“Of course I can, and I do. I missed you. I miss all of you.”
“I know, Linds. I just can’t believe that things turned out like they did. Kelly and Sam got into so much trouble. I am just in trouble at home, not with the police—but it’s bad enough. My mom is here because she knew I needed to talk to you, but she’s only giving me a few minutes. She is disappointed in me for the way I treated you. I’m just so sorry, Lindsay.”
“Look, Mace, remember that talk the school counselor gave last year about peer pressure and how it’s easy to get caught in the moment? It’s that way with Sam and Kelly. They have a way of persuading us to do stuff, knowing we’ll go along with them just because we want to make everyone happy. I’m not saying that makes it okay, just that’s the way it is. Since this happened, my mom and I have talked a lot about how the decisions we make now—and how we learn from them—will help shape who we will become as we grow up. Give yourself a break. We all make mistakes, but we need to learn something and try not to make them again. It doesn’t mean the world is coming to an end. It also doesn’t mean I don’t want to be your friend.”
“But—but,” Macy stuttered as she fought through her own tears, “I let them make fun of you—I let them kick you out of the group. How can you forgive me so easily?”
“Oh, Macy, no one’s perfect. It’s like my youth pastor is always saying: We’re all imperfect, all sinners, but God freely offers forgiveness to us through the sacrifice of His own Son. If Jesus gave Himself to die so I could be forgiven for my sins, how can I not forgive you? The Bible says that once God forgives us, He forgets about our sins. So what do you say we just forget about
this?”
“Oh, Lindsay, I’m so glad to hear you say that, and you’re so right. But I can’t forget about this. It’s going to be going on for a long time, just eating at me.”
“Well, I wasn’t meaning that we should forget about the consequences,” Lindsay explained. “They have to be faced. But our friendship can be healed. We can put that part of it behind us right now.”
“I’d really love that, Lindsay.”
“Done.” The girls laughed together and both breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“Just remember what I told you about God’s forgiveness. It’s a free offer. You know that.”
“I know, and I think I’m starting to understand how that works.”
Macy’s mom came into the room and told her that it was time to go. Macy and Lindsay would see each other at school the next morning. Macy asked Lindsay if she would be waiting by the tree.
“Um, no,” Lindsay answered. “There are other things that have to be taken care of before that can happen. I’ll just be in the school getting ready for class. I’ll see you in home ec, though.”
As Macy and her mom were getting ready to leave, Mrs. Monroe paused with her hand on the brass doorknob. “Lindsay, I just wanted to tell you that I am very proud of you, and I am grateful for your influence in Macy’s life. I heard a lot of what you said in the dining room, and, well, I’m just very proud of you.”
They left without waiting for a reply, and Lindsay quietly shut the door behind them. She turned to find her mom standing there, watching her, softly smiling. Lindsay took a step toward her and was immediately engulfed in motherly, comforting arms. Healing had begun.
Thursday morning came too quickly for Lindsay. She dreaded the walk into the school and the effort it would take to avoid Kelly and Sam. It would also be difficult to see Macy with Sam and Kelly, but she had to let Macy find her own way through the confusion.
She dressed carefully—not wanting to appear too eager but also not wanting to look like she didn’t care. She chose to wear the same outfit that she wore to school on the first day, hoping that since they helped her pick it out, it might make the other girls feel nostalgic for a time when things were much less complicated.
With her backpack slung casually over one shoulder and her head held high, Lindsay walked into the school a full ten minutes before the time that she usually met the girls under the tree in the school yard. She got what she needed from her locker and then slipped into her first-period classroom, choosing a desk near the window where she could look out onto the yard unnoticed.
The school bus pulled up to the curb, and students began to file off with their piles of books and backpacks. The last three to exit the bus were Macy, Sam, and Kelly who, for some reason, all rode the bus that day. They were laughing and looking as though they hadn’t a care in the world. They sauntered over to their tree and casually leaned against it while they talked and laughed. Lindsay looked on from her desk at the window, amazed that they seemed so carefree. Then she noticed that Sam and Kelly were both wearing dark sunglasses and Kelly had a hat on her head. They were hiding in their own way, while trying to look at ease.
At that moment, Kelly turned and noticed Lindsay watching from the window. She nudged Sam and pointed at the school, whispering something to her. They both stared at Lindsay for a moment and held her gaze before they looked away in disgust. Lindsay was heartbroken but could not tear her eyes away from the scene. The three girls started to walk into the school, Macy last. She looked at Lindsay with pity and longing, wishing that things could be very different—but they weren’t. They had created this situation; now they had to face it.
Chapter 11
MAKING AMENDS
Well before class was to start, Lindsay walked into the home economics room and asked Mrs. Portney if there was something else she could do during the class period to give Macy, Sam, and Kelly a chance to work on their project alone since they had missed so many days. In truth, Lindsay wanted to avoid having to work with them and thought that just missing the class entirely was a good option. Mrs. Portney understood that there was a problem going on, so she wisely said that it just wasn’t an option. She asked Lindsay to stay in class and face up to her challenges. She recommended that Lindsay just be bigger than the problem, act maturely and confidently, and show that she was not bothered by any of it.
