A Deeper Cliche

Chapter 1

Penelope: You've never heard of Rascal?

Me: *shaking my head* No

Penelope: He's only the hottest guy at the school, and one who it's nearly impossible to get a date with. He's only dated two girls from this school. One was the head cheerleader, but she moved away. The other was the friend of one of his sisters, but when his sister found out, she went batshit crazy and made them end it. He only dates college girls now. I've tried plenty of times to get him to notice me, but nothing works. So trust me, he's just a day dream.

Me: Why would you even bring him up if it's obvious he's someone I'd avoid?

Cherry: I was just covering all of the cliche or stereotypical basis. And since you're a good church girl, you're supposed to fall for a bad boy. And anyways, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to get him to fall for you. Besides maybe me since I'm a pk, you're the most forbidden girl at the school, being a very committed Christian, so he'd probably take it as a challenge to bag you. It'd probably be one of those stupid bets where he has to take your virginity.

Me: You spend way too much time reading and watching all of that garbage, Cherry.

Cherry: *shrugging* I'm just saying, there are always options. The only thing keeping you from being with a boy right now is yourself. You are almost overly obsessed with God.

Penelope: Yeah, you don't have your head up your own ass, it's up god's ass instead. And no boy is ever going to want a girl with her head up someone else's ass, even if it's god's.

Cherry: PENELOPE! Do you have to be so creepily descriptive? Besides, that's rather offensive.

Penelope: Oh, get your head out of your ass, Cherry. It's not like I mean it literally.

Tabitha: The point is that if you really wanted a date, you could get one. Of course there's nothing wrong with being focused on God, but if you're ignoring people, you still have a problem. The Bible makes sure to remind us that people do still matter.

Me: I know, but that doesn't mean that I need to go out and find someone to date.

Tabitha: No, but you're still rather young, Belle. There's still time to have a little bit of fun. I don't mean go out and sin, but you don't have to enforce more rules than Cherry's parents do on her. You should especially be free to date if the opportunity ever arises. That's all I'm trying to say.

Penelope: And I'm telling you that you need to get your ass out there. I know you're into the Bible and all of that God stuff, but you still need a social life. And though we're all pretty damn amazing, sometimes you need a boy to help keep you somewhat grounded. And if nothing else, you might as well start looking for a boy who's going to be a preacher, since that's the kind of guy you're going to marry anyways.

Cherry: Look, Penelope's just saying that you need to be a little more aware of your surroundings. You didn't even know who Rascal was. Every girl knows who he is. I even had a phase where I had a crush on him. It's not healthy how distant you are from this school.

Me: So a boy is supposed to solve all of my problems?

Tabitha: Hell no! I'm not even saying you need a boy. But, dating might be good for you. Besides, it can be a good way for you to have fun with other Christians or work on your evangelizing, since we all know you don't know how to keep your mouth shut around non-Christians.

Penelope: And I know that better than anyone else. You won't give me but a few seconds a day where you aren't trying to convert me. You need to find new people to torture since it's exhausting me.

Cherry: Just think about it. Or pray about it if you want. But it might be good for you to date. James has been a lot of good for me. I'm not saying I need him or he's the answer to everything, but he's still good for me. There might be a guy like that out there for you.

Penelope: Maybe someone who can make you a little less uptight *mumbling loud enough so that she can be heard*

Me: I'm not uptight. I'm focused on what I believe in. I don't have time for the foolishness that you and most of the people at this school insist are important. That doesn't make me uptight. I just have far different opinions that the rest of you have.

Cherry: You may not be uptight exactly, but someone to stretch your thinking and someone's thinking that you can stretch can always be a good thing.

Though I still wasn't sure that I saw any benefit in dating like they seemed to think there was, I was certainly curious about who this Rascal was that they'd been raving about. I'd always thought myself to be pretty observant and know most of the people at the school. I made sure to make some sort of friendship with the other Christians for support and would make note of the non-Christians to pray for them. So it was baffling how I could have ever missed him, especially if he was as bad as they made him out to be. Because if he was, I definitely needed to pray for him.