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Mrs. Sutter’s Last Class

John Ragusa

    Mrs. Sutter’s religion class was noisy as she walked into the classroom. She demanded silence from her pupils.
    “All right, class, today you shall learn about the Devil,” she announced.
    The high-school students suddenly became attentive.
    “Before he became the Devil, Satan was an angel in heaven,” Mrs. Sutter said. “However, he was jealous of God’s power, so God dismissed him from heaven and he became the foul fiend he is today.”
    “Why didn’t God take away the Devil’s powers?” Bobby Ansell asked.
    “I suppose it was because the Lord isn’t an Indian giver,” Mrs. Sutter replied.
    Her expression became stern. “Do you know that Satan once tried to tempt Jesus?”
    The students looked at each other.
    “It’s true. When Jesus was in the desert, Satan offered him riches if he would kill himself. Of course, Jesus refused.”
    Mrs. Sutter had the students’ undivided attention now.
    “You must do the same thing when the Devil tempts you,” she said. “If he makes you want to lie to your parents, resist it. If he makes you want to cheat on a test, don’t do it. It’s always best to commit good deeds.”
    “But don’t nice guys always finish last?” Kathy Banks said.
    “Kathy, you must understand that there are people in this world who want you to believe that being nice doesn’t get you anywhere. Those people are wrong. Doing the right thing will always make you a winner no matter what.”
    She stood up and walked around the room. “The Devil wants your soul. That’s why he tempts you to do bad things. He wants you to go to hell after you die. Nothing would please him more than to make you feel miserable.”
    “God lets us feel miserable here on Earth,” Drake Pinto said.
    “That’s because of what Adam and Eve did. If they wouldn’t have eaten the apple, we wouldn’t have to suffer.”
    “I think that sucks,” Drake said. “Why should we pay for something they did?”
    “That’s the way it has to be,” Mrs. Sutter said. “The Devil is also responsible for the possession of the soul.”
    “How can you know if someone is possessed by the Devil?” Kathy said.
    “He usually displays abnormal behavior. Sometimes he speaks in someone else’s voice or he levitates objects.”
    “What can be done for such a person?” Bobby said.
    “A priest must be called upon to exorcise him. That is the only way his soul can be saved.”
    “Do you believe in witches and warlocks, Mrs. Sutter?” Dino Ruiz said.
    “No, I don’t. In the past, people believed in witches, but they were ignorant and superstitious. Today we know better than to believe in that nonsense.”
    “You don’t think that a person can cast a spell on someone else?” Drake said.
    “Absolutely not. Such a thing just isn’t possible.”
    “Didn’t you ever wish on a rabbit’s foot?”
    “No, and I’ve never wished on a shooting star, either. I have no belief in magic.”
    “But if you believe that Jesus turned water into wine, then you must believe in magic.”
    “That’s different,” Mrs. Sutter said. “Ordinary humans can’t perform magic, but Jesus wasn’t an ordinary human.”
    “I suppose you don’t believe in the immortality of the body.”
    “That’s right. I only believe in the immortality of the soul.”
    “Does the Devil ever make deals with people?” Kathy said.
    “No. That kind of thing only happens in horror movies, never in real life.”
    “Suppose Satan offered you eternal life in return for your soul. Would you accept it?”
    “I don’t think that would ever happen. But if it did, I wouldn’t accept it, because the Devil would find a way to cheat me.”
    “If a person obtains immortality, he won’t ever have to go to hell. Therefore, the Devil couldn’t cheat him. Did that ever occur to you?”
    “No, it sure hasn’t.”
    “One good thing about Satan is that he’s not a hypocrite,” Dino said. “He doesn’t pretend to be anything other than evil.”
    “You do have a point there,” Mrs. Sutter admitted.
    “You probably think we’re being the Devil’s advocate.”
    “I did wonder why you’re defending him so much.”
    “I guess we just want to give the Devil his due,” Bobby said. The class all laughed at this joke, and even Mrs. Sutter had to smile.
    “Just remember that following Satan will hurt you in the long run,” Mrs. Sutter said. “Stick with God, and you can’t go wrong.”
    “It isn’t really the Devil who sends us to hell, is it?” Kathy said. “It’s God who sends us there.”
    “That’s correct,” Mrs. Sutter said. “God sends sinners to hell when they aren’t sorry for their sins. They are punished there for all eternity.”
    “I thought God was supposed to be forgiving.”
    “He forgives us when we are sorry for sinning against Him. It’s only when we aren’t remorseful that He doesn’t forgive us.”
    “What can you tell us about animal sacrifice?” Drake said.
    “Satanists sometimes slaughter animals as sacrifices to the Devil. To reward them for this, he gives them a precious gift. This is a common practice among devil worshippers.”
    “What about human sacrifice?”
    “It’s the same as animal sacrifice, except that people are slaughtered, not animals. It’s a horrible atrocity for anyone to commit. It gives me chills just to think about it.”
    The students sat in their seats and stared at Mrs. Sutter with fiendish grins on their faces.
    “Why are you all looking at me that way?” she asked, trembling.
    The pupils said nothing.
    “If this is a joke, it isn’t funny.”
    She saw the gleam of their knives as they took them out their desks.
    “What do you think you’re doing?” Mrs. Sutter said hysterically.
    “We want eternal life,” Bobby said.
    “So we’re making a human sacrifice to Satan,” Kathy said.
    “And the sacrifice happens to be you,” Drake said.
    “It will take place right here and now as we butcher you with our blades,” Dino said.
    Mrs. Sutter screamed as the students pounced upon her, stabbing her brutally until her body was a bloody mess lying dead on the floor.

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