Blue Ribbon Champ (5 page)

“Kids, remember, this is no picnic that Paul Revere is inviting you to. You are alarmed and scared. You are being called to arms—to fight for America’s independence! Let’s hear some
oomph
in your voices.”

“Okay, Pastor,” Melissa said.

“Oomph! Got it,” Chad added.

“I know you’re all anxious to go home.” Pastor Newman glanced at his watch and returned to Joey. “Let’s just try it once more, and we’ll pick it up again next week.”

Skye and her neighbors backed out of their window frames and waited for their cues.

“Now, Joey,” Skye heard the pastor say as she waited behind her door, “did you see what I did?”

“Yes, sir, Mister Pastor,” Joey said. “I kin do this. You’ll see.”

“Then let’s just try it once, okay?”

“Okay,” Joey said.

Pastor Newman shouted across the platform, “Bobby and you four over there, are you ready?”

“Ready!”

“All right, Joey, go ahead,” the pastor said, “and remember, after Bobby says ‘The Regulars are out!’ you
yell the same thing, gallop across the platform, and knock on each door. I think it would be best if you wait until the door swings open to say ‘The Regulars are out!’ Just yell it as loud as you can to the person who’s standing there.”

“Okay! The Regulars are out!” Joey yelled, his round face beaming.

“That’s right. Now here we go,” the pastor said. “Roll ’em!”

And Paul Revere rode through Lexington, knocking on every single door without a hitch!

F
or weeks leading up to the big event, the American Pride presentation at Community Bible Church was the talk of Snyder County. Newspaper ads and radio announcers encouraged all patriotic citizens to “attend the best show in town.”

Skye looked forward to the program almost as much as she did the horse show coming in August. Although Joey was stuck in the middle of her life, she tried to focus on her responsibilities with Mom and Dad Chambers’ help. However, despite their advice to take her problems to God, Skye decided to handle things her own way. She tried to ignore Joey and Chad, and she kept her thoughts to herself.

Finally, the Saturday evening for the Fourth of July program arrived, and the Youth for Truth were dressed in their colonial costumes, in their places, and ready to go onstage.

From a crack in the door behind the church organ, Skye peeked out at the auditorium. Her heart pounded like a hammer on an anvil. While the pianist and organist played patriotic preludes, every pew in the little church
filled with people, elbow to elbow. Latecomers rushed to claim metal chairs that were being set along the walls. The place buzzed with the chatter of friends and family members who had gathered to help celebrate America’s roots. Four ceiling fans were trying their best to cool the excitement that heated the room like an electric charge.

“Wow,” Skye whispered. “The church is packed. I hope I don’t do something lame.”

“Do you see Hannah and her friends?” Chad asked.

“No,” Skye snapped back.

“Hmm, that’s strange,” Chad said. “She told me they’d be here.”

Well, whoop-de-do.
Skye squeezed the door shut. Making a point to ignore Chad, she arranged her mobcap over her tight bun of dark brown hair. Melissa and Morgan also adjusted their caps, then all three girls smoothed the long white aprons that topped their flowing skirts. Chad doubled-checked his vest buttons, stockings, and buckled shoes.

“I can’t believe I’m standing here in stockings.” Chad’s brown eyes flashed. “I never thought I’d wear them for
any
reason. And white ones at that!”

Skye forced out a plastic smile and went back to smoothing her clothes.

Morgan’s freckled face beamed pure excitement. “I think these outfits are too cool, although
cool
really isn’t the best word. I can’t believe they wore all these layers of clothes in the summer.”

“I know,” Melissa said. “I’m melting.”

“Well, I know one thing.” Skye grabbed two handfuls of her dress and petticoats. “Riding a horse must have been a real pain. I don’t know how those ladies kept their balance with sidesaddles. I would
not
have been a happy camper.”

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to American Pride!” Pastor Newman made his booming announcement over the microphone.

Skye glanced at the clock. Seven o’clock sharp.

“We’re especially glad to welcome all of you visitors who are with us tonight.” The pastor continued, “Please remember to fill out the guest card and place it in the offering plate during our intermission. Now, let’s all stand and sing, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ page eight in the hymnal. That’s number eight. All four verses, please.”

The instruments began, launching the congregation into a hearty rendition of the national anthem. Pastor Newman then prayed, and the teens began their program. While scenes one and two were presented, Skye and her group stood in the hallway behind the door, growing edgier by the second. They rambled on about nothing and checked the clock every five minutes.

