by Karen Rispin
She shook even harder and started crying again. I wished Mom and Daddy were there.
Mr. Jackson was waiting on the dock. Tianna was still shaking so hard that he and the boatman had to practically lift her out.
As soon as they let go of her, she shied away from Mr. Jackson.
"I didn't mean to break her arm," Tianna blurted to Mr. Jackson. "Really, I didn't mean to break Sabrina's arm."
"Let's get you back to school and clean you up," he said. "We can talk about this later—"
"No!" I broke in. "Mom and Daddy are coming. I called them." I felt odd and shaky.
"I guess we'll have to stay and wait for them," he said, not sounding very pleased.
"They're not coming until tomorrow," Tianna said, hugging herself like she was cold.
"No, I didn't tell you…" I started, then it hit me—maybe Tianna wouldn't have run from Mr. Jackson if she'd known Mom and Daddy were coming today. When would I ever learn to tell the whole truth? "They said they would come and we all could stay here tonight," I said. "They're on their way now."
Then I noticed the boatman waiting. We hadn't thanked him or paid him for using the boats or anything.
"Asante! Asante sana!" I said to him, which means "Thank you very much."
Mr. Jackson was pulling out his wallet when Tianna suddenly said, "I can pay him."
She stuffed her hand into her soaking wet pocket, and blurted, "Hey! My money's gone!" She paused. "I had it when I was down by the dock. It must have fallen out by the crocodile."
"By the crocodile?" asked Mr. Jackson, turning from paying the boatman.
"I'm not going back there. The crocodile can keep it," said Tianna, and we all laughed.
The boatman had seen Tianna come up emptyhanded, and I didn't think that the money would be lost long. Good, I thought. I hope he finds all of that money. He's a nice man.
"I have to hear this story," Mr. Jackson said, looking at us, his eyebrows raised. "But first, Tianna, you go into the hotel washroom and clean up. I can't afford to have you getting sick. There are parasites in that water that are at least as bad as crocodiles."
His eyebrows went up again when I told him we had already booked a hotel room. "What parasites?" Tianna demanded as she shucked off her wet clothes in our hotel room.
"Bilharzia or something, and amoeba, and stuff," I said. "They're like little worms that get into you from the water and make you sick."
"Gross!" Tianna screeched and ran for the bathtub.
Chapter Twelve
When we came out of the room after Tianna was all cleaned up, Mom and Daddy were standing talking to Mr. Jackson. I ran to them.
Mom hugged me especially hard and said, "I'm so gad you're safe."
I giggled and said, "Me, too."
Tianna was walking toward us slowly, looking scared. She hadn't brushed her hair after she washed it so it was all over the place. Mom reached for her to give her a hug. Tianna tried to dodge, but Mom hugged her anyway.
"Tianna," Daddy said, "I've been talking to Mr. Jackson, and we need to have a talk with you."
She looked down. I squirmed and thought, Why can't they leave her alone? Then I blurted, "She's a Christian now!"
"That's a big decision. Are you sure you've decided to belong to Christ, Tianna?" Daddy asked, sounding serious.
Tianna gave a jerky nod, her head still down.
"You realize that you'll have to stop running away?"
Tianna nodded again.
"Aunt Hazel and I feel it would be best if you went back to VCA and faced any trouble you've made for yourself there. Mr. Jackson will take you back to VCA."
"Daddy," I said, "everybody's going to stare at us and ask us questions. Can't we just go home for a couple of days?"
"Better to face consequences sooner than later," said Mom. "But at least we can eat supper before you go. Mr. Jackson, would you like to join us for a picnic supper?"
After supper Daddy wanted us to pray together. He started, "Dear heavenly Father, I'm so glad you brought Tianna into your family with us…" While he was praying for Tianna to have courage to face her problems, I opened my eyes, then squinted at the shaft of low sunlight that shone in my face. I turned my head and saw that the light was painting the big acacia tree trunks bright gold. Long shadows lay across the lawn. I smiled. God's beauty was shining right on me.
When we left, Tianna hugged Mom and Daddy back when they hugged her. She was very quiet on the way to VCA. Mr. Jackson wanted to know about what had happened, so since Tianna didn't answer, I had to tell him.
