“Well, we’d better go to class,” Rick suggested. “I think your friends went in here.” Rick opened the door to a small classroom where about thirty-five chairs formed a half circle.
Janelle and Katie were both sitting in the back row, chatting briskly about something. They immediately stopped and stared wide-eyed when Rick held the door open for Christy and pointed to two empty seats for them in the front row. Christy noticed that Janelle and Katie weren’t motioning for her to sit by them, and when someone took the seat next to Janelle she didn’t act as though she were trying to save it for Christy. Pulling together her courage and composure, she gracefully slipped into the seat in the front row where Rick was offering for her to sit beside him.
As the class began, Christy found it nearly impossible to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. She did manage to find the verses that he referred to in her Bible, but the letters looked blurred as Rick, who didn’t have a Bible, looked on with her.
This is so stupid! What good is it to have my dreams come true if I’m too jittery to just relax and enjoy it?
She had done the same thing on a bike ride to Balboa Island with Todd last summer, and she had vowed that she would never again space out when she was with a guy. Thinking of Todd brought a calm sensation over her.
Why am I even worried about what this guy thinks of me? What does that say about my feelings for Todd? Was that just a summer thing? Is Brittany right about moving on, since Todd is never going to write to me? Why am I thinking all these things right now? We’re supposed to be studying the Bible!
Christy forced herself to listen and try to comprehend what the teacher was saying about the verse before her. She focused on the passage until she could read it: “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:33).
Someone raised a hand and asked, “I still think you should try to have friends that aren’t Christians, because how else can you lead them to the Lord?”
“True, true,” the teacher, an older man with thick glasses and black hair, answered. “But the key question is, are they bringing you down? In other words, are you having an influence on them, or are they having the greater influence on you?”
“Most of my friends aren’t Christians,” one of the guys said. “There are hardly any Christians at my school. And if you really want to know the truth, some of the girls I’ve gone out with from my school are, like, way more moral than some of the Christian girls I’ve dated.”
“Okay, that’s a valid point,” the teacher said, standing up. He looked as if he were really getting into the discussion. “Let me give you something to think about: Is it okay for a committed Christian to get involved in an ongoing dating relationship with someone who’s not a Christian?”
“How else are they going to come to the church and learn about God and everything?” one girl asked.
“I didn’t say a one-time date, like bringing them to a church activity or group dating with a bunch of your church friends. I said an ongoing dating relationship. Going steady, or whatever you call it now. What do you think?”
Everyone hesitated to answer aloud, but Christy could hear them murmuring among themselves. She thought it was okay. As long as the Christian stayed strong. But she didn’t say anything.
“Let me show you something,” the teacher said. “Here are my feelings on ‘missionary dating.’ ”
“Missionary dating?” one of the girls behind Christy echoed.
“Yes. You know, when you feel like you’re a missionary called to go steady with all the cute unbelievers in Escondido.”
Everyone chuckled.
“Rick, come up here. Stand beside my chair, will you? Go ahead. Just stand up here. Now, let’s see … Katie! You come up here too. Katie, you stand on top of my chair. That’s right, right here. Okay now, Rick, you are ‘Peter Pagan.’ ”
Everyone laughed. Christy smiled. Rick looked so self-confident and bold standing beside the chair with his arms folded across his chest.
“And Katie, you are ‘Katie Christian.’ ”
Katie made a cute little curtsy, balancing gingerly on the chair, her bright green eyes flashing. Christy felt a tiny twinge of jealousy. But she knew she would have died if the teacher had called her up to stand next to Rick in front of the class.
“Now, Katie, you are a sold-out Christian. You have surrendered your life to Christ, and you are committed to living for Him and following Him obediently.
“Rick, I mean, Peter Pagan, you are clueless when it comes to things of the Lord. Not that you haven’t heard the gospel. After all, you’re a red-blooded American, right? But you haven’t given your life to Christ, and so all you know is the way of the world and following after your own desires.”
