by Robin Caroll
Finishing the cheer, Sam did a toe-touch, then a cartwheel. She moved into her ready position but watched the new girl from the corner of her eye. She couldn’t remember the girl’s name. All Sam could recall was that she was in eighth grade and had just transferred to Robinson last month.
The Senators scored another touchdown. Sam grabbed her poms and fell into the dance with the squad as the band loudly played the fight song.
A transfer student would have to go through the counselor’s office for scheduling. Sam smiled as she finished the routine and tossed her poms on the ground. She’d have to remember to ask Makayla about this girl who still threw knives at Nikki with her stare.
Sam thought about the note Nikki got. About the specific wording. Fatty. A girl would know that calling another girl that name would be really hurtful.
Yes, Sam would definitely ask Makayla about the new girl.
Saturday morning dawned bright, promising to be a hot day. Sam was more than ready for this day to get started. Nothing was better than spending the weekend with her best friend, unless it was spending the weekend with her best friend at Magic Springs/Crystal Falls in nearby Hot Springs.
“Ready, Sam?” Dad called out.
She gave Chewy a final rub, then handed the dog a new rawhide bone to keep her busy until they returned that evening. Sam grabbed her beach bag and headed to the living room. “All ready.”
Dad chuckled as he took the bag from her. “Did you remember the sunscreen?”
“Of course.” She headed to the garage. “Did you remember to oil or whatever the garage door?”
“I did. This morning. While I had to wait on you.” He unlocked the truck and tossed the beach bag into the backseat.
She quickly sent Makayla a text to let her know they were on their way.
The drive took less than fifteen minutes. After putting Makayla’s stuff inside the bag, both girls crawled into the backseat of the king cab pickup truck, starting a gabfest for the forty-five minutes it would take to get to the amusement/water park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Dad turned on the sports talk radio station he loved.
“Bet you were way excited that we won last night.” Makayla took a sip from her water bottle. “I’m still bummed Mom wouldn’t let me go to the game.”
“Yeah, what’s up with her lately?”
“Dunno. At least she’s not still on her homeschooling idea.”
Sam shifted so she was a little closer to Makayla, and she lowered her voice. “Speaking of school . . .”
“What?” Makayla put on her what are you going to ask me to do now look.
“You know that new eighth grade girl that transferred in? I can’t remember her name, but she transferred in after being expelled from another school.”
Makayla nodded. “Felicia Adams.”
Sam smiled. “Yeah. Her.” She glanced at her dad in the rearview mirror. Good, his attention was on the curves of Congo-Ferndale Road and the radio. He wasn’t wild about Sam being so nosy. As if he should be surprised. Hello, he was a detective and Mom an investigative reporter. “What’s her story?”
“Why the sudden interest?” Makayla did the freaky eyebrow thing of hers, where she only raised one of them. That always wigged Sam out, and Mac knew it.
Sam shrugged, hoping she pulled off the casual look she aimed for. “Just curious.”
“Samantha,” Makayla growled, but kept her voice low enough that Dad wouldn’t hear.
“I just saw her staring at Nikki last night at the game. It was more of a glare, really. I thought maybe she might be considered a suspect.”
Makayla went silent.
“Mac?”
“Well, I’m really not supposed to say anything about what I see or hear in the counselor’s office . . .”
So there was more to Felicia’s story. “Come on, Mac. I’m trying to help Nikki here.”
“According to her records, she was expelled from Central Arkansas Christian for fighting. Mrs. Creegle said she’s bitter about having to attend a public school and not being allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities.”
“Really?”
Makayla nodded. “Apparently, she’d been a cheerleader and on the yearbook and newspaper staff at CAC, but when she got expelled, her parents told her she couldn’t do any of that.”
“And she got expelled for fighting?” In the public schools that would get you suspended but not expelled.
“It wasn’t her first offense, from what I recall.”
“Oh.” That would do it. “So now school is a kind of punishment to her?”
