Take Charge

by Melody Carlson

  chapter twelve

  “Go back!” Carlie yelled at Chelsea. “Don’t come out any farther.”

  “No,” said Chelsea. “I’ll swim back with you.”

  “No!” screamed Carlie. “Go back, we’re getting caught in the tide!”

  But Chelsea stubbornly swam toward her, not turning around until they were both swimming side by side, both trying to get back to the shore.

  “You should’ve turned back,” panted Carlie as she paddled hard. “That was stupid.”

  “That’s my middle name,” said Chelsea.

  “You shouldn’t have wasted your energy.”

  “Just swim,” said Chelsea.

  So they swam and they swam, but they didn’t seem to be getting any closer to the shore. If anything, it seemed they were steadily going backwards, getting sucked out into the enormous ocean. Carlie tried to see if her friends had noticed they were missing, but she couldn’t even see the beach from out there.

  “I’m tired,” panted Chelsea. Her eyes were red and full of fear now. “What if we can’t get back?”

  “Just tread water,” said Carlie breathlessly. “Try to save strength.”

  They stopped swimming and simply treaded water, trying to keep their heads above the occasional waves that splashed. Carlie could tell they were steadily moving farther from shore. She felt desperate now. And totally helpless. How could she have been so stupid?

  “What’re we going to do?” cried Chelsea.

  Then Carlie suddenly remembered what Morgan had said about taking her problems to Jesus. “Pray!” screamed Carlie. “We’re gonna pray!”

  “I don’t know how.”

  “Dear Jesus,” cried Carlie. “Please, help us! Please, please, help us! Morgan said you could. Please, help us.”

  Then Chelsea started to pray in a similar way. For several minutes, both girls were crying and praying so hard that they didn’t notice the orange and white helicopter hovering over them.

  “Look!” screamed Carlie, pointing to a life raft that was slowly being lowered down into the ocean.

  Soon they were both pulled onto the raft and wrapped in blankets. It wasn’t long before a coast guard cutter came along and picked them up. They were given hot tea to drink as they were transported into Boscoe Bay. The cutter docked and a small crowd of people hurried over.

  “You girls got caught in a rip tide,” one of the sailors explained as he helped them down the ramp. “It’s lucky you’re all right.”

  “Chelsea!” screamed Mrs. Landers, running over to her daughter.

  Soon there were people all around them. Carlie was surprised to see that her mom and two little brothers were there, as well as Morgan, Emily, Amy, and even Morgan’s grandmother. Carlie ran over to them and threw her arms around her mother and brothers.

  “We were so scared, mija!” cried her mom as she held her tightly in her arms. “We thought you had drowned.”

  “How did you know we were in trouble?” asked Carlie.

  “Your friends,” explained Mom between sobs. “Amy used her phone to call 9 – 1 – 1. And then she called us. We saw them pick you up, and then we drove over here.”

  “It was a rip tide,” explained Carlie. “It just kept taking us out.”

  “I know,” said Mom. “The coast guard man told us. No more swimming in the ocean for you!”

  Carlie turned to Morgan now. “We prayed,” she told her. “We really prayed hard out there, Morgan! We both cried out to Jesus to help us.”

  Morgan hugged her. “And he answered, didn’t he?”

  Carlie nodded happily.

  “We were praying for you too,” said Emily with tears in her eyes. “We thought for sure you guys were goners.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” said Amy, hugging her too.

  “Thanks for calling for help.”

  Now Chelsea and her mom came over to join them. But it looked like Mrs. Landers was seriously angry. “I just told Chelsea, and now I’m telling you too, Carlie. She is not allowed to come to your house anymore! And no more swimming in the ocean — ever! That may be okay for some people, but not my daughter! You should be ashamed of yourself!”

  “Mom!” said Chelsea. “It wasn’t her fault.”

  “Come on,” said Mrs. Landers, jerking her by the arm. “You’re going home right now!”

