Caitlin's Lucky Charm

by Lisa Schroeder

  Just then, Jessi poked her head into Isaac’s room. “Can I come in?”

  “Oh good,” Caitlin said. “You’re home. Do you have any money?”

  Jessi came in and shut the door. “Yeah. Sure. Drawers full. Gold or silver coins, take your pick.”

  “Coins?” Isaac asked.

  “Yeah,” Jessi said, crossing her arms. “You know, from the buried treasure I found yesterday with the band of pirates.”

  “Cool!” Isaac said. “Can I go next time?”

  “Only if you don’t get seasick,” Jessi said. She looked at her sister. “What do you need money for?”

  “I was hoping I could buy some fun-size candy bars and pass them out tomorrow at school,” Caitlin explained. “For my class president campaign.”

  “Well, you can pretty much kiss that idea good-bye,” Jessi said. She came over to the bed and motioned for Caitlin to scoot over, so she did. “Mom and Dad are downstairs talking. I heard Dad say that he heard through the grapevine at work that layoff notices are going out soon. Since he’s a manager, and no one is talking to him about it, he’s pretty sure he’ll be getting one.”

  Isaac jumped off the bed, ran to his closet, went inside, and shut the door.

  Jessi gave her sister a curious look. “What’s he doing?”

  “Hiding from zombies,” Caitlin said. Then she whispered, “That’s where he goes when he’s scared. You shouldn’t have told him that. About Dad’s job.”

  “I thought you guys would want to know. I mean, the coming days are gonna be tense. I plan to be around as little as possible.” Jessi stood up. “If I were you, I would tread carefully around them. And definitely don’t ask for money unless you need it for something really important.”

  “Are you trying to tell me winning the class president spot isn’t important?”

  “No,” she said. “But trying to win it by buying kids candy isn’t.” She went to the door. “If I had some extra money, I’d loan it to you. But I don’t. Just write a really good speech. One that wows them. That’s what matters the most anyway. Trust me.” Before she left she said, “Good luck.”

  Caitlin sighed. “Yeah. Thanks.”

  She went to the closet and opened the door. “Isaac? Come out and go back to reading your book. Don’t hide in there. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  “No it’s not,” he said. “The zombies are coming. Soon they’ll break down the door and smash the windows, and that’s it. We’re goners.”

  “There’s no such thing as zombies, Isaac.”

  “You can believe what you want, Caitlin. But I believe in them. And I’m staying in here, where it’s safe.” He paused. “Or until I get hungry, anyway.”

  * * *

  The next morning, Caitlin went to her locker and found Esther there, getting her books.

  “Did you get the candy bars?” Esther asked her. “I’ll help you pass them out, if you want me to.”

  “No. I couldn’t scrounge up any money. And my mom says she already spent enough money on my campaign.”

  “Oh. Sorry. Well, just work really hard on your speech. It’s probably the most important part of your campaign anyway.”

  “That’s what my sister said. But I’m not sure. I mean, it feels like it’s mostly just a popularity contest. And in case you haven’t noticed, there’s no way I’m going to win if that’s what it really is.”

  “I saw you coming out of the auditorium yesterday,” Esther said. “How’d your audition go?”

  Caitlin moaned as she slammed the locker door. “Sorry, but I really don’t want to talk about it. I’m kind of trying to forget it ever happened.”

  “I tried out too,” Esther said as they started making their way to homeroom. “Since it’s my first play, I’m hoping for one of the smaller parts. I just thought it’d be fun, since it’s one of my favorite books.”

  “So, did you have to sing?” Caitlin asked

  Esther shook her head. “No. Are you kidding me? Me and singing get along about as well as dogs and poetry.”

  Caitlin smiled. “Wait. Dogs can’t recite poetry? But I love poetry. That would be so cool.”

  “Right?” Esther said. They reached the door of Mr. Hankins’s classroom just as the first bell rang. “So are you working on your speech during class today?”

  “If I have any chance at winning class president,” Caitlin replied, “I think I’ll be working on my speech every second I’m awake until the assembly on Thursday.”

  Esther gave Caitlin’s arm a gentle squeeze. “I can’t wait to hear it. I know it’s going to be amazing.”

  If only I could be half as sure as that, Caitlin thought.

  When they arrived at the soup kitchen Wednesday night, Caitlin could tell right away something wasn’t quite right.

