Stay 6 O' Clock

“I’m DONE!” she shouted. She slammed the door behind her, pulled the backpack up on her shoulders and stormed away from her own house…although, she didn’t really like calling it her house…because she never felt at home there. She marched away and walked up to the street to wait for the bus to take her off to school. Her boring, dull, and standard school. She hated the smelly and noisy bus that carried her there every day, and she hated the boring and stupid things that she was forced to learn and do. It was a pain. What she wouldn’t give to escape it all. If that wasn’t enough, she was pissed off at her stepfather once again…because he had forgotten what day it was too.

“Excuse me.” Mika looked up the street and saw a surprising sight. Parked near her driveway was a large red pickup truck. It was very clean and it looked almost brand new…in fact it smelled new. Inside the car was a young man with curly brown hair and hazel green eyes. He was smiling at her and he was leaning out the window. “Are you alright?” Mika glared at him and started to walk past him. “I know it’s not really any of my business but…”
“You’re right,” she snapped back, “it’s not.” The boy laughed.
“Alright…if you say so.” Suddenly Mika stopped and couldn’t help but wonder what the guy was on about. She spun around and looked at him.
“Why do you care?” She asked. The boy shrugged and looked at her.
“I can’t stand to see a lady upset.” He said finally. Mika stared at him. His face looked kind and friendly…and there was something about it that made her trust him. She knew that she had no reason to trust this stranger, but she didn’t sense anything dangerous about him.
“Well, that’s quite gentlemanly of you.” Mika said with a laugh.
“Well, people often tell me that I came straight from the 40’s.” Mika’s eyes widened…she had told that to a friend once too. But there was no way that this person could be…him…but she knew how to find out.

“Um, ma’am?”
“Yes?” She asked, still dazed.
“Were you supposed to catch a bus?” He asked. Mika nodded blankly.
“Yes, how did you know?” Mika asked. The boy pointed in the distance to where Mika could see a large yellow bus driving away.
“OH NO!” She cried. She nearly pulled her hair out in anger and screamed, hoping to catch the bus, but it was already too far away. “I missed it AGAIN! I can’t believe it!” She screamed. Suddenly she heard a truck engine fire up and she turned to see the boy smiling at her, as he kicked open the shotgun side door.
“Hop in…I’ll give you a ride.” He smiled. Mika stared at him, unsure what to say…and what to do. Her better judgment knew it was a bad idea to get into a truck with a stranger…but what other choice did she have? Go and ask her step dad who couldn’t even remember the most important day of her life? Yeah…she felt better with a stranger.
“Alright, thanks.” She said, climbing into the dark red truck. The motor kicked to life and I felt the truck pull off and down the road.

“So, what’s your name?” The boy asked. Mika looked at him and thought carefully about what to say.
“My name…is Mika.” The boy turned and smiled.
“Now that’s a pretty name,” he said with a grin, “where are you from?”
“You sure do ask a lot of questions, don’t you?” Mika asked dangerously. The boy backed off a little but still held his smile.
“Calm down…calm down.” The boy laughed. “Hahaha!” Mika just stared at him in wonder.
“So, where are YOU from?” She asked. She had to know the truth about this stranger…to see if he really was who she suspected.
“I’m from down south, actually. I came up here for a big tournament…and now I’m done so I have a few free days to spend up here.” Mika could only stare in surprise at the answer that the boy had given. However, she tried to hide her amazement; there was no way that he could be who she thought he was.

“So…if you don’t mind my asking…what had you so distracted that you missed your ride to school?” The boy asked. Mika groaned and looked out the passenger side window, wondering if she should even answer that question.
“It’s nothing.” She growled.
“With all due respect, Mika, it looked like you were pretty upset.” Mika huffed and then decided it was best to just explain herself.
“Well, it’s not just one problem…it’s a lot of problems.” She said. “You probably couldn’t help with any of them.” The boy smiled and shrugged.
“No, probably not…but I can listen…and that’s always something, right?” Mika looked at him. Why was it that this person seemed so familiar and so…kind. There was no way he could be her friend from down south…but why did he seem so much like him?

“This whole day is my problem.” She finally shouted. The boy looked at her funny and kept driving.
“What’s wrong with today?” Mika snarled and nearly spit out her response.
“Today is my birthday.” She snapped. The boy suddenly beamed.
“And me without a present! Happy Birthday!” He cried. Mika shot him a dangerous look that made his smile fade.
“It’s nothing to celebrate.” She snarled. “I’ve gotten nothing that I wanted this year.”
“How do you figure?” The boy asked. Mika just looked away and felt tears began to well up in her eyes.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” Mika frowned. The boy nodded and kept driving…and as he was driving, the silence of their drive only made Mika feel more uncomfortable. Mika often tried to open her mouth to speak to him about everything, but she constantly changed her mind and then fell silent. She wasn’t sure how she could explain everything to him. The move she went through that summer…the loss of her boyfriend…her stepfathers rotten attitude and actions. How could she explain that to him? No…these problems were hers to think about and worry about.

