A Predicament of Biblical Proportions

Buddy Norman's dad arrives home from a business trip a day early to find his son has barely unpacked a single box in their new house in Odyssey. As the two tackle the boxes together, Dad gently probes about Buddy's rough first week at his new school - and mentions that Mom thinks a lonely new kid could use a dog. Buddy insists he is making friends just fine, and the story of his week comes tumbling out, colored at every turn by his wildly overactive imagination, which tends to run away with him whenever he gets stressed.

On his first day, Buddy found a quiet spot to pray and accidentally overheard a bully named Dion recruiting a big, friendly kid named Gavin. Dion wanted Gavin to toughen up, growl at people as his "signature move," and help him pick on the "Bible thumpers" he expected to spot on the upcoming Bring Your Bible to School Day. When Buddy's phone alarm gave him away, the boys accused him of spying, and his imagination whisked him into a Wild West showdown with Dion as a cattle-country outlaw threatening to tie him to the train tracks.

In homeroom, a girl named Emily Jones startled Buddy by knowing his full name and when he moved to town, offering to show him how things work around Odyssey. His imagination promptly recast her as a mob boss ordering around henchmen, and he took her lunch invitation as one he couldn't refuse. At lunch Emily introduced her partner, Matthew Parker, of the Jones and Parker Detective Agency. From a single pencil smudge on his finger, the two deduced that Buddy is left-handed and loves to draw - which impressed him, but also set him imagining the detectives rummaging through his closet and exposing his embarrassing choo-choo slippers to the whole school. After school he wandered into Whit's End, where kindly Mr. Whittaker offered to let him taste-test a new treat, but Buddy's imagination twisted the ice cream shop owner into a creepy Willy Wonka figure with rooms full of cages for naughty children.

The real trouble comes when the principal, Ms. Adelaide, announces that Bring Your Bible to School Day is not sanctioned by the school and that students have "freedom from religion." Buddy raises his hand to point out it should be freedom of religion, and imagines her as a furious queen putting him on trial and ordering a banana cream pie tossed in his face. Convinced that carrying his Bible will make him a target, Buddy sneaks away from school at lunchtime - a stunt that gets him grounded - and runs into Mr. Whittaker praying in the park. Buddy pours out everything, and discovers Whit isn't scary at all; he reminds Buddy of his own dad. Whit assures him that God won't be disappointed if he chooses not to participate, because carrying a Bible doesn't make anyone a better Christian - reading it and living it out does. But he also explains that bringing it can encourage other Christians, start conversations, and stand up for the freedom to read the Bible anywhere. "Sometimes the loudest words are the ones left unspoken," he tells Buddy.

On Bring Your Bible to School Day, Buddy nervously keeps his Bible in his backpack until lunch, when he finally takes it out - just as Dion swoops in to make an example of him. Gavin refuses to growl at another Bible kid, so Dion mockingly demands that Buddy stand up and tell everyone about his special little book. To his own surprise, Buddy steps onto his chair and does exactly that, telling the hushed cafeteria, "I'm carrying this Bible to let you know who I am." One by one, other kids rise: Emily declares she carries hers because the Bible's forgiveness and God's love are things she needs every day, Matthew stands with her, and then Gavin admits he left his own Bible in his locker out of fear - and marches off to get it, telling the sputtering bully, "You wanted me to join a team, Dion? Well, I guess I just did." When Dion demands that Ms. Adelaide put a stop to it, she refuses, affirming that the students have every right to bring their Bibles and talk about what they believe - though she does ask Buddy to please stay off the chairs in the future.

Back home, Dad tells Buddy he is proud of his brave choices and agrees he has settled in just fine without a dog. Buddy decides a pet might be a good idea after all - to help Mom settle in - and Dad counters with a suggestion: a turtle. Fewer walks, and as Buddy notes, they don't chew slippers.