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Narrator/Announcer
Northwest Christian School Online provides online Christian education for any students ranging from kindergarten to 10th grade. The tuition is fully covered through the State of Arizona's ESA program and is affordable for families out of state. You can count on NCS Online for a rigorous, proven online program that establishes a robust biblical worldview for all students. For more information, go to ncsonline.org that's ncsonline online.org.
Naya
I've been thinking a lot about someone. Who?
Emily
Alex.
Naya
Maybe we ask if he wants to do the next Elysium program with us.
Alex
You do realize it's been like a year since we spoke, right? Like, actually spoke? And now you text me out of nowhere, ask me to call you, and you expect to just pick up where we left off?
Naya
I thought that if the Elysium is what separated us, then maybe it could also be the thing that brings us back together. So you coming?
Alex
Maybe. I guess curiosity got the best of me.
Naya
I'm glad it did.
Emily
Elysium Experience Meeting.
Reverend Carter
Error.
Naya
I'm sorry, you guys, but the program failed to launch.
Emily
What does that mean?
Naya
It means you guys are stuck.
Alex
Stuck? For how long?
Sarah
Sorry, but are one of you Emily?
Emily
That's me.
Sarah
Good. Miles said you'd be coming to help. He didn't say you'd be bringing friends. The more the merrier, though. Where are my manners? My name's Sarah.
Emily
What exactly did Miles say I'd be coming to do?
Sarah
To help. With what? With the bus rides.
Emily
Bus rides?
Sarah
Yeah. We leave tomorrow evening for Washington, D.C. that's where we're all starting from.
Emily
We?
Sarah
All the other writers.
Naya
Riders?
Sarah
Yeah. Wait a second. Did Miles really not tell you any of this?
Emily
No, he didn't.
Sarah
You guys are in for a ride, literally. Because Thursday is the start of our freedom rides and you three are gonna be some of the riders.
Naya
The freedom riders?
Sarah
Yeah, but don't speak too loudly. Look, I can't tell you more about it here, but tonight at 6, we're having a meeting at the church over on Fillmore. Come by then and we can explain everything. I'll see you there.
Naya
Wait, but I have more questions.
Sarah
I. And you'll get your answers. Tonight at 6.
Alex
What the heck, you guys?
Emily
What?
Alex
You told me there wouldn't be any, you know, Jesus stuff, and now we're going to a church?
Emily
She said we're meeting at a church? Did she say we're going to be talking about Jesus all night?
Narrator/Announcer
No.
Emily
Then get over it.
Alex
Calm down, Emily.
Naya
No, she's right. You came because you wanted to experience the. What the Elysium provides. A glimpse into history. And now you're acting like a total toddler just because someone wants us to meet at a church. So guess what we're doing. We're meeting at her church.
Alex
Fine. Let's meet her at the church.
Narrator/Promoter
Some friendships end with a fight. Others end with silence. This is the story of what happens when that silence finally breaks. We Were Friends is a powerful short film from Northwest Christian School about betrayal, guilt, humiliation, and the cost of one terrible choice. Late at night in a nearly empty diner, two former best friends meet face to face for the first time time in over a year. What begins as awkward small talk slowly unravels into a devastating conversation neither of them is prepared for. It's raw, honest, uncomfortable, and painfully real.
Sarah
Watch.
Narrator/Promoter
We Were friends now@northwestchristianfilms.com.
Sarah
Good, you guys made it. But they already started.
Naya
Started what?
Sarah
Everything.
Reverend Carter
So if it happens, it happens fast. You don't brace. You don't argue. You stay where you are. Staying is the whole thing. We're not trying to make trouble. We'll see you on the buses.
Naya
We missed it.
Emily
Sarah, what's happening? I do not understand what we just walked into.
Sarah
Yeah, I figured you might not come with me. You guys, where to meet him?
Reverend Carter
Anyone care for a cup of coffee?
Emily
I'm okay.
Naya
I think we're good.
Sarah
Reverend Carter, this is Emily, Naya, and Alex.
Reverend Carter
Emily.
Emily
You know me?
Reverend Carter
I know of you.
Emily
That's different from Miles.
Alex
Mm.
Reverend Carter
He said if things ever got complicated, you'd know how to sit with it. He said you were good at being where things don't make sense.
Naya
Yet you two talked about this?
Reverend Carter
Not this. He talked about what it's like when the world doesn't give you instructions anymore.
Alex
And he thought that would qualify us for whatever this is?
Reverend Carter
He thought it meant you'd understand that sometimes clarity comes after commitment.
Emily
What did he say exactly?
Reverend Carter
He said there are moments where you don't get to choose what happens to you, only whether you stay present for it.