  Chelsea made the shape of a phone with her hand, mouthing, “I’ll call you.” And Carlie just waved.

  Carlie wasn’t sure if it was the near-death experience or what, but as her mom drove her home — and despite the shrill voices of her brothers — she felt strangely calm and peaceful. Better than she’d felt in days.

  After she got home she took a nice, hot shower and got dressed. She felt tired, but happy. And after assuring Mom that she was perfectly fine and not about to catch pneumonia, she went outside in search of her friends. She found Morgan and Emily at the clubhouse. Amy had gone to the restaurant to work.

  “It’s Labor Day weekend,” Morgan reminded her. “They’re really busy.”

  Carlie sank into the plush couch and let out a big sigh. “Wow.”

  “This was quite a day,” said Morgan as she strung a bright purple bead. She and Emily were finishing up some beading projects that they’d been working on during the past week.

  Carlie nodded. “Uh-huh.”

  “Too bad about Chelsea’s mom today,” said Morgan.

  “Yeah,” said Emily. “That seemed a little over the top.”

  “She’ll probably get over it,” said Carlie.

  “You said you and Chelsea were both praying out there today?” said Morgan as she adjusted her glasses and peered curiously at Carlie.

  “Yep. We both were praying.”

  “Cool.”

  Carlie got up and went to sit next to Emily at the little table. She looked across at Morgan. “I was praying to Jesus,” she said, “just like you told me. And like you told me, he answered.”

  “Yeah?”

  “But I’ve been wondering why he should answer me … I mean, I pray in church, but not like you, Morgan. Not like God is really listening. I just say the words.”

  “He was listening,” said Morgan.

  “Really?”

  “You should invite him into your heart,” said Emily suddenly. “Like I did a couple months ago. It makes such a difference, Carlie. It’ll change you completely.”

  Carlie considered this. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

  “So do you want to?” asked Emily eagerly.

  “Yeah.”

  Both Morgan and Emily were grinning now. “You want to pray with us?” asked Morgan. “We can help you to ask Jesus into your heart.”

  “Okay.”

  So Morgan and Emily both led Carlie in a simple little prayer. And when they were done, Carlie knew that it was real — she knew that Jesus was living inside her.

  “Thanks for praying with me,” she told her friends.

  “Welcome to the real club,” said Morgan with a big smile.

  “You know,” said Carlie with fresh realization. “I think that’s what I’d been wanting these past few days. It’s like I was so unhappy, and I was looking for something that I just couldn’t find. And I kept feeling more and more miserable and I thought it was all about Chelsea, but really it was all about me. I wanted Jesus close to me — and now I have him!”

  She hugged her friends. “Thank you so much!”

  “What about Chelsea?” asked Emily. “Do we want to invite her to join our club?”

  Carlie considered this and to her surprise she felt totally different than she had earlier today. “You know, if we’re all okay with it, I think that’d be good. I mean, I can assure you Chelsea has her faults. But then so does everyone.” Carlie held up her bracelet. “And if we really mean what these stand for … well, maybe we should invite Chelsea to be part of this too.”

  “I’m okay with it,” said Emily.

  “Me too,” agreed Morgan. “And we know Amy wants
her to join.”

  “I guess it will depend on her mom,” said Carlie. “She seemed pretty mad today.”

  “Like you said, she’ll probably get over it,” said Morgan. “Maybe give her a few days to cool off. In the meantime, I better make another bracelet,” said Morgan. “Just in case.”

  To Carlie’s relief, Mrs. Landers cooled off by the end of the day. “My mom said to tell you she’s sorry,” said Chelsea when she called her that evening. “She was upset and worried and it seems that maybe she has poor impulse control too.”

  Carlie chuckled. “Well, I’m glad she’s over it.”

  “I feel like it was partly my fault that you swam so far out,” said Chelsea. “I mean, I knew you were still pretty mad at me — that’s why I swam out there.”

