Take Charge (8 page)

“I’d have people working for me,” she said quickly. “Not that I wouldn’t do the dirty work too. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty.”

Chelsea laughed. “You’re a funny girl, Carlie.”

“Yeah, whatever … ”

“Hey, where’s this cool clubhouse you and your friends keep talking about? Do I get to see it or not?”

“Of course,” said Carlie as she opened the little gate from her garden. “It’s down this way and —”

“Hey,” called Amy, waving from across the street. “I thought that must’ve been Chelsea’s car leaving just now. You guys heading over to the Rainbow Bus?”

“Rainbow Bus?” echoed Chelsea. “That sounds like a kiddies show on public TV. Is Barney there? Or maybe
the Teletubbies?”

Amy laughed. “No, we’re a little more sophisticated than that.”

Carlie didn’t say anything as they walked down the path toward the beach. Mostly she wished that they’d never invited Chelsea to come here. She saw Morgan and Emily up ahead, waiting for them where the trail forked off to the bus.

“Hey, you guys,” said Morgan as they joined them. “Before we take Chelsea to the clubhouse, we need to make sure she understands some things. Okay?”

“Like what?” asked Chelsea with a suspicious look.

“Well, we need to know we can trust you,” said Morgan.

“Why?”

“Because we don’t want everyone finding out about our clubhouse, particularly where it’s located. It’s kind of a secret.”

“And we had a little trouble with some boys earlier this summer,” said Emily. “We wouldn’t want any of them to know about this place.”

“Well, Derrick Smith is in juvenile detention anyway,” said Amy. “I don’t think we need to worry about —”

“I don’t even know anyone in town besides you guys,” Chelsea pointed out. “Who am I going to tell?”

“That’s right,” said Amy quickly. “Lighten up, Morgan.”

“We just need to be careful,” said Morgan.

“That’s right,” agreed Emily.

“And we need to know we can trust Chelsea.”

“So what do you want me to do?” asked Chelsea. “You want me to sign my name in blood? Or swear on a Bible? Or what?”

Morgan laughed. “We just want your word. Just promise that you’ll respect our secret and you can see the clubhouse.”

Chelsea held up her hand like she was taking an oath. “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“Good.” Morgan nodded. “That works.”

“Right this way,” said Emily. The five girls all turned onto the path that led to the bus.

“Whoa,” said Chelsea when she saw the bus. “It does sort of look like a rainbow.”

“Yep,” said Morgan as she unlocked the door. “It’s our own little rainbow.”

“Wait until you see the inside,” said Emily, stepping aside so that Chelsea could go in behind Morgan.

“Morgan’s our designer,” said Carlie as she followed Chelsea in. She hoped that Chelsea wouldn’t say anything mean. You could never tell with this girl.

“This is pretty cool,” said Chelsea as she looked around the bus. “Kind of retro, huh?”

“Yeah,” said Morgan. “It went with the whole style of the bus.”

Chelsea sat down on the plush-covered couch. “I like it.”

Carlie let out a small sigh of relief as she sat down beside her. Then Morgan turned on the old record player and put an old Beatles album on. Amy plugged in the string of fruit lights to give the place a festive feel. And Emily opened the little fridge. “We have juice or soda,” she said. “Want anything, Chelsea?”

“And lunch will be catered today,” said Morgan.

“Really?” Carlie looked curiously at Morgan. She hadn’t heard anything about this.

Morgan grinned. “Grandma offered.”

Carlie realized that her three friends had all gone out of their way to make this visit with Chelsea special. And it made her feel warm inside.

They talked and played music and before long it was noon. Morgan and Emily ran back to Morgan’s house to get their “catered” lunch.

“This is really a cool place to hang with your friends,” said Chelsea as she checked things out more closely.

“We like it,” said Amy as she began to set plates and napkins on the small table, getting it ready for lunch.

“You could have good parties here,” said Chelsea.

“Parties?” asked Carlie.

“You know, boy-girl parties.”

Amy giggled. “Well, we haven’t made an official rule about it yet, but I have a strong suspicion there will be no boys allowed.”

“No boys?” Chelsea looked surprised.
“Not ever?”

“It’s a girls-only club,” said Carlie. “We like it like that.”

Chelsea laughed. “Well, you might not always think that way.”

“Here’s lunch,” said Morgan as she and Emily came back in with a bag and cardboard box. Soon it was neatly arranged on the table, and after Morgan said a blessing, they began to eat.

