Head Over Heels by Gail Sattler Page B

competitive.”
    â€œThis I have to see.”
    â€œWe’ve changed the rules to be less aggressive and more fair for co-ed. They abide by it, so it works for me.”
    They stood to the side to watch the scaled-down game until the sun began to set and the light became insufficient to see properly.
    â€œNow what?” Russ asked, as all the teens moved back inside the building.
    â€œI try to encourage them to play board games, but I’m not always successful. Usually we just sit and talk, and whenever I can, I try to steer the topic to an informal Bible study. They know this is a church, and they’re bound to get stuck being forced to listen to some religious content as a condition of getting to use the facility. Some of them are believers, some of them are undecided, some of them aren’t open yet, but they put up with me. I just do what I can, and I hope they make it through Saturday and come back on Sunday.”
    â€œDo they?”
    â€œA few, but I wish it was more.”
    He mumbled something she couldn’t make out, and chose to let it go.
    This time, Marielle couldn’t get the group to focus on anything but the new computers and the programs that Russ had brought and was going to teach Marielle to use,so she could in turn teach them. Again, she was reminded of the graphics program that most of them wanted to learn. It was the basis for a month-long course that a couple of their friends were taking at a significant cost.
    When midnight came, Marielle saw all of them to the door, but instead of Russ following the teens out, he remained beside the table of computers.
    â€œI couldn’t do this with the kids watching. I can’t keep the keys to the padlocks because at some point you might need to move them. I’m just not sure what to do. You’re only here for a few hours a day. If some disaster happens and they need to be moved quickly, you shouldn’t have the keys on you. I thought I should give them to your pastor, but he’s not necessarily here all the time, either, and you’re the one who spends the time in this room. If some emergency happens and they have to be moved quickly, both of you need access to the keys.”
    Marielle extended her hand toward him. “I’ll just put them in the desk, then.”
    Russ shook his head. “No. That’s too obvious. The point is to protect them from theft. The desk is the first place a thief will look for the keys.” He glanced around the room. “This place is pretty bare.” He looked up at the ceiling. “But…” His voice trailed off. “There’s a place no one would look for keys. I could put them behind one of the ceiling tiles, and that way they’d always be close to the computers in case of emergency. I’ll let Pastor Tom know where they are, and I think that would work the best. Both of you would have access, and if neither of you was here, you could just tell whoever was here where they were. All it would take is to stand on a chair, and you’ve got them.”
    That said, he pulled a chair to the end of the table. The effort to crawl onto the chair showed in his face, but he continued on his mission. Once he was standing on it, he was fine. He reached over his head, pushed up on one of the ceiling tiles, and slid the bundle of keys so they were situated directly above the computer that had formerly been his. When he let the tile drop, a cloud of dust poofed out, causing Russ to cough. He clutched his rib cage until the pain subsided and he could stand straight.
    â€œDone,” he said, then hopped off the chair.
    The second he landed, he gasped for breath, his face paled, and again he wrapped both arms around his chest. “That was stupid,” he said through clenched teeth.
    Marielle also held her breath, unsure if he required medical assistance in case he’d dislocated something.
    Slowly, he straightened and his color returned.