Finding Home Read online

  “Ash, you’re getting soaked.” Kari covered her smile with her hand. “What are you doing?”

  “Cleaning myself.” Ashley leaned back a little more and then something even worse happened. She started to fall. At the last second she threw herself forward and her knees landed in the same mud puddle. Ashley looked up from her spot on the ground. “I might need to call in sick today. Mud fever.”

  Kari helped Ashley to her feet just as the first bell rang.

  “We have to go!” Kari sounded panicked. She hated being late as much as Ashley did. She helped Ashley into the restroom and the two of them used paper towels to clean up the clumps. Mud streaks were everywhere. Ashley’s shoes and knees and her raincoat and pink shirt.

  The girls did their best, but it wasn’t enough.

  Kari stepped back and studied her. “At least you’re dry. And your face and hands are clean.”

  “The ground never got this muddy when it rained back home.” Ashley frowned. If they had just stayed in Ann Arbor, then she wouldn’t be in this mess. Literally.

  They tossed the dirty paper towels in the trash and hurried down their hallway. Kari gave her a last look. “It’ll be okay.” She patted Ashley’s shoulder and then darted into her classroom.

  Ashley put her backpack in front of her so she could hide the smudges. Then she walked into the room, slinked to her desk, and sat down without anyone seeming to notice her muddy condition. Which felt like a miracle.

  A minute later Natalie took her seat. Natalie, the rude girl with the braid who sat right beside her but never said a word. Ashley studied Natalie. As rude as the girl was, Ashley still wanted to be her friend. Because Natalie wasn’t only rude to Ashley. The girl didn’t talk to anyone. She seemed to need a friend as much as Ashley did.

  But becoming that friend was not turning out to be an easy job.

  That’s when Ashley remembered what her mom had said last night about the situation. Give a compliment or ask a question. Say something kind. Mom’s suggestion seemed impossible, especially with the way Natalie was acting.

  The girl wore yellow rain boots and a white-flowered headband. Maybe a compliment about Natalie’s outfit would help. Ashley was about to do just that when she paused. Perhaps she should pick a nonmuddy day to make her next attempt at friendship.

  Mr. Garrett took the front of the class. “Like I told you,” he said, “today you will be assigned your sea animal for our science reports.”

  Sea animals? Suddenly, Ashley’s muddy mood lifted. There was a chance this day could get better. All week Ashley had hinted to her teacher that she would like a dolphin or a sea turtle. She held her breath as Mr. Garrett handed each student a piece of paper with their animal. Ashley could almost see the words before her teacher reached her.

  Dolphin. Sea Turtle. Please!

  Instead the teacher handed Ashley a page with the image of a slimy, unattractive octopus. Ashley furrowed her brow and shot a look at her teacher. “Umm. Sir. Did you get my hints? About the dolphin or turtle?”

  “Yes.” He smiled at her. “But I gave you the octopus, Ashley.” He hesitated. “I think you’ll enjoy researching an animal you’re less familiar with.”

  Ashley stared at the image. “So many… legs.”

  “Yes.” Mr. Garrett laughed. “And you get to learn about how the octopus uses those legs.” He patted her shoulder and moved on.

  Ashley studied the octopus on her handout. Maybe this creature wasn’t so bad. His head was big, so probably he was the smartest of the sea animals. That could possibly be interesting.

  When the lunch bell rang, Ashley felt proud of herself. Three awful events today. The mud, the silent treatment from Natalie, and the octopus. And she hadn’t even cried.

  Not a single tear.

  Face high, she told herself. She was Ashley Baxter and she could wear mud better than anyone. She could sit next to the mean girl and still have a good day, and she could miss out on the dolphin and sea turtle and find a way to like an octopus.

  Look for the good, she thought. Something her dad was always telling them to do.

  But just then someone behind her in the hallway called her name. The voice belonged to a boy. Ashley didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.

  Landon Blake.

  “Psssst. Ashley.” He came closer. “I’m talking to you.”

  She spun around and looked straight at him. “What do you want?” Ashley whispered back. She didn’t want to get in trouble for being loud in the hall.

