Burnt Orange: Color Me Wasted

Chapter One

Suddenly my friends burst out laughing and, of course, I can't help but laugh too. I step away from the wooden podium and head over to the kitchen area to help Simi and Lisa set up. It's actually youth-group night at our church, and the three of us got here early because we're in charge of setting up snacks.

"You happy now that I fessed up?" I ask Simi Gartolini in my most sarcastic voice. Simi can take it. My best friend since middle school, she's been on my case all day long about this.

"Hey, I never accused you of being an alcoholic," she responds in a slightly defensive tone as she fills a bowl with cheese twists. "I only said I was concerned that you went to that party last night."

"Yeah," says Lisa Chan as she arranges soft-drink cans into a cooler full of ice. "What's up with that, Amber? You knew what those kids were up to. Everyone knows they're just a bunch of alkies."

I laugh at this absurdity. "Yeah, sure, Lisa. Everyone at that party is an alcoholic. Get real."

"Well, they're boozers," she retorts in that slightly superior tone. "You can't deny that."

"I think you guys are just jealous," I say, hoping I can change the subject from drinking to something a little more comfortable. "I think you're picking on me just because you two didn't get an invite to Tommy Campbell's party."

"Tommy Campbell's a snob and a moron." Simi makes a face as she pops a bright orange cheese twist into her mouth. "I don't even know why you think he's so cool anyway."

"Oooh," I say to Simi now. "Sounding pretty judgmental for a Christian, don't ya think?" Then I grab a bag of tortilla chips and attempt to open it, finally resorting to using my teeth to rip the stubborn plastic bag.

"I'm not judging. I just think God expects us to have some common sense when it comes to choosing friends," she says, "and I think your dad does too."

"Yeah," adds Lisa. "Going to that party was a dumb move, Amber. I mean, kids look up to us as Christians and we're supposed to be the leaders in youth group. Seriously, what's going to happen when word gets around that Amber Conrad, daughter of Pastor Conrad, is a beer-drinking party girl now?"

"Man, I never should've told you guys about it." I sigh loudly and roll my eyes. "Besides, like I already told you, I only had one beer and I didn't even drink the whole thing. Seriously, it's no big deal, okay? The only reason I was there at all was just so I could witness to Claire Phillips-"

"Yeah, you bet," says Simi. "That's a great idea, Amber-go to a drinking party, have a beer, and then witness to someone."

Lisa laughs. "Yeah, brilliant plan. Maybe you should share your strategy with the youth group tonight. Maybe we could take it to the bars."

Okay, now I'm feeling pretty defensive. I mean, what right do these two have to judge me and everyone else on the planet for that matter? Like, who died and made these two girls God?

"Whatever," I finally say as if I don't really care. "Think what you want about me." I use a slightly wounded tone, hoping to garner some pity, but then I hear the sound of voices coming down the hallway toward us and I know it's too late. "But hey," I say quickly, "it's not like you have to tell everybody in youth group about my sinful ways."

"You don't think they'll hear about it anyway?" asks Simi.

"I don't see how." Then I get more serious. "Come on, you guys," I plead, "don't make this into a big deal, okay? I mean, I trusted you with this. I thought you were my friends."

Simi smiles now. "Okay, Amber. My lips are sealed."

"Yeah, mine too," says Lisa, although she looks slightly smug. "You happy now?"

I shrug. "Hey, I appreciate it."

"But you can't blame us if the story leaks out anyway."

I know she's probably right. It's not like I can really keep a lid on the big news that I, Amber Conrad, a slightly nerdish pastor's kid, went to Tommy's party last night. I know as well as anyone how rumors can fly through the information mill at South Ashton, but usually the rumors are about someone else. I don't think there's ever been a rumor about me personally. Like, who would care? Of course, now that I'm a senior and graduation is only two months away, well, maybe I don't really care either. I mean, hey, maybe it's about time I did something worth talking about!