Naya
You okay, Emily?
Emily
Yeah. I just didn't expect this.
Reverend Carter
Most people don't. You want to know what's happening?
Emily
Yes.
Reverend Carter
We're riding interstate buses through the south, black and white together. Not to make a point, just to exist where we already have the right to.
Alex
Which is legal, though. Yes, but it's also dangerous.
Reverend Carter
Also, yes.
Naya
So why buses?
Reverend Carter
Because they crossed state lines. And because you can't pretend you didn't see who was sitting next to you.
Emily
The companies, they won't intervene.
Sarah
They'll keep the schedule.
Emily
And if something happens, they'll Say they
Sarah
didn't know what else to do.
Alex
So the point is to force a reaction?
Reverend Carter
No, the point is to stop absorbing one. And when people react, then the truth shows itself.
Alex
And what if the truth is violence?
Reverend Carter
Then it was already there.
Emily
Has anyone not come back?
Reverend Carter
People come back changed.
Naya
So you're asking people to sit in something they can't control?
Reverend Carter
We're asking them to stay seated long enough so that the lie can't stand.
Alex
And if they can't?
Emily
Well, then they leave and someone replaces them.
Reverend Carter
Always.
Emily
Miles knew this would happen.
Reverend Carter
He suspected.
Emily
And he still thought I should come?
Reverend Carter
He thought you'd understand what it means to be present without guarantees.
Emily
Thursday.
Reverend Carter
Thursday.
Alex
And until then?
Reverend Carter
People decide what they're willing to stay seated through.
Naya
And faith?
Reverend Carter
Faith doesn't make this safer. It just makes it survivable. I'll let you talk this through, Sarah. Let's give them some time.
Alex
So what happens now?
Naya
People decide whether they stay.
Alex
That's not what I meant. I mean after that. After you sit. After. Whatever comes next.
Emily
There isn't an after they're planning for.
Alex
That doesn't bother you?
Emily
It does. But it also tells the truth.
Alex
About what?
Emily
That sometimes a point isn't what happens next.
Narrator/Promoter
It.
Emily
It's whether you're still there when it does.
Naya
They're not trying to change the world overnight.
Alex
They're putting themselves in the middle of something that already wants to hurt them.
Naya
Yeah.
Alex
And do you think that's good?
Naya
I think pretending it's not happening is worse.
Alex
That's a belief.
Naya
So is thinking we can stand apart from it.
Alex
I'm not trying to stand apart. I'm trying to understand what it costs.
Emily
You don't get to calculate that ahead of time.
Alex
Why not?
Emily
Because the cost isn't consistent. It changes depending on who you are and what you're afraid of.
Alex
And what are you afraid of?
Emily
Being present when there's nothing I can do.
Alex
That sounds unbearable.
Emily
It is. There was a time when I couldn't respond. I couldn't move things forward or even signal what I needed. All I could do was just remain.
Naya
And people stayed with you?
Alex
Some did and some didn't.
Emily
Yeah. The ones who left weren't cruel. They just couldn't stand not being useful. So.
Alex
So you think usefulness is overrated?
Emily
I think presence is more honest.
Alex
Honest doesn't mean kind.
Emily
No, it just means you don't look away.
Alex
I don't like stories where pain is treated like proof.
Naya
Neither do they.
Alex
Then why walk into it?
Naya
Because avoiding it doesn't undo.
Alex
Protects you from what from being collateral.
Emily
They're already collateral.
Alex
So we just accept that?
Emily
No. We accept that choosing comfort doesn't erase consequence, and neither does choosing courage. So what's the difference whether you stay conscious of it?
Alex
That's a terrible answer.
Emily
I know. But it's the only one I trust.
Alex
You really believe sitting there matters?
Emily
I believe refusing to disappear does.
Naya
That's all they're doing.
Alex
My mom used to sit like that when things were bad. She didn't argue, she didn't fight. She just stayed. Everyone called it strength.
Naya
Was it?
Alex
I don't know. I just know it cost her everything.
Emily
That doesn't make it meaningless.
Alex
And that doesn't make it fair, either.
Emily
No, fairness isn't the question they're asking.
Alex
Then what is?
Emily
I think? Who's willing to stay seated long enough for the truth to show itself?
Alex
I'm not promising anything.
Emily
I'm not asking you to.
Alex
But I'm not saying this doesn't matter. I'm saying knowing that it matters doesn't tell us what to do with it.
Naya
Sometimes it does.
Alex
Sometimes it just tells you what it costs. And I don't trust myself around things that ask for everything and promise nothing.
Emily
That doesn't make you wrong. It just means you're honest about where your limits are.
Naya
What about you, Emily?