  He smiled a goofy sort of secret smile. “Your shoe’s untied.” Landon pointed down at her feet. “Look!”

  How could this be happening? Her shoes were muddy and untied? Really? She looked down. But they weren’t actually untied at all. They were still perfectly laced.

  “Made you look!” Landon laughed. His eyes were sort of sparkly. “Funny, right?”

  “No.” Ashley gave him the same look she’d given the octopus a few minutes ago. “I have a suggestion, Landon Blake.”

  “Okay.” He started walking beside her. “I have to hear this.”

  She stopped again and studied him. “Don’t be a comedian.”

  This time he laughed harder. Like they were friends or something. “You’re spunky.”

  Was that supposed to be a compliment? Ashley resumed walking and Landon kept up. “I got a sea turtle for the project.” He glanced at her. “What did you get?”

  “An octopus.” Ashley could hardly wait to find Marsha at their table. This conversation was getting on her nerves. It was not fair that Landon got a sea turtle. She used her most professional tone. “And the octopus is the best because… eight legs, naturally. Nothing else has that.”

  “Except spiders.” Landon grinned at her.

  That was it. Landon Blake was officially a menace.

  Ashley stopped and put her hands on her hips. “I really hope you don’t embarrass yourself when you present your sea turtle project.” She tilted her head. “You don’t seem like a very mature fifth grader.”

  “Oh… like you? Who fell in the mud today?” Landon pointed at her. “That’s pretty immature, if you ask me.”

  “No one asked you.” She had no choice but to stay confident here.

  “Whatever you say, Ashley.” Landon laughed and kept walking. He looked back just once. “Keep being spunky. It suits you.”

  She stared at him as he walked to the boys’ table on the other side of the cafeteria. But she had no clever words. She was all clevered out.

  That afternoon Mr. Garrett taught the class about the power of friendship—of all things. He said unlikely friendships sometimes made up the fabric of history.

  Unlikely friendships. Ashley smiled at that idea.

  Mr. Garrett told them, “For instance, Alexander Graham Bell is famous for inventing the telephone, but did you know that he became a close friend to Helen Keller—who could not hear or speak?” He paused. “That’s not a likely friendship. Mr. Bell helped Helen Keller attend school as a result. His friendship with her had a big impact on history.”

  Ashley let loose a quiet sigh. She was glad Helen Keller had a friend like Mr. Bell. But what about her? Where was her unlikely friend? How come no one in this class had stepped forward to fill the spot?

  Mr. Garrett walked to his desk. “We are going to make friendship bracelets today. I want you to think about someone from our class who you wouldn’t normally be friends with.” He laid out the materials on the large table at the side of the room. “Maybe they play a different sport than you, or maybe you think they talk too much… or that their love for comic books is strange.”

  Their teacher made his eyes really big, and the class giggled.

  “Give that person your friendship bracelet.” Mr. Garrett nodded. “Take a chance and make a friend.” He shrugged. “You just might change history.”

  Ashley was one of the last to visit the supply table. She loved what her teacher had said. Jesus had said basically the same thing in the Bi
ble: Love one another. That’s what Mr. Garrett was talking about. Being kind. Sacrificing for someone else.

  But you had to have a friend before you could show kindness, right? Ashley picked out pretty pink and white threads along with a few purple ones and she set to work on her bracelet.

  Even though she couldn’t think of a single classmate who could wear it.

  * * *

  Back at the house, Ashley changed clothes and found her sketchbook and pencils. Then she made her way downstairs. She was sketching herself covered in mud—so she wouldn’t forget how she felt—when she heard Mom’s voice.

  “Ashley.” Her mother called out from the living room. “There’s mail for you on the kitchen counter.”

  Mail? Ashley felt her heart do a little dance. She walked to the kitchen and there it was. She read her name across the front and then at the upper left corner she saw—

  “Lydia!” Ashley screamed her old friend’s name. “It’s from Lydia!”

  She grabbed the letter and ran to the front porch swing. As soon as she was settled in, she tore open the envelope.