“Yeah. I thought it was a little harsh, but Mrs. Creegle made notations that Felicia had some very serious discipline issues as well as attitude problems,” said Makayla.
Sounded just like the type of person who’d bully someone.
Sam replayed what she’d seen last night in her mind. Felicia had glared at Nikki but had stared romantically at Thomas Murphy, who stared adoringly at Nikki. “You know, she might like Thomas Murphy, who I think has a crush on Nikki.”
Makayla nodded. “Oh, he does. He tried to get his classes rearranged so he’d have more with Nikki. Of course, Mrs. Creegle didn’t change his schedule.”
“So, on top of just being mad at the world, Felicia could also be jealous of Nikki because of Thomas, right?”
“I guess.”
Jealousy could make a girl really mean. Mean enough to send ugly notes and texts.
“Hey girls, we’re almost there. You have your passes ready?” Dad announced as he steered the truck off the interstate.
“Yep, we have them,” Sam answered.
“It’ll probably be packed since this is the last weekend it’s open,” Dad said.
“Until Magic Screams,” Sam said. She loved the haunted houses the park put together. Epically scary.
Makayla shook her head. “I can’t go there. The clowns!” She covered her face. “I’ll never go again.”
“Come on, Mac. They weren’t that scary.” But Sam had to admit, they were really, really creepy. Last year’s clown maze of madness nearly had her screaming and running behind her best friend.
“They were too.” Makayla shuddered. “I hate clowns. Always have.”
“A lot of people are frightened of clowns,” Dad said as he pulled in line to park. “I’m not sure why, but it’s fairly common. It’s called coulrophobia.”
“Are you serious, Dad?”
“I am. So many people are scared of clowns that they named the phobia.”
“Because clowns are just plain disturbing,” Makayla said.
Sam laughed. “You’re disturbing.”
“Yeah, because you’re disturbing me.”
In just a few minutes, Dad had the truck parked, and they were on their way to the front entrance. The sun shone hot without a hint of a breeze. It still felt like summer.
After having their passes scanned and pushed through the turn stall, the girls rushed to the amusement park side, heading right for the big rides, namely the Gauntlet, Sam’s favorite roller coaster. The big, yellow, metal ride had twists, turns, and loops — all while racing at over fifty miles per hour!
Sam tugged Mac’s hand. “Come on.”
Dad trailed at a much slower pace, carrying the refillable Magic Springs cups.
Mac rode the roller coasters with Sam, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed it. It just proved what an awesome best friend she was. She stared at the line. “Do you see how long that line is? What, did everybody and their brother come out for the last weekend?”
Sam laughed and skipped to the end of the line. “I know it’s long, but all the lines are gonna be that way. Just hang tough, okay?”
She grudgingly followed Sam, even though it was obvious she’d prefer not. “The line to the X-coaster is probably shorter. Why don’t we go there first?”
“Come on, Mac. You just want to start off there because the ride is so much shorter.” Sam tugged her into the line. “We’ll go there next.�
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“We’ve ridden these rides so many times, I don’t see why we can’t just go straight to the water park. I want to go down the toilet bowl slide.”
Sam shuddered. She didn’t like the toilet bowl part of the slide. Something about swirling around a big, dark tub with water whooshing around wasn’t the most fun for Sam, but she rode the big water slides because Mac loved them. “What did you bring for lunch?”
“A green salad, carrot and celery sticks, and grapes. You?”
Mac always ate so healthy. Not Sam. She liked real food. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Cheetos, and a banana.”
The line moved up as another full load of screamers took off on the adventure of the Gauntlet.
“Hey, did you see this morning’s paper?” Makayla asked.
“No, why?” What had she missed? Being a newswoman herself, Sam normally read the newspaper cover to cover every morning before school and church. This morning, she’d been so excited about the trip that she hadn’t had time to look at the daily paper. She needed to make sure from now on that she allowed herself plenty of time. What kind of wannabe editor didn’t even read the paper in the morning?
