The Archives of Andrew Hawkins: Arthur Takes the Blame (written in 2013)

            Johnny went to the kitchen and picked up a 1970s Coca-Cola bottle, which was about $2,000. Next, it slid out of his hand. Then, it broke into a million pieces.  Next, He cleaned it up and didn’t tell Mom or Dad because he was afraid he would get punished. He did his schoolwork. He played video games all day long after school and still didn’t tell Mom. Arthur walked into the kitchen and saw that the 1970s Coca Cola bottle was missing. He just blew it off, grabbed some Starbursts, and went to his room to study.

            Mom was downstairs sweeping and dusting. She came upstairs, and decided to take the garbage out. Then, she discovered that there was glass in the trash can.

“Oh, no!” she gasped.

Looking for evidence for what had been broken, Mom immediately realized that her grandma’s 1970s Coca Cola bottle was missing from its special place on her shelf. Not only was the bottle valuable, but it was also very sentimental to her. Her grandmother had passed away recently.

She called her husband into the room. She was very angry and sad.

“Look at what’s broken. It’s my grandma’s 1970s Coca Cola bottle.”

“Let’s talk with the kids,” Dad replied. “Johnny and Arthur, come here, now!”

Johnny and Arthur made their way to the kitchen.

Dad asked, “What happened to the 1970s Coke bottle, which was about 2,000 dollars and was your grandmothers?”

Johnny said, “Arthur broke it.”

Dad says, “I’m very disappointed in you, Arthur. You were told not to touch it. You will not be able to watch TV, play video games, or eat junk food for the next nine months.”

Arthur went to his room, sat on his bed, and thought, I am glad that Johnny didn’t get in trouble again. He gets into trouble a lot. Getting bad grades and pulling pranks are what he usually does.

At that moment, Johnny looked inside his brother’s room. A tear was streaming down his cheek.

“Thanks for taking the blame. Why did you take the blame for me?”

“Because I love you, and I’ve been learning in AWANA that it’s Christ-like to take the blame. Jesus took the punishment for our sins by dying on the cross for our sins.”

“I’ll go to AWANA this week, because I want to learn more about Jesus.”

“I’m glad that you are going to AWANA!”

With that, they gave each other a hug. Somehow, they both understood this was a new beginning.