  Ashley… Hello from Ann Arbor! Summer was boring without you. I did go to Camp Waterloo and I learned how to fence. It was awesome. School has been okay. Things are definitely different since you moved. How is Bloomington? Are you making friends? We should write more letters to each other. I saw Samson the other day. You know, the butterfly from last year. I told him to fly to you and say hi. Miss you, Ashley Baxter! Talk to you soon! Your best friend, Lydia.

  Ashley closed her eyes and held the letter to her heart. “Thank You, God, for this happy moment,” she whispered. “It was just what I needed.” She folded up the letter and put it back in the envelope. Then she opened her sketchbook, and for a long time she looked again at the picture of her home in Ann Arbor.

  Finally she turned to a blank page and drew an octopus. Except accidentally he had only seven legs. She giggled. Seven, eight. How could it matter? She added herself deep-sea diving with three sea turtles next to the octopus.

  There. That was better.

  She was halfway through another sketch when her daddy came out onto the porch. He took the chair beside her. “Sort of a muddy day, huh?”

  Ashley stared at the rainy sky. “Yeah.” She looked straight at her dad’s eyes. “First mud, then the class menace.”

  “Menace?” Dad raised his brow. “I didn’t hear about that.”

  “Landon Blake.” She frowned. “He teases me all the time.”

  A little grin came up Dad’s face, but then it dropped off. “Is the boy being mean?”

  “Hmm.” Ashley remembered the day. “Not mean, really. Just a menace.”

  “I see.” Dad was quiet for a minute. “You know, Ashley, you can stand up for yourself.” He paused. “But as far as this boy being a menace.” Dad put his arm around Ashley and pulled her close. “Sometimes, people say the wrong things. Even if they mean well, it can come across wrong.”

  Ashley thought about that. “True.”

  “Maybe he’s not a menace.” Dad patted her head. “He might just need practice at being nice. Or acting his age.” Dad made a silly face.

  This made Ashley giggle.

  “He says I’m spunky.” She wrinkled her nose. “So yes, he’s a menace.”

  Dad thought for a second. “Well… you’ve already had the mud and the menace.” He pulled something from his pocket. “Now it’s time for some Mentos.” He handed them to Ashley.

  “My favorite!” Ashley jumped up, and leaned over to hug her dad. “You always make things better. And guess what? Lydia wrote to me!”

  “That’s what Mom said.” Dad turned to her picture. “What are you drawing?”

  Ashley held it out. “This one is me… and the only person who could ever wear the friendship bracelet we made in school today.”

  “Lydia?” Dad gave her an understanding look.

  “Yes.” For the first time today, Ashley blinked away tears. “It had to be someone from our class. And… last year, she was in my class.” She leaned her head on her daddy’s shoulder. “But I can’t give it to her, because Lydia is back home. And home is a million miles away from here.”

  Her dad pulled her into a safe hug, and they stayed that way for a while. Ashley stared at her Mentos. And even though that was the sad truth about Lydia, she felt a little happier.

  Because Daddy understood her heart.

  And that was the best news all day.

  11 Adventure Day and the Green Lava

  KARI

  The rocks were getting heavier.

  They filled an invisible bag and weighed against Kari’s back and shoulders everywhere she went. Guilt rocks. Because she still hadn’t told anyone what she’d done. How she’d cheated on the history test.

  Every day at school with her new friends, Liza and Mandy, Kari could almost feel the word cheater written across her forehead. What would happen if the girls found out? What about Ms. Nan?

  It was getting to be more than Kari could handle.

  Which was why she was so happy it was Saturday morning. A day to just be with her family. Ashley had forgiven her about the swim team dilemma, and since then their biggest problem was sleep.

  Because at night they always had so much to talk about.

  Kari sat by the living room window and wrote in her journal. She loved Saturday mornings because time seemed to stop. Never mind the rocks, today it felt like she had forever to gather her thoughts and write about them.

  “Morning.” Ashley came down the stairs. She smiled at Kari. “Feels like an Adventure Day to me.”

  This was the sister she loved so much. “Like when we were little!”

