Dare to Be Different (20 page)

They continued on with the testimonies, and when they had about thirty minutes left in the evening, Shane stood up again and said, “We’re going to try something a little different. We’d like to separate into two groups. The boys will come with me and the other players outside, and the girls will stay here with Jodie and Becky. We thought that it might give you all a little more freedom to talk about the things that really matter most to you and also to give us the opportunity
to address issues that pertain to girls and boys separately. How does that sound?”

With a chorus of agreement, the students began to shuffle positions—the boys went outside and the girls arranged their seating so that they were a little more comfortable and their circle a little tighter.

Jodie started off the question-and-answer time by saying, “Do any of you have a topic or a question that you’d like to ask us?”

Dani raised her hand. “I have a question. It’s really a two-parter, if that’s okay.” When they nodded and said it was fine, she continued. “Were you both on the cheerleading squad and really popular in high school? And if so, do you think the popularity influenced you in making poor decisions?”

“Great question. Do you want to answer that, Becky?”

“Yeah, for me it was definitely a factor. I loved my position on the squad, and it did help me become very popular in school. In that role, I made some bad choices so that I would look cool and keep my ‘popular status.’ I was a leader in both the good things and in the bad things.”

“Same for me,” Jodie said. “I wanted to be
popular, and cheerleading helped me get there; but it took a lot of dumb decisions and mistakes to keep me there. I just wish I had known that the people who wanted me to behave that way weren’t really my friends. If I had really understood that, it may have made it easier to say no to some things.”

“How about some other questions?”

“I have one.” A new girl named Megan raised her hand. “My boyfriend has been pressuring me to go further with him physically than I feel comfortable going. What do you think I should do?”

“Honestly,” Jodie said, “I think you should find a new boyfriend. If you are with someone who is pressuring you to do anything at all, then he doesn’t really, truly care about you. He’s only interested in how you can benefit him. If he really cared about you, he would care about what you’re ready for or not ready for. Plus, if you have a spiritual foundation and you’re trying to follow God’s will, wouldn’t you want someone who supported that and wanted the same thing?”

“But,” Megan asked, “aren’t all boys like that? I mean, are there any who wouldn’t put the pressure on?”

“Of course there are. There are boys here in this meeting tonight who are worried about protecting their own purity. Those are the kinds of boys you want to be with.”

“So, maybe where I meet them is part of the problem?” Megan was looking for clarification, and all of the other girls were hanging on Jodie’s words.

“Well, you can meet a good boy at school and a bad seed at church. The location isn’t a guarantee, but it sure is a good start. But girls, let’s consider something else entirely. What if you didn’t have a boyfriend at all right now? You know, God has a perfect plan for your life. He set aside this period of growing up to be the time when He shapes you into the confident, secure, and godly woman that He wants you to be. That process is so much more difficult if you’re already trying to act like an adult and have adult relationships. I mean, do you really think that you will meet and date a boy now who will become your husband later? If you don’t think so, then what’s the point of dating now? You’re only opening yourself up for hardship and pain.” Jodie paused and looked around the group, making eye
contact with as many girls as possible.

“If I sound opinionated on this subject, it’s because I am. I only wish someone could have gotten through to me when I was your age. I wish I had spent less time acting like a grownup and more time actually growing up. I let my identity be shaped by whether or not boys liked me. I forgot that I am perfect and beautiful in God’s eyes already. Don’t make the same mistake I did, okay?”

They continued talking until it was time to go home. When it was over, Drew and Dani picked up their purses and started to head for the door. “Hang on a second, Dani. I want to talk to Jodie privately.” Drew ran over to Jodie and told her that she was fantastic.

Jodie said, “You have that look in your eye, Drew. The same look I had when I was your age. I just hope you remember some of the things we said tonight. Here, take my e-mail address. If you ever find that you’re in need of someone to talk to, shoot me a note. Okay?”

“Thanks so much. I really appreciate you guys coming here and doing this. It was awesome.” They briefly hugged, and then Drew was on
her way to find her family. She was much more excited about having had the chance to meet real cheerleaders than she was about anything they had said. She put Jodie’s e-mail address in her wallet in a safe place, just in case she needed it sometime.

Chapter 5

The bleachers were full, and the crowd roared. It was the first home game of the season. Students, family members, and locals had all turned out wearing their Panthers shirts and hats, and waved their flags in support of the football team. The vendors made their way through the throng of people selling their hot dogs and popcorn. Young kids played under and behind the bleachers. Dani and her parents got there early enough to find seats in the fourth row and were all eager to support Drew at her first game.

Dani couldn’t help herself; she got into the excitement of the event and the energy that the crowd was creating. She sat forward in her seat and tried to find Drew among the cheerleaders
on the sidelines. They huddled in a circle, getting a pep talk from the captain … oh, wait. It was Drew giving the pep talk; she
was
the captain. All of a sudden, feelings of jealousy and resentment started to fade away as Dani became proud of her sister. She watched her sister lead the squad; Drew was right where she was supposed to be. Dani vowed to herself that, from then on, she would support Drew and encourage her.

The cheerleaders all let out a little yell for team spirit and then broke to begin their opening cheer. The junior varsity squad customarily opened with a cheer-and-dance routine to set the tone for the game. Then they spent their time during the game on the sidelines cheering for their team and leading the crowd. So, at five minutes before kick-off, they took off their sweatshirts and bounded out onto the field into their formation.