  The first sign was that Mrs. Watson wasn’t wearing her FRIENDLY EAR, RIGHT HERE button on her apron. In fact, her apron looked like she’d just thrown it on, as it was kind of wrinkly and hung a little crooked from her neck.

  The second sign was that the kitchen was quiet. Like, test-taking quiet. No one talked like they usually did while they prepped the food.

  Mrs. Watson greeted Mrs. Rogers, Caitlin, Jessi (her mom had insisted she come this time), and Isaac by simply saying, “Hello. Nice to see you. We’re having spaghetti with bread and butter and salad tonight, so you’ll get to help with the bread and salad again.”

  “That’s just fine,” Mrs. Rogers said. Then she leaned in and asked, “Is everything all right? Seems a bit somber here.”

  “Oh. Right. I’m sorry. I suppose I should tell all of you too. I got word today that our friend Sonny is in the hospital.”

  Both Isaac’s and Caitlin’s hands flew to their mouths as they let out little gasps. “Is he going to be okay?” Caitlin asked.

  “I’m afraid I don’t know much right now,” Mrs. Watson said. “A nurse called me, at Sonny’s request. He doesn’t have any family nearby, so I gave him my number a long time ago and told him to call me if he ever needed anything. She said he wanted me to know he was in the hospital with a bad case of the flu and not to worry when I didn’t see him come for dinner.”

  “What about Wilbur?” Isaac asked. “Who’s taking care of him?”

  Mrs. Watson patted Isaac’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I went over to his place and checked. He has a neighbor in his apartment complex who’s keeping an eye out on Wilbur.”

  Mrs. Rogers looked at her kids and said, “I know you care about Sonny and Wilbur, but try not to worry. He’s in the hospital, where he’ll get good care, and he’s talking, obviously, if he told a nurse to call. Now we should get the food ready for everyone else who needs it tonight, right?”

  And with that, Mrs. Watson showed them to their spots so they could get to work. When it was time for Caitlin and Isaac to pass out cookies and bread, Isaac said, “Remember how Sonny asked for two cookies, just so we could have one when we were finished?”

  “I remember,” Caitlin said. “I know you’re upset, but try to put it out of your mind, okay? We can’t have cookies with tears. That would be so …”

  “Soggy?” Isaac said.

  It made Caitlin laugh. “Well, I was going to say sad, but yeah, soggy too.”

  A few minutes later, Tezra came through the line, looking a little bit like a soggy cookie herself. “Did you hear the news?” Tezra asked Caitlin.

  Caitlin nodded. “Yeah. Do you know him very well?”

  Tezra nodded. “We’ve sat with him quite a few times. He’s so nice. Just last week he was talking about wanting to come and see Charlotte’s Web at our school.”

  “Yeah,” Caitlin said. “He told me that too. Did you try out for the play?”

  “Come on, honey,” her mom said. “Let’s go sit down.”

  “Can you come over and talk to me when you’re done?” Tezra asked. “We’ll wait for you. I never see you at school. I’ve looked for you a couple of times. Where do you sit at lunch?”

  “The
reading table,” Caitlin said, feeling funny as she said it.

  “Oh. I didn’t look there. Well, come find me when you’re finished, ’kay?”

  “Okay.”

  “I told you so,” Isaac said. “Remember? Last time? I told you she wants to be your friend.”

  “I don’t know. I think she just wants to talk about Sonny. She’s upset, like you.”

  “Well,” Isaac said, “she could talk to her mom if she wanted to talk to just anybody. But she wants to talk to you. Plus, she was looking for you at school.”

  When all of the people had been served, Caitlin asked her mom if she could go sit with Tezra for a few minutes. “She asked me to,” Caitlin explained. “I don’t want to be rude.”

  “All right. For a few minutes. Then come back here and help us clean up.”

  “I will.”

  When Caitlin walked over, Tezra jumped up out of her seat and said, “Mom, I’ll be back in a few minutes, ’kay? We’re gonna be over here.” She pointed at an empty table.

  Her mom gave her a little nod before she went back to talking to the lady sitting next to her.

  The girls sat down across from each other.

  “Isn’t it sad?” Tezra said, her pretty eyes full of concern. “I hope he’s okay.”

  “I know,” Caitlin said. “Me too.”