  So Carlie told her that had only been a small part of the problem. “I think I was more mad at myself than anything,” she admitted. “It’s kind of like I had allowed myself to be swept away with you and your life and your mom and stuff … kind of like getting swept away by the tide. But somewhere inside of myself, I knew it was wrong. I knew I needed something more.”

  “Oh …”

  “And when I was out there with you today, and I was praying … well, I got the feeling that I was close to it. And then afterwards, I had this amazing sense of peace, like I wasn’t getting swept away anymore.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. And then I invited Jesus into my heart.” She laughed. “And so now I’m a Christian. You might not even want to be friends with me anymore.”

  Chelsea didn’t say anything.

  “Sorry,” said Carlie. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. It’s just that I know how you feel about Christians. And now that I’m one …”

  “That’s not it.”

  “What then?”

  “I guess I just feel left out again.”

  “Well, no one’s stopping you from becoming a Christian.”

  “I know …”

  “Well, anyway,” said Carlie. “That’s up to you. But I am supposed to ask you whether or not you want to join our club.”

  “Really? You guys are asking me to join?” And for the first time since Carlie had met Chelsea, she thought she really sounded happy.

  “Yeah. Everyone agrees.”

  “All right!”

  So it was that on Labor Day the five girls all met at the Rainbow Bus and Chelsea was officially welcomed into the club and presented with her own bracelet.

  “Wow,” she said as Morgan tied the rainbow bracelet onto her wrist. “This is so cool.”

  The girls took turns hugging her, and when they stopped, Chelsea actually had tears in her eyes. “Thanks,” she told them. “And I’m sorry I was so mean sometimes … and I have to warn you that I can be like that … I mean, just ask Carlie … I sometimes say and do some really stupid things.”

  “It’s okay,” said Emily. “We’ve all got our problems.”

  “Yeah,” said Amy. “We’re pretty cool, but none of us are perfect.”

  They laughed.

  Chelsea examined her bracelet. “Okay, now are you going to tell me what these letters stand for?”

  “Love your neighbor as yourself,” they all chanted together.

  Chelsea considered this then nodded. “That’s cool.”

  “It’s the one rule of our club,” said Morgan.

  “The rule of the rainbow,” added Emily with a grin.

  “Rainbows rule!” said Carlie happily. She looked around at her four friends and for the first time felt like maybe she could do just that — with Jesus’ help anyway. Maybe it really was possible to love others like that!

  Take Charge

  chapter one

  “Did you guys hear the latest news?” asked Amy as soon as she entered the clubhouse, an old parked bus the girls had fixed up this past summer, to find her four friends already there and waiting for her.

  “You mean that Amy Ngo is actually late for the first time in her life?” teased Carlie as she pointed to her watch.

  “I’m sorry,” she told them. “My mother and I were having … uh … a little discussion.”

  “Don’t you mean more like an argument?” asked Morgan. Then she winked at Amy. “Sorry, but I couldn’t help overhearing you guys on my way over here. Man, I had no idea your sweet little mom could yell like that.”

  Amy rolled her eyes. “Yes, well, my mother seems to have gotten the idea that I’m spoiled.”

  “Goodness,” said Emily with wide blue eyes. “Where would she get an idea like that?” The other girls laughed.

  “Thanks a lot!” Amy frowned at the four of them.

  “Hey,” said Chelsea, “don’t feel too bad. These guys think I’m spoiled too. You’re in good company.”

  Amy sank down into the couch next to Chelsea, folding her arms across her chest. “Fine,” she snapped. “Maybe we are both a little bit spoiled. But I’m a hard worker too!”

  “I know you are,” said Morgan in a kind voice. “We all know you are.”

  “Now, what’s the news, Amy?” asked Emily. “What did you want to tell us?”

  “You guys didn’t hear what happened last night?” She looked hopefully at her four friends. She loved being the person who knew something that the others hadn’t heard yet. Of course, she didn’t like the title that often went with it. All during grade school she had suffered being called Miss Ngo It All. But since starting seventh grade, she’d been trying to avoid that label.

