Dare to Be Different (21 page)

“No way, Mom,” Dani jumped in, much to Drew’s relief. “This isn’t my thing. I’m not tagging along. I don’t even want to go anyway. I’m too tired.”

Drew hugged everyone and then went back to find the group. To her surprise, everyone was gone except for Trevor. “You ready? They’re saving seats for us.”

“Yep, all set. Let me grab my bags, and we can go.”

The Grill was bustling with excitement as the football team and cheerleaders filled the rich mahogany booths. They were all starving after the big game and were excited over their win. Spirits were high, and the noise level was deafening. Drew and Trevor navigated through the high fives and congratulatory claps on the back as Trevor’s teammates congratulated him on the win. His big, toothy grin revealed just how much he reveled in the recognition.

The crowd pressed in so tightly that it was difficult for the two to squeeze through, and Trevor kept losing Drew as people swarmed around him. Finally, he just grabbed her hand and held on until they finally made their way to their seats. “Phew,” Trevor said as they slid into the booth. “We made it.”

“Yep, it was looking kind of iffy there for a minute.” Drew laughed.

“Hey, Drew, I haven’t had a chance to tell you this yet.” Trevor leaned over the table and said privately, “You did a really great job tonight.”

“Oh yeah,” Buck said, overhearing Trevor’s words.

“You really did do a great job. I’ve never seen the JV squad look so awesome,” Buck’s girlfriend, Sam, added.

“Trevor said you were cute the day he bumped into you accidentally,
wink, wink
, but I had no idea that he was talking about the captain of the cheerleaders.” Buck revealed a little more about Trevor’s little accident than Trevor would have liked, judging by his reddened face.

“I didn’t know she was even going out for cheerleading that day. I thought she was just a cute freshman.”

“That’s enough about me.” Drew laughed, her face reddening. “This is getting awkward. I’m right here.”

“Okay, fair enough. We’ll talk about you later then,” Buck teased.

“Don’t let him get to you. He only picks on people he likes,” Sam informed Drew.

“Oh, I think I can hold my own.” Drew laughed again. “But I’m starving. I wonder if we even have time to order, though. I have to be home in about an hour.”

“Food’s on its way. We already ordered.” Buck was proud to surprise them.

“Good move, dude. This crowd is crazy.”

At that moment, the waitress appeared at their table and set down Cokes for Trevor and Drew and cheeseburgers and fries all around. They dug in with a vengeance, and all conversation stopped. A cheeseburger had never tasted so good.

After they had eaten, it was time for Trevor to get Drew home. On the way to the car he said, “We’d better get you home so that your parents trust me for the next time we go out.”

“Oh?” Drew coyly asked. “What makes you so sure there’s going to be a next time?”

“Well, I mean, only if you want to …” Trevor stammered.

“Oh, well, in
that
case,” Drew teased, “I’m sure there will be many next times.”

Trevor visibly relaxed when he heard that and, without thinking, reached over and took her hand. Drew had never had her hand held by a boy she liked—and she enjoyed the little tingle of excitement it gave her. She giggled just as they reached the car. Trevor tucked her into her seat and shut her door, then went around to the other side. Before he got in, Drew wiped the dampness
off her hand and placed it on the console between the two seats—just in case he’d like to hold it again.

He held her hand in silence—they were both taking in the moment and were lost in thought, so they forgot to speak out loud—the whole way to her house. As they pulled into her driveway, Drew turned to Trevor and thanked him for a great time. He promised to call her but would also see her in school Monday.

Drew hurriedly got out of the car so that her parents wouldn’t come to the door and see that she was alone in the car with a boy. She ran into the house excitedly and started talking the moment she got into the living room where her parents were. She began filling them in with all sorts of needless details about who was there, what they ate, how busy it was, how fun it was to be a part of the team … so they wouldn’t think to question her about who drove her home. They were tired, so it worked. Drew excused herself to head upstairs to bed, and Dani, who had been sitting on the couch, followed her up.

“I saw you pull in the driveway. You’re going to need to be more careful, sis,” Dani warned. “You’re making some important choices, and
you’ve never been one to lie to Mom and Dad or disobey so blatantly.”

“I didn’t lie … they didn’t even ask how I got home.”

“Not telling the truth is the same as lying. And you did break one of their rules—several, actually. You led them to believe that you could be trusted. Just think hard next time about whether or not it’s really worth it to lose that trust or even damage it a little. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Dani heard her softly snoring. “Drew … Drew … you there?”

But Drew had fallen asleep already. Chuckling to herself, Dani rolled over and said a little prayer for her sister before nodding off herself.

Chapter 6

The girls awoke to the smell of bacon, as they normally did every Sunday morning before church. Drew and Dani were both very tired after a long weekend that started with game night on Friday and continued with family activities on Saturday. They pulled their matching comforters up over their heads and attempted to bury themselves under the covers to get a few more minutes of sleep. Their mom knocked softly on the door before she opened it. Coming into the room, she opened the window shades to let in some light, and the girls groaned when the brightness hit their eyes.

“Mom, we need just a few more minutes, ple–e–e–ease?” Drew begged.

“Now girls, it’s time to get ready for church. Don’t make me lower your curfew—I’ll do that if church becomes affected by your staying up too late on the weekends.”

“All right, all right, I’m getting up.” Drew put forth an effort by sitting up in her bed. Dani already had her feet on the floor and was sitting on the side of her bed. “We’ll be down in a few minutes, Mom.”

“Now girls, don’t lie back down,” Mom warned them as she left the room. It took all of Drew’s effort, amid a lot of sleepy moaning and eye rubbing, to continue getting up when all she wanted to do was to crawl back under the covers.