“There was an article in the business section about the layoffs at Hewlett Packard in Conway.” Makayla shook her head. “About five hundred people have lost their jobs. Some of them have been there forever. Mom said in this economy, they might not find anything.”
“Oh, man.” Sam couldn’t imagine what that would be like for a family. Her mom’s reputation would pretty much allow her to keep her career going as long as she wanted. And Dad did a great job for the police department.
The roar of the roller coaster made the ground tremble as the car jerked to a stop.
Makayla took a step forward as the line moved. “Yeah. Mom’s friend’s husband was one of the ones laid off. She asked Mom to pray for them because they aren’t going to be able to afford their house anymore and are having to move a family of five into an apartment.”
“That’s harsh.” Five people in one apartment? Even if it was a two- or three-bedroom, it would still be very crowded.
Screams filled the air as the Gauntlet’s riders were twisted and spun upside down.
“You know Melanie Olson, right?” Makayla asked. “It’s her dad.”
Sam vaguely recognized the name. “She’s in eighth grade, isn’t she?”
Makayla nodded. “Her mom told mine that she’s not handling it very well. Mom asked me to go out of my way to be nice to her. The whole family’s having a really rough time.”
Having to move from a house to an apartment — that would be rough. Taking two steps, Sam fell in behind the twosome in front of the line. The next Gauntlet turn, she and Mac would be on the ride and able to sit in her favorite place — right up front.
Wait a minute. The plant. “Hey, doesn’t Mrs. Cole work at Hewlett Packard?” Man, if she lost her job on top of going through a divorce, Jefferson being hurt, and Nikki being bullied, that’d be terrible.
Makayla nodded as the Gauntlet came to a stop in front of them, the riders all talking and making it impossible for Sam to hear her until they exited. Sam jumped into the seat as soon as the attendant said they could. Mac followed.
“Nikki’s mom is the one who had to do all the laying off,” Makayla said. “I feel so sorry for her.”
Sam’s heart raced as the hard harness came down, but the anticipation and excitement for the ride wasn’t the reason. “Does Melanie know Nikki’s mom was the one who laid off her dad?”
“I guess. From what her mom told mine, Melanie is aware of everything. Why?” Makayla gripped the sides of the harness as the attendant gave the thumbs-up to the ride operator.
“Because if Melanie blames Nikki’s mom, then she could be the one sending nasty messages to Nikki in retaliation.”
Makayla didn’t have a chance to reply before the Gauntlet pinned them to their seats as it picked up speed. But just before Sam let herself go with the thrill ride, she made a mental note to try to find out how Melanie felt about Nikki Cole.
Sam’s stomach freefell to her toes.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
CHAPTER FIVE
This was awesome!
Sam couldn’t believe she’d already heard back from the anti-bullying group she’d emailed Friday after school. They’d sent her several attachments of information. Scads of it. The director who emailed said she’d be happy to come talk to the school if the counselor would call her, and she’d even be happy to help set up a “no bullying” group of students.
That would just make Nikki madder than mad. She wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening, but Sam knew things wouldn’t get better on their own. Sam couldn’t just ignore the reality.
“Sam, if you don’t hurry it up, we’re going to be late for Sunday school,” Dad hollered.
She couldn’t help that she’d gotten so distracted reading the facts on bullying. “Coming.” She shut her laptop and grabbed her iPad. She preferred her electronic version of the Bible. Chewy jumped off the foot of her bed and led the way into the hall.
Minutes later, she climbed into the front seat and clicked her seatbelt. Dad started the truck and immediately turned the air conditioner on high. “Mom said she’d FaceTime you tonight,” he said. “If all goes well, she thinks she can grab a flight home tomorrow.”
“Cool.” She missed her mom but loved that her mom was a semi-famous journalist. It was one of the reasons Sam had gotten interested in becoming a journalist herself. Thinking about her mom got her to thinking about Melanie. “Hey, Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you hear about all those layoffs at the Hewlett Packard factory in Conway?”