"Tianna," he said gently when I got to the part in the matatu when Tianna asked Jesus into her heart. "I hope you didn't do this just to make us more lenient with you, or—"
"No!" she interrupted. "I wanted to! With Jesus I'm not all on my own anymore." Then she added, glaring at him through her messy mop of hair, "I'm tired of having everybody against me."
"Hey, I'm not against you," he protested. "I think it's been you against me and just about everybody else, even yourself. You've just about convinced me that you've made a real commitment to Christ, so things should be changing now. We'll have to let the other kids know, too." He smiled at her and reached out to knuckle her head. She ducked away from him and eyed him warily.
When we got back, Mr. Jackson called a dorm meeting. All the fifth- and sixth-grade girls crowded into the Jacksons' living room. Sabrina was there with her wrist in a cast.
"Girls," Mr. Jackson said, "Tianna and Anika have something to say to you. Tianna wants to apologize, and she has some good news to tell you. Stand up, girls."
I gasped. At least he could have warned us. Tianna looked totally panicked. I was afraid she was going to run again, but she just pushed at me to go first.
I stood up. "Um," I said and paused. It was dead quiet and everybody was staring at me. This was even worse than I had thought it would be. "Um, I just want to tell you that Tianna is a Christian now, and, um, I'm just glad God brought us back safe."
"Is running away a good idea?" Mr. Jackson quizzed. "No!" I said, then added defiantly, "but it helped Tianna get to be a Christian."
Mr. Jackson frowned and said, "Tianna?"
"I'm through with running away," she answered fiercely. "It only makes things worse. Also, I'm through with fighting and swearing. Oh, and I'm sorry Sabrina's arm got broken." She looked straight at Sabrina and added, "I didn't mean to do that, but I don't think it was all my fault. There, is that what you wanted me to say?" she said, looking at Mr. Jackson.
He raised one eyebrow, but he said, "That will do. I have talked to Sabrina as well, and I agree, she's got some changing to do also. Right, Sabrina?" he asked, looking at her. Sabrina glared and looked away.
Mr. Jackson kept on talking. "Girls, I want all of you to help Tianna with this. It isn't always quick or easy when Jesus changes your life. I don't want any more heckling or mocking going on. Is that clear?" He said the last sentence really fierce, looking straight at Sabrina. She turned red and looked down. Then he read the end of the fifth chapter of Matthew.
"Jesus is talking here, and he says, 'Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father in heaven… If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.'" When Mr. Jackson finished reading, he looked around the room and said, "I expect to see that attitude shown here."
As soon as the meeting was over, most of the kids crowded around us and started asking questions.
"Enough!" shouted Mr. Jackson. "There's school tomorrow. Get to bed."
Amy, Muthoni, and Lisa just kept asking questions, following us to our room. We all ended up at the sinks brushing our teeth together. They seemed so happy to see us that Tianna was even starting to smile.
"Mmmf, I'm glad youw a Chishian now, Tianna," Amy said through a mouthful of toothpaste.
"Me, too!" said
Muthoni, rinsing her toothbrush under the tap. "That was neat the way it happened in the matatu and how God kept you safe. The way I got to be a Christian was really boring compared to that." She sighed sadly, and we all giggled. "OK, you five, enough talking. Get into bed," said Mrs. Jackson as she walked into the bathroom. We grabbed our toothbrushes and scattered to our rooms.
"Shhh!" Esther Miller said to Sabrina as Tianna and I came in.
"I don't care if she hears!" Sabrina said, half crying. "My arm really hurts, and it's all Tianna's fault!" She glared at us. "Besides, you still owe me for the unicorn, Anika. I'll get—"
Mrs. Jackson walked in just then. "Sabrina, I've brought you more medicine to keep your arm from hurting." I guess she saw Sabrina was crying, because she sat down on the bed beside her and put her arm around her. "I'm sorry it hurts so much. If it gets too bad in the night, call me."
While she was talking, Tianna leaned down from the top bunk and whispered, "That part Mr. Jackson read about what Jesus said, is that right?"
I nodded, and she asked, "Did Jesus even mean being kind to jerks like Sabrina Oats?"
