Caitlin's Lucky Charm Read online

  There was one old man who made all the volunteers ooh and aah as he came through the line to get his food. “That’s Sonny,” the lady serving salad next to Caitlin explained. “He’s here five nights a week, just like we are. We don’t usually allow pets in here, but we make an exception for Sonny. The thing is so small, he just keeps him in his jacket the whole time.”

  At first Caitlin didn’t know what the lady meant by “the thing.” But when Sonny got down to their end of the line, all was revealed. Tucked into the man’s green Windbreaker was a white dog, its tiny head barely peeking out.

  “Hello,” Sonny said to Caitlin and Isaac as they put a piece of bread and a cookie on his plate. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of making your acquaintance. I’m Sonny, and this here is my little friend, Wilbur.”

  “Like the pig in Charlotte’s Web,” Caitlin said.

  “That’s right,” Sonny said. “One of my favorite books. I used to work in an elementary school, you see. Keeping the place clean. The library was my favorite place. And what are your names?”

  “I’m Caitlin, and this is my brother, Isaac,” Caitlin replied.

  “What kind of dog is that?” Isaac asked. “Or is it a puppy? It’s so tiny.”

  Sonny moved aside so he didn’t hold up the line. “He’s a miniature Chihuahua. Come by my table when you’re done serving everyone, and you can pet him, all right? He’s a friendly sort, just like the two of you.”

  “Cool,” Isaac said. “See ya later.”

  Isaac looked up at Caitlin. “This has been a lot more fun than I thought it would be.”

  Caitlin smiled. “You know what? You’re right.” She turned around to see what her mom and sister were up to. They’d been put to work washing dishes. When Caitlin’s eyes met Jessi’s, her sister glared at her.

  If her sister hadn’t been in such a bad mood, the afternoon would have been just about perfect.

  The bluebell walls in Caitlin’s room looked fantastic.

  She couldn’t believe how nice the room had turned out. Yes, it’d been a lot of work prepping the room and going through her stuff so they could get rid of things she didn’t want or need anymore. But when it was all done, she absolutely loved everything about it.

  When they’d finished, Caitlin’s mom let her do all the things she’d been dying to do since she got home. She baked cookies. She watched television for three hours straight. She checked e-mail and played on the computer.

  Mrs. Rogers took all the kids for haircuts and bought them new socks, underwear, and one pair of shoes each. But nothing else.

  “Hopefully in a couple of months,” their mom kept saying.

  Now, as Caitlin lay on her bed, admiring her freshly painted walls the night before her first day of school, she thought maybe she would just stay in her beautiful room forever. After all, you don’t need new clothes if you stay in your room all the time. You don’t need anything, really. Not even friends.

  She’d written letters to Hannah and Libby and was finishing up the third one, to Mia.

  Last year, when I told my mom I wanted to try and get in to the arts and communications school, she asked me if I had thought it all the way through. Yes, I told her. I want to go there. Everything I love — reading, writing, art — is there in a much bigger way than the regular middle school. I said to her: I feel like I belong there.

  Now I’m wondering, WHY did I think I belong there? I have no friends there. I belong with my friends. I belong with Jade, who I’ve eaten lunch with every day since we first started going to school. How can I possibly eat lunch without her? Who will I eat lunch with at the new school? And how does that all work? Do I just sit down somewhere and hope I’ve picked the right group of kids? What if I pick the mean kids and they ignore me? Or worse, throw my lunch across the cafeteria?

  When we were painting my room, my mom told me everything will work out. That it might be hard at first, but in a couple of months, my new school will feel like home. I hope she’s right.

  I’m wearing the bracelet tomorrow, hoping it brings me lots and lots of luck. If I can find friends half as sweet as you, Hannah, and Libby, I’ll be happy.

  Your Cabin 7 BFF,

  Caitlin

  She stuck the letters into three envelopes and pulled out her camp journal to get their addresses. That happy camp feeling washed over her as she flipped through her journal. She stopped and read a question of the day.

  CAMP JOURNAL, DAY 10

  Q of the day: Do you have any pets?

