Dare to Be Different (27 page)

“Perfect sense.”

“For the record,” Dani jumped in, “I totally agree with you, Drew. And I’m so glad to hear you saying this. I was really getting worried about you. I guess I should have known that, as smart as you are, you’d come around.”

“Thanks, sis. Can you ever forgive me for the way I’ve treated you this past month?”

“Of course I can. I love you … it’s forgiven. Now, let’s just move on. I’d like us to commit to supporting each other in doing the right thing from now on. I feel like I should have tried a lot harder to keep you on the straight and narrow. I guess I was too hurt and bitter. I’m sorry for that.”

“Dani, you have nothing to be sorry for. You’re the best sister a girl could ever hope for. And I love you, too.”

“Drew, one thing you may not have thought of yet,” Mom hesitated, “and we can talk more about this throughout the weekend, but it’s going to be tough to go back to school on Monday. We need to have a plan for you and also to surround you in prayer that you’ll be able to stand your ground no matter what.”

“Great point, Mom. Monday seems so far
away right now, though. This is what I care most about.” She spread her hands to gesture to her family at the table. She was home.

Chapter 12

After staying in and laying low on Sunday, except for attending church, Drew felt mentally and emotionally prepared for school. Dani was so good to encourage her and promise support. Really, though, Drew had done nothing wrong, and people broke up all the time. She hoped her new friends wouldn’t abandon her, too. She was realistic enough to know that Trevor was their golden boy, so it would be up to him and what he said about her that would determine how everyone else responded to her. Her best bet, she knew, was to look confident and happy when she went to school. Hanging her head and hiding from the group would only fuel the impression of her immaturity.

She rose early and carefully dressed for school. Wanting to look great, but not like she was trying too hard, Drew selected her favorite pair of jeans and one of the new tops that she bought for herself. It was important to keep being herself. She did promise her mom that she wouldn’t sneak makeup anymore, though. As part of that deal, her parents had agreed to a few new things that she was allowed to wear. She could now wear light lipstick or colored lip gloss, soft blush on her cheeks, and mascara to lengthen her eyelashes. Still forbidden were any colors of eye shadow, eyeliner, or lip liner. So Drew carefully applied her makeup within the new guidelines. One last look in the mirror reflected success. She really had to admit that the look was much softer and prettier than the garish effect of lots of makeup. Her mom had been right about that one.

Threading her favorite belt through the frayed loops on her jeans and securing the buckle as she went downstairs to the kitchen, Drew realized that her stomach was too upset to eat. Her mom must have known that she’d feel that way, because all that she handed to Drew when she arrived in the kitchen was a piece of buttered toast. Drew, gratefully took the plate and sat down to eat.

The time passed quickly, and there were no more reasons to stall. Drew and Dani got ready to catch the bus. Taking a shuddering deep breath, Drew grabbed her things and prepared to leave the house.

With her hand on the door, Mom asked if she could pray for her.

“Of course, Mom. Thanks.” “Father, please be with Drew today. Give her peace and wisdom as she faces this difficult situation. Let her find favor with the students whom You have selected to be her friends, and let her peacefully accept that some will not turn out to be true friends. Help her be strong and stand for You. Keep both of my girls safe at school today and make them strong and powerful examples of You and Your love. Amen.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Drew hugged her mom and started to leave. “I love you both.”

“We love you, too, Mom,” Drew and Dani answered simultaneously.

Arriving at school, Drew took a deep breath as the bus squealed to a stop. Dani reached over and took her sister’s hand. “It’s going to be okay. The
first hour is the hardest. After that, it just gets easier. I promise.”

“You’re the best, Dani. I am so glad you’re my sister and my best friend.” She took another deep breath, fluffed her hair, squared her shoulders, and went down the steps of the bus. “Here we go.”

The girls walked into the school with their heads held high. They talked and laughed and acted as though they didn’t have a care in the world. They made it all the way to their lockers without bumping into anyone upsetting to Drew. Students still gave her the usual comments about her clothes and the halls were peppered with the usual shouts of “Hi, Drew” all along the way. She hadn’t lost her status yet. But Drew wondered if that was just because news hadn’t traveled that fast.

“You’re here? I can’t believe you’re okay.” Cara, their longtime friend, came running up to the girls.

“Yeah, I guess you heard, huh? Well, there was no way that my mom was going to let me skip school just because I was sad about breaking up with Trevor.”

“Breaking up with Trevor? That’s not what I’m talking about at all. Didn’t you hear what happened?” Cara was breathless with excitement.

“I guess I haven’t heard. What happened?” Drew asked Cara just to be polite but wasn’t really interested in anyone else’s gossip; she had enough of her own to deal with.

“Well …” Cara excitedly started her story. “I guess there was a big party at Samantha’s house after the game. Anyway, there was drinking, some drugs, and loud music. Neighbors called the cops, and a bunch of kids got arrested for the alcohol, drugs, and for disturbing the peace. Sam’s older sister also got in trouble for providing alcohol to minors. I guess some of the guys from school even had fake IDs. It’s a big mess.”

