On the next morning, Kristen barely got up. It was a Sunday morning and that meant she had to go to Sunday school. Over the years, she had grown to dislike Sunday school. She didn't find Religion to be that interesting any longer. And all of her old friends were there. She had a hard time facing Suzie, CJ, Alannah and the whole "Ocean Gang". Ever since she had stopped hanging out with them, not seeing them around the valley, living their lives happily, was impossible.
Like her peers on a Sunday morning, Kristen wanted to sleep in and not wake up until noon. Her body demanded a break - it was a normal human necessity. But she also wanted everyone to leave her the hell alone. Hadn't she faced enough humiliation?
Her mother burst through the door, announcing that it was already six o'clock and that it was time to get up and get ready to go to the church, where Sunday school was held for the local children and adolescents. Kristen, herself, had started attending it when she had been in kindergarten.
Kristen groaned against her pillow: "Mom, do I have to go to Sunday school?"
If it was possible, smoke would come out of Jules' ears. Why was her daughter so disrespectful? "How dare you, Kristen? Of course, you have to! Don't you want to be a civilized and well-educated adult? Don't act like a child! Be respectful towards Religion - that's where your name comes from!"
Kristen rolled her eyes as her mother began to preach and tell for what felt like the millionth time the story and the reason behind her name. If her mother didn't stop, she was going to change her name legally. She didn't give a damn if Jesus Christ was rolling in his grave. At the moment, she had bigger problems than the Holy Bible.
The previous day, Kristen had placed 3rd overall. She had disappointed everyone as she had predicted. Mackenzie had beaten her and now she would get to brag around.
And she had too many assignments to catch up on! What was she going to do?
She had a plan. She just didn't know whether it was going to work. Or maybe it could? This week, Taylor had a chess tournament and Dana was feeling ill, so her parents would probably not monitor her. And her brothers couldn't join her at the church. So maybe for just one time in her life, she could do something else on a Sunday morning?
Kristen had decided not to go to Sunday school and listen to the same old stories she had been listening for the last twelve years. Instead, she opted to go to the library and finish off all of her work. She did not want to get a black mark on her academic record. She had to focus more on school. If she wanted to go to University, she needed to have a higher grade point average. For now, she was one of the best students among her classmates only in the Languages and Arts departments. Science was always her weakness. She couldn't let it destroy her chances for a better higher education.
Kristen packed her homework and her laptop in her bag and got dressed for church, hoping not to look too suspicious. She tugged on her denim jacket and pulled back her hair with a clip, trying to look modest. She put a pair of appropriate shoes and a watch on her wrist, before kissing her parents goodbye and leaving.
Kristen had to take the long way to the library to avoid being seen. She hated how insolently her neighbours would gossip. Didn't they have anything better to do with their lives, besides walking their dogs and chattering?
The library was half full of university students, eagerly typing on their laptops. Kristen could relate to them at that very moment, as she had too much homework to type and send to her teachers.
Sunday school had passed without Kristen. She was already halfway finished with her essay and was taking a break, surfing the Internet when a particular photo caught her eye. Mackenzie had posted it - it was of her trophy from the previous day. What couldn't escape Kristen's sight was how many comments were under it. And one of them was mentioning her name. According to that one person, Kristen had looked like carrion while dancing and had been the laughing stock of the competition. Too many people had replied to it, agreeing.
Kristen felt her breath shortening. Like the previous day, her heart began racing, but this time she also felt her chest tightening, as if she was wearing a corset. Too many people were around. She felt them staring at her. She bet they were thinking about how she was behaving like a freak at a public place, so she had to bail out.
Kristen began crying hysterically in the toilets, not caring if she was heard. Hell, she wouldn't even care if she was kicked out of the library. All she could care at that moment was that people were making fun of her online, where everybody could see everything.
At the same time, Jules Stewart was walking the dogs at the local pets park when she was approached by a neighbour and not just any - it was Suzie Riemer's mother. Jules found her to be rather annoying, unlike her daughter.
"Jules!", Mrs Riemer exclaimed, rushing to her, "Where was Kristen today?"
Jules looked at Mrs Riemer askew. What did she mean? Kristen had gone to Sunday school, hadn't she?
"Well, Suzie told me she didn't see Kristen at Sunday school today."
Jules stared dumbfounded, "You are trying to tell me that my daughter didn't attend Sunday school? That she has cut class?"
Mrs Riemer laughed, "Finally you understood! You'd better educate your daughter properly! Nothing will ever happen with her, otherwise!"
In the evening, when Kristen came back from the library, all she wanted to do was to hide away and to never have to see everyone ever again. Only to be waited by her parents at the front door.
"Where were you?", with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face, Jules demanded to know.
Kristen raised her eyebrows, confused. Hadn't her plan worked? Had she been caught? Her heart began to race again. She had to breathe and to spot like she had been taught at dance class so that she wouldn't lose control of herself again.
John stepped in, "Actually, don't try to lie. How could you shame us like that in front of the whole neighbourhood? Everyone knows you've missed Sunday school!"
"But I don't want to go to Sunday school anymore!", choked out Kristen, trying to justify herself. What was the point in going, at the age of sixteen? She had bigger things to fret about.
Her parents gasped. What was their daughter trying to imply? They had to stop her before she bent off the right road. If they didn't, she would probably end up ruining her life by doing drugs or to lose her virginity to a random person before marriage.
"What's next - you don't want to play the violin?", John cried.
"Or you don't want to dance?", continued Jules.
How could they care only about that? Kristen was being bullied by peers and had turned into a disappointment for everybody and here were her parents, only considering that she had missed Sunday school. If they knew about the way her heart raced and her breathing difficulties, would they stop and reconsider everything they had said at that particular moment?
With a lowered head from sadness, Kristen climbed up the stairs to go to her bedroom. All she wanted was for the ground to open up and to be sucked in a hole.
"Spoiled brat!", Dana, who had seen and heard everything from the top of the staircase, spit in her face as if he was trying to spit viruses on purpose, probably angry, because he was ill. Taylor said nothing, unsure of why his sister was behaving like that.
At that moment, Kristen wished her older brother Cameron was still living with them. She knew he would have defended her, as always.
That night, the young girl ended up going to bed in tears. No one understood how she was feeling. No one would care if she told them about her heart racing, the feeling of loss of control the previous day. They only loved her when she was a good girl.