Rick posed with a toothy smile, raising his eyebrows and twirling an imaginary mustache like a villain in an old-time play.
“Katie, you are convinced that missionary dating is the only way to reach this guy, so you begin going out with him regularly.”
“Oooo, Katie!” Janelle hooted as others laughed.
“So, Katie, you and Peter Pagan hold hands.” Katie obeyed; her cheeks instantly turned a shade of red that almost clashed with her orangish-red hair.
“Katie, you are such a strong Christian,” the teacher said, “that you are going to influence Peter Pagan for good. You’re going to bring him to God. Go ahead. You pull Peter up to the chair where you stand. Go ahead, pull harder.”
Katie yanked and tugged, but Rick barely moved.
“Not so easy, is it? Now, Peter Pagan, try your influence on Katie. You bring her down to your level.”
With one quick tug, Katie toppled off the chair and literally fell into Rick’s arms. His quick reflexes allowed him to catch her with a solid thud before both of them crashed to the floor.
The classroom filled with laughter as Katie pulled away from Rick’s chest.
With a crimson face, she asked the teacher, “May I sit down now, or do you want me to go lie down in front of a train or something?”
“Thanks, Katie. I knew you’d be a good sport. You can sit down now.”
Rick and Katie both returned to their chairs as the teacher drove home his point. “What do you think? Was it easier for Katie Christian to pull her boyfriend up to her level, or was it easier for Peter Pagan to pull her down to his level?”
There was a pause. No one needed to answer aloud. It was obvious that everyone got the point.
“This verse makes it very clear. Let’s read it again, ‘Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” ’ If you don’t remember anything else from this chapter, remember this verse. Bad friends could ruin your whole life. Be wise when it comes to choosing your friends. You set the standard. You be the one who stands strong. Don’t be a follower.”
The teacher paced the floor in front of the class for a brief moment, pulling up his next thoughts. “And for all of you who think God has called you to a life of missionary dating, well, don’t be misled. I should bring my sister in here next week. She could tell you all about her results with missionary dating. She ended up marrying the guy, and he still isn’t saved. They’ve been married for twelve years and have three kids, and my sister is the loneliest person I know.” He looked at his watch and then looked up, showing his feelings of pain for his sister by the pinched look on his face.
“That’s all for this week. We’ll finish chapter fifteen of First Corinthians next week. Any of you who wants a jump start on this, read from verse thirty-five to the end of the chapter. Next week we’re going to talk about the Resurrection.”
Rick stood and began talking to some of the guys beside him, who were teasing him, calling him Peter Pagan. He wasn’t exactly ignoring Christy, but he wasn’t including her in the conversation either. She hung around for a few minutes until Janelle and Katie walked by close enough for her to slip into the herd that moved with them. All the other girls were teasing Katie and talking about the chair demonstration.
/>
The group of seven girls all sat together in the sanctuary. Right before the service began, Rick walked past the row where Christy sat. The girls watched him go up two rows and slide past four people to an empty seat by Wendy. Wendy, the perfect girl. It appeared that she had saved the seat for him.
“See,” Janelle whispered around Christy to Katie, who was sitting on her other side. “I told you they were going together.”
“So what?” Katie answered in a singsong voice. “He held hands with me in public!”
The two girls laughed quietly at Katie’s comment, and Christy sat perfectly still between them, something bothering her. Why did Janelle tell Brittany that Rick was interested in me if Janelle was so sure that Wendy and Rick were going together?
She was finding it hard to understand her new friends. It still bothered Christy that they hadn’t saved a seat for her in the classroom, but she didn’t know how to tell them it had bothered her. What bothered her more was that Brittany had fed her all this information about Rick asking about her, and now it didn’t seem to be making sense.
Christy tried hard to remember all the things Brittany had said about Rick being intrigued with her. Every time Brittany had said her source of information had been Janelle. So, why wasn’t Janelle telling Christy these things? All Janelle seemed convinced of was that Wendy and Rick were dating.