  “Everyone’s talking about him,” Tezra said. “It’s amazing how this place has become like family to so many of us.”

  “That’s pretty cool,” Caitlin said.

  “You know, I hate to say this, but I don’t even know your name,” she said.

  “Oh, right. Sorry, it’s Caitlin. Caitlin Rogers.”

  Tezra sat back and crossed her arms. “Wait. I know that name. I saw it on one of the posters. It had balloons on it. You’re running for class president?”

  Caitlin felt her cheeks get warm. “Yeah. Except at this point, I know there’s practically zero chance that I’ll win.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Caitlin ticked the reasons off on her fingers. “Basically, I’m not funny enough, popular enough, or rich enough.”

  Tezra moaned. “It is pretty much a popularity contest, isn’t it? I hate that. Well, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you, ’kay? Is your speech ready for the assembly tomorrow?”

  “I still need to work on it when I get home.”

  “I’m sure it’s going to be amazing,” Tezra said. “I can’t wait to hear it. And you know I’ll vote for you.”

  “Thanks.” Caitlin looked at the clock on the wall and stood up. “I better go help clean up so we can leave pretty soon.”

  Tezra stood up too. “I’m so glad we got to talk for a few minutes. Oh, and you asked if I tried out for the school play. I did, but not for a singing part. I’d love to be in it, I just don’t sing very well. Did you try out?”

  Caitlin grimaced. “Yeah, but I don’t think I have a chance at the part I really want. Maybe I can be Sonny’s date to the play and sit and watch you and everyone else. It sounds like it’s going to be super-cute.” She waved. “See ya later.”

  “See ya.”

  When Caitlin reached her family, her mom turned and smiled at her. “She seems like a nice girl, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Caitlin said. “She’s really nice. And she said she’ll vote for me tomorrow.”

  Jessi turned to her and said, “So one down, and hundreds to go?”

  “Yep,” Caitlin said as she grabbed a towel so she could help dry the dishes they were washing. “Pretty much.”

  After Caitlin and her family had soup and sandwiches for dinner, she went straight to her room. She lay on her bed, thinking about everything that happened in the past week.

  The daisy disaster.

  The awful audition.

  Pink-slip possibilities.

  And Sonny’s horrible hospital news.

  It was a week full of bad news. And alliteration apparently. The more she thought about all the things that had gone wrong, the angrier she became. She reached underneath the long-sleeve shirt she wore, unclasped the charm bracelet, and threw it on the floor.

  Her phone buzzed, so she picked it up. Jade wanted to video chat. Maybe it would cheer her up, she thought. It certainly wouldn’t make her feel any worse. She accepted the call.

  “I figured you probably needed a motivational speech right about now,” Jade said.

  “You figured right,” Caitlin said.

  “Do you want the long version or the short version?”

  “Short, please. I still have a lot of work to do.”

  “Okay. Here it goes.” Jade pointed her finger at Caitlin. “You can do this. You have what it takes to lead the sixth grade to greatness. This is about more than how funny your poster is, Caitlin. This is about how you have the ability to change that school for the better.”

  Caitlin pressed her lips together. She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry at how hard her friend was trying to help her.

  “But what if I’m not cut out for greatness?” Caitlin said. “I mean, maybe I should just transfer out when the quarter’s over. Go to your school.”

  “But you like your classes, don’t you?” Jade asked.

  “Yeah. I love my drama class. And my English class. Okay, pretty much all of them, since I transferred out of the horrifying dance class. But the rest of it … I don’t know. Nothing’s turning out the way I thought it would.”

  “Hey, remember that time a few years ago when we wanted to make chocolate chip cookies, but we didn’t have any chocolate chips? So your mom said we should try making snickerdoodles instead. And we were like, what are snickerdoodles, and she couldn’t believe we’d never had snickerdoodles. So we made them, and they turned out awesome. Remember that?”

  “Yeah,” Caitlin replied.

  “Sometimes awesome shows up when you least expect it.”

  “Did you read that on a refrigerator magnet?” Caitlin asked.

  Jade smiled as if she’d just been handed a plate of snickerdoodles. “No, I made it up. Right now. For you.”

  “Maybe I’ll put that in my speech.”

  “You totally should.”

  “I gotta go,” Caitlin said with a sigh.

  “I know. Can you stop by after school tomorrow?”

