Chapter Four: Metamorphosis

Over the next month Nick and Jonah spent most of their free time down on 7th Street exploring all the shops and wildlife available to them. Jonah discovered quickly that his favorite music was what Nick referred to as ‘original hippie rock’ meaning bands like The Beatles, The Monkeys, Clearwater Revival, and Hall and Oates.

Jonah also discovered he loved draft IPAs from any brewery they could find. The day Nick decided that Jonah should be able to order a drink was exciting, but the most anxious Jonah had felt. Jonah had never been excellent at lying before, so when Nick threw a fake ID at him and told him that they were going to the new brewery to try some beers Jonah almost choked. But it had been at least three weeks, and so far no establishment had questioned it, and Jonah never questioned where or how Nick got one for each of them.

There was a local trade-in store that would let anyone purchase clothes but also trade in old clothes that were still in good condition. “Your clothes should be the first indicator of the type of person you are,” Nick had said. “And right now your clothes scream: ‘I’m a sad sheltered kid who grew up selling Bibles at school functions on the weekend.’” Jonah had shuttered at how closely accurate Nick’s assessment was. For as long as he could remember his ‘style’ had been khaki pants and plaid button-up shirts. After the first time shopping in the trade-in store Jonah realized he hated plaid, he hated khaki, and he loved sort of a Beach Boys theme of 1960’s surfer dude. He would have worn flip-flops constantly if he hadn’t been afraid of losing his toes to frostbite.

It was only the beginning of October of his first semester in college, and Jonah was already feeling more like himself than he ever had. It seemed Nick had a positive solution for everything. But no matter how much Nick told him and taught him, Nick never seemed to run out of ways to catch Jonah off guard or surprise him.

…

Jonah shuffled through the new CDs in his collection as he meanered down the hall towards his dorm. He didn’t even attempt to control the wide spread smile on his face, satisfied with his new purchases. The door was shut and it looked like the light was off in his dorm, but there was strange music playing and what sounded like chanting.

Jonah slowly opened the door to see Nick kneeling over what looked like an impromptu altar to Satan. There was a large tapestry with a pentagram and goat head painted on it hanging above Nick’s bed that Jonah had never seen before. There were black lit candles all over the room and weird music in a different language pouring out of Nick’s speaker on the nightstand. Nick himself was shirtless and looked as if he had a little blood splashed on him but after a closer look it was probably - hopefully - red paint from the used bottle of spray paint on the floor.

“Nick…” Jonah started but he had no words. He felt internally torn between pure panic and intense curiosity. Nick turned to look at Jonah with a crazed look in his eyes. Nick moved quickly and Jonah was too stunned at the situation to fully process what was happening.

“Jonah, I’m so glad you’re here! Just in time!” Nick exclaimed quickly, shutting the door to their room, forcing Jonah to drop his bag of CDs on the desk, stripping off Jonah’s shirt and pulling him on the ground in front of the altar.

“Just in time for what? Nick, what is going on?” Jonah stuttered out trying to pull himself up, but Nick grabbed his hand and shoved him back down.

“I told you I worshiped a different type of God. This is it and trust me, this one is much better and more understanding than the one you grew up with. He helped me get away from my father, find my way and my passion.” Nick kept his eyes on the altar as if deep in a devoted prayer. Jonah stared at his new friend with curiosity and a little bit of pity. After that first day together, Nick never talked about his father. Jonah sat quietly and listened to Nick continue to chant in a different language.

For the first time in their friendship, Jonah wondered if maybe he should consider requesting a new roommate.