  “Right.” Ashley poured herself a bowl of cereal. “Because there’s no law that fifth- and sixth-grade girls can’t have an Adventure Day!”

  “True.” Kari shut her journal. “Maybe we’ll find something!”

  Brooke entered the kitchen from the garage door. She was practically buried in a stack of flattened cardboard boxes. “A little help please!” She huffed, out of breath. “I need these on the big table.”

  Kari jumped up and grabbed three of the boxes from Brooke. When they unloaded their arms, there were seven total boxes spread across the table. Kari looked at their oldest sister. “What are these for?”

  “Carly is coming over.” Brooke brushed her hair off her face. “We need to work on our science project!”

  Kari grabbed a bowl of cereal, too. She looked at Brooke. “Last week you couldn’t decide what you wanted to do.”

  Brooke rummaged through the kitchen drawers. “We’re making a volcano.”

  Kari glanced at Ashley, and the two of them turned to Brooke. “Really?” Kari put her spoon down. “With lava and everything?”

  “Yes! It’ll win for sure!” Brooke found a roll of duct tape and began attaching the flat cardboard pieces together. After a minute she stepped back and surveyed her work. “Perfect base. Where’s Mom?”

  Kari nodded to the back door. “She’s in the garden with Erin.” Kari walked back to the couch. She flopped down and opened her journal again. She picked up where she’d left off.

  Okay. I’m back… Cheating is especially stressful because if someone finds out, I’ll be punished for sure. I’ll probably have to pay a fine. Or get expelled. Or worse, maybe I’ll have to tell the entire class what I did. An hour of shame! That would be horrible.

  The doorbell rang. “That’s Carly!” Brooke half slid, half ran to the front door. Kari closed her journal and tucked it under the couch. Because those secrets were for her and God alone.

  Carly always sounded like someone was chasing her. Today was no different. She followed Brooke to the kitchen table, talking the whole way. “So, I was thinking we could use a balloon! And then maybe put some red glitter in it and I was reading about how heat can make a balloon pop.” She took a breath, probably so she wouldn’t pass out. “I have a million ideas. For instance there was this book I read once
that…”

  Kari tuned the girl out and joined Ashley at the kitchen counter again. They watched Brooke and Carly bounce ideas around like Ping-Pong balls. Finally, Ashley leaned close to Kari. “I’m worried.” She kept her voice to a whisper. “I hope they don’t burn the house down. Lava’s hot, you know.”

  This was what Kari loved about Ashley. She always found a way to make her laugh. “I think the house will be okay.” An idea came to her. “Let’s go outside and see what Mom and Erin are doing! Race you out back!”

  Before Ashley could answer, Kari took off. They weren’t going to have an Adventure Day sitting in the house watching Brooke and Carly. The air was cool and it smelled sweet like autumn leaves. Summer was officially winding down.

  Kari breathed in deep as she ran. Fall made the morning even more exciting. Best time of the year. The trees were already turning yellow and red and they could play outside all day and never get too hot.

  Kari reached the grass. “I won!” She pumped her hands in the air and then rested them on the tree.

  “Not fair!” Ashley was close behind. “You cheated!”

  Kari’s heart nearly stopped. Why did Ashley say that? Had she read the journal? And if Ashley knew, had she told other people?

  Kari spun around and looked at Ashley. “How did you know?” She could barely speak. Her whole life was collapsing around her.

  Ashley tilted her head to one side and exhaled. “What”—her words came between breaths—“are you talking about?”

  Kari blinked a few times. “What are you talking about?” Kari tried to cover her tracks. She didn’t want to give herself away.

  “The race. You got a head start!” Ashley put her hands on her hips. “It wasn’t a fair race.”

  “Oh… yeah.” Kari tried to laugh, but her voice sounded funny. “Right. I get it. I cheated.” Kari couldn’t quite find her smile.

  “Are you okay?” Ashley looked confused.

  Kari felt panic creeping in around her. She couldn’t keep this secret forever. “I don’t know. Forget it!” She started walking toward the garden. “We have to find our adventure!”