Sunday night finds Jamie and me claiming a spot on the L shaped, faded brown couch in our parish Youth Room at 5:45. Returning members of ROCK (Rowdy Outrageous Catholic Kids) trickle in as the clock approaches 6:00, including a sophomore from the baseball team we both had crushes on in the previous years. He waves and settles into an armchair next to Jamie's end of the couch. Rebecca, looking anxious, comes into the room. We wave to her. Jessie darts in at 5:58, plopping down between Rebecca and me. Danny scampers in at 5:59, squeezing in on my free side. I might be at church and all, but I am far from ignorant of the feeling of his thigh pressed against mine.
"All the time, God is good," one of the two youth leaders states in a clear, calm voice.
"Good is good all the time," we return, immediately growing silent. Danny slides his hand in mine, and I smile. Jamie looks a little star-struck when the sophomore, Blaine, winks at her. He is cute, and a baseball star, exactly Jamie's type. I find him a tad showy, but she could do far worse.
"How about we start with names and what we did this summer?" asks Martha, the other youth minister. Martha has been the youth minister at St. James for as long as I can remember; and as long as I can remember, I looked forward to joining the youth group. Felix, sitting next to Erica on another couch, winks at me and I smile. Neither of us like 'get to know you' games.
"I'm Blaine, and I played baseball all summer," Blaine states. I can attest to this. His travel team usually played in the same complex as ours. We watched him play, a lot.
"I'm Jamie, and I basically hung out with Cheyanne all summer."
"I'm Rebecca, and I swam all summer."
"I'm Jessie, and I practiced for cheerleading."
"I'm Cheyanne, and I basically hung out with Jamie all summer."
"I think we'd better separate that couch," the first youth leader, Connie, says. We grin; Friday night at the bowling alley was not a fluke. We are on the verge of building an amazing friendship.
"I'm Danny Algrim, and this summer I managed to convince the most awesome girl in the world to be my girlfriend."
"The True Love Waits retreat needs to be a bi-yearly thing," Felix calls, and I roll my eyes. Danny and I do not need a retreat to keep us from having sex.
"You're one to talk," Danny grumbles, squeezing my hand as he glares at my twin brother.
YOU ARE READING
Forget Green Gables
Teen FictionBeing a high school freshman is hard enough, but what is a girl to do when her own mother has become venomous, her twin brother rockets to the forefront of high school popularity, and no amount of styling products will keep her hair tamed? As she m...
