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Dance First, Think... Never?

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Chapter 1: How It All Got Started...

Hearing people whisper about you at the next table over at lunch can be either good or bad--but in my case... it's definitely bad! It's one thing to be at the bottom of the food chain in social hierarchy, but it's another to have every single person in the whole wide world pick on you and tease you just to make your life completely and utterly miserable! Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but it sure does seem that way sometimes. High school. Take Courtney for example: she's the queen of this school, she never lets anyone get in her way: she's got the looks, the clothes, the fame. She's got everything! And what do I have? I've got half of an egg salad sandwich and a juice box. Thrilling, right? Courtney just sits on top of the table, legs crossed, flipping her golden brown hair and batting her deep blue eyes with all her popular friends, laughing and smiling and having a good time - and I'm sitting at the Loser Table, with all the other outcasts - with all the people who never seem to fit into some sort of "group". Not that I don't like my friends. . . they're just uncool. They're... themselves. Sometimes I wish there was a way for me to magically jump over onto the table next to Courtney and belong -  but there's no chance of that. I'm stuck here.

"You know, Kaylen," my best friend Lexi said between mouthfuls of tuna salad, "you should come to church with me this Sunday: word has it that Tammy's going to try to pie Daren."

"Oh..I don't think so. I have, um, homework to do," I replied. Not that I didn't want to see little miss goody-two-shoes Tammy finally do something risky, I just didn't want to go to church. I mean, what do they do the entire time, sing hymns and read from the Bible? No thanks, that's definitely not for me.

"Aw, that's too bad; I really wanted you to come. Maybe next week."

I nodded and looked away. Sometimes Lexi can be too irresistible: she's just too nice. She's the kind of person that would give her whole life for you, and sometimes it's hard to say no to someone like that. I really didn't want to cave in this time around.

"You know what we should do!" Julia exclaimed from the other side of the table.

"What?"

"All of us should go to that new teen dance club this Saturday."

"I don't know..." Lexi said suspiciously, "those things tend to get out of hand."

"Come on Lexi, it's not that bad. It'll be fun," Debby insisted.

"Yeah!" chimed in the other six girls at our table.

"The twelve of us can go." Julia continued, "Come on, Lexi, don't get all defensive on me and start the spiel about compromising your values. There's nothing wrong with it—Debby's mom even let her go last week.  Isn't that right, Debby?"

"Yep!"

"I don't know..." Lexi whispered. "I'll have to check with my parents."

"How 'bout this." I grabbed Lexi's hand. "I'll go to church with you this Sunday if you come to the club with us."

Lexi's face brightened. "That sounds like a pretty good deal, as long as my parents say it's okay."

"Yay!" Julia squealed, clapping her hands together.

I smiled and blinked a few times, I couldn't believe what I just said. Did I actually just volunteer to go to church?

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To be continued . . .

 

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