As Lindsay was leaving the room to visit her locker before the bell rang, resigned to do as her teacher asked, Mrs. Portney stopped her so that she could make one last comment. “Lindsay, I just wanted to tell you that I think I’ve heard enough of the story of what went on last weekend to confidently say that I’m very proud of you for your strength of character and your willingness to defend your principles. You did the right thing, and everything will work out better than you could even imagine. Now go ahead, and get your things.”
Lindsay nodded and ducked out of the classroom. She gathered the few books she needed for her afternoon classes and headed back to the home ec room. As she arrived, she saw that Kelly, Sam, and Macy were entering the classroom just ahead of her. She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, held her head up high, and confidently walked into the classroom. She walked to her seat and calmly sat next to her friends. Macy quietly caught her gaze from across the table and gave her a slight wink, just enough to boost Lindsay’s confidence and convince her that she was doing well.
“Settle down, class. Let’s quiet down and pay attention.” Mrs. Portney waited until the class had stopped talking before continuing. “This is the very last class period that you have to work on your projects, so please use the time wisely. Tomorrow will be the day for you to present your projects to the class and share your findings and cost comparisons. Now, get to work.”
“I set it up with Mrs. Portney just before class,” Kelly immediately jumped in, avoiding all small talk. “We can take our things to the library and work on our pillow there so that we can keep it a surprise from the class.” The four of them gathered their things and quietly left the classroom. No one knew quite what to say. Lindsay broke the ice.
“I don’t want this to be uncomfortable. If you guys want, since I did a lot of work on the pillow while you were out of school, I can just read or something while you three finish up the pillow.”
“No way!” Macy would have
none of that. “We started this together—we’ll finish it together.”
Sam and Kelly had looked like they had been about to go along with Lindsay’s plan, but when Macy made her statement, they reluctantly agreed. “Besides, it could affect your grade if you don’t participate, Lindsay,” Macy continued.
To that, Kelly rolled her eyes. “Not like she’d risk getting into trouble.”
Lindsay took a deep breath. Enough was enough. “I just have to say this, and then we can do our work. Kelly, you’re selfish. You want things just how you want them, and if anyone goes against you, you have no use for her. I am a person, too. I have plans, feelings, emotions, limits, likes, and dislikes, just like you do. I also have the capability to make a decision about what I want for myself. If you ever hope to have a real friend and not just a follower, then you’ll have to learn to appreciate the differences in people and give others room to be themselves. Otherwise, rather than real friends, you’ll always only have people around you until they are tired of just following your orders and taking your bullying.”
Kelly stared at her with her mouth open. No one had ever spoken up to her that way. Sam spoke up. “Hold on, Lindsay, I take offense to that. Are you saying that I am just a follower and can’t make up my own mind?”
“Well, think about it, Sam. That whole night, all of the dares—they were Kelly’s idea. When I refused, it was Kelly who demanded that I be cut out. You and Macy didn’t want to, but you went right along with Kelly. Macy at least had the guts to come to me and apologize.”
Kelly glared at Macy when she heard that.
“See?” Lindsay whispered emphatically. “It makes you crazy mad, Kelly, to think that Macy came and apologized to me, that she would want to be my friend even though you said she couldn’t.”
Macy tentatively opened her mouth. “You know what? I agree with Lindsay completely. I don’t want to be a follower. I want to be my own person. My heart tells me that Lindsay is one of my best friends, and I’m not willing to turn my back on her just to follow the orders of another one of my best friends. I think that you need to do some soul-searching, Kelly, and decide what you want out of your friendships and if you’re willing and able to respect us as people and appreciate our differences rather than try to erase them.”
Sam had been quiet for a while, but it seemed like some of the things she was hearing had gotten to her. She quietly said, “I’m sorry, Lindsay; you’re totally right. I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting. Can you forgive me?”
“Of course I can, and I do. It’s over and done.”
“Well, if you three are finished, we have some work to do.” Kelly was having no part of the apologies and wanted to change the subject.
Lindsay showed them what she had done to their pillow while they were out of school. There wasn’t a whole lot of work that remained, so Kelly, Sam, and Macy set about to complete the pillow while Lindsay worked on finalizing the cost and material comparison report. The four girls finished their work at about the same time, and they sat back to survey the results.
All four of them laughed when they stepped back to really look at their finished pillow. It looked just like Mrs. Portney. To prove it, Sam took the pillow up to the circulation desk and asked the librarian, Mrs. Woods, to look at the pillow and see if it reminded her of anyone.
Mrs. Woods looked up from the book she was reading and lowered her glasses so she could peer over the top of them at the pillow in Sam’s hands. Immediately she started to laugh. “Well, I’ll be. It’s a Portney Pillow.” She laughed until she had to wipe the tears from her eyes. After she composed herself, she said, “You girls have done a great job on that pillow. It looks just like her down to the littlest details. Great job.”
Confidently the four girls headed back to class to get everything put away before the bell rang. Their Portney Pillow was carefully wrapped in plastic and stowed in their bin, awaiting the day they could reveal it. They gathered their things and readied themselves to head off to their next class. Lindsay, trying not to be too intrusive, moved to leave immediately so that the others could walk together.
