagonize Calvin, Lono, and Dean. Many times I would have to intervene. Jimmy was the typical surfer-type haole, laidback, with long blond hair, surfer shorts and a tank top. Even though school was not his top priority, he’s interested in graduating. Everyone was either dude or bro, no matter who they spoke to.

Lastly was a female gay couple. Often kept to themselves off in the corner next to the microscope table. No shame being a gay couple, usually sitting on each other’s lap. The girlfriend was Leia, a pretty local girl with long wavy hair, thin, on the dark side. You wouldn’t know she was gay unless you witnessed the stolen kiss from her masculine significant other. Surprisingly her name is Butch, typical stereotype with the flannel shirt and tight Levi’s jeans. Butch carried herself as the one you didn’t try to push around.

Mr. Klein had an assistant, Mr. D. He’s a man in his fifties, six feet tall with dark hair, of slim build. He complained of a perpetual back problem. This ailment kept him from a consistent attendance; however, the good news was he’s an adviser and oversaw a Christian club called Teens for Jesus, or T4J Club. Mr. D. held his meeting on Tuesdays during lunch next door in the L100 classroom, usually empty. He had good intentions and was willing to cross the line to advance the gospel. Although there was much prejudice toward him by the left-leaning faculty, he would find a new ally in me.

Halloween at Palisades High

Monday, October 29, 2012

Halloween fell on a Wednesday this year. The majority of the students seemed to be excited about dressing up for the day. One of the most positive aspects of this high school was the school spirit. However, the majority of the student body completely had it wrong putting socializing before learning. There was a great deal of support when it came to school activities, not just the students, but the faculty as well. It appeared that zombies were big this year, the dominating theme in all Halloween advertisements and events. In the second place was superheroes such as the comic book characters like Batman, the Flash, and Wonder Woman. There would be a costume contest during lunchtime. Calvin wanted to enter and said his costume would be a surprise.

Nonetheless, the majority of the Christian communities denounced Halloween as an evil or demonic holiday. Halloween has originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which is a festival of the dead, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts, celebrating a pagan holiday. Pastor Rendell had prepared a fools for Christ party as an alternative based on 1 Corinthians 4:10, which says, Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

It was Halloween at Palisades High. Calvin showed up with his surprise costume. He was wrapped up in a sheet arranged as a toga.

He told me, Mr. Paul, do you know who I am?

I said, "John Belushi from the movie Animal House. That’s a toga, right?"

Calvin replied, No, Mr. Paul, I’m dressed as Jesus.

Encouragingly and compassionately, I said, Yes, I see it now, you look just like the Messiah. We continued our conversation about Jesus.

He asked about John the Baptist and wondered why Jesus couldn’t save him if he is the Son of God? I explained that God planned to have John the Baptist martyred, meaning his death would bring the gospel to light. I pointed out to him that the logo HE>i refers to scripture John 3:30—I must decrease (John the Baptist), and he must increase (Jesus). God planned to have John prepare the way for Jesus. Biblical discussions between Calvin and I would become daily conversations.

During recess, we went to Mr. Klein’s classroom to partake in the Halloween festivities. Observationally speaking, at least three-fourths of the student body came in costumes.

Some of the students took this opportunity to plan a robbery. Ms. Grossman was the SPED English teacher two doors down from Mr. Klein, in room L103. She was the organizer for the school’s craft fair. The craft fair was an annual fund-raiser held on the weekend before Halloween. The word on campus was that they took in around $2,000. Ms. Grossman kept the money in an unlocked cashbox in the second drawer of her desk. Only the students taking money at the craft fair knew the cashbox was broken and couldn’t be locked. An ill-conceived plan was afoot. A small window of opportunity during recess could work for the premeditated heist.

There must have been twenty students dressed as zombies topping the most popular costumes. Some of the students would paint their faces, and others wore the same mask. I thought nothing of it. The pseudo zombies all flooded into Ms. Grossman’s L103 classroom, where the Halloween party was going on. They began to perform their Walking Dead imitation when a disturbance erupted in the courtyard. Two costumed students were punching it out. Flash and Robin the Boy Wonder. I should have been suspicious. Ms. Grossman ran out to see if she could intervene.

