Aaron would normally be the first person to arrive at the town hall meeting if it wasn't for the back-to-back spiritual meetings with the other teenagers in town, making a schedule of who wanted to come speak with him, and somehow trying to find his sister, knowing she would try to ditch. With everyone gone so suddenly, many people who had never came to his family's church were suddenly coming. They needed advice or rationale for what was happening and Aaron has tried to bring comfort to those around him, despite him having the same questions.
The fact that their family wasn't around when he arrived back from the field trip wasn't concerning at the time. Bedtime was a strict ten o'clock for the whole family and Aaron went to sleep. He had woken up to silence. JP or Elizabeth would've woken him up, his father if Aaron was going to be late. Joanna had gone out to party so the house was truly empty. When Aaron looked at his phone, he saw dozens of messages from numbers he did and didn't recognize. Parents, siblings, any authority figure was missing.
Everything began to spiral from there and Aaron was unsettled by the situation. He kept to his schedule, trying to retain some normalcy. He kept the church alive and clean, in case his father came back and was upset Aaron hadn't completed his chores. It became more apparent something was wrong when Timothy Langsten couldn't get to the next town over. People began to flood the church, believing it to be some kind of rapture. Aaron didn't have time to process that his family was gone, because everyone needed him suddenly. People who ignored him or bullied him needed him and it was surreal.
Thankfully, Aaron made it in before the troublemakers would be stumbling through. He found a seat near the middle and he could feel eyes on him as he walked through. Aaron was a leader to these teenagers and it was equally terrifying and flattering. God has provided comfort to him in dark times so he hopes to bring that to others. Aaron sat patiently, listening to Diana's spiel and everyone else talking about their roles. Aaron looked forward to music program Taylor and Andy were putting together, having played the piano since he was nine. He then began to turn red when Diana mentioned him. Feeling pressured to speak up, Aaron stood up and tried to keep his blush down. ""H-hello. The church will be open from eight to s...seven for anyone who needs it. You can come speak to me if you need any guidance. I'm aware this is a d-d-difficult time for many of you and I am here to help you in anyway you need. The book of Psalm says, "But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my p-prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not r...rejected my prayer or r-removed his steadfast love from me." I'm aware that many of you feel abandoned right now, but you are not alone through this. Again, my home is open to anyone who wishes to not be alone and feel free to c-co-cont... get with me if you need to talk. Th-thank you." He quickly sat down, embarrassed that his stutter made another appearance. No one had ridiculed him outwardly, but he knew someone was making jokes about it. He would always be the stuttering, church kid. Nothing would change that. Aaron took a moment to breathe when he heard a voice he knew all too well coming from the back. Joanna had shown up and Aaron could only hold his breathe for whatever would come out of her mouth. 'Lord, please help Joanna to be kind and compassionate to others to herself in these times.' It was common prayer that had yet to be answered.
~
Joanna hadn't planned on coming to Diana's pathetic attempt to gain back whatever control she thought she had in high school. If Aaron hadn't grilled her about attending, she would've skipped. Hopefully, the twins would show up soon and they could get high together later. Her flame of the week, James, saved a spot for her in the back, but she chose to sit on his lap instead. Joanna listened halfheartedly to Diana's speech, not caring for her nonsense. She perked up at the mention of Edward. Yes, James was sweet, captain of the basketball team, and stupidly hot, but he was also very stupid. Edward had been on her radar for the past week so she's been laying some ground work for him to notice her, it helped she got Aaron to talk up her good qualities since they were friends. Joanna became irritated when Diana looked specifically at her when it came to 'lack of order' as she called.
It wasn't a big deal in the beginning. Joanna's parents were gone and it felt amazing. She didn't have to listen to her father ranting about the 'sin' she's involved with or her mother constantly chastising her for her outfits. Joanna did miss her younger siblings, but it did feel nice to be free for a while. The partying was fun, especially ones by the Jackson brothers. It went on for days, but people can only party for so long. The looting wasn't one of her ideas, but Joanna went along with the crowd. She wasn't as excessive as some, but she needed things too. Her medication especially, which would be tricky to get since the new 'doctor' hated her.
She couldn't help but laugh, rather loudly, when she 'threatened' anyone who had participated with the looting. What was she going to do? As always, Diana didn't realize who really controlled this town. Joanna is the Queen Bee for a reason, plus she has Jacksons and Friends on demand. Someone else voiced her thoughts before Joanna could say anything and it made giddy at Diana's discomfort. What was her plan?
Joanna raised her hand, but spoke anyway without being called, "Yes, how do you plan to keep order? And while we're at it... last I checked, you're not mayor. Why should we listen to you?" A chorus of 'yeah!'s' and 'you tell her Joey!' came from the back. Diana is the last person Joanna was going to listen to. If she wants to play sheriff, Joanna's going to play the outlaw.