Finding Faith

by Anthony Lampe

  The day before the District Cheerleading Competition, Angela entered the cafeteria and looked around for her brother. But, when she did not see him, she noticed Jessica was motioning for her to join the squad at their table. Angela nodded and headed over to her friends.

  She was upset with them after the prom and the after-party, but it was more about what Carson had done than what they refused to do. She had gotten past that night, and although she liked sitting with Andrew at lunch, she was not opposed to hanging out with the cheerleaders.

  Jessica and her friends spent the lunch break talking about how far they had come as a team, and that they were ready to win Districts and advance to the State Championship.

  That night, Angela slept well knowing that they were going to win the next day.

  A dozen teams performed their routines at the District Cheerleading Competition and less than half qualified for State. The Grove High Cheerleaders had practiced hard and all their training had paid off. They were among the squads that were advancing to the final round, which was to be held a week later.

  Jessica was so happy that her team had qualified that she invited all the cheerleaders to a small celebration that night at her house. Angela was a little hesitant to go, but knowing that it would be just the cheerleaders and no boys, she accepted the invitation.

  Angela wanted to start being more open and honest with her brother, so she told him where she was going that night. She could instantly tell that he was not happy.

  “Despite everything that happened at Jessica’s house last weekend,” Andrew said, dismay coloring his voice, “you’re going back there again?”

  “Carson won’t be there, neither will any other boy,” she said defensively. “It’s just a little get together for us cheerleaders.”

  “But, don’t you see that your friends are into things that are not good for them, for you?”

  “Just because they do certain things,” she replied, “doesn’t mean that I will too. They’re my friends, my team. I belong with them.”

  “I don’t want you to get hurt again,” Andrew said worriedly.

  Angela smiled and gave him a quick hug. “I won’t.”

  Less than an hour later, Jessica came and picked her up, then Melissa too. When they reached Jessica’s house, Angela could hear music playing inside.

  Angela crinkled her brows suspiciously. “I thought we were just hanging out?”

  “Grove Girls love to play,” Jessica flippantly responded.

  Melissa’s eyes lit up as they entered the house. A banner hung across the archway between the living room and kitchen. It read: Congratulations!

  “My parents set up the decorations,” Jessica said. “They’re going out to eat so that us girls can have some fun.”

  Angela saw Julia and Kayla in the kitchen with beer bottles in their hands, and Carol was lounged on a recliner with a bottle as well. Some of the other cheerleaders were swaying to the music, or chatting amongst themselves.

  When Kayla saw Angela and Melissa she raised a half empty bottle and called out, “Join the party.”

  Melissa started nodding her head to the music and taking it all in.

  “We have food and drinks in the kitchen,” Jessica said as she gestured.

  They followed Jessica into the kitchen and noticed pizza, chips, and lots of beer.

  Jessica grabbed a cold bottle and offered it to Melissa.

  “Um,” Melissa glanced uncertainly at Jessica, “I… I don’t—”

  “It’s just beer,” Jessica said pushing the bottle into her hands. “It’s harmless.”

  Kayla walked into the kitchen. “We qualified for State. Live it up.”

  “You don’t have to Melissa,” Angela quickly spoke up. “Let’s eat some pizza instead. It looks good.” Angela tried to pull Melissa away from Jessica and the beer.

  Jessica shook her head. “You’re really missing out.”

  “I never drank before,” Melissa admitted, pink in the face. “I’m not sure I want to.”

  Jessica rolled her eyes. “You can’t know if you like it unless you try it first.”

  Jessica took the bottle cap off the beer bottle and handed it back to her. Melissa held it up and sniffed the top.

  She winced and started to hand the bottle back.

  “Just try a sip,” Jessica cajoled. “You did great at Districts. You deserve this.”

  Angela felt sick to her stomach as she glanced between Melissa and Jessica. “Don’t—”

  But, as Melissa looked around at her friends, every one of them was drinking except for Angela. She put the bottle to her mouth and took a drink. At first, she wanted to spit it out, but she forced herself to swallow it.

  “It’s good, huh?” Kayla looked thrilled.

  Melissa’s facial expression revealed her true thoughts, but she forced a smile. “Yeah, thank you.”

  Jessica went over to Kayla, while Melissa took several more gulps.

  “Why are you drinking?” Angela asked reproachfully.

  Melissa gazed at her with sad eyes. “Some people are beautiful and super talented like you. I have to work a lot harder to make friends.”