“Ready! Begin!” Drew shouted off the cue to start the routine. Music started and the girls began their dance. They were perfectly in sync and looked fantastic on the field in their red and gold skirts that floated around their thighs, and their sleeveless white shirts with the yellow and black chevron that said P
anthers
in the middle. Even
Dani had to admit that they really looked cool. In the middle of the routine, there was a pause in the music and the girls began a cheer for their team. It was exciting and stirred up the crowd’s energy even more. The music began just as the cheer ended, and they finished up their dance routine with a pyramid. In front of the pyramid, Drew ran and did a round-off and two back flips to finish up the routine with a flourish.

The crowd was worked into a frenzy. The JV cheerleaders had been exciting to watch, a more talented group than any JV team before them. It set the tone for the whole event. “I can’t believe how great those girls were,” Mom leaned over and said to her husband and Dani.

“I know, Mom. Drew really looks like she was meant to be doing that, doesn’t she?”

“I’ve never been so proud of her,” Dad said. “Looks like all of those years of dance and gymnastics have paid off. And it’s not just that, she’s a real leader. Those girls look up to her.”

“I’m really happy for Drew, and I feel bad for being so upset about it all. But I do hope that I can find my niche somehow,” Dani admitted.

“You will, sweetie,” Mom promised. “You’ll figure out what excites you and gives you the
same joy that Drew has found. It might be a sport, a club, or maybe something academic like debate team or the class play.”

“Oh, I like the sound of debate team, Mom. I might have to look into that.”

“Dani, that’s a great idea,” Dad encouraged. “If you’re serious about becoming a lawyer one day, debate team would be a great experience for you.”

Dani sat back, deep in thought as she contemplated the possibilities and recognized that being different from her sister might not be as horrible as she had once thought.

While they were on the bleachers, waiting for the cheerleaders to come out at halftime, Drew was on the sidelines cheering for the team. Every once in a while, she took a break to get a drink of water from the team cooler. Whenever she went for a drink, her family couldn’t see her inside the team shelter. So they also couldn’t see the boy she was talking to every chance she got.

Whenever she saw that he wasn’t playing on the field, she went to get a drink of water; and each time, he was standing right there by the cooler—Trevor Jaymes. The sight of him made Drew get a little jittery, but she knew she had to
play it cool. She confidently walked right up to the cooler and drew some water out into a cup that was provided.

“Hi, boys.” Without looking directly at Trevor, she tossed her hair over her shoulders and left the shelter to join her team. Out of the corner of her eye, she could tell that they were watching her; and it seemed that they were talking about her, too. She was very careful not to let them know that she was paying attention to them.

A little while later, before the halftime show, Drew went back for another drink of water. She timed it perfectly so that she would already be there when Trevor got pulled from the game for a rest. He’d had a perfect game so far; but he would wear out if he didn’t get a break, and the team needed him fresh to finish up the game later. He came into the team shelter to get a drink of water just as Drew finished filling up her cup.

“Well, hello again, Drew.”

“Hi, Trevor. Great game,” Drew said enthusiastically. It was time to let her guard down a little so that, if he were interested in her, he would know there was a chance at gaining her attention.

“Thanks a lot,” he replied with surprise. “I didn’t think you cheerleaders even watched the game.”

“Ha, funny. Of course we do. How else would we know when to cheer?”

“Well, you might, but I guarantee you that half of your team just waits for your cue and follows suit. But at least you’re watching me … er … I mean us.”

“Oh, I’m watching, all right,” Drew replied flirtatiously as she walked back to her squad.

“Hey, Steph, what’s the score?” she asked her teammate as a test to see if she was watching.

“Um, well, a minute ago it was, um … I’m not sure.”

Hmm
, Drew thought, surprised that Stephanie hadn’t been paying attention, since the coach had just stressed the importance of that at their last practice.
I’m going to have to keep an eye on that and maybe even bring it up again in practice
. They were there to support the team, and it was much more credible if they actually knew why they were cheering.

The game continued on, and Drew had a blast. Her family did, too, and they watched her throughout the entire game. She was definitely
in her element. The halftime show was perfect. It was mainly the varsity cheerleaders, but the JV squad also had several parts in the routine which turned it into a great big field show.

Drew was exhausted when the game was over and was about ready to head to the car to meet her family after she had packed up her things. She suddenly felt a presence behind her and turned to see Trevor watching her, waiting to be noticed.

“Hey. What’s up?” Drew asked casually.

“Well, Miss Daniels, I was wondering if you’d like to grab a bite to eat. A bunch of us are going to The Grill. I can have you home in about an hour, give or take a few considering the crowds.”

“I’d love to. Let me go tell my parents and sister that I’ll be home soon.” Drew didn’t tell him that she would have to beg and perhaps even tell a little white lie to get permission. But there was no way she wasn’t going to go. She ran quickly over to her family who were waiting for her at the car.

“Sweetie, you were awesome.” Mom pulled her into a tight hug.

“I agree, Drew,” Dad chimed in. “You were
definitely in your element. I’ve never been more proud of you.”

“Me, too, sis. I’m sorry I’ve given you a hard time about it all. You’re clearly doing what you are supposed to be doing,” Dani admitted.

Drew was thrilled to hear their comments but didn’t want to keep Trevor waiting. She hated that she’d have to lie … but it wasn’t really a total lie … she hoped.

“Thanks, everyone. Mom, Dad, I’d like to go with the team and get a bite to eat. It’s kind of customary, and being the captain, I should probably be there. We’re going to The Grill, and I’d be home in about an hour depending on how busy it is. Is that okay?”

“Sure, sweetie. An adult will give you a ride home? If not, be sure to call for a ride. Okay?” When Drew promised that she would, her mom asked, “Hey, can Dani go?”