  I have a Scottish terrier, also known as a Scotty dog, named Dexter. He loves people but hates other dogs. He likes going on walks, but we have to be careful if we pass another dog, because he growls and acts like he wants to fight. I wish I could ask him why he does this. I hope you don’t think Dexter is a mean dog. He’s not, I promise. He’s very sweet. I just think he gets scared sometimes and so he puts on this tough-dog act.

  Your Cabin 7 BFF,

  Libby

  Caitlin thought back to Wilbur, Sonny’s little dog. All three kids thought he was the cutest dog ever. Of course, all the way home Isaac whined about how much he wanted a dog. As much as Caitlin liked the idea, she knew their house didn’t need one more thing to worry about right now.

  After the envelopes were all addressed, she put them on her dresser, telling herself to ask her mother to mail them tomorrow. She went to her closet for the approximately one hundred and forty-fifth time, opened the doors, and began to search for the perfect outfit to wear the next day.

  The perfect outfit would say, I’m cool in an artistic sort of way.

  The perfect outfit would say, I’m happy to be here and would love to be your friend.

  The perfect outfit would say, I do not look like I was pulled out of the closet from Caitlin’s pathetic wardrobe that is so last year.

  That’s when she had the idea to go look in someone else’s closet. Nothing in hers appealed to her. At all.

  She knocked on Jessi’s door. “Go away,” Jessi said. “I’m busy.”

  “Can I look in your closet?” Caitlin asked. “I don’t have anything to wear tomorrow.”

  “Nope. They wouldn’t fit you anyway. I’m bigger than you.”

  Caitlin opened the door and peeked in. Her sister was sitting on her bed with drawings laid out all over.

  “What are you doing?” Caitlin asked.

  Jessi gathered up the papers. “None of your business. Didn’t you hear me? I said no.”

  “Please?” Caitlin begged.

  Jessi shook her head. “Go ask Mom. She’d probably let you.”

  Caitlin gave her a dirty look. “Because her clothes would totally fit me while yours don’t, right?”

  Jessi shrugged.

  Caitlin shut the door and stood in the hallway, trying to decide what to do. Looking in her mother’s closet was totally lame, wasn’t it?

  But I’m desperate, she thought.

  She went to her parents’ room. “Mom?” she called out. No answer. Caitlin went into her mom and dad’s walk-in closet. She ran her hands along her mother’s sweaters and blouses. Not a single thing looked like anything she would want to be seen in.

  “This is crazy,” she mumbled.

  As she turned around to leave, she spotted her dad’s tie rack. He had a lot of ties. A manager practically lives in ties. She noticed he had two red ties that were identical. How funny, she thought. She pulled them off the rack and looked at them.

  Red was a bold color. Confident. The ties were silky smooth, and Caitlin liked the way they felt in her hands. She put them around her neck and knew that would never work. If she was going to use them for something, she needed to be original. Unique. A trendsetter!

  With the ties in hand, Caitlin went in search of her parents. They were both sitting on the couch, her dad reading a book and her mother engrossed in another episode of Spiffy in a Jiffy.

  “Dad, did you know you have two red ties that are exactly the same?” Caitlin asked.
r />   “Yes,” he said. “And the funny thing is, I hate red ties.”

  “Can I have these then?” Caitlin asked.

  “Sure. Knock yourself out.”

  “What are you gonna do with them?” her mom asked.

  “I don’t know. Got any ideas?”

  “Actually,” she said, “I think I saw something on the Internet about how to make two ties into a belt with a bow that you wear around your waist.”

  Caitlin gasped. “Mom! That would be so cool. Can we look for it? Will you help me?”

  “Yes. As soon as this show is over, I’ll help you.”

  She could see it now. Everyone would want to know how Caitlin had managed to make a belt with her dad’s ties. That belt would be the talk of the school, which meant Caitlin would be the talk of the school and she would have a group of friends in no time. Maybe even an entire army of friends.

  She plopped down next to her mom, smiling. The lucky bracelet was finally working. She just knew it.