Slowly, both girls got out of their beds and headed for the bathroom they shared. Silently, Dani brushed her teeth and washed her face while Drew got her things together for a shower.

“We really need to wake up,” Drew said.

“Yeah, we sure do. I can’t believe how tired I am,” Dani admitted.

“Yesterday was a big day. But we better get it together, or Mom and Dad aren’t going to be happy. We have to show them that we can handle being up late and not struggle in the morning. It will help our cause for staying out later
and going on dates.”

“Um,
our
cause?” Dani laughed. “That’s
your
cause right now, sis. Not me. I have nothing to do with it.”

“Oh, believe me, your day will come … and you’ll be so glad that I paved the way by getting them on our side now.”

“Whatever you say.” Dani laughed again, shaking her head. “Mom and Dad aren’t going to just let you start dating and staying out late, you know. When are you going to tell them about Trevor, anyway?”

“When there’s something to tell, I guess.” Drew looked annoyed.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure Mom and Dad would feel that line had been crossed already.” She put up her hand to keep Drew from defending herself any further. “I just hope you know what you’re doing. I care about what happens to you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Drew looked at the reflection staring back at her from the mirror—sometimes she forgot whether she was looking at herself or her sister. To whichever one it was, or maybe to both of them, she confidently said, “I have everything under control.”
Drew jumped in to take a quick shower to help wake her up. Dani continued getting ready in silence. The silence started to get to Drew, so she decided that it was up to her to break the ice and get her sister cheered up. She unhooked the shower massage head and turned the water from hot to very cold. She quietly reached forward and pulled back the curtain.

Being careful not to get Dani’s hair wet, because that would just be cruel, she aimed the wet, pulsating stream at Dani’s body, soaking her pajamas with icy cold water. Dani shrieked in surprise when the water hit her skin. At first she looked angry, but when she saw Drew’s face all aglow with mischief, she dissolved into laughter. It was a tension breaker they both needed.

“You just wait! I’ll get you back when you least expect it,” Dani warned.

“I look forward to it, sis.” Drew’s eyes twinkled as she returned to her shower, and Dani had a big smile on her face as she toweled off before leaving the bathroom to get dressed.

“ ‘I have everything under control,’ “ the preacher began his sermon. “Do we say that to God? If we don’t come right out and say it, don’t we act

like it sometimes? You know, we have access to God’s plan all laid out for us. We have His perfect guidelines, and we
know
His will. We know which actions grieve Him, and there is seldom a question about what is right in His eyes. We get all of that information, that insight into who He is and what He wants for us and from us, right from His Word, the Bible. Yet, we often walk through life acting as though we have no clue about what to do. We say with our words and our actions that we have everything under control—basically, that we are going to ignore God’s desires and plans for us because we know better. What drives that mindset? I’ll tell you what it is—it’s pure selfishness. It’s a heart that is closed off to the will of God and is selfishly pursuing personal plans and desires while forsaking God in the process.

“Do you find yourself in a situation where you know that what you are doing is wrong, yet you turn off the inner voice that cries out to your spirit? Do you ignore God because you are so dead set on doing whatever it is that you want

to do?”

Dani and Drew sat next to each other; they looked like almost the same person. However,
they had completely different postures as they listened to the preacher. Dani sat with her head down, thinking. She was hoping that her sister was listening; and she was deeply worried that Drew wouldn’t hear the preacher’s message, a message that she obviously needed to hear. Dani worried that Drew was so eager to experience this new life that she wanted so badly that she’d ignore the Holy Spirit and get herself into trouble.

Drew, on the other hand, was sitting quietly, looking at her fingernails, digging in her purse for a piece of gum, staying busy rather than truly listening to the words of the pastor. She had heard enough and, even though she knew that he was technically correct, it wasn’t a message that she wanted to hear or was willing to do anything about at that moment.

“Sit up and listen, Drew.” Mrs. Daniels nudged her, trying to get her to take interest in the sermon. “Stop fidgeting so much,” she whispered to her daughter.

Drew was very happy when the sermon was over and the congregation rose to their feet to sing a closing chorus. On the way out, they shook the hands of the people they passed; and
as they approached the pastor, they paused to say hello. Mr. Daniels shook his hand and said, “Great sermon today, Pastor. You really hit home with this one.”

“I’m very glad you got something out of it. How about you, young lady?” Pastor Michaels asked Drew.

She wondered if he had noticed her inattention. “I thought you did a good job, too.” Drew didn’t quite know what to say.

“Oh, I’m not looking for compliments on my speaking ability. I was wondering if the message reached you in any way.”

“Sure, it did. It’s important to do what God wants us to do and not only what we want to do,” Drew answered, glad that she had heard at least part of the sermon but frustrated to be put on the spot like that.

“It sounds like you did hear something after all. Just be sure that you take it seriously, young lady. They are nice words, but the truth behind them is what’s powerful.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.” Drew couldn’t wait to escape the scrutiny.

“Man, I feel like I just got into trouble,” Drew complained as they walked to the car.

“Drew, it was clear that you weren’t paying any attention. I was even a bit embarrassed. Perhaps the pastor sensed that it was a message you needed to hear,” Drew’s mom suggested.

“I don’t know why. I was just bored.”

“You still need to respect Pastor Michaels enough that you pay attention and don’t become a distraction.”

Realizing that she wasn’t helping herself at all with her current attitude, Drew relented. “You’re right, Mom. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, sweetie. Just make sure you don’t do that again. Now where should we go eat?” Mom asked, changing the subject.

“I vote for Shakey’s,” Dani jumped in, suggesting the pizza buffet.