Free Risky Business by Nicole O'Dell

Dad said.
    Her mom gave her a hug. “Congratulations,
    Moll. Those people sure think highly of you. Keep up the good work.”
    Ugh. They do think highly of me
. Molly’s stomach flipped as the image of Kim handing over the Bounty Bucks flashed through her mind.
Nope, not going to go there
. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Thanks, you guys. Now, I have some homework to do. I’m still working on bringing up that biology grade after that test I bombed.”
    “That sounds like a great plan—we’d hate to see you have to quit after such a great accomplishment. Off you go!” Her mom waved her magazine toward the stairs.
    “A rolling stone gathers no moss!” Her dad called up the stairs.
    Molly and her mom both groaned.

    Molly slipped her corduroy jacket on over her lace-trimmed tank top and pulled on knee-high leather boots.
Wow. That’s a long way from my usual T-shirt, jeans, and running shoes
. She ran some smoothing serum through her thick hair, hoping to tame the flyaways, and then swiped some gloss across her lips. She bent down to grab her book bag on the way out of her room.
    Flanked by Sara and Jess, each wearing a screen-print tee and jeans, she walked into school a little while later. She felt like a million bucks.
Thud
. Her heart sank when she saw Kim and Jade leaning against the wall near the girls’ restroom. They had on some of their new clothes and just stood there watching her. They didn’t smile, nod, or say a single word.
Creepy. I’m going to have to keep my eye on them. If only I could go back
.
    Jess must have seen her watching them. “Don’t mind them. What could they do to you anyway?”
    Molly groaned. “They could get me fired. They could threaten to get me fired so I would give them more stuff. They could get me into trouble here at school by spreading rumors…. Oh, there’s a lot they could do.”
    “I wish we’d been a lot smarter and told you not to get mixed up with them,” Jess lamented.
    “Tell me about it. Too late now, though.” Molly sighed. She was stuck.
    “Yeah. They’re trouble. Just steer clear of them. Maybe they’ll leave you alone now.” Sara brightened.
    “Ever the optimist, Sara.” Molly chuckled.
    “Oh well. What’s done is done. I can’t worry about it. I’ll have to deal with whatever else they do as it comes up. I’ll just pray they stay far away.”

Chapter 8
ALL FOR ONE
    Oh, my bed
. Approaching the church Sunday morning, Molly longed to be back home rolling around in her covers. Even the appearance of the church annoyed her unless she was going there for youth group. Stained glass windows on every side, deep mahogany wood floors and walls, beams on the ceiling, an organ with floor-to-ceiling pipes that the organist sure wasn’t afraid to use, a choir of one hundred people in gold robes. The whole thing was all very regal and rich, which, to Molly, meant stodgy and impersonal. Least favorite to her were the long, entrapping, purple-velvet padded pews. She shuddered just thinking of sitting in one of those coffins.
    She thought back over some of the churches she had visited last summer when they did a local missions trip visiting various area churches to help them with service projects. Some of those churches were nowhere near as stately but were far more personal. She felt closer to God amid the casual spirits of the people who encouraged individuality and freedom of expression than amid hymns and repetitious prayers.
    Molly looked at her mom and dad in their Sunday best—Mom in a dress with pantyhose on and Dad in a suit and tie. They thrived on the traditions and constantly argued that no contemporary song could even come close to the majesty of an old hymn. Perhaps they were right—if majestic music was what you were looking for. Maybe she didn’t know what she was looking for, exactly.
    Molly sidled into one of the pews with her parents beside her on the right. She tried to scoot all the way to the other end so she’d have