  “What are you talking about? You are beautiful, and you do the best flips on the team. There’s not a cheerleader here that can do them better. You don’t need to drink to impress anyone.”

  After finishing half the bottle, Melissa gave a strained smile. “Last year, I tried out for the team and they laughed at me. I spent all summer learning to flip and even took lessons to get good enough. This year, I made the squad, but I don’t feel like the girls like me much. And, none of the boys asked me out to prom. I’m tired of being left out.”

  Angela tried to grab the bottle from Melissa, “Please, stop drinking.”

  “Back off.” Kayla quickly approached and stepped between the girls. “Let the girl have some fun.”

  Kayla motioned for Angela to walk away. For a long moment, she looked at Melissa, hoping that she would change her mind. However, when she finished the bottle, Kayla handed her a second one.

  Angela shook her head and walked to the living room in defeat.

  “Alright girls!” Jessica followed Angela into the living room. “Who’s up for a dance contest?”

  Some of the cheerleaders waved their hands in the air. “Woo!”

  Then, the music was turned up louder. The coffee table was moved out of the way to make room for a dance floor, and Kayla was the first to compete. She moved to the beat, fast during the high energy parts of the song, while slow and provocative for the rest. Jessica clapped along with some of the other girls.

  Angela sat on the couch, wishing she had stayed at home.

  “Beat that,” Kayla said tossing her hair flirtatiously as she left the dance floor.

  Jessica was the next one up and her moves were dirtier than Kayla’s, which caused most of her friends to clap and cheer even more.

  After the song ended, Julia started her performance. Angela was growing tired of sitting around watching her friends drinking and acting foolish. She looked towards the kitchen to see Melissa, but she was not there.

  What? Angela thought with concern. Where’d she go?

  “Have you seen Melissa?” she asked Carol.

  But she just shrugged her shoulders.

  Angela stood up and glanced around the living room, spotting each of the cheerleaders except for Melissa.

  She turned to Kayla and asked, “Have you seen her?”

  “Who?” Kayla replied, somewhat annoyed from the interruption while she watched Julia dance.

  “Melissa,” Angela said with worry in her voice.

  Kayla waved a hand towards the far room. “She was still in the kitchen, I think.”

  While the other cheerleaders continued to cheer on Julia, Angela rushed across the room. Several of the girls shook their heads and one said, “Out of the way, freshman.”

  Angela ignored her and as sh
e rounded the counter in the kitchen, she noticed Melissa lying on the floor motionless.

  “Melissa?” Angela whispered fearfully while kneeling down beside her friend and feeling for her pulse. “Melissa?”

  She did not respond.

  Angela stood up, and ran back into the living room. With panic evident in her voice, she screamed over the music, “Someone call 911, Melissa’s not moving.”

  At first, Jessica and Kayla just stared at her, but as they realized that she was serious, all the cheerleaders came running over.

  “How much did she drink?” Jessica asked nervously while pulling out her cell phone.

  Kayla looked at all the empty bottles on the counter, “I’m not sure how many of these were hers or mine.”

  “Someone get rid of all these bottles,” Jessica said with concern. “We don’t want anyone seeing them.” A moment later, she spoke on the phone. “Hello, our friend is sick. We need an ambulance right away.”

  The rest of the night was a blur of panic and fear. Angela stayed with Melissa until the ambulance came and the paramedics rushed her off to the hospital. The cheerleaders had been questioned about what had happened, and then one of the girls drove Angela home.

  Andrew met her at the door and asked what was wrong.

  She stayed silent for a minute as she shook her head. “I can’t do this anymore. They didn’t care about me and they didn’t care about Melissa either.”

  “What happened?” Andrew asked tiredly.

  “The other cheerleaders told her to drink, and I couldn’t stop her. And, when I found her lying in the kitchen, she was barely even breathing. The paramedics said that she had alcohol poisoning. Then, the other girls lied and said that it was her idea to drink, not theirs.”

  Andrew shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry to hear that. Angela, you’re my sister, and I love you very much. I see how the cheerleaders are negatively influencing you and now Melissa too.” He paused and then said, “Don’t you see how they’re hurting you?”

  His sister wanted to deny it, but she just began to cry. “I don’t want to live like this. I want to change.”

  Andrew gave a partial smile. “I’ll help you, Angela. I want you to be happy, and I want you to know that you are loved.”

  “Thank you. Please pray for Melissa tonight.”

  “I will,” Andrew promised. “And, I will pray for you as well.”

  Angela leaned forward and hugged her brother. “God bless you.”

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