The fight looked real, even though they too were accessories. Hastily, I ran over to break up the fake fight. During the commotion, the unlocked cashbox was cleaned out. Ms. Grossman didn’t discover the robbery until the next day, when she was preparing her bank deposit slip. She reported the theft to Mr. Quinlan, head of security, and the police—all to no avail. It seemed to be a well-thought-out executed crime. The intelligence it took to carry out robbing a charity would be much better served passing classes.

The Riot

Friday, November 2, 2012

Calvin and I were having lunch in classroom L101, then all of a sudden, we heard students running frantic and screaming. I told Calvin to stay put while I find out what’s going on. I headed toward the center of the campus and witnessed a security guard trying to break up two Samoan girls throwing punches, scratching, and pulling hair. The guard was over 250 pounds and had his hands full, not only with the two fighters but also with the crowd surrounding him. There were multiple hands held high with smartphones, catching the action, most likely for YouTube postings. More fights breaking out to the right side of me.

Students were running back and forth, hoping to catch the best action from the fighters. This wild behavior contributed to the uproar, substantiating this is a riot. The loudspeaker was repeating the same command: This is a lockdown. Go to your fifth-period classroom immediately. Teens were scurrying in all directions. I ran up the stairs toward the administration building. Vice Principal Jim Kaufman and school security were yelling at students to get to their fifth-period classes. I joined in directing traffic. Travis Ringo and Luka, two of the Incorrigible Gang, were sitting on the wall viewing the chaos as if it was entertainment. Unbeknownst to me, they were ready to join in as they eyeballed this one gang, who would seem to be their rival. I told them to get to class, and they just laughed. Vice Principal Jack Quinlan wrestled a student; they fell to the ground on the small grassy incline adjacent to the stairs leading to the administration office. The youth was trying to fight back, but Quinlan overpowered him. The riot was now raging into full force with more fights, more screams, more running, and confusion.

I looked toward the center open area of the school; four or five different crowds formed around the fighters. I turned back around and saw a gang of four ready to charge Jack Quinlan. Travis and Luka are now on their feet. I stepped in between the four delinquents, and Jack then advised them it would not be a good idea.

Now, our pair of Incorrigible members were looking on with great interest, observant how I was going to handle these criminal youths. At that moment, everything seemed to be in slow motion. I focused on the four teenagers, slowly centering my balance in an inconspicuous fighting stance. Two teens wearing hoodies and their leader were tall, about five feet eleven, wearing a beanie and multiple tattoos. One smaller teenage boy with a short haircut was wearing earrings and a nose ring. All at once three of the youths rushed in simultaneously. The tall boy, on my right, had his fist cocked back ready to throw an overhanded street punch. Instinctively, I brought up my right knee and flip-kicked him in the head, hard enough to drop him like a sack of potatoes. In a split second, the next attacker was directly in front of me. Without hesitation, I buried the ball of my left foot into his solar plexus, and he dropped to his knees, gasping for air. Next, as he was falling, I slipped a punch from the boy on my left and delivered a quick boxer’s jab/cross, and he was unconscious, the way you see it in a video game. The fourth boy with the short haircut had an idea to charge but then suddenly turned tail and ran. Not too far, mind you; as he took off through the crowd, the two Incorrigibles intercepted him. Ringo put his arm out and clotheslined the rival punk, and then his momentum had him airborne and then landing flat on his back. With the wind knocked out of him, Luka started stomping on his chest. I ran over and pulled them both off. The school’s two toughest bullies Ringo and Luka were in disbelief witnessing the tall, lanky substitute teacher take out a gang. Turning my attention back to Quinlan, I was surprised that many of the concerned faculty surrounded Jack to protect him from other criminal types as he held on to the boy. Seconds later, the police and the SWAT team came running down the stairs. Once the students saw that law enforcement was on campus, they started running to their fifth-period classrooms. For many of the students, it was too late because the teachers were required to lock the doors and not open them to anyone. The students were now trying to pile into any classroom that that will let them in. Ringo and Luka asked if I could escort them to Ms. Hendricks’s room. As we walked toward KLM building, they started calling me Mr. Jet Li. I said to them, Now, now, I just did what I had to do to protect Mr. Quinlan, that’s all. I prefer that you don’t mention this incident. Ringo then revealed to me that the gang I neutralized came from a rival high school. I asked them, What were they doing here?

Luka said to me, "They came to make trouble. The girls fighting today were transferred here