Tommy Nelson's Brave Girls Confidential

by Travis Thrasher

  Talk About It

  1.Have you ever had a friend act mean to you? How did you respond?

  2.Can you think of someone in your class who is different from you? How do you treat him or her?

  3.Does God ever forget about you?

  4.If God always loves you, then how should you act toward people who are mean to you?

  KNOWING WHEN TO SPEAK UP

  Faith’s Dilemma

  The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Savior. My God is my rock. I can run to him for safety. He is my shield and my saving strength, my high tower.

  —Psalm 18:2

  Faith gripped the rail of the waterslide, staring five stories down at the pool. She didn’t want to let go.

  “I’ll go first!” Hope said, launching herself into the tube, then howling in excitement as she disappeared around the bend.

  What have I done? Faith thought in terror.

  She’d met Hope at church. Faith saw her for a second Sunday in a row and thought maybe she would invite Hope to their small group. The more Brave Girls, the better, right?

  Instead, Hope invited Faith to go to the Swimzone Water Park with her and her family. Now Faith was at the top of the Fright Fall waterslide. The slide consisted of a tube that dropped straight down, then sent riders spiraling around a dozen times before shooting them out into the pool below.

  Faith watched Hope blast out into the water headfirst. Hope had gone in feet first! How’d she get turned around?

  “Ready to go?” the lifeguard at the top of the slide asked.

  A line of thirty people waited and watched her. They didn’t look too happy.

  “Come on!” the boy behind her called.

  Faith hated heights, and she wasn’t a big fan of swimming either. She didn’t know how to say no when Hope had asked her about coming to the water park.

  “Let’s go!” the lifeguard said.

  She walked over to the mouth of the tube, then sat down and nudged herself in. The water felt cold. She closed her eyes and held her breath and then . . .

  Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Somewhere on the slide Faith did the same thing Hope had done; she flipped around so she landed in the pool below headfirst. She wasn’t a very good swimmer, so as she splashed into the water, she found herself sinking to the bottom. She struggled to swim to the surface.

  A lifeguard pulled Faith out of the water before she freaked out completely. She’d swallowed water, so she came up coughing and choking. The teenage lifeguard helped her climb out of the pool and then sat beside her as she coughed up water. Hope ran to Faith’s side as well.

  “Are you okay?” Hope asked. “What happened?”

  “I’m fine,” Faith mumbled. “Really.”

  “We didn’t have to go on the waterslide,” Hope said.

  Faith could tell her new friend felt bad. “No, it’s fine, really—” She started coughing again.

  She hated this. Faith didn’t want to disappoint her new friend. She wanted Hope to think she was fun and easygoing. Now she couldn’t stop coughing. She was a dripping mess.

  What was Hope going to think?

  • • •

  “Go long!” Hope shouted to Faith.

  Faith stared down the grassy field. Was she supposed to start running? Her dad watched football on TV, but she’d never really paid attention to how it was played. Hope held the football in her hands and waved for Faith to start moving.

  They were playing flag football with Hope’s younger brothers, Dax and Zeke, the twins adopted from Ukraine. The other two boys were their age and lived down the road from Hope’s farm.

  Dax and Zeke were on the other team, and none of them seemed worried about covering Faith. So far, she’d managed to trip over Zeke’s leg, she’d dropped the ball while trying to carry it, and she’d allowed the other team to score three times.

  As Faith began running as hard as she could, Dax decided to follow her. Hope threw a perfect spiral that floated right to Faith. Somehow, some way, Faith caught it.

  It was a miracle!

  Just as Faith slowed down and felt her hands clutch the football, Dax slammed into her.

  Faith spun around and fell, landing on her back as the ball slipped out of her hands. She remained still on the grass, staring up at the blue sky, thinking she’d have to be taken to the hospital. The rest of the kids circled around her.

  “Faith, are you okay?” Hope shouted.

  Wait a minute, Faith thought. Didn’t she just ask me that a couple of days ago?

  Faith nodded and then was helped up by her friend.

  “I’m fine. Really. Just got the wind knocked out of me.”

  “It was Dax’s fault,” Hope said, turning to her younger brother. “We still have the ball since you tackled her. It’s flag football, mister, not full contact.”

  “She was the one who just stopped for no reason!” Dax said, scooping up the football and tossing it back to Hope.

  “Maybe we’ll take a break,” Hope said to Faith.

  “Girls . . .” Dax said to the others, shaking his head.

  Hope tossed the football toward her brother, hitting him in the back of his head.

  “Oops,” Hope said.

  “Ha ha, very funny,” Dax said, rubbing his head.

  Faith couldn’t help laughing.

  “Forget football. We can check out my treehouse,” Hope said. She led Faith to a huge tree and climbed the ladder leading up to the structure.

  Faith couldn’t believe how big the treehouse looked. It was built among three large oak trees and had spaces for windows and a slanted roof. How high was it? Three stories? Four?

  “Come on!” Hope shouted when she got to the top.

  Faith gulped. She put one hand on the side of the ladder, then one on the other. Hope watched her carefully.

  “Are you okay?” Hope asked.

