Free Jenny Pox (The Paranormals, Book 1) by JL Bryan Page A

even showed adults like Principal Harris a thing or two.” The girls who’d been part of the anti- Harry Potter campaign applauded and whistled. “And I think we should be very proud of ourselves.  Why don’t you give yourselves some applause, just for being here?”
The girls clapped and cheered for their own wonderful selves.
    “ This year, the national Cool Crusaders ministry in Sacramento is focusing on a very major subject: teen abstinence.  First, who here has signed the Crusaders Abstinence Pledge?” She raised her left hand and tapped the silver band with her thumb.
    About half the girls raised their left hands, wearing the same ring.
    “Is that all?” Ashleigh put on a look of dismay. “What are the rest of you thinking?  Don’t you want to commit yourselves to doing the right thing?”
    Some of the other girls nodded.
    “Good.” Ashleigh winked at Shannon McNare, a junior who held a stack of Cool Crusader Abstinence Pledge certificates, printed from the Cool Crusader website on canary paper.  Shannon passed them out, while another girl passed around a plastic cup full of pens. 
    “ Shannon is our Abstinence Coordinator.  Each of you should sign the Pledge and give it to Shannon, along with fifteen dollars cash.  I’ll mail it all in, and you’ll get your own abstinence ring in two to four weeks.  Just ask your parents for the money.  Believe me, they’ll pay up for abstinence.” The girls laughed.
    “ I want every one of you to sign this pledge and turn it in to Shannon by the beginning of the main Cool Crusaders meeting next week.  This is important, because we’re going to have a special mission next week.  I want each of you to pick out a boy Crusader, and next week we’re going to break out into pairs, boy and girl, to talk about abstinence, why it’s important, and all the temptations involved.  I expect each of you to get your boy to sign the Pledge and order a ring.”
    Many of the girls, probably a majority of them, looked horrified at the idea. She tried to calm them down. “Now, I know this may sound challenging, but it is a challenge, to build your courage and confidence as a woman.  We ladies have to be leaders on this issue, and trust me, boys will listen if you tell them you want to talk about sex.” The looks of fear turned to laughter. “Teens leading teens—that’s the whole point of Cool Crusaders.  And I want every Cool Crusader in this church, guys and girls, wearing an abstinence ring to the Halloween Lock-In.
    “Now,” Ashleigh said, “Let’s hear some reasons we are committed to abstinence.”  A few girls raised their hands.  Whatever any girl said, Ashleigh wrote it on the whiteboard, approving of all suggestions.  She made a long list of bright purple words like GOD, PURITY, PARENTS, PREGNANCY, HEALTH, OUR FUTURE, and SELF-RESPECT.  When the group was all tapped out, Ashleigh gave them a big smile.
    “ These are all great reasons,” Ashleigh said.  “I’m glad everybody’s so fired up on this subject.  Now, there’s one thing nobody mentioned, one you may not know about.  And this one is a very big secret.” Ashleigh looked at the closed door, as if expecting spies and eavesdroppers.  “I don’t want any of you talking about it outside this room.  Raise your hand if you promise to keep this secret.”
    Every girl raised her hand.
    “Okay.” Ashleigh used her stage-whisper voice, the one that made a whole crowd feel like Ashleigh was taking them into her confidence, cutting them in on the real dirt.  It was almost magical, the effect that voice had on a crowd. “Here’s the secret, and I want you each to think about it.  Every guy you meet—except maybe in your family—all of them want to have sex with you.  They’ve all thought about it.  They might be thinking about it right now.”
    Some of the girls, especially the middle schoolers, looked at each other with big, frightened eyes.  There was much whispering and