“Mika, would you look in the backseat and see if you can find my cooler? I think I left a Gatorade in there.” Mika nodded and looked behind the seat. The back was cluttered with working equipment and a few items that looked dirty. This was the truck of someone who had done construction work. She finally found a big blue cooler and poped open the lid and found a Gatorade. She pulled it out, but as she did, a small object caught her eye. She reached for it and saw that it was a watch…a very expensive and special looking watch! It looked very valuable and special. The two hands were marked for 6 o’clock…but that was wrong…the time was actually about 7 o’clock. Why would this very precious and valuable watch be left at 6?
“Hey, what’s with your watch?” She asked, holding it out to him. “It’s an hour off, should I fix it?” The boy turned and looked at the watch and shook his head.
“No…it’s broken.” He said. Mika sighed.
“Oh, how did you break it?” She asked. The boy turned and smirked.
“I didn’t…my grandfather did…and that watch means worlds to me.” He explained. Mika gave him a confused look. He sighed and kept driving but continued to speak as if looking at her and the very special watch.
“I don’t understand…if the watch is broken, why still hold on to it?” She asked.
“Look at the time that it reads.” The boy said. “It says 6 o’clock…my grandfather intentionally set the clock on that time and then stopped the watch from working. It’s not to tell time, Mika…it’s a reminder.” Mika shook her head in confusion.
“I don’t understand this at all.” She said.

“Mika, do you know who Jesus Christ is?” Mika nodded happily.
“Oh, yeah…I know Him, alright.” The boy beamed.
“How would you describe his relationship with Him?” the boy asked calmly. Mika shrugged and thought the question over.
“I guess it’s okay…it could be better.” The boy smiled.
“My relationship is 6 o’clock.” The boy said mysteriously.
“What?” Mika asked, now totally lost.

“Mika, my grandfather almost never made any sense. He used to tell me stories that I never followed…like he once told me that if I kissed my elbow I’d turn into a girl…and then my cousins tried to see if it would actually happen…” He then sighed and looked ahead, but his eyes didn’t seem focused. “…but sometimes, his words held a deeper meaning.”
“What do you mean?” Mika asked.
“The day he gave me that watch, I wondered why he gave me a broken watch. He looked me in the eyes and whispered…Stay 6 o’clock…I never knew what that meant and I thought he was just messing with me…but one day, I finally learned what he meant by those words.” As they drove, they came up to a stop light and the boy paused. As he did, he looked down and shook his head.
“I got into a lot of trouble when I was younger…and I caused my own parents a lot of pain. I made some choices I’m not proud of and got into a lot of fights. I betrayed friends and I hurt my parent’s hearts…but one day, I found this watch…and do you know where the hands were pointing?” Mika shook her head. The boy reached behind him in the back of his seat and pulled out a small black book. It was a bible. “The hand was pointing from me…right to this.” Mika gasped.

“Staying 6 o’clock isn’t about telling time…it’s about the way you live your life and approach your problems.” He explained. “When you look at the clock, the 6 is on the bottom…where we are. When we are at our weakest and at our worst, we are at the bottom of the world and we feel furthest from God…who resides so far above us that he is at the 12 point on the clock.” He then tapped the watch and showed her the two hands. “When we are at our weakest and going through our most difficult trials…our relationship with God is the most important thing we can have…and your relationship can’t go off in any other direction that straight towards him…just like the hands on the clock when it says 6 o’clock.” As Mika listened to him talk, she began to understand and realize just why this watch was so important to him. “That concept saved me from myself and pulled me back to my senses. I turned my life around and…here I am…I’ve been trying to live 6 o’clock ever since.”
“That’s…very cool.” Mika admitted. She looked at the watch and smiled, staring at it happily. “Where is your grandfather now?” The boy didn’t answer and just looked ahead…which was all the answer she needed. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.” The boy said. Mika’s eyes widened again at what he had said. Had he just called her ‘sweetheart?’ Only a few people called her that. However, she had little time to bring it up, because they were just pulling up on her school. She handed the watch back to the boy and she grabbed her bag. They pulled up to the front and she opened the door.
“Thank you for the ride.” She said gladly.

“Wait, Mika.” The boy called. Mika stopped and turned to face the boy. “I still need to give you a birthday present.” He said. Mika laughed and shook her head.
“No…you really don’t have to.” The boy shook his head.
“No, it is very necessary.” He then tosses her a small silver object which she caught and looked at…it was the watch. She stared at it and then looked at the boy who only smiled at her with a big beam on his face. “That’s yours…I know it may not seem like much…but I want you to have it.”
“But…this is your grandfathers! I can’t take it!” She cried. The boy laughed and held up his hand to stop her.
“No, I want you to have it…I insist. But I must ask that you take good care of it.” Mika looked at his serious face and knew that he was serious about this choice. She felt tears roll down her face as she wrapped the watch around her wrist…it fit perfectly.
“Thank you so much.” She said happily.
“Don’t mention it Mika…just remember what that watch means…and if anyone asks you why it’s broken…tell them what it means.” He said warmly. He then began to fire up his truck to leave again.

“Wait!” Mika cried. The boy looked back at her. “You never told me your name!” She shouted. The boy laughed.
“Give me a break…you mean you couldn’t figure it out this whole time?” He laughed. Mika’s mouth fell open as she realized who he was.
“It’s me…Cliff!” Mika burst out laughing and ran towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly.
“Thank you Cliff…Thank you SO much!” She cried, to the boy she now knew to be her friend. Cliff hugged her back and then let her go.
“You need to go to class now, Mika…and I want you to have a very happy birthday…just remember to stay 6 o’clock.” Mika laughed as she let go of her friend and jumped out of his truck. As his truck drove away, she prayed that she would get to see him again soon…and she also felt a new sense of hope. As she walked towards the school she thought about all that awaited her today and her heart did begin to feel a little down…then she felt an unusual weight on her arm. She looked down and looked again at the beautiful, damaged watch…

“Remember…stay 6 o’ clock.” She smiled as the words echoed in her mind…and then she walked into the school building.