  “No, Amy,” said Carlie. “Spill the beans!”

  “Well, you know last night was the first football game at Boscoe Bay High, and they weren’t supposed to win —”

  “But they beat the pants off of Wedgeport,” interrupted Emily. “That’s old news, Amy. My brother actually took me to the game, and it was a —”

  “That’s not my news,” said Amy. She scowled at Emily.

  “Okay then,” said Morgan. “What is it?”

  “According to today’s newspaper, it happened after the game last night. A bunch of vandals from Wedgeport High attacked the city park and made a total mess of it.”

  “McPhearson Park?” asked Morgan sadly.

  “Yes. They actually drove their four-wheel-drive vehicles into the park and pulled down the swings and lampposts and knocked over trees and everything. The grass was totally torn up from their tires. The photo in the newspaper made it look like a hurricane had hit. I would’ve brought it, but my dad was still reading the editorials.”

  “That’s too bad,” said Emily. “That was such a pretty park.”

  “I know …” Amy sighed. “I used to play there all the time when I was a little girl. I have so many happy memories of it … and now it looks like a war zone.”

  “Well, I’m sure they will fix it up and it —”

  “No,” said Amy quickly. “That’s just the problem. It sounds like there are no funds in the city budget to cover the cost of the repairs. And even worse than that, a lot of the businesses in town, including my very own parents, have wanted to get rid of the park for several years now.”

  “Get rid of it?” Morgan adjusted her glasses and peered curiously at Amy. “Why would anyone want that?”

  “For a stupid parking lot!” said Amy. “In fact, that’s what started my argument with my mom this morning.”

  “Why does Boscoe Bay need a parking lot?” asked Emily.

  “I know why,” said Chelsea. “In fact, my dad would agree with Amy’s parents on this. He says there’s no place to park in town, and all the tourist business is going down to the waterfront.”

  “That’s because the waterfront is cool,” said Morgan.

  “Of course you’d say that,” said Amy. “Your mom’s shop is there.”

  “Lots of people think the waterfront is cool,” protested Emily.

  “Yeah, but they might not think it was so cool if there was no place to park down there,” pointed out Chelsea.

  “I’d still go there,” said Carlie.
“Even if I had to walk a mile and a —”

  “But you’re not a grown-up with a —”

  “Okay, okay!” said Morgan, holding up both hands and starting to wear her presidential expression. “That is not what this meeting is about.” Then she pointed to her colorful beaded bracelet. “Rainbows rule, you guys. Remember.”

  “Sorry,” said Amy, although she still felt angry about what was going on in town. But she did know the meaning of the bracelet — even if she didn’t fully get the religious connection, she was well aware that the letters on the beads, LYNAY, meant to love your neighbor as yourself, which meant the girls needed to respect one another. And for now it meant that Amy needed to close her mouth.

  “Anyway,” continued Morgan. “As you know, this is our first official meeting since school started. And the main item on our agenda today is to discuss a new project.”

  Emily took out a notepad. “I’m ready.”

  “Okay,” said Morgan. “I’m sure you guys remember how we decided at our last meeting that it helps us to stay together as a group when we’re all working toward the same thing. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, especially since school has started. But we do need something to keep us focused and united as a group …” She looked at the girls and sort of laughed. “Because, as you can see, it’s easy to get going in all kinds of different directions … and before you know it, we’re in a big old fight.”

  “And then it’s no fun being in a club together,” said Emily.

  “That’s right,” said Morgan. “So we’re open to suggestions now. Anyone?”

  The bus grew quiet for a long moment.

  “Okay, for Chelsea’s benefit, since she’s new, I’ll go over a bit of our history,” said Morgan. “Maybe that will get things rolling. Let’s see … we sort of became friends last spring because of the bullies.”

  “The bullies?” said Chelsea.

  So Carlie quickly retold the story of how Derrick Smith and his gang of thugs had picked on them and helped to unite them as friends.