I nodded again, and Tianna pulled her head back up when Mrs. Jackson turned out the light. I started to try to think how what Jesus said fit what I should do about the broken unicorn, but I went to sleep instead.
In the middle of the night the bunk bed jiggled hard, and I heard moaning. I sat up quietly. In the square of moonlight shining through the window, I could see Tianna walking across the room.
"Sabrina," she whispered, "are you OK?"
Sabrina stopped moaning.
"Do you want me to get Mrs. Jackson?"
"Leave me alone!" Sabrina hissed fiercely. "It's all your fault. I hate you!" She pulled her blankets over her head.
"Look, I said I'm sorry." Tianna's voice was getting louder like she was getting mad. "You ditz brain, you can just—" Then she stopped. With a sigh she said, "I guess I'm not very good at acting like one of God's kids yet, you know, being kind to your enemies and all that. I'll just leave you alone if that's what you want."
I felt ashamed. Tianna had only been a Christian less than a day and here she was trying to be nice to Sabrina. I hadn't tried even once. I climbed out of bed and bumped into Tianna as she came toward me to go climb back in bed.
I pulled her with me toward Sabrina, whispering in her ear, "Way to go. That was great." Then I said louder to Sabrina, "Look, I'm really sorry I broke your unicorn. Maybe I can get my parents to lend me the money to pay for it. I didn't ask yet."
I stood there for a second waiting for an answer, but Sabrina didn't move. Finally I said, "Um, you were moaning, so your wrist must hurt. We'll get Mrs. Jackson. Come on, Tianna."
Mrs. Jackson came, and we went back to bed. Just before I went to sleep, I asked God to help me learn to be nice to Sabrina. It was a big request, but I figured he could do it. All I had to do was go along with it…
After breakfast, on the way up to school, Amy and Muthoni got Tianna between them. "Hey, I heard you last night talking to Sabrina. She didn't even answer!"
Tianna shrugged.
They kept talking, and I ended up walking behind them with Lisa. She grinned at me and said, "Welcome back, O Crocodile Woman."
I laughed and shoved her. She shoved back. We were both giggling, and I felt great. Lisa was super.
Just then Esther Miller came tearing up. She stopped a little ways off.
"Anika, Tianna, come here," she said, hanging back.
I looked at Lisa, shrugged, and followed Tianna over.
"Look, Sabrina said to say she was sorry for being so mean," Esther said and looked back over her shoulder. Then she went on, "She even said that you don't have to pay for the unicorn. Um, look, I'm sorry about taking one of your drawers, too. OK?"
"OK," I said. Tianna nodded, and Esther ran off again. We looked at each other and grinned. This was turning out to be a great day.
That night I couldn't go to sleep. I kept thinking about that broken unicorn. I squirmed, then punched at my pillow to make it more comfortable. I could still see the unicorn in my mind, its delicate beauty lying broken in Sabrina's hand. I wondered if it really cost as much as she had said. What if Sabrina had been lying?
I rolled over with a jerk. The bunk bed squeaked and wiggled. My sheets were all tangled up.
"Hold still!" Tianna hissed.
I frowned and tried to hold still. A lump in the sheet was right under my shoulder blade. Sabrina had said I didn't have to pay her. Besides, I didn't have thirty bucks. Still, it bugged me. Finally I decided to write to Mom and Daddy and ask them what to do. I went to sleep trying to plan the letter.
Writing that letter wasn't easy, especially when it came to telling Mom and Daddy about how I'd lost my temper. I felt way better when it was done and mailed, though.
"What is this stuff?" Tianna asked, poking her spoon into the thick gray porridge in her bowl that Friday at breakfast.
"Glue," said Lisa, laughing.
Tianna made a face. "Let's go to McDonald's and get an Egg McMuffin, OK?"
"Don't I wish!" said Lisa with a dreamy look on her face. "I'd get hash browns, an English muffin, and—"
"Stop it! I can't stand it!" Tianna said and started to shake all over. "I'm going into terminal McDonald's withdrawal."
We were still giggling by the time we got to school. We were just starting social studies when the secretary stuck her head in the door. "Could you send Tianna and Anika out?" she said. "There's someone here to see them."
