Because I'm a Girl

Chapter 6

I was at the dining room table with my family. My mom had made pasta and we had scooped it onto our plates. My dad and brother already dug in due to their large appetites and I was poking my food with my fork, feeling nervous. I wanted to tell my family about my club and I was planning on doing it as we ate, but I was scared. I had no idea how they'd react.

"Eat while it's fresh," my mom scolded, frowning.

"I started a club," I blurted out, surprising all of them.

"Oh, that's awesome sweetheart," my dad said, grinning. "What's the club about?"

"It's a club about spreading awareness about the issues girls face," I answered. "I want people to know how hard it is to be a girl and I want to teach people to treat girls and guys as equals."

No one said anything to that, leaving me feeling uneasy. My mom, dad, and Aiden were staring at me as if I had grown a second head. None of them looked happy, leaving me disappointed.

"We live in the twenty-first century," Aiden said, frowning. "What do you mean issues girls face? I swear there's none."

Fuming at his words, I wanted to scream that he wouldn't understand because he was a boy, but I decided to remain calm. My mom hated when I argued with Aiden. She had a soft spot for him, so I learned to keep my mouth shut.

"Aiden is right," my mom said. "I don't understand why you created a club like this..."

"Yeah, sweetheart," my dad said, frowning. "You're free to do whatever makes you happy, but you should have created a different club. I don't see the point of this."

I knew I should have expected their reactions, but their words still hurt. No one understood what I had to face. Maybe things were better in the twenty-first century, but problems still existed. Those problems negatively impacted mine and other girl's lives, so I was going to spread awareness to change that. I didn't care if nobody supported me.

"I think I'm going to make a difference, so I'm happy with my decision to start this club," I said calmly. "Thank you for the unnecessary opinions."

An awkward silence followed my words, but soon Aiden cracked a joke. All of us laughed and we continued on to have a regular dinner, but their words were still in my heart. With their lack of support, I knew I had to make a difference. To prove them and anyone who thought I was being stupid wrong, I was going to work hard to spread awareness.

*****

No one new had joined the club. Will, Amy, Emily, Aria, and I were the only ones in the clubroom, but I didn't care. After my family's words, I was determined to expand my club.

"There's not a lot of us here and I want that to change," I said. "So today, we're going to go around promoting our club."

"How are we going to do that?" Amy asked, looking nervous.

"We'll start in the cafeteria." I smiled at her encouragingly, willing her to break out of her shell. "I'll give a speech and you guys should talk to random people and tell them what the purpose of our club is. Hopefully through that we'll convince some people to join."

"We'll have to be loud," Emily said. "We have to catch everyone's attention."

"Perfect, we'll do that now."

I hadn't planned anything and I wasn't sure of how we were going to promote the club, but I was burning with energy to expand my club. While my energy was high, I was determined to start recruiting people.

"Okay, let's go," I said.

"Wait, right now?" Will asked, surprised.

I nodded and turned around to leave. Aria was at my side, looking a bit confused, but she followed me confidently. Everyone else followed behind me and together, we went to the cafeteria.

The moment we entered the cafeteria, I was reminded of why I never ate lunch there. It was loud and packed, and hard to maneuver through. I pushed my way through cliques, earning me a few glares, and made my way to the one empty cafeteria table. Climbing it, I stood on top of it, and prepared myself to promote my club. Noticing my members stood in front of me, I grew more confident.

"Everyone!" I shouted. "I have something to say!"

A few people around us paused and glanced at us, but they went back to what they were doing a second later. I bit my lip, realizing it wasn't going to be easy to be heard. But, I wasn't going to give up.

"Let's all shout together," I told my club members. "Ready, set, go!"

"Everyone!" we screamed, finally catching everyone's attention.

The cafeteria fell silent as they all turned to face us, looking confused. I felt my heart skip a beat as I grew nervous from the hundreds of eyes on me. Freezing for a moment, I looked at the table the Gamer's Club sat at and saw Josh, who was staring at me. He raised an eyebrow, seeming to challenge me, and I became determined once again.

"I've started a club called I'm Proud of Who I am," I shouted. "Ever since I was born I've been treated unfairly, simply because I'm a girl. I've lost so many rights, I've been thought of as inferior, just because of the way I was born. Because of that, I decided to create a club to promote the idea that girls and boys are equal, and should be treated that way."

I took a deep breath in, feeling overwhelmed. No one was responding to what I was saying. Everyone was staring at me blankly, seeming uncaring. Blush rushed into my cheeks and growing embarrassed, I knew I had to wrap things up.

"We need more members and we're hoping some of you will join," I said. "Who's interested?"

The cafeteria remained silent. No one made any move to show they were interested in my club, which left me blushing harder. I stood where I was for a moment, wishing someone would react, but no one did. My eyes moved to where Josh was, unable to help it, and I watched as he shook his head, looking unimpressed. Shame washed over me.

I climbed off the table, feeling humiliated as a few guys began to snicker. Without a word I walked off and heard my club members follow me. None of them spoke, not even Aria, which left me knowing they were equally as embarrassed. The thought left me deflated.

I didn't know what to do. No one seemed to be taking my club seriously, which left me helpless as I wondered how I would promote my ideas. If no one could even take my club seriously, it was hopeless to think they'd take my words seriously.