  “No. I have a Battle of the Books meeting. But I’ll be sure and let you know how the speech goes.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  “Good luck! You can do it!”

  Caitlin turned off her phone so she wouldn’t be distracted anymore. Then someone knocked on her door. So much for no distractions.

  “Come in!”

  Her mom came in with an envelope in her hand. “I just picked up the mail. This came for you today.”

  Caitlin jumped up and grabbed the envelope from her mom’s hand. She read the return address and smiled when she saw it was from Mia. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Hey, what’s this?” her mom asked as she walked over and picked up the bracelet off the floor.

  “It’s, um, a charm bracelet,” Caitlin said, kicking herself for being so careless. “My camp friends and I bought it together on a field trip. We’re supposed to pass it around and add charms to it. I didn’t tell you about it because I wasn’t sure if you would be mad that I spent the money you gave me, when you’re trying so hard to save money.”

  “I’m not mad,” her mom said. “It was your money to spend at camp. In fact, I think it’s real sweet, sharing it with your three friends. But why’s it on the floor?”

  “I kind of got upset,” Caitlin said, softly. “About all the bad stuff that’s been happening. I guess I took it out on the bracelet.”

  Mrs. Rogers handed the bracelet to Caitlin. “My mother used to tell me, it’s always darkest before the dawn.” She gave Caitlin a big, long hug. “Hang in there, honey. This is when it’s important to count your blessings. We’re fortunate to have a roof over our heads and food on the table. And you have lot
s of people who care about you. Remember that, okay?” Caitlin nodded. “Do your best tomorrow. That’s all you can do. When all is said and done, if you’ve done that, you can hold your head high, no matter what happens.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Your dad and I, we really are proud of you. How you’re trying so hard to get involved in things at school.”

  “Did I hear my name?” Caitlin’s dad poked his head in. “She’s right. We are proud of you, Peaches. You’ll do a marvelous job tomorrow, I’m sure of it. I wish I could come and watch.”

  “No!” Caitlin said. “Having my parents there would be even worse than having lame posters. I’ll be fine.”

  “You’ll be better than fine,” her dad said. “Just let the real you come shining through.”

  After her mom and dad left, Caitlin opened up the envelope. She pulled out a picture Mia had taken of the four girls with her camera, using the timer. They were standing on the porch of the cabin, their arms around each other. It made Caitlin tear up, because it kind of hurt, how much she missed them.

  After she stared at the photo for a long time, she read Mia’s letter.

  DEAR CAITLIN,

  HEY! HOW ARE YOU?

  SORRY IT’S TAKEN ME A WHILE TO WRITE TO YOU. I KIND OF HAD AN ACCIDENT AFTER I GOT HOME. I MEAN, NOTHING HORRIBLE, LIKE BEING ATTACKED BY A SHARK OR HAVING MY BRAINS SMASHED IN DURING A SURFING ACCIDENT. ALTHOUGH I KIND OF WISH IT WAS SOMETHING EXCITING LIKE THAT, BECAUSE IT’S SO EMBARRASSING TO SAY WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. IT SOUNDS LIKE I’M THE CLUMSIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD, AND MAYBE I AM, BUT NOW SO MANY MORE PEOPLE ACTUALLY KNOW THAT I’M CLUMSY.

  I WAS HELPING MY MOM GET SOMETHING IN A CUPBOARD UP HIGH IN THE CAFÉ (BECAUSE I HELP HER THERE SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW), AND I FELL OFF THE STEP STOOL. YES. YOU READ THAT RIGHT. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I MISSED THE BOTTOM STEP, LANDED FUNNY, AND BROKE A BONE IN MY FOOT. NOW I’M IN A WALKING CAST, SO AT LEAST IT’S NOT TOO HARD TO GET AROUND, BUT IT’S STILL TERRIBLE BECAUSE I AM OFFICIALLY OUT FOR THE REST OF THE SOCCER SEASON. NOT TO MENTION I CAN’T SURF AT ALL WITH THIS STUPID THING ON MY LEG.

  SINCE ALL OF MY FRIENDS ARE BUSY DOING THINGS I CAN’T DO, I’VE BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME READING MY CAMP JOURNAL TO CHEER MYSELF UP. DO YOU REMEMBER THIS QUESTION OF THE DAY: