Meadow Valley book series- Everything's changed

Chapter 52: Coming out of her shell

     Ana had told Jess about the teen Sunday school class at church and begged her to go with her. Ana's mother was excited that she was finally starting to be eager to go to church again because the past few weeks they had to force her to go. As they arrived to church, Ana had looked around to see if she could find Zach.

     Mrs. Grant walked Ana and Jess to the teen class and introduced them to the church youth pastor and his wife. Pastor Bob and his wife Debbie led the teen class and were very happy to finally be able to meet Ana and Jess. The girls had arrived a little bit early so there was only three other kids in the class when they came in. As usual, Jess went over and introduced herself to everyone and left Ana standing there all alone. Ana was not very social in group settings. She was usually very shy at first until she got to know the person.

     After a few minutes of just awkwardly standing and staring at everyone, Ana noticed her friend Elisabeth and Amanda walking through the door. Ana was very happy to see someone that she knew and greeted Elisabeth with a smile. She was also very uneasy around Amanda. Especially since she has been hanging around Zach a lot lately. Ana knew that Amanda had a thing for Zach and would probably be very Jealous of her if she knew about the two of them.

     Amanda walked right by Ana, not even acknowledging her. The other girls that Jess was talking to must have been friends with Amanda because she walked right over and started talking to them. Jess's friend Amy from next door also came into the class. Amanda glanced over at Ana a few times and just rolled her eyes as if she was saying something about her to the girls. Ana was impressed that there were so many teens at the church. She was still nervously waiting for Zach to arrive as she just sat down and talked with her friend Elisabeth. A few more kids came in right as they were about to start and joined them. Altogether there was about eighteen to twenty teens in the class including Ana.

     Pastor Bob had opened up in prayer and then he welcomed the new girls Ana and Jess. He had them stand up and say their names and what grade they were in. Jess stood up first and proudly announced to everyone who she was and she even said a few extra things about herself. Ana felt like all eyes were on her when it was her turn to speak and she was extremely nervous. She didn't want to stand up and her heart was beating so fast from the pressure. As she stood up and stared at everyone in the room, she barely got the chance to mutter out the words when Zach came walking in the door.

"Her name is Ana Gonzalez. And she's going to be a senior at our school."

     Zach looked over at Ana and gave her a wink and a smile. He had been standing by the door when Pastor Bob had made the announcement and just watched the girls stand and introduce themselves. When Zach noticed that Ana was biting on her bottom lip, he knew that she was nervous and chimed in to help her. Zach came over and plopped down in the empty seat next to Ana.

     Amanda looked like she wanted to scream with complete jealousy and gave Ana an evil glare. She wondered why Zach was sitting next to Ana and not by her. Amanda knew that Zach had been acting strangely towards her ever since Ana moved into town. He wasn't answering any of her phone calls and blowing her off every chance they came in contact. She was determined to find out what was going on between Ana and Zach. Ana could feel the uneasy tension between her and Amanda. She had never meant to cause any friction or fight over a guy. That was the main reason why she was fighting the thought of liking Zach in the first place.

     Pastor Bob was really funny and entertaining as he tried to act out the Bible stories. After class was over he wanted to be sure to speak with Ana and Jess. Zach was talking to Ana, Jess and Elisabeth when Pastor Bob approached them.

"Zach why don't you tell the new girls all about our youth group on Wednesday nights."

"Yeah the youth meet at the church every Wednesday night at 7:30pm. You both should come sometime. I could even pick you up if you want?"

     Zach was eager to spend as much time with Ana as possible. Even if it was at church. Zach used to attend the youth group regularly but this past year he had only been there sporadically. Pastor Bob could tell that Zach, along with several of the other teen boys, were a little infatuated with the new girls. He thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get Zach and his friends to commit to attending the youth group. Zach was a leader and very influential. If he attended youth group then several other teens would be sure to follow him.

"I heard that your family was in ministry back in Miami. I sure hope that you like it here in Meadow Valley. I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. If you ever need to talk my wife and I are always a phone call away."

     He looked sadly at Jess and Ana as he spoke and then turned and walked away. He wanted to be sure to give them a little space and not be too pushy. The girls just nodded their heads and said thank you as he walked away.