Mask of Celibacy

Chapter 1

I'd always loved a good debate. One that stoked a fire in my heart as I defended my position like a crusader for justice. In most classes I came across as soft-spoken. During a structured argument, though? I acted like a freaking warrior.

Standing in the front of a dingy classroom filled with twenty other bored students, I began an animated opening argument that seemed to jar them awake. Some even appeared to listen. 

Probably from shock.

Many of these kids had never heard more than a quiet whisper out of me.

Now I spoke with eloquence. My voice projected with an unfamiliar force as I gesticulated and maintained eye contact with every person in that room at least once.

In some cases, I'd looked in their eyes for the first time in three years.

Like the star football player Bryan over in the far corner, who turned beet red when I caught his hazel gaze. Tall, tan, and toned as hell. An all-American boy my grandparents would have loved me to date. He even attended our local church. They'd held him up as a prime example of the kind of guy they would accept.

Whatever. Focus.

This particular debate got my blood boiling: the free dispensing of birth control at Catholic schools. I put my heart and soul into it. For a reason no one would have guessed.

For a reason I didn't even realize until much later.

Once I'd finished my opening statement—one that included famous Catholic principles like abstinence before marriage, respect towards the opposite sex, and natural law—one of the popular girls in our junior class, Sarah LaPierre, raised her hand to challenge me.

A cheerleader type.

Tall and slender, she had brilliant blue eyes and chestnut waves highlighted golden blonde. All the guys loved her. She sported those manicured French nail extensions that were popular back then in the late nineties. The ones longer than eagle talons and expensive as hell.

The total opposite of me in every way.

Well, almost.

As much as I wished I could have called Sarah a blonde bimbo, she often gave me a run for my money. Part of me freaking loved it. Winning against her was a true victory.

Sarah plastered a haughty smile on her face before I called on her. "Do you actually think teens will stay abstinent until marriage? If that were true, we wouldn't need to discuss birth control at all."

"Many will decide to have sex," I replied, my voice equally confident. "However, the school policy should continue to reflect the guiding principles of the Catholic Church I mentioned in my statement."

"Even if they're ancient and outdated?"

"If the Catholic Church needs reform," I replied, "that's a different question."

Sarah flicked her pen up and down between her thumb and forefinger. "Maybe we can start the process of reform. You know? Like grassroots efforts, beginning at this school."

"Let me ask you a question, Sarah."

"Go ahead, Jess."

"If you think a state or federal law is outdated or wrong, can you just break it?"

She squirmed in her seat.

"No, you can't," I answered for her. "You have to petition your representatives in government to get the law repealed or amended. Same with the laws and regulations of the Church. Until they're changed, we need to uphold those rules."