“So is this a
Christian
club?” asked Chelsea as she reached for a handful of potato chips.

Carlie glanced at Morgan, wondering how she would answer this.

“Some of us are Christians,” said Morgan. “But it’s not a requirement.”

“Are you a Christian, Amy?” asked Chelsea. “I mean, I thought oriental people were Buddhists or something like that.”

“My parents used to practice Buddhism,” said Amy in a slightly defensive tone. “But I think they gave it up when they moved to America. My sister An is a Christian though.”

“She is?” said Morgan with interest.

Amy nodded. “Yes. My parents aren’t too happy about it.”

“Oh.”

“How about you, Carlie?” asked Chelsea. “Are you a Christian?”

Carlie considered this. “Well, I … yeah … I guess.”

“But like I said,” Morgan jumped in. “You don’t have to be a Christian to belong in this club. But you do have to agree to certain things.” Then she held up her rainbow bracelet. “Rainbows rule.”

The other girls held up theirs too, echoing her.

“So what’s the deal with those bracelets?” asked Chelsea. “What do the letters mean?”

“Carlie didn’t tell you?” asked Amy.

“No way,” said Carlie. “Morgan said it was a secret, remember?”

“I don’t remember her saying that,” said Amy.

“Well, she did,” said Emily. “I suppose you’ve told someone by now.”

“No, I haven’t,” said Amy.

“It’s kind of our code,” said Morgan. “If you become a member, we’ll tell you what it means.”

“Meaning I could become a member?” asked Chelsea.

“Sure,” said Amy. “We’ve already been discussing it.”

Chelsea frowned now. “But I might not want to … ”

“No one’s going to force you,” said Carlie. Feeling irritated, she got up and went over to the record player, carefully flipping the record over and placing the needle on the edge. Then she sat down in the driver’s seat and just looked out the window, out toward where the ocean was, although it was hidden by the tall beach grass that grew
in the dunes. She listened as the girls continued talking. And it seemed that Chelsea was trying to be a little nicer. Maybe she realized that Carlie was getting fed up with her little jabs and barbs.

“So what are we going to do now?” asked Chelsea after they cleaned up the lunch things.

“We could go to the beach,” suggested Morgan. “That morning fog has finally burned off.”

“Yeah, we could catch some sun,” said Emily. “My tan’s starting to fade.”

Chelsea laughed. “And in this club, a girl needs a good tan to fit in.”

“That’s not true,” snapped Carlie, instantly sorry that she did.

“Don’t be so touchy,” said Chelsea. “I’m just kidding.”

“Let’s get our suits,” suggested Morgan as she headed for the door. “We might want to take a swim.”

“I didn’t bring mine,” said Chelsea.

“I have an extra one,” said Carlie reluctantly.

“I’ll bet it’s not a bikini,” teased Chelsea.

“That’s right,” said Carlie. “My mom would kill me if I wore a bikini.”

“I could loan you a bathing suit,” offered Amy.

Chelsea laughed. “Yeah, but it would be a teeny-weeny bikini, and I’m not sure that I’m ready to show that much skin.”

Carlie had stayed up late last night, carefully cleaning her room, just in case Chelsea needed to see it. But as they walked into her house, she realized that it made no difference. Chelsea would probably still find lots to make fun of in there. Carlie braced herself as she held the door open for Chelsea.

“Everything is so small here,” said Chelsea, looking around the tiny, crowded space. “It’s like a midget house.”

“Except that we’re not midgets,” said Carlie as she pulled out her two swimsuits. “Take your pick.”

Naturally, Chelsea picked Carlie’s favorite, the bright orange tankini. “It’s not exactly my style,” said Chelsea. “But I guess it’ll have to do.”

Carlie took the other suit and began tugging it on. It had navy and white stripes and was getting a little small. She’d had it since fifth grade and hoped she wouldn’t split a seam in it today. Just to be safe she pulled a pair of nylon shorts on over it.

“Being modest, are we?” teased Chelsea.

“No,” admitted Carlie. “But this suit is getting a little tight.”

Chelsea nodded. “You really should get a two-piece, Carlie. You would look totally awesome in one.”

Carlie smiled. “Yeah, but I’d be toast if Mom saw me.”

Chelsea rolled her eyes. “Your mom is so old-fashioned.”

“Tell me about it.”

Carlie grabbed a couple of towels. Not the big, fluffy, pool towels like they used at Chelsea’s house, but at least she picked out ones that weren’t too faded or frayed.