Christy stood at the appropriate times in the service and sang the words to the songs, but her mind played laser tag with all the unanswered questions about Rick and what Brittany had said.
When the sermon began, Christy jotted a note to Janelle on the back of her bulletin: Janelle, did you tell Brittany that Rick wanted to meet me?
Janelle read it and gave Christy a look that said, “Oh, come on! You’ve got to be kidding!” She wrote, No. Why?
Brit said you’d talked to him a couple of times and that he knew you had the slumber party. He wanted to know who I was. Is that true?
Janelle discreetly read the note and then gave Christy a look that said, “I’m sorry, but no,” and gently shook her dark, curly hair.
Christy bit her lower lip and blinked quickly before any tears could form. Why did Brittany lie to her? Why would she make up all that stuff? Was it just so Christy would be convinced she needed to lose weight, like Brittany was?
Janelle, noticing the look on Christy’s face, quickly scribbled another note on the front side of the bulletin: Don’t worry about it. It looks as though you managed to meet Rick fine all by yourself. You didn’t need Brit to arrange it for you.
Christy smiled a “thank you” to Janelle, but her heart still felt squashed. She tried to pay attention to the sermon, but her eyes kept darting over to the back of Rick’s head. His curly, brown hair was tilted only a few inches from Wendy’s gold-spun French braid. They even looked good together from the back.
Soon the congregation stood to sing the last song and then be dismissed. Katie, Janelle, and Christy stood around talking with some other girls. Rick huddled with some guys only a few feet away.
“Come on,” Rick said to the other guys, “let’s ask them.” He and the guys moved toward the group where Christy stood.
“You girls want to go out for pizza with us?” Rick asked.
“Sure,” said Katie. “Who else is going?”
Rick recited a list of names, with Wendy’s name appearing at the top of the list.
“I can’t,” Janelle said. “We’re going to see my grandma.”
“How about you?” Rick said, looking at Christy.
“I guess not. I came with Janelle.”
“I’ll give you a ride home afterward,” Rick offered.
Christy wasn’t sure. Then she remembered her mother telling her to take her key because they might run errands. They’re probably not even home, Christy thought. She looked up at Rick. “Sure, that would be okay.”
“It would be more than okay,” Janelle said in a muffled tone behind Christy’s back. Aloud she said, “Have fun.”
Christy and Katie followed the guys to the parking lot as the group headed out for pizza. Squished into the backseat of Rick’s cherry red Mustang, Christy and Katie kept bumping knees. A guy Christy hadn’t met sat in the front seat.
“Your car is in great shape,” Katie said as Rick pulled out of the driveway. “What year is it?”
“ ’68. Used to be my mom’s. My parents had it up on blocks in the garage for a long time. That’s why it’s still in good shape. You drive yet, Katie?”
“No.”
“How about you, Christina?”
“No.”
“Then you must be under sixteen,” he said, looking at them in the rearview mirror.
“We’re both fifteen and proud of it,” Katie said.
“Just babies,” the guy next to Rick said.
Katie slugged the guy in the arm. “Hey! Fifteen is a very nice age, thank you very much.”
Katie and the guy exchanged quick, rude little comments all the way to the pizza place. Christy sat back and watched, feeling excited and nervous. Twice she caught Rick looking at her in the rearview mirror. I wonder what he’s thinking?
Rick parked the Mustang next to Wendy’s car and held the seat forward as Christy tried to step out gracefully. She feared she might do something klutzy, like trip or tear her dress. But nothing happened. Maybe her awkward days were over. Maybe she was becoming as mature as she felt in this blue dress.
Rick walked beside her and held open one of the double doors of the restaurant. “After you, miss,” he said, bowing playfully. “Nice dress,” he added.