But as the room starts filling up with youth-group kids, I'm not so sure anymore. I mean, do I really want these guys to know what I was up to last night? These are church kids I have known for years-kids whose parents are close friends with my parents-and, for the most part, they're fairly nice kids. Now, I know that everyone has their problems and stuff and nobody's perfect, but these are the kinds of kids who really try to follow God and live their lives for his glory. And for the most part, they are my friends too. But the truth is, I'm actually thinking they're just a little bit boring right now. Maybe I think this more tonight than usual. Of course, I don't let this show. I know better than that.

Instead, I smile and say "hey" to everyone, just like always. I even compliment Tyler Addison on his haircut, although I honestly think it's way too short for his long and narrow head. In fact, he kind of looks like Homer Simpson right now. And I ask Laney Edwards if she's lost weight, and this makes her smile. The truth is, she looks heavier than ever, and that fuzzy hot-pink sweater isn't helping one bit.

Okay, I'll admit it: I'm a total hypocrite sometimes. But it's like I'm supposed to have this happy outlook on life all the time, like I'm supposed to make everyone feel good about themselves even if I'm telling a big fat lie. It's just how a pastor's family is supposed to act, you know?

Oh sure, my parents never actually say as much. In fact, I'm pretty sure my dad would deny he acts like that at all, which in my opinion is just another form of deceit. Okay, in defense of my well-meaning parents, I think maybe they actually sort of believe the outrageous things they say. It's like they've been doing it for so long that they can't even tell the difference between the truth and phony baloney.

Anyway, I've studied them over the years, and I've learned from them as they play their little feel-good game without ever thinking twice. They just smile and tell their little white lies and act like it's no big deal. And naturally, being a good daughter, I just follow their lead and do the same.

That's probably what had gotten Claire Phillips' attention last week. It looked like she was having a bad day, so I complimented her on her outfit, which, although I suspect by the labels was probably expensive, didn't really look that great on her. It actually made her look stockier than she is. Not that she's exactly chubby, but she's kind of short and compact-that curvy kind of compact that guys seem to appreciate, including her boyfriend, Tommy Campbell.

"Thanks, Amber," she said to me with a bright smile. Then she asked if I had my notes from English lit on me.

"Sure," I told her. "Do you want to borrow them? I noticed you missed class yesterday."

"Yeah, I was sick," she said. "But I don't want to get behind. Mr. Sorenson is hard enough on us as it is."

"Man, I know," I agreed. "He gave me a C for midterms."

"You got a C?" Her eyes grew wide.

"Yeah, and when I asked him why, he said it was to push me harder for the final grade. Can you believe it? I've really been trying to keep my GPA up."

"Man, that's harsh," she said as I handed her my notes. "I'll get these back to you in time for class," she promised.

I should know better than to loan out my notes, but for some reason, I trusted Claire-and all right, she's one of the most popular girls in our class and I wouldn't mind if she liked me better. So I was pleasantly surprised when she returned my notes, in perfect condition I might add, and then actually invited me to come to Tommy's party.

"I can invite whoever I want," she assured me as we walked into Mr. Sorenson's class. "So, I hope you'll come, Amber. I'd really like to see you there." Then she laughed. "And everyone knows Tommy's parties are the best."

I blinked and tried not to look too surprised, and then I told her I'd think about it. By the end of class, she'd already written down his address and phone number on a torn-off corner of notebook paper. "Here," she said. "Now, seriously, I want you to come, okay?"

"Okay," I said and then added, "I mean, I'll think about it."

"Good." She smiled. "Since there are only two months until graduation, I've been trying to get to know more kids, you know, so I'll know more people at our class reunions."

Now, I had to laugh at that. "I guess I haven't been thinking that far ahead," I admitted.

She grinned. "Well, maybe you should."

And that's how I ended up going to Tommy Campbell's party. And here's the truth: I actually had fun. And it wasn't boring at all. Claire was really nice to me, and then her other friends were fairly nice too. It's like everyone just really cut loose and had a great time. Sure, some kids drank too much and one girl even got sick and threw up in the pool, which really put a damper on swimming. But I didn't get drunk and I didn't get sick. Mostly, I just had an unexpectedly fun time. And, really, what's wrong with that? I mean, even Jesus drank wine with his friends. And wasn't his first miracle turning water into wine? So, seriously, what's the problem?

(Continues.)