He nodded. “Pretty sad stuff. Lots of people lost their jobs.” He cut his gaze to her for a moment. “Why? Did one of your friends’ parents lose a job?”
“A girl I know at school. Her dad lost his job, and they can’t afford their house anymore so they have to move into an apartment. She’s pretty upset.”
“I can understand that. Wouldn’t you be put out if we had to sell our house?”
“Of course.”
“There are a lot of people downsizing to more affordable homes.” He looked at her as he stopped the truck at a red light. “We really need to be sensitive to their situation, as well as pray for everyone involved.”
She nodded. “You don’t think it was one person’s decision to lay all those people off, do you?”
“Oh, of course not. Decisions like that are made by the company’s board of directors. People who don’t even live in Little Rock.”
So it wasn’t Mrs. Cole’s decision to lay off everyone. Melanie shouldn’t be mad at Nikki’s mom, because it wasn’t her fault. Even if she was the one who actually told everyone they were laid off. But maybe Melanie didn’t understand all that.
Dad parked the truck and turned off the engine. Sam was out in a flash. “See you after Sunday school,” she told Dad before running toward the youth room, iPad under her arm.
West Little Rock Christian Church stood off Cantrell/Highway 10, drawing attention with its beautiful and oversized stained glass front. Sam didn’t know how old the church was, but she’d been attending since she was born. It was like a second home to her.
Sam ran down the hallway toward the youth room where Ms. Martha held Sunday school, anxious to tell Makayla what Dad had said about Nikki’s mom and the layoffs. She also wanted to tell her about the anti-bullying group.
“Slow down, Samantha Sanderson,” a familiar woman’s voice rang out.
Sam skidded to a more sedate speed. “Sorry, Mrs. Kirkpatrick.”
“What are you in such a hurry for?” The woman’s pinched-looking face matched her nasally voice. Her beaked nose held her thick glasses in front of her eyes. She’d always given Sam a bit of the creeps.
“I just don’t want to be late to Sunday school.” Sam shifted her weight from one foot to the other, knowing it would be rude for her just t
o run off, but she really didn’t want to stand there and have a conversation.
“Humph. Maybe you should leave a little earlier.” Mrs. Kirkpatrick crossed her arms over her big chest.
No sense explaining. “Yes, ma’am.” Sam flashed a big, fake grin. “Well, I’d better hurry along. You have a great day, Mrs. Kirkpatrick.”
“You, too, dear.”
Mrs. Kirkpatrick’s smile didn’t crack her face. Sam turned and rushed toward the youth room, careful not to run and get called out again. She slipped inside, passing Ms. Martha and a group of kids and headed straight for Makayla.
“Running late again?” Makayla asked, grinning.
“Don’t go there. Mrs. Kirkpatrick just got on to me.” Sam collapsed into the chair beside her best friend.
Makayla chuckled. “Running in the hall again?”
Sam nodded. “Hey, did you know there are like a gazillion forms of bullying?”
“Really?”
“Well, there are really only three main types: physical, verbal, and emotional, but there are a bunch of forms under that. Like cyber bullying, disability bullying, racial bullying . . . and a lot more I can’t remember.”
Makayla’s chocolate eyes widened. “I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah. And did you know that all the schools in our district are supposed to participate in the Bully Proofing program?”
Makayla shook her head. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“Me either, but we should have.” Before Sam could say anything more, Ms. Martha moved to the front of the room while the rest of the kids took seats.
“Good morning,” Ms. Martha said. “Let’s open with prayer.”
Everyone bowed their heads, and Ms. Martha prayed for them, the church, and the community, then started the Lord’s Prayer for everyone to join together.
“Amen.” Ms. Martha smiled across the group. “Today, I want to talk a little bit about Psalm 34:12–14. Turn to that in your Bible. Who wants to read it aloud for us?”
Sam tapped the Bible app on her iPad and typed in the Scripture reference.
