The Same Mistakes Club

Chapter Twenty

It got to the point where I had no idea how many girls would be meeting at my house on Saturday night. Sure, a lot of them had said they were coming. According to Margaret, Mordecai's girlfriend, Marcelina, had even dumped him just so she could attend. He, in turn, was getting his own ride to school. I felt torn - I didn't want Mordecai's heart to be broken, but if Marcelina was going to dump him over something like the Club, odds were that the relationship wasn't a keeper anyway.

"Is everything all right, kiddo?" Mum asked me, right before all the girls arrived. Dad had gone out without her since she was getting over a cold. "If you're worried that I'm going to get in your way, don't worry about a thing. I've got my tea and paper and I'll keep quiet in my room."

"I'm fine, Mum. I'm just a little worried about how many people are showing up tonight."

"Alissa Elizabeth, your father and I are so proud of you, so don't worry about how many people show up. Kendal Boris was in for her cleaning today, and she was telling me what a hit you and your One Direction Club are at school."

"Mum, I keep -"

"I know, I know." She threw her hands up. "I'm still proud of you, baby."

The doorbell rang and I headed over to open the door.

"You just go to your room and feel better," I called after her as she headed to her bedroom.

Margaret and Maishely were the first to arrive.

"Tonight is going to be so much fun!" Maishely said.

I looked past them and saw a stream of cars pulling up.

Marissa and Kiara brought Sierra Lindquiston and Adriana Arabian with them. Julie Hale and Kayla Bayber parked behind them in Julie's truck.

"Hey guys - come on in."

R

We headed downstairs and the doorbell rang again - Natalia Raina, Penny Bloomberg, Rita Trayy, and Janette Vargas.

Then again - Jaycee Memmott and Kendal Boris, with seniors Kaylie Glenton and Daniela Ralowski.

And again - Mordecai's now ex-girlfriend, Marcelina, Jacky Gonzales, and Aileen Cather - the freshmen contigent.

And again - Melany and Pride, with Kylee Flist rounding everything out.

I got to the basement and couldn't believe that there were over twenty girls from Isabelling sitting there - freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

Everybody was staring at me. It hit me. They were expecting me to say something. I'd thought we'd just watch a movie or something and eat pizza.

"All right, Alissa!" Natalia shouted and started applauding. The whole room erupted. What had I started? I turned around expecting to see that some celebrity had walked into the room.

"Shhhh! Let Alissa speak!"

Who said that? I had no idea what people were expecting. I opened my mouth and prayed for the best.

"Thanks, thanks for coming. Um, I'm a little surprised by the turnout. I'm not sure what everybody came here expecting, but..."

I looked at Maishely and Margaret for help, and they were smiling at me. I could ttell that they had faith in me. I wished I did.

"I really don't know why everybody decided to come this evening. I guess all I can tell you is why I'm here - well, except for the fact that I live here." Everybody laughed as I took a deep breath. "To be honest, I'm just tired of it all. The games... guys... everything. I doubt that there is a single girl among us who hasn't obsessed about whether that guy is going to call, or if we're going to have a date to go to a party. And because of the pressure to go to this and that with a guy, we settle for someone who isn't worth our time.

"And then when we do find someone we think is special, we forget about our friends." I tried not to look at Maishely. "Or we change something about ourselves to please a guy instead of doing what makes us happy or what we know is right.

"Why do we do this? Why do we even bother?"

I felt my nerves subside as I saw every girl in the room nodding in agreement.

"I know some people will think that I'm being pessimistic - but seriously, let's examine the male population of Isabelling, shall we?" Laughter filled the room. "It's not like we have a huge wealth of decent guys to choose from!"

A few people cheered, "Hear! Hear!"

"Now, I'm not saying that we have to give up guys for the rest of our lives. I'm not that crazy. But I feel that we shouldn't settle, that I want to spend the last two years at Isabelling having fun with my friends. Guys can only mess with that.

"If you look around you, you'll see that there is an amazing group of people here tonight, a perfect support system. We can do anything if we stick together. We just have to believe in ourselves. And we deserve whatever we want. If one of us needs help with a test, we should be there for that person. If one of us wants to pursue our dreams, no matter what anybody else seems to think of it" - I winked at Maishely - "we will be there for that person.

"So all we're asking is that members put themselves and their friends before some guy. Every Saturday night, we have a standing date with one another. We need to be here for one another to remind ourselves how special we are.

"And the best part? We don't have to put up with any more crap from guys!"

Kiara stood up. "To Alissa!"

"No," I protested. "This isn't about me, it's about us. To The Same Mistakes Club!"

The room went up in loud cheers. Maishely went over to the stereo and put on the only guys allowed at the meeting: One Direction.

"You know, Alissa," Maishely said to me over the music. "Had I known that getting dumped would be such a positive influence on everyone else, I would've had Gabriel dump me a long time ago."

I started laughing. I had no idea if it was the high I was on from the Club, the music, or just Maishely's sense of humor, but for some reason that was the funniest thing I had ever heard.

"What are you two dying over?" Margaret asked, rocking her hips back and forth to the music. She smacked her hips into mine, and I almost fell over. "Do you have any idea what you've started, Miss Alissa Madison? We've single-handedly changed the social structure at Isabelling High. You know what this means?"

I'd never thought about it that way. "What?"

She smiled. "Well, if we thought guys were jerks before this, you can guarantee they will be staying miles away from us now."

The three of us looked at each other before we started laughing again.

If this was what it was going to be like being single for the rest of my high school existence, I wasn't going to mind at all.