  “Yeah, sure, I’m fine,” Faith said, feeling her arms shaking.

  “You don’t have to come up. It’s okay.”

  “No, really, it’s fine,” Faith said, starting to climb.

  It took her a minute to take one step. By then, Hope was climbing down.

  “Listen, it’s fine,” Hope said after both of them got off the ladder.

  Faith looked down at the ground, feeling embarrassed.

  “You don’t like heights, do you?” Hope asked.

  Faith shook her head.

  “Why didn’t you just tell me? It’s okay.”

  Faith didn’t say anything. She couldn’t.

  “Come on,” Hope told her. “Let’s go inside. Mom made some lemonade. It’s homemade, and it’s awesome.”

  “I’ve never had lemonade this good,” Faith said, finishing the glass.

  “Have some more,” Hope’s mom said.

  “Can we have a few of those oatmeal raisin cookies?” Hope asked her mom.

  “Just one apiece.”

  They each took a warm cookie from the plate.

  Faith took a bite. “These are incredible.”

  “Mom’s a good baker. And a good cook.”

  The windows were open so Faith and Hope could hear her brothers playing football with the neighbors. Dax and Zeke began arguing about something.

  “Do they get along?” Faith asked.

  “Most of the time,” Hope said, talking with her mouth full. “Every now and then they fight. Especially when they play football. You don’t like football much, do you?”

  “No. I mean, I haven’t played much, so I don’t know—”

  Hope laughed. “You should have told me you didn’t like football! Or waterslides! It’s okay. I just thought—I wasn’t sure what you liked to do. Hanging out on a farm can be boring.”

  “Your farm is beautiful,” Faith said. “It would make for a great painting.”

  “You like to paint?” Hope asked.

  “I love to.”

  • • •

  “Don’t peek!” Hope said as she put th
e final touches on her painting.

  They were outside painting the barn from different angles. Faith had brought all her paints and brushes over, along with two blank canvases and stands. The girls had promised not to show each other their works of art until they were finished.

  “Okay, open your eyes,” Hope shouted.

  Faith looked at the painting. It was supposed to be a barn, but it looked more like a box covered with mud and stuck inside a storm.

  “Wow, that’s really great,” Faith said.

  Hope laughed. “Don’t lie! It’s terrible!”

  “No, it’s just—it’s good, especially if you don’t paint.”

  “It looks like what my brothers used to draw when they were two,” Hope said. “Let me see yours.”

  Faith showed Hope her painting. For a moment, Hope just stared at it, speechless.

  “You are really, really good,” Hope said.

  Faith blushed. “I need to finish it. The sides aren’t fully done. And the sky above—”

  “This is incredible, Faith. Seriously. Don’t ever play football again. I don’t want you to damage those hands!”

  “Thanks,” Faith said, grinning shyly. “I should have just admitted I’m not really into sports in the first place.”

  “No, thank you. I’m glad you came up to me at church. I needed a friend.”

  Suddenly, Faith remembered why she had done that in the first place—the small group!

  “Speaking of church, I wanted to tell you about something really cool,” Faith said. “I’m part of this really awesome group . . .”

  Dear God, help me not to be afraid of speaking up, even when I’m afraid. Help me not to fear what others might think. I just want to please You and nobody else. Amen.

  Talk About It

  1.Why did Faith get stuck going to the water park and playing football?

  2.What should Faith have said to Hope?

  3.Are there ever times when you don’t say anything even though you want to?

  4.How did Hope respond when she learned her new friend didn’t like to play sports?

  STAYING TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE

  Honor’s Rejection

  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

  —Psalm 139:14 NIV

  Somewhere in the house, a kitten named Snowball was hiding. Mom had told Honor not to take any of the brand-new kittens out of their cage, but Honor just had to tell her favorite good-bye. Now Snowball had slipped out of her hands and dashed away. She still hadn’t found him, and there were only a few minutes left before she had to leave for school.

  “Snowball!” Honor whispered as she looked all around in their family room. She didn’t want Mom to know the kitten was missing.

  There were seven kittens, and most were black and gray. Snowball was all white except for a black mark on his tail. It looked like a streak of black paint that had brushed against his fur.

  “Honor!” Mom called from the kitchen. “Are you ready?”

  “Almost!” Her hair was still wet from her shower, and she still didn’t know what she was going to wear for school.

  Why did this have to happen on the first day?

  All of a sudden, a bright white streak flashed across the room and under the couch. Honor carefully stepped toward the couch, then bent over to look.

  A tiny white face with black eyes and long whiskers peeked out, looking like a kid in trouble.

  “Come here, Snowball,” Honor said, picking up the kitten gently. “I need to get ready for school.”

  Honor was definitely not ready for the day ahead.

  Honor barely made it through the doors of Piedmont Middle School when the first bell rang. Her wet hair was pulled back in her favorite pink headband, and she wore a pink T-shirt featuring a pug in a tutu, her old faded jeans, and worn-out Converse.

  “What are you doing here?” a familiar voice asked. It was Ben from down the street. He stopped to talk to Honor as his buddies kept walking down the hall.

  “I jumped a grade.”