“Thanks,” Christy said, looking up at him bravely, wondering if he would sit by her. He was so tall that he actually made her feel petite. No guy had ever made her feel petite before. Just as she slid beneath his arm, which was propping the door open, he leaned forward and said softly into the back of her head, “You’re not going to run away this time, are you?”
Christy blushed and turned to look at him, smiling. He was so good-looking.
“No, not this time,” she said softly.
“Good.” Rick’s smile melted Christy’s heart. He slid past her, leading the way to the counter where a group of eight of them stood deciding on what kinds of toppings to order on their pizzas.
“I’ve got only five dollars,” Christy said quietly to Katie. “Who should I give it to?”
“You’ve got more than I do. Here, I’ll take it.” Katie moved up beside Rick and flashed a bright smile. “Oh, Peter Pagan!” she said loudly. “Here’s nine dollars for Christy and me. And we want Coke if you’re going to order by the pitcher.” Katie turned to get Christy’s attention. “You like Coke, don’t you?”
Christy nodded as her mind flashed back to a searing memory of the party she had gone to in Newport Beach last summer. She had been left all alone to try to fit in. She had asked for something to drink, “some Coke.” To her horror, one of the surfers thought she was asking for cocaine and sent her upstairs to the bedroom where a small group sat around smoking dope. She had run from the house, feeling like a baby. But that’s when Todd had caught up with her, and they had sat together on the jetty, watching the sunset and talking.
I’m glad I ran out the door that time. But I’m not running away anymore, Christy thought. Not from Rick, not from anything.
After ordering the pizzas the group moved to the back room. Christy sat at the same booth as Katie, and to her delight, Rick moved briskly past another guy and slid onto the red vinyl seat next to Christy.
Wendy and her friends sat in their own separate booth across the way. It looked as though two of the guys were competing for Wendy’s attention.
She must not be Rick’s girlfriend! Christy thought triumphantly. And he’s sitting next to me! Feeling flirty and fun-loving, Christy laughed at everything Rick said.
But it was Katie who kept the conversation rolling, and the guys loved her. She had a fresh, tomboyish way about her that made everyone feel comfortable around her.
Christy didn’t say much. All the others were talking so quickly that she couldn’t squeeze much in. Plus, it seemed that whenever she thought of something clever, the group had already passed that particular subject.
Katie was quick. She had unbelievably fast comebacks. Christy wished Katie could go to Palm Springs with them next weekend.
Once the hot pizza, covered with simmering pepperoni, arrived, Christy ate only one piece. Katie had several, and the guys devoured the rest. Rick must have eaten at least ten pieces.
“I think Christy and I should get a refund,” Katie said, eyeing the emptied pans before them. “We didn’t get our nine dollars’ worth. We merely made a contribution to support you guys’ pizza habit.”
“Let me be the first to thank you,” one of the guys said. “I was beginning to have pepperoni withdrawal. You saved me, Katie Christian!”
“Oh, great! Just when I was getting used to Katie Cougar!”
“Here,” Rick offered, pitching her a quarter, “here’s your refund.”
Another guy tossed a quarter in the center of the table. “Hey, remember Hume Lake?” he asked. “Time to defend your title, Katie. Come on, guys! The quarter game!”
“Do you know how to play this?” Rick asked Christy.
“No.”
“We have two quarters that we pass under the table. Katie’s going to stand at the end of the booth watching, and when she says stop, we put our fists on the top of the table.”
“Like this,” the other guys said, putting the thumb side of their fists up and pounding on the table like a drum.
“Then Katie says stop again, and we have to put our hands flat on the table. See, if you have one of the quarters, you try to keep it from being seen or heard. Then Katie has to guess which two hands have the quarters.”
“Got it?” Katie asked.
“I think so,” Christy said, scooting up to the edge of the table. “Let’s practice.”
Katie stood at the front of the booth. “Ready? Go!”
Christy placed her hands on top of her knees under the table, waiting for the quarter to be passed to her. All the guys were moving their arms, and she couldn’t tell who was passing the quarters.