Part 6 (1/2)
”How do you know that? I mean, don't you wonder sometimes how much of what we believe about G.o.d is real and how much of it we say simply because we want to believe it?”
Christy propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Katie. ”What do you mean? It sounds like you're saying you don't trust G.o.d.”
”I don't know. It just seems that G.o.d has forgotten about me when it comes to boyfriends, that's all. Not that I hold it against Him. After all, G.o.d must be rather busy these days-earthquakes, pestilence, famines, wars. What's a plea from Katie for a boyfriend when He has so much else to tend to?”
”G.o.d is big enough to handle all of that and your feelings too. Please don't think He's forgotten you.”
”If you say so,” Katie said with a sigh.
It was quiet for a few moments before Katie asked, ”So what time are we leaving in the morning?”
”I don't know. Pretty early, I guess. I'm sure the rest of them will wake us when they get up.”
”Then we'd better get some sleep. Good night.” Katie rolled over on her side with her back to Christy. In minutes, the only sound that came from her was the deep, slow, rhythmic breathing of someone lost in dreamland.
Christy was unable to enter dreamland herself for quite some time. She lay on her back in the stillness, watching for shooting stars and thinking about Katie. It bothered her that Katie had sounded like she was doubting her faith in G.o.d. What bothered Christy even more was that she didn't have any really good answers for Katie.
Not that I have to defend You, G.o.d. You are G.o.d. You can do what You want. But I do wish sometimes that You and Your ways were easier to understand. Sometimes all I know is that You're there. Maybe sometimes that's all I need to know.
Christy noticed a trail of thin, iridescent clouds moving slowly across the night sky. The dust beneath His feet, she thought. You are here, and You do care, don't You, G.o.d? Please help Katie to see that and to understand You. Christy closed her eyes and drifted into a deep, sweet sleep.
When she awoke, the first thing Christy saw was Katie's face, which made Christy gasp. Katie had two black rings around both her eyes, a result of the blow she took to her nose the night before.
”Katie,” Christy called softly, nudging her on the shoulder. ”Katie, wake up.”
”What?” Katie answered, sounding groggy and irritated. ”Just five more minutes, okay?”
”It's time to get up, Katie. We're on the houseboat. We have to get going. And you need to look in a mirror.” Christy said the last part in a low voice and bit her lower lip, wondering how Katie would react to what she would see in the mirror.
Christy knew that if it had happened to her, she would be devastated and would probably try to find a way out of going to school the next morning. How could anyone begin her senior year with two black eyes?
Amazingly enough, the prize fighter look only bothered Katie for about two seconds. She looked in the mirror, screamed, then laughed and laughed until everyone else couldn't help but laugh along with her.
”You wait, Doug! I'm really going to get you back for this one!” she threatened him. She was still threatening when they arrived home from their trip late that evening. As Doug unloaded Katie's gear from the back of his truck. Katie reminded him, ”When you least expect it. I will get you back. Doug. You can count on it.”
Christy would have expected the jovial att.i.tude to be long gone by the next morning. But when Christy picked up Katie for school, the first thing Katie said as she bounced into the car was, ”What do you think of laxatives?”
Christy looked blankly at her friend. Katie had not even tried to cover up the black and blue with makeup. She looked awful. ”What do you mean, laxatives?” Christy asked.
”You know the way Doug will eat anything? Why don't we make him some cookies and fill the dough with laxatives? He'd never know what hit him!”
”Katie, I can't believe you're even suggesting such a thing! That is so cruel. You would never really do anything like that, would you? You know when he hit your nose it was an accident. He felt awful about it. I think he apologized to you every five minutes on the drive home.”
”Good. If you ask me, a little guilt is good for a guy.”
Christy pulled into the parking lot on the back side of Kelley High and slowly proceeded up and down the rows in search of a parking place. ”Did everybody decide to be early today or what? This seems like a lot more cars than last year.”
”You know how it is on the first day,” Katie commented. ”Everyone wants to make a good impression and all that. Besides, there are a lot more seniors this year than last. You know what I think?”