We looked at each other, then stood up and went out. I couldn't figure out who could want to see just us two in the middle of a school day. We reached the office, then stood staring in amazement.
"Dad?" said Tianna.
It was Uncle Kurt!
He took a big step toward Tianna and gave her a huge hug, then grabbed her by the shoulders. He seemed all choked up and started talking real fast. "Tianna, I'm sorry—sorry for all the ways I've messed things up. I didn't know how much I needed you 'til I got back from my trip to an empty house. It was awful—too quiet and lonely. Look, your mom won't come back to me—but I hope maybe you will." She stood there, looking kind of stiff, staring at him with her mouth open.
"Oh, I know it hasn't been great lately, but things will be different. I promise. I called Kevin and Hazel from the airport and found out you were here, so I rented a car and came straight here."
"Uncle Kurt," I interrupted. "Tianna is a Christian now."
Uncle Kurt glanced at me, then looked back at Tianna, "That's OK with me. You can go to church. I'll even come with you if that's what you want. I never knew how much I needed my family until I didn't have you with me."
She still just stood there, so he said, "I did some thinking about what Kevin said, too. So look, I won't make you come. You can decide for yourself. Kevin and Hazel already said you could stay here. Go on with you, back into class. I'll drive down to see Kevin and Hazel, and you can let me know tomorrow."
Tianna was quiet all the rest of the day.
"What do you think she'll decide?" Lisa asked me when we were walking to the dorm after supper.
I shrugged. "I don't know. Would you go back now if you could?"
"If Mom and Dad did? Sure!" she said and laughed. "Big Macs, here I come!"
I looked out at the huge sweep of sky over the volcanoes in the Rift Valley and said, "You're crazy!"
Mom and Daddy came up with Uncle Kurt the next day. They took Sandy and me and Tianna down to Thompsons' farm for a picnic. They'd even brought samosas. I bit into one of the spicy little triangles and thought, Who needs McDonald's?
I was just going to ask Mom if they'd gotten my letter about Sabrina's unicorn when she handed me the money.
"Your father and I agreed that you should pay for what you broke," she said. "You'll have to work for us to earn this money next vacation, OK?"
I nodded and started to say OK when Tianna suddenly blurted, "I decided."
We all loo
ked at her.
"I'm going home with Dad." She looked at me anxiously and said, "It's not that I don't like you guys. It's just that I belong with Dad, and if I stayed here it would be kind of running away."
Everybody immediately started talking about plans, packing, and tickets.
"Kurt," Mom interrupted after a little while. "I hope you'll find a good church and go with Tianna."
"I intend to do just that, but I'm not sure where," he said seriously.
"Call John Ibbotson," Mom said. "He pastors a warm and friendly church where they teach God's Word."
Uncle Kurt looked thoughtful, nodded, then got up to call the airport about flights.
Mom turned to Tianna and said, "Tianna, if you want to survive as God's child, you have to stick with God's family. Even if your dad doesn't take you to church, you can go on your own. It would be good for you to try to find Christian friends at school, too."
Tianna nodded, and I wondered what it would be like for her. I thought of Sharra, and how Tianna skipped school to go to the mall, and how she had spent so much time being sent to the principal for swearing. I wondered if Uncle Kurt had really changed or if he would start acting selfish and super bossy again. I sighed. It wasn't going to be easy for them, that was for sure.
Uncle Kurt found out they had to either get a flight out that night or wait for two weeks.
"You better get packed if you're coming!" he told Tianna with a grin.
"Uncle Kurt," Sandy said as we hurried to finish the picnic. "Did you really take Jake back to the Parkers'?"
"Jake?" Uncle Kurt asked, sounding puzzled. Then he said, "Oh, you mean the kitten. Yeah, I took him back. Don't worry, he's fine." He turned to Tianna and said, "We can go get him back again if you want."
Tianna grinned and started to nod, but then she frowned. "He probably wouldn't like being my kitten. He didn't like me much before, and he'd have to be all by himself in the house so much." She looked really sad.
Mom touched her shoulder and said, "Why don't you ask the Parkers for two kittens? That way they'd have each other to play with all day. And they'll learn to trust you if you show them you care by how you act."