“Oh my goodness, I can’t believe it. I was supposed to be at that party. I chose not to go because I didn’t want to lie to my parents, and that’s why Trevor dumped me.”

“What a jerk! Well, he got what was coming to him.”

“No, I don’t wish that kind of trouble on anyone. I feel really bad that they all went through that this weekend. I had no idea. Here
I was all wrapped up in my own little drama, which was nothing in comparison. I wonder if they’ll be at school.”

“I saw Sam already but not Trevor, and I don’t know who else got into trouble. I’m sure we’ll find out more as the day goes on. But I’m really sorry, Drew. I’m sure you must have been really hurt.”

“Yeah, it’s been a tough weekend. But Dani and I have had a chance to spend a lot of time together, and I’ve missed that. So something good came of it all.”

“Hang in there today, Drew. Your real friends will show what they’re made of. The rest don’t really matter anyway.” Cara and Dani shared a first-period class, so they left together after making sure that Drew would be okay.

Drew finished putting her books in her locker and then turned to go to class. As she turned, she bumped into Samantha. Sam’s eyes looked haunted and scared. Drew immediately realized that the weekend had taken a big toll on her. Sam looked at Drew in disgust and walked the other way. Drew gave herself a pep talk. Sam’s reaction really had nothing to do with her. She was just taking out her own fears on whoever was near.

It meant nothing, and Drew decided not to let it bother her. One down, one more to go. Trevor was the only other one she was nervous about seeing. The rest would work itself out.

Morning classes passed by too quickly, and it was time for the dreaded lunch hour. Part of her felt that it would be best to go to Trevor’s table and just sit down to have lunch there. She hadn’t actually been uninvited. But she didn’t want to suffer the humiliation of being publicly shunned. Or, on the off chance that he was happy to see her, Drew didn’t want to send the message that his treatment of her was okay. So her plan was to sit with Dani, Cara, and their other friends at lunch. Drew even brought her lunch to school that day so that she wouldn’t have to walk past Trevor and his friends to get a hot lunch.

Sliding into a seat at the end of the table, Drew kept her back to Trevor’s table. She realized that she hadn’t seen him all day, though. Suddenly she wondered if he were even at school that day. Ah, there he was. Across the lunchroom, she saw his broad shoulders towering above the other students. Sadly, she slumped into her seat and made sure not to look back. She needed a few moments to regain her resolve.

The girls chatted their way through lunch with all sorts of small talk. Drew contributed a lot of grunts and groans. Finally she realized what a drag she had been and apologized. “I’m really sorry for being in such a slump. I guess this is harder than I thought it would be.”

“It’s totally understandable—” Cara started to say but stopped short.

Samantha approached the table and wanted to talk to Drew. The other girls scooted down a little bit to make room for Sam, but they weren’t about to leave Drew alone with her yet.

“So, Drew, did you have fun on Friday night? Did you get to go home with Mommy and Daddy and get a special treat for being such a good girl?”

“What’s your problem, Sam?” Drew straightened her back, not willing to let Sam’s anger get to her. “Didn’t you have a curfew or rules when you were in the ninth grade? Eh, maybe you didn’t. Maybe your parents let you do whatever you wanted. I guess that didn’t pay off too well for you, according to rumors. Looks like I made the right choice. Sure wish you guys could support that.”

“Support that? You want me to support
your abandonment and betrayal of us, your supposed friends?” Sam looked truly shocked at the suggestion, and it just made Drew realize that they weren’t operating with the same moral compass.

“Yes, I do think you should have supported me—if you were truly my friend, that is. A true friend wouldn’t want to put her friend in a situation that was uncomfortable. A true friend would back up the tough decisions and allow for the differences between us. A false friend only wants what she wants for herself and has no thought for others.”

“Are you suggesting that I fit your description of a false friend?” Sam was getting angry.

“Well, Sam, think about it. It’s all I know of you. During our short friendship, everything was great as long as I was going along with what you guys wanted. As soon as I took a stand as an individual person, you took it personally and got angry with me, even to the point of dropping me as your friend. I don’t really want to discuss it any further. I can’t convince you, and I don’t have to. Just think about what I said. I have to get to class.”

Chapter 13

As the week went on, Drew learned more details about last Friday night. The gang all showed up at Sam’s house after the game. Her parents were out of town, so the closest thing to an adult was her twenty-two-year-old sister. They started a bonfire in the fire pit, and Sam’s sister went to buy them a bunch of beer. Apparently Trevor even used a fake ID to buy beer, too. Sam, Trevor, and the rest of them stood around the bonfire, drinking beer for hours. Eventually, things got a little crazy. Someone brought out some drugs to pass around, and most of them sampled it. Kids were splashing in the pool and screaming at all hours. Finally, at about one in the morning, one
of the neighbors apparently had enough with the noise and constant commotion—maybe they even suspected the kids had drugs—and called the police.