Kelly reached out and grabbed her backpack and softly tugged her back. “Linds, just give me some time to figure things out. I heard everything that you said, and I’m not a completely coldhearted person. I just need some time. But you don’t need to leave. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just have to figure out what I did wrong.” With that, Kelly left alone, leaving Sam, Macy, and Lindsay to stare after her, dumbfounded.
“Wow, I guess miracles can happen,” Macy said.
“Pray, girls. Just pray,” Lindsay encouraged them.
As Lindsay woke up Friday morning, she thought she heard the phone ringing, but it was hazy. A few moments later, there was a knock at her door and her mom was standing there holding the cordless phone. “Lindsay, it’s Macy on the phone for you.”
Lindsay groggily sat up in her bed and reached for the phone while rubbing her eyes as they adjusted to the bright sunshine streaming through the windows. “Hello? Macy?”
“Hey, Linds, I just wanted to catch you before you left for school. I know that you’ve been trying to get there early so you can go hide out in your classroom.” She hesitated as she chose her next words carefully. “I just … I guess I just don’t think that’s fair. Sam and I want you to come to our tree. There’s nothing that you should be hiding from. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Macy, I really appreciate that you’re concerned about this, but I really don’t want to cause any more problems. I really want to give Kelly the time that she asked for and see what happens without pushing it.”
“I know, Lindsay, and I can respect that, but I also think that if we don’t all show Kelly that we aren’t going to accept things as they are, it won’t make her sit up and take notice. She needs to realize that it’s not her call. She can take the time she needs, and we’re all there for her, but she can’t control us in the process.”
“Okay, here’s what I’m going to do, Mace,” Lindsay explained. “Since I’m up so early and now have plenty of time before school”—both girls laughed—”I’m going to talk about it with my mom and pray about it. I just want to do the right thing and not mess up any progress that we’ve already made.”
“Lindsay, I think that’s a great idea,” Macy agreed. “You know, I think you’re the wisest person I know.”
“Thanks, Mace. I’ll see you at school one way or another.”
Lindsay decided that she needed to approach Kelly alone so she didn’t feel bombarded by all of them at once. So she went to another tree and waited there. The tree in Kelly’s front yard seemed to be the perfect place. Kelly would see her standing there when she came out to walk the dog before she and her mom left for school. So Lindsay waited.
After about five minutes, the front door opened and Kelly appeared in the entrance, struggling with their golden retriever, Abby. She started to walk out to the front yard but stopped short when she saw Lindsay waiting there. “Hey,” Kelly said without emotion. She tried to pretend she wasn’t interested in talking to Lindsay.
“Hey, Kell. I thought it was time that we talked. Don’t you think this has gone on long enough?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Where do we go from here, though? I mean, how can we possibly fix this?”
“Well, the way I see it, I’ve already told you the ways I feel I’ve been hurt. Now you can respond to that if you want to. And if I have done anything to hurt you, this would be the time for you to tell me.”
“See, that’s the thing, Lindsay. You’re perfect. You haven’t done anything wrong, and you never will. I can never measure up to you. You’ll always be strong enough to be your own person.”
“What is it about that that scares you? Is it because you can’t control me? So what? It’s not a competition. I love you for who you are, and I don’t want to change you. Why do you want to change me?”
Kelly began to cry. “I know that’s how you feel, but it’s eas
y for you. You have nothing to worry about. You don’t care if people like you or not—but they always do, because you’re perfect. It’s different for me. Before you girls, I didn’t really have best friends. I guess I was afraid—afraid that when you said you liked Macy best of all of us, it meant the two of you might go off and just be friends without me and that Sam would go with you because she likes you better. I thought if I kicked you out, they’d stop liking you.”
“But, Kelly, don’t you see, maybe that’s the reason you feel like you never had friends before us. I love you for who you are, and yet you still pushed me away instead of just letting us love you and trusting that we can each do our own thing and still stay friends.”
“You’re right, Lindsay … you’re totally right. I’m so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”
“It’s already done, Kelly. And someday, maybe I’ll be able to tell you about real forgiveness. For now, we need to get to school and put this behind us. Deal?”
They hugged in Kelly’s front yard, and Lindsay just held Kelly while she sobbed some cleansing tears that celebrated the freedom in forgiveness.
The next three chapters tell the story of what happened to Lindsay when she decided to give in to peer pressure by going through with the dare.
Chapter 9
I‘LL DO IT
The minutes seemed like a lifetime as Macy and Sam waited for Lindsay to decide. Kelly, feigning disinterest, picked at her fingernails while she waited. She looked up after a minute or two and said, “Well, this isn’t that difficult of a decision. You’re either in, or you’re out. What’s it going to be?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ll do it. Let’s just go and get it over with—fast!” Lindsay got up immediately, and her surprised friends followed her up the stairs. She hurriedly slipped on her sandals and quietly opened the front door, hoping it wouldn’t squeak. One by one, each girl slipped through the open door, and then, making sure it wasn’t locked, Lindsay carefully and silently closed it.
Dare to Be Different Page 8