Christy found a remote parking spot and carefully eased the car in between the narrow white lines.
”I think,” Katie continued, ”since you're on yearbook staff you should put a picture of the parking lot in the yearbook. n.o.body ever does that. I think a parking lot is as important as a locker. Maybe more so. Especially your senior year.”
”You could be right. That's a good idea, Katie.” Christy gathered the few things she had brought with her and carefully locked the car.
Even though she had been at this same school for three years and she liked Kelley High, Christy still felt as if a load of bricks had just been dumped in her stomach. It didn't matter that this was her senior year. She felt the same way she had the first day of kindergarten back in Wisconsin. Terrified.
”I think it's a really good idea,” Katie chattered on cheerfully as they entered the main building. They merged into a stream of people who were all yakking and laughing and b.u.mping each other with their backpacks slung over their shoulders. ”Hey, Danny, how's it going?” Katie greeted a guy who pa.s.sed them.
Danny waved back. He had on shorts and a T-s.h.i.+rt, and he wore sungla.s.ses even though he was inside the building.
”Did you see who Danny was with?” Katie grabbed Christy by the wrist.
The two of them looked over their shoulders at Danny and the slim, dark-haired girl he had his arm around. ”That's Lynn! Can you believe they're together?” Kate said. ”Actually, if you ask me. they make a good couple. I've known Danny since second grade. We used to get into trouble together when we went to Myers Middle School. I can't believe even Danny has a girlfriend!”
Christy felt relieved that Katie was by her side, breaking the ice, overshadowing Christy's timid feelings with her bold, friendly personality. Apparently first days didn't bother Katie a bit. And with two black eyes, no less!
Christy wished she had the right words at that moment to tell Katie what her friends.h.i.+p meant to her. How much she appreciated having someone beside her who could so easily lighten the brick load in her stomach.
”This is where I get off.” Katie stopped in front of a cla.s.sroom and flashed a confident smile. ”I'll see you at lunch? Same old spot?”
”Okay.” Christy smiled back, trying to siphon one more burst of self-a.s.surance from Katie before heading down the hallway to her first cla.s.s. ”See you!”
At 11:42 the bell rang for lunch, and Christy hurried to their meeting spot under a tree on the gra.s.s. Last year they had decided not to eat at the picnic tables or to rush out to their car and hurry through some drive-through fast-food place like a lot of the other students did. Instead, Christy and Katie met at this remote spot.
But today their routine was interrupted. Sitting under ”their” tree was a guy Christy didn't recognize. His sandaled feet were stretched out in front of him, and he looked a little too comfortable. A little too permanent. Christy stood back and watched. The guy pulled an apple from his brown leather backpack and chomped into it.
How could she tell him he was in their s.p.a.ce?
”Hi!” Katie called out. She stepped up beside Christy and eyed the intruder.
”Who's that?” Katie said, almost loud enough for the guy to hear.
”I don't know,” Christy whispered, turning back to him and scrunching up her nose at Katie. ”Why don't we find a new spot?”
”Why?” Katie asked. ”We can still sit there. There's more than one side to a tree, you know. Besides, once he overhears the kind of stuff we talk about, he'll probably leave in a second.”
Katie boldly marched over to the tree as the guy watched. She planted herself like a flag of victory. Christy followed her lead, fully aware that the guy was observing their every move.
As if nothing were out of the ordinary, Katie opened a bag of chips. ”So how did all your cla.s.ses go?” she asked Christy.
It was a little more difficult for Christy to jump right into their lunch routine and act as if they weren't being observed by this stranger.
Before Christy could answer, the guy spoke up. ”Have you tried vitamin C?”
Christy noticed his accent. She guessed it was British.
”Excuse me?” Katie said, making eye contact with him.
”For the eyes.” He motioned to Katie's obvious bruises. ”Vitamin C with bioflavonoids three times a day. Have you tried it?” Katie looked at the guy, then at Christy. She seemed about to burst out laughing.