Emily
I don't want to confuse distance with safety anymore.
Alex
So you're staying?
Emily
I am.
Alex
And if it breaks you, then at
Emily
least I'll know I didn't look away.
Alex
I think the things that matter most are the ones that cost the most to touch.
Emily
Yeah, and some people still stay seated. I need some air, though. You guys mind if I take a few minutes? Of course not.
Narrator/Announcer
Northwest Christian School Online provides online Christian education for any students ranging from kindergarten to 10th grade. The tuition is fully covered through the State of Arizona's ESA program and is affordable for families out of state. You can count on NCS Online for a rigorous, proven online program that establishes a robust biblical worldview for all students. For more information, go to ncsonline.org that's ncsonline.org.
Sarah
Mind if I sit?
Emily
Of course not.
Sarah
You didn't say much back there.
Emily
I was listening.
Sarah
That usually means someone's already made up their mind.
Emily
Yeah. I've decided I'm staying.
Sarah
Your friends?
Emily
Well, they're still deciding.
Sarah
That's fair.
Emily
You don't seem surprised.
Sarah
People arrive at this at their own time. Some never do.
Emily
Can I ask you something?
Sarah
Sure.
Emily
Why is this necessary?
Sarah
Because laws can say one thing and lives can say another. Because you can win a case and still lose a sidewalk because you can change a policy and still be told where you don't belong. Because there are places where injustice survives on being ignored.
Emily
In this Stop Stack, it interrupts it.
Sarah
It forces people to react to something they've trained themselves not to see.
Emily
Even if that reaction is violent.
Sarah
Especially then.
Emily
That feels heavy.
Sarah
It is.
Emily
I don't think everyone understands what they're walking into.
Sarah
No, but they understand what they're walking through.
Emily
And if they can't do it, then they leave. And someone else takes their place.
Sarah
Always.
Emily
You know, I've been in a place before where I couldn't leave. And I didn't get to choose what happened next. It wasn't loud. It was quiet. People were around me. They spoke. They decided things. They moved time forward. And I stayed right where I was. I couldn't say yes. I couldn't say no. I couldn't even say wait. I was still there. But everything that made me me had been set aside. And the hardest part wasn't the fear. It was watching people leave. Not because they didn't care, but because they didn't know how to stay when they couldn't help. So when Reverend Carter said that staying was the whole thing, it just felt familiar. Like I knew exactly what he meant.
Sarah
That's probably why Miles thought you'd understand.
Emily
He talked to you about me?
Sarah
Not the way you think. He just said you knew what it meant to remain present when there were no instructions.
Emily
I'm afraid this won't change anything.
Sarah
It already has. You stayed. And that matters.
Emily
I don't want to romanticize this.
Sarah
Then don't.
Emily
And if it breaks me, then you'll
Sarah
know you didn't look away. Thursday comes fast.
Emily
I know.
Sarah
You should get some rest. If you can. There's cots in the basement if you guys need a place for the night. A few others will be down there, too.
Emily
Okay. Thank you for not pretending. This is easier than it is.
Sarah
We don't get that luxury.
Podcast Host
Thanks for joining us for this episode of Eyewitness. Ride to Freedom. Come back next week for the next episode. This episode of Eyewitness is brought to you by Northwest Christian School's summer term. Summer does not have to mean falling behind. NCS summer term gives Students flexible 4 and 8 week online classes to catch up, get ahead and create space before next school year even begins. Real progress. Flexible schedule. Summer that moves you forward. Learn more@northwestchristiansummerterm.com
Emily
Sam.
Episode S6E2 – “Stay Seated”
Date: May 15, 2026
Podcast by Northwest Christian School & Red Five Media
In this immersive audio drama, “Stay Seated,” listeners follow Emily, Naya, and Alex as they’re drawn into the heart of a powerful—and dangerous—civil rights reenactment: the Freedom Rides. Seeking reconnection and understanding, the characters grapple with commitment, passivity, and the cost of bearing witness to injustice. The episode artfully explores what it means to “stay seated” when facing forces that demand confrontation—or silent complicity.
"Stay Seated" doesn't simply dramatize an act of civil disobedience—it unpacks the ethical and emotional complexity behind choosing to remain present amid injustice. Each character must contend with fear, usefulness, and the risk of change without guarantees. The act of sitting—together—becomes a powerful confrontation of truth, made more so by the knowledge that the world rarely rewards those who refuse to disappear.
For listeners: This episode provides a nuanced, intimate portrayal of activism, presence, and friendship under pressure—themes as relevant today as ever. Even if you’ve never witnessed a protest or faced such a decision, “Stay Seated” challenges you to consider what it means not to look away.