  “You’re in sixth grade now?” Ben asked in disbelief.

  “Yep.”

  “I’ve only heard of kids having to repeat a year. But you skipped fifth grade. How awesome is that? Well, see you around, smarty!”

  Ben’s playful compliment made Honor smile. Walking to her class, Honor recognized a few students who used to go to her elementary school.

  Then she saw them.

  Alyssa, Jordyn, and Taylor. The most popular girls in her elementary school last year when they were in fifth grade and she was in fourth. Had they had grown taller over the summer? They looked so much older.

  Honor suddenly felt really young and silly as she noticed what Alyssa, Jordyn, and Taylor were wearing.

  The three girls sat in front of Honor in math class, all side by side, just like they did at their elementary school. Honor had seen them do this when the fourth and fifth grade classes combined and kids could sit where they wanted.

  As Mr. Moser welcomed all of them, Honor couldn’t help noticing the girls. Alyssa, with her fancy blond hair all styled perfectly. Jordyn, with her cute blue dress and stylish suede boots. Taylor, with a pink-striped top and black designer leggings.

  Honor looked at her graphic T-shirt and noticed a ball of hair stuck to it. She smiled. At least Snowball thinks I look good.

  At lunchtime, Honor walked over to the three girls while they waited in line. She hoped they might invite her to sit by them. As Honor reached for tater tots, she was spotted.

  “Aren’t you a year younger?” Alyssa asked.

  “I actually skipped a grade,” Honor said with a friendly smile.

  “She’s smart,” Jordyn said in a way that made it seem like Honor wasn’t even there.

  “Are those real glasses?” Alyssa asked.

  “Yeah. They’re prescription.”

  “Oh, well, I have ones I wear too. A few sets. But they match different outfits.”

  “That’s great. These match—well, pretty much anything.”

  Nobody said anything. Honor followed them to the table where they ate lunch, but they didn’t invite her to sit down, so she sat at the table next to theirs. She ended up wishing she hadn’t. She could hear the girls comparing everything they did, like it was a competition—where they went shopping, which beauty salon cut their hair, where they got manicures, even their summer vacations.

  Honor thought about Snowball and missed him. She wished she could be back home, back in a place where nobody worried what she looked like and what brand of clothes she wore.

  The next day Honor showed up at school wearing cowboy boots she hadn’t worn in a year. They were a little small.

  Alyssa, Jordyn, and Taylor were definitely not impressed.

  In math class, Alyssa sat down in front of Honor and began looking around the room.

  “What’s that smell?” Alyssa asked.

  “It smells like a barn,” Taylor said, covering her nose.

  “It smells like a cow pasture,” Jordyn said, looking down at Honor’s boots.

  Honor glanced down at her boots in horror. They were right! Her boots did smell. How could she have not noticed it?

  What did I step in?

  Honor remembered wearing these last summer when she visited her grandparents’ farm. She hadn’t worn them since.

  “New boots?” Alyssa said to her in a way only a mean girl would.

  Jordyn and Taylor laughed. Then Honor remembered she’d walked through the stinkiest parts of the barn and never got around to cleaning her boots thoroughly—that’s why she hadn’t worn them in so long!

  The next day Honor tried again. She spent a long time trying to decide what to wear.

  “Honor! What are you doing in those high heels?” Ben said, laughing as he walked up to her.

  “What do you mean?” she said as she stumbled into the water fountain.

  “They look like the kind my mom wears,” Ben
said, staring at her shoes.

  Honor tried to ignore him and walked toward her locker.

  “And why are you wearing that thing around your neck?” Ben called out as she tried to escape him.

  “It’s a scarf.”

  “It’s not cold,” he said.

  “You obviously don’t know anything about fashion.”

  Honor could have said the same thing about herself. The scarf belonged to her mom, and Honor had found it in the hall closet.

  • • •

  By the time she sat down in her classroom seat, her face was bright red and she was sweating. The scarf was thick wool and felt like a heating pad around her neck. Then it began making her nose itch. All of a sudden came a loud “A-a-a-a-a-a-achoo!”

  Then Honor sneezed again. And again. And again.

  “Honor, are you okay?” Mr. Moser asked.

  “Yes, I’m fa-fa-fa-FACHOO!”

  The Wonder Triplets—Alyssa, Jordyn, and Taylor—turned around in their seats and laughed at her.

  “Bless you,” Alyssa said, but Honor felt anything but blessed.

  The heels and scarf went back in Honor’s backpack when she went to gym class. Honor was glad to be wearing her old tennis shoes. She didn’t know how anybody could wear heels.

  During gym class there was a special assembly—a pep rally for the volleyball and cross-country teams. The Wonder Triplets were on the cheerleading squad, of course. The squad stood in the middle of the football field while the rest of the students sat in the stands. Honor sat on the bottom bleacher with Ben and some other kids in her class.

  After the first cheer, the squad broke up into smaller groups for a lift routine. Three girls pulled another girl up on their shoulders, then the top girl held her arms in a high V, a victory pose. Alyssa was one of the girls they lifted. Just as Alyssa positioned herself on top, something happened.