6
Cassidy had serious misgivings about Bryn’s idea of inducting Amanda into the DG, and she planned to make them known at lunchtime the following day. First she had to make sure that Bryn hadn’t already invited Amanda.
“I haven’t seen her yet,” Bryn admitted, “but I just spotted her friends over there. I’m sure she’ll be coming in soon.”
“Well, I want to raise some questions before it’s too late,” Cassidy began.
“Oh no, here she goes again,” Abby teased. “Cass is going to put the kibosh on every single girl we consider for the DG.”
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Bryn demanded. “Amanda would be a great addition. She’s pretty and—”
“Looks aren’t everything,” Cassidy said a bit too quickly.
“Jealous, are we?” Devon taunted.
“No.” Cassidy took in a deep breath. “Okay, I know this isn’t an official meeting, but you guys need to listen to me. I thought of a number of things that no one mentioned last night.”
“For instance, Amanda is a senior. We’re all juniors. What if Amanda joins and tries to pull rank on us? What if she tries to take over?”
“We won’t let her,” Devon declared.
“How can you be so sure?” Cassidy asked her. “Besides that, Amanda has done a lot of dating. She’s had a lot more experience with guys and—”
“That might be a good thing,” Bryn pointed out. “She can help us along a little.”
“What if she helps us in the wrong sorts of ways?” Cassidy challenged. “Do we really need someone like Amanda to come in and mess things up for us? Is that what you guys want?”
“Wow, you really don’t like her, do you?” Bryn said in disbelief. “I thought you were such a good Christian, Cass. Aren’t we supposed to love everyone?”
“Yes. I am and I do. I mean, I try to.” Cassidy was flustered. “It’s not that I don’t like Amanda. The truth is, Amanda probably doesn’t like me. She’s always been kinda uppity and snooty and superior.” Cassidy pointed at Emma. “Hasn’t she been like that to you too?”
Emma shrugged.
“Tell the truth,” Cassidy pressed her.
“In the past . . . not recently . . . Amanda was kind of mean.” Emma looked at Cassidy. “To both of us.”
“What do you mean ‘not recently’?” Bryn asked her.
“It was back in middle school,” Cassidy explained. “Amanda Norton was kind of a bully.”
“I don’t know if I’d call her a bully,” Emma clarified. “It’s true that she was mean, but it was middle school. Lots of girls were mean.”
“Some of them still are,” Abby added.
“Not Amanda,” Bryn said defensively.
“Maybe she’s changed,” Devon suggested. “It would be nice to think that people can change, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Abby nodded.
Bryn pointed at Cassidy. “You want to talk to Amanda with me? Maybe ask her about some of these things?”
Cassidy cringed. It was the last thing she wanted to do. “Not really.”
“The more I think about it, the less I think Amanda will even be interested,” Emma proclaimed. “Maybe we should just forget about her.”
“Here’s something else to consider,” Abby said suddenly. “What if Amanda isn’t trustworthy? What if she tells everyone about our club? We’ve been trying to keep it under wraps. If Amanda has a big mouth as well as a mean streak, who knows what she might do.”
“Here’s what I’ll do,” Bryn told them. “I’ll just kinda test her out. I’ll ask some questions and see how she responds. If I have any concerns, I won’t even consider asking her. How’s that sound?”
They all agreed it sounded like a good plan and Bryn even promised to wait until the first Christmas ball meeting before she broached the subject with Amanda. “That will seem more natural,” she assured them.
Everyone else seemed satisfied as they got ready to leave, but Cassidy still had some reservations. Abby had raised a very good point. What if Amanda wasn’t trustworthy? What if she blabbed to all her friends about the DG? What if she turned their secret club into a big fat joke?
As Cassidy made her way to class, she stewed over these things. She wondered whether or not she’d care to remain in a club with someone like Amanda Norton in it too. Okay, she knew that sounded pretty judgmental, but those were her honest feelings. As she went into class, she wondered about something else—what had happened with Felicia Ruez? Cassidy hadn’t seen her once today, and due to her flashy clothes of late, Felicia was hard to miss. But it hit Cassidy as she slid into a seat. Felicia had probably been suspended—maybe even expelled—due to what she’d posted on MyPlace. Duh.
Emma confirmed it Wednesday. “This is not just idle gossip either,” Emma told the DG. “It’s a fact that she’s been expelled. I still can’t believe Felicia would do something so stupid.”
Cassidy felt no satisfaction over being right about Felicia, or even for sparing the DG from being connected to her. Mostly Cassidy just felt sorry for Felicia . . . and saddened. She decided to put Felicia on her prayer list. And to add Amanda as well.
The next couple days passed with no new developments. Despite an initial planning meeting for the upcoming dance, Bryn had not spoken to Amanda yet. Meanwhile, as far as Cassidy could see, Felicia had not returned to school. And no girls in the DG had made any progress in securing a date.
Knowing that midterms were around the corner and wanting to focus on academics, Cassidy put thoughts of Lane and going to the Christmas ball on the back burner. Sometimes she even toyed with the idea of dropping out of the DG altogether. As much as she liked her friends, she had a bad feeling about the direction they seemed to be taking. If Amanda—and later Amanda’s friends—were going to join, things would change. Sure, Bryn and Devon and even Emma and Abby could pretend they wouldn’t, but it would happen.