  The belt with a bow was super-cute with a black skirt and white shirt. At least Caitlin thought so. But no one else at school seemed to even notice Caitlin or her one-of-a-kind belt.

  She went to homeroom first period, sat down, and waited for the bell to ring. A group of four girls came in chatting and laughing, and Caitlin felt a little tug on her heart. That’s what she wanted. To have friends like that. To be in a group like that.

  If only my Cabin 7 BFFs were here.

  The group of girls sat toward the back of the room. Caitlin suddenly felt ridiculous, sitting in the front row. Why had she done that? No one sat in the front row unless they had to. She got up and moved to the back, sitting down next to one of the four girls. This one had pretty green eyes and the most shiny, wavy red hair she’d ever seen. Caitlin thought she looked like Ariel in The Little Mermaid.

  “Hi,” Caitlin said to her. “I have to tell you, I really love your hair. It’s just so …”

  Caitlin paused. The girl gave her a funny look. “Red?” she asked.

  “Well, no,” Caitlin said. “I mean, it is, but I was going to say shiny. Except that sounds weird, to say to a perfect stranger, your hair is so shiny, you know? I was trying to think of a different word. But I couldn’t think of anything. I guess I could have said beautiful, because it is totally beautiful, but that probably sounds weird too.”

  The girl gave her a weak smile and then turned around to talk to her friends.

  Caitlin could feel little beads of sweat popping up on her forehead. The girl must be wondering what planet Caitlin had come from, Caitlin thought. What was that mess of words that had just spilled from her mouth? It was like she had no control of what had come out.

  Caitlin decided she had to try again. She had to show this girl that she was not as strange as she’d just sounded.

  “Hey,” Caitlin said, reaching over and tapping the girl’s elbow. The girl turned and looked at Caitlin. She did not look too happy. In fact, she looked kind of mad. “I’m sorry. That all sounded strange, I know. I’m Caitlin. I don’t know anyone going to this school, so I’m just really nervous.”

  The girl gave her a little nod. “Oh.”

  “What’s your name?” Caitlin asked.

  “It’s Brie,” she said.

  “Like the cheese?” Caitlin asked. “That is so awesome. I love cheese. I bet if that were my name, I would walk around hungry all the time, with cheese constantly on my brain. I mean, not that I think about myself all the time, that would be weird, right?”

  Caitlin swallowed hard. Okay, stop it, she told herself. Just stop it. Do you want this girl to think you are completely crazy?

  Brie gave her a funny look. “Riiight.”

  The bell rang, saving Caitlin from any further humiliation. She wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there. But, since that wasn’t an option, she slunk down into her desk, trying to make herself as invisible as possible. Why couldn’t there be a do-over button in life? After that ridiculous conversation, Caitlin was sure that Brie and her friends would never want anything to do with her.

  The teacher wrote his name on the board. Mr. Hankins. After the principal, Mr. Eckhart, came on over the loudspeaker to welcome everyone, Mr. Hankins took attendance and explained that first period would be for catching up on homework, studying for any tests during the day, and free reading when everything else was finished.

  Caitlin looked around the room and saw hundreds of books on racks and bookcases.

  “Lots of books, huh?” the girl sitting on the other side of Caitlin whispered. She was a petite Asian girl with straight black hair and glasses.

  “Yeah,” Caitlin said.

  “Do you like to read?” the girl asked.

  What kind of question was that? “Yeah. Of course.”

  The girl smiled. “Me too.”

  “All right,” Mr. Hankins said, “I need each of you to find a partner so we can go out in the hallway and get you your lockers. We have an even number of sixteen boys and twelve girls, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding someone. I know some of you are probably nervous about the whole locker business, but have no fear! We’re going to practice opening your locker many times, after I pass out the combinations. You’re sure to get the hang of it.”

  Caitlin looked over at the group of four girls. They were pointing and giggling, no doubt figuring out how to split their group into pairs. She didn’t think she’d ever felt so jealous in her life.

  “Hey.” It was the girl on the other side of Caitlin. She turned and looked at her. “Do you want to be partners?”

  Caitlin shrugged. “Okay.”

