The Trip that Changed my Life

During a particularly cold Winter day in Los Angeles, California, a very large black man walked into a gas station. Even though he entered a terrible gang member, his life was completely turned around during that trip. That man was me, however I would not even be able to recognize the man that had walked into that store several months later.
I had waited outside for several people to walk in at the same time, and I followed them in. I immediately walked to the back of the store, and when they went up to the register I snuck several cans of booze into my sweatshirt. Unfortunately I wasn't as sneaky as I had hoped, and the store clerk saw me and I started to run. The man was exceptionally fast, considering his small stature. After a couple miles, I ducked into an alley, hoping my superior knowledge of L.A. would aid me in my escape. Even though we were going through parts of L.A. that he probably didn’t even know about, he kept with me the whole time.
Unfortunately, his endurance was beating out mine, and as I became weary, I misplaced my steps, tripped, and ended up face down in the middle of an alley. He picked me up and brushed me off. I attempted to bolt, but he held onto me with a grip like iron. When I saw escape wasn’t an option, I started spouting excuses, and hoping he wouldn’t call the police on me, because I couldn’t be caught stealing on parole.
“Don’t worry,” he told me “I’m not gonna call the cops on you. You just have to come with me somewhere. I think it might help you."
“What is it?”
“Have you ever been to church?” he asked skeptically.
“You mean like the christian thing?”
“Exactly. You’re gonna come with me this Sunday. To make sure you come, why don’t you lend me that watch of yours. After we go to church, you can have it back.”
I reluctantly handed over my thirty dollar watch, thinking it was better than the alternative.
“I’ll drive you back to your place, just so I’ll know where to pick you up at on Sunday.”
“Sure.” I replied, wondering how I had escaped punishment again.
We walked back to the gas station, we got into his car, and I directed him to my small apartment in the ‘bad’ part of town, as most would call it. I, on the other hand, would just call it home, as it had always been.
Before I could get out, he grabbed my arm and said, “Meet me here at 7:30, and try to wear something a little nicer than this, you don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb, now do you? My names Steven, and yours is...”
“Marquis.”
“O.K. Marquis, see you on Sunday.”, Steven said as he drove off.
After three days of me feeling, different, I guess I would have said, I dressed up in my only pair of slacks and a flannel shirt and met Steven outside the door, where he was waiting for me. I walked with him to his car, and he drove me to The New City Church of Los Angeles.
It was a pretty nice place. Not only were the people very sociable, but they had a table filled to the brim with cookies and pastries, which were not quite as refreshing as the steaming hot coffee they brought out later. Around fifteen minutes after we had arrived, Steven told me that the sermon was starting soon.
At first, I wasn’t really listening to the speaker, but then something he said sparked my interest. To this day, I cannot recall what it was, or why I found it interesting, which is silly considering how special that moment was. After listening to the entire rest of the speech, and feeling as though it was written just for me, I wanted to know more about this ‘Christian’ thing.
After I asked Steven how to become Christian, he responded with, “Atheism is a non-prophet organization, but Christianity isn’t. I’m gonna get you a meeting with the pastor. After talking with the pastor for some time, he gave me a Bible and said it would be good if I read some of it, just so I would know what I was getting myself into.
I went home, and without even thinking about it, read my newly obtained Bible for five hours. While I was reading, a couple of things concerned me. Namely, it was ‘Thou shalt not steal’ that worried me the most. I would have to leave the gang, and our leader would not be happy about that. After calling him, and telling him we needed to talk, I worried what he would say, and what I would do if he wouldn’t let me leave. I decided to just go to sleep, hoping that would ease some of my stress.
When I woke up, I immediately went to the gang's ‘headquarters’ to talk to the leader. When he let me in, I explained my dilemma to him. He immediately replied with, "Yah ain't tryin' tah back out the gang, are yah? You of all people should know ain't allowed."
"Well... Um... It's just that, I can't really help you if I'm Christian."
"Then don't be Christian, cause that's your only choice."

I left that day, confused, and wondering how I was going to get out of my situation. The next day, however, I was sure of what I had to do. I would talk to Steven to find out if he agreed, and then I would turn myself over to witness protection.

Steven and I met at a good burger place, and we talked as we ate. “So do you really think this is the best idea.” I asked Steven.
“If you think its the only way to get out of the gang, then it has to be.” He answered while taking a bite of the salad he was eating.
“OK, but there’s one more thing I have to know.”
“Shoot”
“Why are you eating salad at a burger place.”
“I’m vegetarian.”
“Well not for long, I’m ordering you a burger. We are both going to do something new today.”
“I... I... Fine, but make sure its healthy.”
“Bacon wrapped it is then.”
After we both finished our burgers, I began to leave, asking “So will you come to the police station with me?”
“I don’t think so. Something was bad in the burger. I don’t feel too good.”
“Unlucky you. See you tomorrow, maybe.”
“See yah,” he said as he rushed into the bathroom.

The drive to the police station was only topped by the wait in the station, but for once, the sun seemed to be shining through the fog. When I got there, I awkwardly explained my situation to the secretary at the front desk, and she brought me to someone she said could help me. As I walked through the door, I realized that my life would never be the same.