1. The most non-conformist girl in our dormitory
2. Confidences, confessions, and advice
3. An intimate little gathering
4. Girl talk and a run-in with Standards
5. I just don't belong here

• (character chart)

1. Young Women's
2. Youth Conference
3. Saturday's Warrior
4. Brigham Young University
• Gratuitous Love Scene
5. Polygamist
6. Temple Wedding
7. Orem High
8. Bordeaux Mission
9. Exmo Conference

Friday Evening

The week sped by, and the next thing I knew I was getting ready to go up to Jake's uncle's cabin with Cindy and Amy. Cindy and Amy's Aunt Julie lent us her car, and Cindy drove us up following Jake's map.

When the three of us finally found the cabin, Jake was already there with his three friends: two guys and a girl. I hardly noticed the rather ordinary-looking guys next to the girl all decked out in goth. Her black hair and eye make-up, pale skin, black lips, black nails and silver rings and ankh pendant seemed pretty typical goth to me (although I've never been knowledgeable about it), but aside from being all black, her outfit seemed atypical. She was wearing kind of a flouncy (black) skirt over black stockings and black boots, and over a black leotard top, she had a cute little tight black jacket. To top it off, she had on a wide-brimmed hat with the brim folded up on one side -- in black again as you might guess.

Her outfit struck me as really cute and reminded me of how goth culture can be kind of internally conformist yet still give a lot of leeway for individuality. I immediately wanted to make friends with her, so as I approached to take a seat, I took off my hat to reveal my own non-conformist side.

The left side of my hair was slightly longer than stubble at this point, but the stark half-and-half thing was still startling.

"Wow, cool hair!" said the guy I soon learned was called Rex.

"Thanks," I said, affecting an air of cool confidence. "With all of the infinite possibilities, I was tired of always doing variants on the same old same old."

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We then proceeded with the usual introductions. The goth girl was named Paige, her boyfriend was named Ben, and the other guy introduced himself as Rex.

Settling into a worn armchair, I took a look around the room. The decor was unbelievable. There were antlers everywhere. Every wall had a series of plaques with antlers mounted on them. The stands of the lamps were also made from antlers. Aside from the antlers, though, the room was pretty standard. There was a set of comfy but sagging couches and chairs, covered with blankets, and a round rag rug in the center of the varnished wood floor. Some faded striped curtains parted to show a mountain landscape that was quickly being lost to the darkness outside.

"What's with all the antlers?" I asked to no one in particular.

"You know it's my uncle's hunting cabin," Jake replied.

"Ugh, it's awful!" said Paige. "What kind of person thinks dead animals are decorations?"

"My uncle, I guess," said Jake, smiling.

"At least there's not a whole deer head," said Amy. "That would really creep me out."

"Ah, Mormons and Mormon culture!" interjected Rex playfully.

At that I started to sink into my chair. I was trying to decide whether to criticize or defend Mormonism when Paige mercifully settled the question with a dramatic raise of her eyebrow.

"What about Mormons and their culture?" she asked. "Just because some of them are provincial rubes, doesn't mean they all are."

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