  “My name’s Esther,” she said.

  “Hi,” Caitlin said. “Nice to meet you.”

  “What’s your name?” Esther asked.

  Caitlin hadn’t been giving Esther her full attention. She’d been trying to hear what the four girls were saying. It was too hard to hear though. “Oh, right. Sorry. It’s Caitlin.”

  “Nice to meet you too, Caitlin.”

  Mr. Hankins came around and gave Esther and Caitlin a card with their locker number and combination on it. When Caitlin saw that it was locker number seventy-seven, she smiled as she thought about her Cabin 7 friends at camp. Maybe this was a good sign.

  “What number did you get?” Caitlin asked Brie.

  “Seventy-eight,” she replied.

  Caitlin’s face lit up. “Oh good! We’re right next to each other.”

  Brie gave her a little smile and returned to talking with her friends.

  “Let’s go,” Mr. Hankins said. “Out into the hallway. Please keep your voices down, so we don’t disturb the other classes.”

  Brie and her three friends stood up, and Caitlin watched as they walked to the front of the classroom. Even though the four girls were a variety of colors and shapes and sizes, they looked cute and happy, and Caitlin could tell they had fun together.

  The fun girls. That’s who they became in Caitlin’s mind.

  Caitlin knew what her mission was now. It was to get the fun girls to like her. Maybe she couldn’t share a locker with one of them, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t hang out with them.

  She could just see the five of them, painting each other’s fingernails, talking about cute boys, and going to the movies together. They’d pass licorice and Junior Mints back and forth among one another like the best of friends do.

  “Come on,” Esther said as she stood up, pulling Caitlin back to reality. “Let’s go.”

  With determination in her voice as she thought about finding a way in with those girls, Caitlin stood up, straight and tall. “Yep. I’m ready.”

  * * *

  Caitlin didn’t get a chance to talk to Brie again until dance class, right before lunch. Sixth graders were required to take some kind of physical education class, and the Beginning Dance class was one way to meet that requirement. The planning guide had said students would be exposed to ballet, tap, rhythm, and contemporary dance styles. Unlike lots of other
girls, Caitlin had never taken dance classes, and she thought it sounded fun.

  The girls changed in the locker room and then began to make their way to the dance studio, where they would meet up with any boys that were taking the class. Caitlin caught up with Brie and said, “Hi,” as she stepped in line with her.

  “Hey,” Brie said.

  “So, have you done much dancing?” Caitlin asked her.

  “Yes,” Brie said. “Why?”

  “Just curious,” Caitlin said. She started to tell her that this would be Caitlin’s very first dance class, but she thought maybe she should keep that little bit of information to herself. She didn’t want to say too much after the disastrous cheese conversation.

  Once in the studio, the teacher, Ms. Sharp, talked for fifteen minutes or so about rules and expectations, just like every other teacher had on the first day. After that, they did some stretching.

  “Since we don’t have a lot of time today,” Ms. Sharp said, “we’ll wait and start our ballet unit on Wednesday. Today, I thought it’d be fun to put on some music and do some Zumba. The first day can be pretty stressful for some kids, so I thought we’d let loose a little and release some of that negative energy. Have any of you done Zumba before?”

  About half the kids in the class raised their hands. Caitlin wasn’t one of them.

  “It’s so much fun! You’ll see. Just follow along as best you can. The important thing is to keep moving, get your groove on, and enjoy yourselves.”

  Ms. Sharp pressed the PLAY button on the CD player, and a hip-hop song came on. She raised her arms in the air and started shaking her hips, and Caitlin tried to follow along. Right, right, then left, left. Just as soon as she got the hang of one move, Ms. Sharp changed the routine and did something else. Caitlin tried to keep up, but she was always a step or two behind everyone.

  Every once in a while, Caitlin looked over at Brie. It was like Brie had been doing Zumba her whole life. She could have been in a Zumba television commercial, that’s how good she was. She made everything look easy. Effortless.

  Caitlin tried harder.

  “Here we go,” Ms. Sharp said. “Time to shake those hips again.”