Read Online Dare to Be Different by Nicole O'Dell - Free Book Online

just hard to be the odd one when your friends are having fun. Especially if it means you get teased.”
    “Yes, Linds, it is hard. That doesn’t change, even as you get older. But just remember a time when Jesus was teased and taunted by the people He thought were His friends. He didn’t waver or lose His focus, and He gave His life for those very people who were treating Him badly.”
    “All right, Mom, I’ll go to the sleepover. I wouldn’t really want to miss it, anyway. I just wasn’t sure what to do.”
    “You’ll be fine, Lindsay. I have faith in you.” She reached across the couch and gave her daughter a hug. Lindsay silently hoped that she would be able to live up to her mom’s faith in her.

    “I’m here!” Lindsay shouted, coming through the gate in the wooden fence and letting it swing shut behind her.
    Sam and Kelly were already in Kelly’s swimming pool and were having a great time splashing and trying to push each other under the water. Before they even had a chance to respond, Lindsay was already taking off her T-shirt and shorts to uncover the swimsuit she was wearing underneath. She set her bag down, laid her clothes across the back of a chair, and took off for the diving board. She walked out to the end, bounced a few times, and then jumped straight in. After a few seconds, her head popped out of the water, and she sputtered until her face cleared. As soon as she opened her eyes, she was assaulted with waves of water being splashed at her. Kelly and Sam were laughing hard as they attacked Lindsay. She fought back but to no avail. They pushed her under and then let her regain her footing.
    Laughing and soaking wet, the three girls got out of the pool and went over to the cooler that Kelly had brought outside for them. Each girltook a soda just as they heard a car door slam in the driveway. Macy had arrived. She came smiling into the backyard, looking fantastic. Her diet had really begun to pay off, and she was picture-perfect in her cute little two-piece swimsuit. “Wow, girl!” Kelly whistled as Macy pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. “You look great. Who are you trying to impress, though? Him?” Kelly pointed at her ten-year-old brother doing a cannonball off the diving board. They all ducked to avoid the splash and laughed at the suggestion.
    “Ha, ha, right!” Macy laughed. “But you never know who you might see.”
    “I could invite Tyler over for you,” Kelly suggested.
    “Hey, speaking of him,” Sam jumped in, “whatever happened after that phone call you made to his house last weekend?”
    “Oh … I don’t know …,” Macy coyly responded with a twinkle in her eye.
    “Come on. What haven’t you told us?” Kelly demanded.
    “Yeah, you’d better spill it,” Lindsay agreed.
    “Well, I don’t really have anything to report—unless you’d call the movie we’re going to go see Sunday afternoon a piece of information.” Macy laughed at their shocked expressions.
    “Are you kidding me?” Kelly shrieked.
    “You’re the first one of us to go on a date,” Sam pointed out.
    “Wow, I am so impressed,” Lindsay and Kelly said at the same time.
    “How did you ever get your parents to agree to let you go?” Lindsay wondered.
    “It’s an afternoon movie, his mom is driving us and picking us up, and it’s in a very public place. They really didn’t put up too much of a struggle.” Macy shrugged. “Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are.”
    “But the important question is, what are you going to wear?”
    “Good question, Kelly. I was going to talk to you about that later. I was hoping you’d let me raid your closet since most of my clothes are too big for me now and they aren’t really date-type clothes.”
    “Oh definitely! We’ll figure that out later tonight. For now, let’s get to working on that tan of yours.” Kelly’s brother had gone inside, so thepool was calm and just waiting for them to come back in. They each grabbed a raft and