“I need you all to come to today’s planning meeting,” Bryn announced at lunch on Friday.
“I have basketball practice,” Abby informed her.
“Too bad.” Bryn shook her head. “It’s your idea that I’m bringing up for discussion today. I hoped you’d join us.”
“What idea?” Abby asked with interest.
“The fund-raiser,” Bryn told her. “With some very special prizes.”
“Oh?” Abby looked interested.
“I was going to ask you to chair the fund-raiser committee, Abby.” Bryn sighed. “That would’ve looked good on college apps too.”
Abby frowned. “How can I do that and basketball too?”
Bryn’s brows arched. “Only you know the answer to that one, Abs.” She turned to the others. “Can I count on you guys to come? This year’s Christmas ball is going to be a lot more than just a dance. It’s going to help local children in need to have the best Christmas ever.”
“It sounds great, but how’s that possible?” Cassidy asked eagerly.
“You’ll have to come to the meeting to find out.”
“I plan to come,” Cassidy assured her. “Even more so now that I know we’re not just planning a dance. I like the sound of this, Bryn.”
Bryn winked at her. “You might be pleased to know that Lane will be there too. He’s on the committee.”
Cassidy felt her cheeks grow warm. “I was coming anyway,” she said a bit testily.
Bryn pointed at Devon now. “I should warn you that Jason insisted on being on the committee too.”
“Jason?” Devon scowled as she stabbed the straw into her soda cup. “Thanks for warning me. Maybe I’ll take a pass on this.”
“We’re breaking into two committees. One to specifically plan for the dance, and the other to organize the fund-raiser,” Bryn informed her. “Jason has already opted to be on the fund-raiser committee.”
“Oh, right, so that means I’m stuck on the other committee?” Devon picked up her fork. “It figures that Jason gets his way. He’s used to that, isn’t he?”
“He is our student council president,” Bryn reminded her. “And the Christmas ball is a student council event. Seems like he should be on whichever committee he chooses. But if you really want, you can be on his committee too.”
“Now that would be just delightful.” Devon rolled her eyes.
“Look, Devon, if it makes you feel any better, Jason seems to have changed. He doesn’t seem as much like a monster as I thought. Even Amanda has quit hating him.”
Devon glared at her. “I guess it’s all just a matter of perspective.”
“So, I should take that as a no? You will not be at the meeting?” Bryn asked her.
“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” Devon snapped.
“Well, at least Amanda has promised that her friends are going to help.” Bryn pointed at Cassidy and Emma. “If you two are coming, that should help.” She shook a finger at Abby. “Too bad you’ll miss out on all the fun, Abs. Especially since it really was partly your idea.”
Abby took a big bite of her burger, looking troubled. Suddenly Cassidy felt sorry for her. It wasn’t fair that Abby was getting left out. “I know,” she said to Abby. “How about if we figure a way for you to be involved? Maybe I could sort of represent you when you can’t be at a meeting. Afterward I could send you notes and stuff and—”
“Thanks, but no thanks, Cass.” Abby set down her burger and looked at them. “I already made my choice. I have to stick with it.” She sighed. “At least that’s what my dad says.”
“But it’s your life,” Cassidy pointed out. “What if you decided it was better for you to help with the fund-raiser than to play basketball? What would be the harm in that?”
“Yeah,” Devon chimed in. “What if you were playing basketball and you got hurt—like you broke a leg or something? Then you’d be out of sports for a while—all because you refused to quit a sport you didn’t really want to do in the first place.”
Abby made a crooked frown. “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.”
“You never know,” Bryn said. “Think about it, Abs. Basketball isn’t even your best sport. If you get scholarship money for any of your sports, you know it’s going to be soccer. Why not just ditch basketball? Give yourself a break.”
“But I need to stay in shape.”
“So work out,” Devon told her. “Take a fitness class like I’m doing.”
“Or go to dance class with me,” Bryn told her. “At least that’s fun.”
Abby looked torn. “I wish I could.”
“Then just do it,” Emma urged her. “Like Cass said, it’s your life.”
“But my dad loves coming to the games . . . when he can.”
“He can still go to the games,” Bryn told her. “It’s just that you won’t be playing.”
Abby gave them a half smile.
“Come on, Abby,” Cassidy urged. “If it was your idea to do this fund-raiser for kids, you should be involved. Think about it, what’s more important—or valuable—playing a sport you’re not even into or helping to raise money for needy kids to have a happier Christmas?”
“When you put it like that . . .” Abby sighed.
“It even makes me want to help out,” Devon admitted. “Jason or no Jason.”
“Okay!” Abby did a fist pump. “I’m in. You guys convinced me. I’m quitting basketball. Today.”
They all let out some cheers and exchanged high fives. As they finished up their lunches, Cassidy had completely changed her mind again. She was into this group. The DG was a great club, and she would do all she could to keep it together and to keep it solid and good. These friendships were too valuable to cast aside.