Chatty chatty boys got my friend in trouble

Dear Pastor,

I am 16 years old and I have two friends in the school that I am attending.

One of them did something very bad, and I told her that I would keep it as a secret. The other girls knew about it, too, and promised her that they would also keep it as a secret.

I am the youngest of the girls. We found out that one of our friends was having sex in school with some of the boys, and we told her that we would not report this to the dean of discipline. We knew that we should have, but we did not want her to be punished, and for her parents to become involved. But one of the boys who had sex with her told his friends about it. They spread it around the school, and word got to the principal.

The principal called our friend in and threatened to expel her. She denied what was said about her, and the principal called us in to tell her what we knew. We told the principal that these boys were troublemakers and because they knew that they could not use and abuse us, they try to spread rumours on us.

We convinced the principal that the boys were lying and our friend was not punished, but she was guilty of throwing herself around with the boys. One of the boys called her a whore and it affected her. Even to this day, we have nothing to do with this guy, although we have all graduated from the same school. We have kept ourselves together as friends, and it will always be so until we die.

V.P.

Dear V.P.,

You defended your friend although you knew she was being careless in school and that her character was not good. You gave your word to her that you would save her form being punished by the school administration. She will always remember what you have done. Some guys enjoy bashing women, finding faults and condemning women, failing to realise that everybody has shortcomings.

Some girls have learnt to control themselves, and others have not. Some bus drivers have their favourite girls in schools. That is why at the end of the day, certain girls wait on these buses. A girl must never make herself cheap; but these boys should do everything to protect their female colleagues. Good guys don't condemn girls who make mistakes; they try to protect them. You have tried to protect your female friend, and she will never forget it.

Pastor