"How to prevent school shootings, you may ask? The answer lies within."
- Nora the Wise

Prayer Warriors

BAILEY'S P.O.V.

This book would have never been written if not for the shooter who trespassed onto school grounds, and thanks to him, he helped my sister see the light.

Weird that I am grateful to a school shooter, huh? No, I am neither proud of what he did nor encouraging others to shoot up a school. But you would agree that life can sometimes be interesting.

Have you ever wondered after watching or reading a story what would happen if that specific character did not do that little action? What would the outcome be then? That is always what our writer thinks about and one of the reasons why she wrote this book.

Another reason is for readers to be aware that shootings can happen anywhere. Now, that is not to say that you are not in your right to go to a store or restaurant and enjoy your life. Be aware of your surroundings and help the people around you regardless of how much you disagree with them.

Speaking of disagreeing, my older sister, Betsy, was a strong nonbeliever and disagreed with anything that had to do with Christianity. Before I go on, I must say that not all nonbelievers are like Betsy. Some of them are nice and do not mind Christians as long as those Christians are not toxic.

I hate to say this, but my sister was toxic. No, she loved me and cared for my safety. She was only toxic whenever I said or did something that pertained to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Need an example? I have plenty.

Betsy and I lived in Virginia and with our parents and attended the same school. One spring, the school decided to have the higher grades take a field trip to the park for lunch. Even though that Betsy and I were in different grades, we were in the higher grades and joined in on the field trip.

Along with my notebook and marks, I brought my Bible and told my sister that I would be reading it for a little bit. As I expected, Betsy was offended by what I was going to do. I say offended because she was resentful of God's Word.

We were sitting next to each other in the school bus, and I leaned towards her and whispered why she was offended by what I believed and not by religions. Her response was that she was not offended and knew that only Christianity was a cult.

I tried to not let my anger get the best of me. "Seriously, Betsy?"

"What, Bailey? All religions but yours are true."

"Loving the Lord is more of a relationship than a religion. And it is certainly not a cult!"

"Then prove it. Prove that your relationship is real."

"I cannot."

"Oh, really?" She smirked. "And why not?"

"I cannot prove it because like I said, it is a relationship. I have faith. You do not."

"Faith? Ha! Your 'relationship' is nothing but a joke."

I frowned and opened my Bible. "We will see who is laughing when we die."

Yeah. We do not have the best sister relationship, and I am sure that some of you readers ask why I do not just give up on my so-called "religion." That is like asking a gay guy to stop being gay. I do not support same-sex marriage, but I would not hate people for it.

I have another great example - and it led to my demise.

It was the month of Christmas, and my choir club was supposed to perform in front of our families, teachers, and students. I had the part of lead singer and needed to stay after school to practice.

The choir was practicing in the gym. I was about to go in when I felt a grip on my wrist and pulling me back. As you might have guessed, it was Betsy.

"Betsy, what are you doing here?" I asked. "You are supposed to be practicing for your big game."

"My soccer team and I already have it in the bag," she answered. "They will not mind me being a little late." She eyed my cross necklace. "Why the heck are you wearing that?"

I wrapped my fingers around the cross and glared at her. "I am wearing it because I can. It is a free country, you know."

"It will be free when Christianity is nothing but a faded memory."

"Please, sis. I need to practice." I turned around - and suddenly felt like choking. "Ack!"

My necklace. It was choking me!

"You are not wearing that hideous thing!" Betsy said. "Someone will hate it and bully you for it."

"T-that will not stop me from w-wearing it!" I managed to choke out. "Now let go! Y-you are choking me to death!"

"Stay still! I am trying to pull it over your head!"

I tried to slap her. "Let go!"

Snap!

The chain snapped, and the cross and pieces of the chain fell to the floor. I gasped when I saw my broken necklace and dropped to my knees. I was heartbroken.

"No..." I said.

"Good riddance," Betsy said. "Now you will not be banned from school."

I scooped up some of the pieces in my palms and glanced up at her with fury in my eyes. "You broke it! You broke the necklace that our grandma gave me before she died!"

"Relax, sis. It is just junk."

I slowly rose to my feet and clenched my teeth. "If Grandma witnessed what you did to me, she would have had a heart attack."

"Do not bring her into this. You wore the necklace. It is your fault."

"You almost killed me!"

"Stop exaggerating. You would not..." Her voice trailed off as I collapsed on my stomach. "Bailey!" She sat down and pulled me into her lap. "Bailey?"

I found out later that there was a shooter...and he shot me in the back.