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Ice cream, such a simple treat, but I knew that for me it was not about the ice cream, but the ice breaker. She actually wanted to talk to me! Shortly after receiving her message I hurried downstairs to the cafeteria. She was already down there waiting for me, looking preoccupied with her cell phone.

“Hey Megan!”

“Hey, what’s up?” was her reply as though she barely noticed I was there.

We walked into the cafeteria and got our ice cream. The beauty of college cafeterias is that ice cream is serve yourself and unlimited servings. I got chocolate for myself and Megan picked out strawberry. We sat down at a table in awkward silence for a few moments before we started to talk.

“So,” said Megan, “I still feel bad about how I snapped at you last week.”

“Well, again, it wasn’t a big deal and you don’t have to explain.”

“No, really, I’m sorry. It’s just been a rough week for me,” she breathed out a deep sigh as though decompressing, “for whatever reason my parents decided that they would wait until the week that I moved out to college to finalize their divorce. Really awesome, huh?”

“Wow, I am really sorry to hear that.” I was kind of left speechless.

“Ha! And now you are apologizing to me. How ironic.” She paused for a moment. She clearly knew what she was going to say next, but she knew that she could add emphasis to her point if she paused for a moment. “There is a lot about me that you do not know.”

At this point I’m wondering what it is that she wants to tell me, because a girl doesn’t just say that, she wants to tell you what you don’t know whether she is going to or not. “Well, if you feel comfortable talking about it, go right ahead. If not, that’s okay. It sounds like you have been through a lot lately.”

“Maybe for another time.” She spoke up so quickly that she already knew she was not going to tell me. “But you know what has bothered me lately? Derkins.”

“For real, me too!”

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve learned about evolution before but this guy is intense. He is really convinced that there is no God.” “Ha ha, I know, he seems pretty certain. But don’t let it bother you.”

“But did you hear what he said about his past and his parents? Why would God let that happen to them...and him!”

“Do you believe in God, Megan?”

“I was brought up Presbyterian, but we never talked about these sort of things at church. Is it wrong that I have my doubts?”

“It’s okay to ask questions, Megan. But there is a lot that we are not being told here. For instance, I just found a book online that is all about faith and science. I actually ordered it right before I came down here.”

“Derkins is really smart. And there is this other book that I heard about called Michelangelo’s Secret. It’s all about how Michelangelo hid messages in his art that disprove the Bible.”

“Are you sure that wasn’t Leonardo-“

“It was Michelangelo!”

“Sorry, sorry.”

“Anyway, Ryan, I have never had to think this hard before about my faith.”

“Me neither.”

“If God isn’t real it would totally change my life. But at least God would not be punishing my family.”

“Whoa, whoa,” I was kind of stunned, “What do you mean by that?”

“You know, I’ve said too much. I should probably get going.”

“No, it’s okay, Megan. You can tell me.”

“Now’s not the time, but thank you for joining me. It was fun and I appreciate the company. I hope that book you ordered is helpful. I like knowing that there is someone out there looking out for me.”

“Are you talking about me or God?”

“Figure it out genius.”

I did not learn as much about Megan as what I wanted to, but she seemed to enjoy talking to me...I think. Little by little, the mystery of this girl is starting to unravel. She has a lot on her plate and I am hoping that I can be a good witness to her and also learn more about how my faith and science work together.