Confessions From a Church Girl

During the last month that they were here, there was some pretty interesting stuff that went on. One day, Jenny confronted me and told me that Charlie and Nate secretly kissed in the church fellowship hall. Behold, that was the very first scandalous gossip I had ever heard. Jenny had an “in” with the other girls, could I be apart of that group if I stuck with Jenny? Jenny was nice and she included me, she also wasn’t negative all of the time like Georgina was.. Little did I know that I had a roller-coaster ride in front of me. At first I thought she was just including me, of what’s going on, but as she continued, tears started to roll down her face, and you could see the true heartbreak over Nate and Charlie being together.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if we are good enough friends for her to just spill more. We leaned up against the church piano. We were the only ones in the sanctuary, everyone else was downstairs eating lunch for our monthly fellowship-lunch. The room was so empty that every word echoed.

“I like Nate. He was nice to me and he acted like he liked me back and flirted with me a lot and then all of a sudden he just goes for one of my bestfriends. Like really Nate? That’s really low.” Jenny cried. She was pretty dramatic when she cried. She used a lot of hand gestures and her face was beet red, it was an unpleasant sight, but she was my friend now. I mean she had to have been, she’s comfortable enough to spill her feelings to me.

Geez. Does EVERYONE here like Nate? I thought.

I was never a really compassionate friend. I just listened more than give advice. When it came to cheering up a friend, I was the most awkward at it. I normally said things that didn’t help and a lot of time the only response I had when it came to a mutual friend was dirt on the person they were offended by, hoping it’d make them feel better. Which had gotten me in a lot of trouble.

I just stayed quiet as she cried some more.

“Like I know I have no chance up against her, I am leaving and they are going to start to dating and pretty soon, I am going to be completely forgotten. Like she’s not even going to church for the right reasons, she’s only coming for Nate. And when they sit by each other, they both cross their arms and secretly hold hands. Who would do that in the Lords house?!” And she was right. Nate was the pastors boy. The nerve he had, holding hands with a girl, while sitting next to his mother and being preached at by his father. Nate was a special kind of stupid. The stupid I was happy to have moved on from.

From then on, Jenny and I became closer and closer. She was a good spiritual influence, she really only complained to me about Charlie and Nate, and I was okay with that because I was included. I was still leashed on to Georgina, but I knew who’s friend I really wanted to be.