The girls met at the clubhouse and then walked down to the beach, laughing and joking as they went. It actually seemed like everyone was accepting Chelsea — and like Chelsea was trying to fit in. And yet, Carlie still felt a strained awkwardness. Or maybe she was just being too sensitive. But she felt responsible for Chelsea. Like if Chelsea said or did something to offend one of her friends, it would be Carlie’s fault.

They went to their favorite part of the beach, where it was slightly sheltered in case the wind picked up. They began to arrange their towels and blankets, making themselves comfortable.

“I wish I brought my iPod,” said Chelsea. “Then we could have some music.”

“You have an iPod?” said Amy.

“Yeah. And it’s loaded with tunes.”

“You are so lucky.”

“I’m curious, Chelsea,” said Morgan as she rolled a sweatshirt up like a pillow and placed it beneath her head. “You asked about this being a Christian club … does that mean you’re a Christian?”

“Not hardly,” said Chelsea.

“Then why did you ask?”

“Because you girls seem kind of like that.”

“Kind of like that?” Morgan turned her head and peered at Chelsea from beneath her oversized sunglasses. “What does that mean?”

“Oh, you know … goody-goody … nicey-nice.”

“Oh … ”

“Well, I’m a Christian,” said Emily. “And I’m not exactly goody-goody.” She laughed. “Of course, I haven’t been a Christian for very long. I’ve still got a lot to learn, huh, Morgan?”

Morgan sat up and shrugged. “I don’t know … I think you’re doing just fine, Emily.”

“So you’re the strong Christian in the group?” said Chelsea. “I knew it.”

“Strong Christian?” echoed Morgan. “You mean like I probably pump iron while I read the Bible?”

Everyone but Chelsea laughed.

“No, I mean the kind of Christian who looks down on everyone who’s
not
saved like her.”

“Morgan doesn’t do that!” Emily sat up on her knees and planted her hands on her hips.

“That’s right,” said Carlie. “Not at all.”

“I think she does.” Chelsea sat up now. “I think she looks down on me.”

“Where do you get that nonsense?” demanded Emily. “Morgan isn’t like that at all. Not with anyone!”

“Hey,” said Morgan. “Calm down, you guys. If Chelsea really thinks those things, I’d like to hear why.”

“Yeah,
why
?” said Emily, still visibly mad.

Chelsea shrugged. “I just get that feeling.”

“What
feeling?” Emily stared at Chelsea.

“You know, like she thinks she’s so superior. It’s just like the Christian girls at my other school. Audrey and I used to make fun of them all the time.”

“You made fun of them?” asked Morgan. “Just because they were Christians?”

“Because they were freaks,” said Chelsea. “They always talked about who was saved and who wasn’t saved and how they were praying for everyone and everything — always acting like they were better than everyone else.”

“But Morgan’s not like that,” said Carlie.

“She’s not,” admitted Amy. “I mean, she and I don’t always agree on stuff, but Morgan has never put anyone down for not being a Christian.”

Chelsea just shrugged again. “Well, maybe I’m wrong. You guys don’t have to get all mad about it.”

Morgan smiled at her. “I’m not mad, Chelsea. I was just curious. The thing is I really don’t want to come across as that kind of person. I believe that Jesus was the most accepting and loving person to ever walk the planet. If anything, I want to be more like him.”

“Well, the Christians at my other school were not accepting or loving,” said Chelsea. “Not even close.”

“Maybe it’s because you teased them,” said Emily.

Chelsea didn’t say anything.

“I don’t know about you guys,” said Carlie. “But I am getting way too hot in the sun. I’m going in for a swim.” Then she took off, marching toward the water. She knew the real reason she was getting hot was because of Chelsea. Why did that girl have to poke and prod and get everyone mad at her all the time? At this rate, she doubted that anyone would want to invite her to join the club. And maybe that was for the best.

“Hey, Carlie,” called Chelsea, coming up from behind. “Did I do it again?”

“Huh?” Carlie just looked at her, trying to pretend like nothing was wrong.

“You know what I mean. I stuck my foot in my mouth with Morgan. And now you’re mad at me? Right?”

Carlie shrugged. “I don’t know … ”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I told Morgan I was sorry and she said it was no problem. She said she liked having conversations like that. She said it made her think about things.”

Carlie nodded as she went beyond the next set of waves. “Well, good. I’m glad you guys don’t hate each other.”