“We should be on soon, shouldn’t we?” Melissa nervously smoothed her apron one more time. “It’s 7:45.”

“Listen,” Chad said, and they all stood perfectly still.

“…and I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” echoed through a microphone, and a round of applause exploded.

“That’s good ol’ Patrick Henry.” Skye glanced at a program printout. “So after the intermission, it’s our turn.”

“I need a mirror.” Melissa fidgeted with the long blonde curls dangling in front of her ears.

“You don’t want to go into the restroom where they can see you in your costume, do you?” Chad gestured with his thumb toward the congregation. “Everybody—and I mean everybody—hangs out in the restrooms during intermissions. Are you sure you need to go now? You look cool.”

“Yes, I need to go
now,”
Melissa said.

On the other side of the wall, a swell of chatter and shuffling told the backstage teens that the intermission had begun.

“I need to check how I look too.” Skye fingered her cap. “Hey, I just remembered. We can go downstairs to
the Junior Church restroom in the back. Nobody will be down there.”

“Let’s go,” Melissa said. “Morgan, do you want to go with us?”

“No, I’m okay.” Morgan giggled. “I don’t think anyone will notice if my freckles are out of order.”

Skye and Melissa hurried downstairs and returned in five minutes. Back and forth they paced while Chad repeatedly checked his buttons and Morgan readjusted her cap. They glanced at the clock and paced, adjusted their costumes, and paced some more. Skye did her best to ignore Chad.

The piano and organ started playing, and Pastor Newman began, “Ladies and gentlemen, we trust that you’ve enjoyed our program so far. I am so thankful that God has given us freedom in this great land. Join me now in singing ‘America the Beautiful,’ page twelve. We’ll sing the first and last stanzas. Please stand.”

“That’s our cue. Let’s go!” Skye opened the door and the four went into the sanctuary, up the ramp, and took their places behind the facade of row houses. While the congregation sang, the teens checked out each other’s costumes and hair one more time. Skye watched Bobby climb up to his perch while Mr. Chambers held the ladder in place. Her eyes darted to the piano side of the platform. There Mrs. Chambers was seating Joey in a chair against the wall. Calm as a toddler ready for his afternoon nap, he sat holding a broomstick horse between his knees. His red cheeks glowed with a jubilant grin from under a three-cornered hat resting atop his bent ears.

He does look kind of cool.
Skye was surprised by her own admission.

Skye’s gaze shifted out her house window and scanned the congregation. Along the side wall three girls stood, talking and giggling.

Hannah Gilbert and her cohorts,
Skye fumed.
Well, double whoop-de-do!

When the singing ended, Pastor Newman announced, “Please be seated. And now for scene three!”

As everyone applauded, Mrs. Chambers prodded Joey to stand.

Skye dug her teeth into her bottom lip, stepped closer to her door, and prepared to yank it open on cue. “Here we go,” she whispered.

Her side vision caught Chad’s thumbs-up sign.

“One if by land, and two if by sea!” Bobby shouted as he raised his two lanterns. “The Regulars are out!”

“The Regulars are out!” Joey yelled then rode across the platform.

Knock, knock, knock.
He pounded on the first door. Melissa swung it open.

“The Regulars are out!” Joey yelled.

“The Regulars are out?” Melissa responded, slammed her door, and giggled. Chad gave her another thumbs-up.

Knock, knock, knock!
Joey pounded harder on the second door, and Chad swung it open.

“The Regulars are out!” Joey yelled louder.

“The Regulars are out?” Chad yelled back and slammed his door.

Skye straightened her mobcap one more time and grabbed the doorknob.

Knock, knock, knock!
Joey pounded on the third door, and Skye swung it open.

Silence.

Time froze as Joey stood there, staring blankly at Skye. Then, with no conscious thought of where he was or why, he blurted out, “Cloud, I love you, and Jesus loves you too!”

Skye’s eyes registered a mixture of surprise and fear, and her brain went absolutely numb. She stared at the
congregation as a wave of muffled giggles broke the silence. Her glance was drawn back to Hannah and her friends, who were holding their sides and practically rolling in the aisle.

Joey, appearing to regain his focus, yelled at the top of his lungs, “Oh, I almost forgot. The Regulars are out too!” The microphone screeched, and the congregation burst into sidesplitting laughs that seemed to charge down the aisles and up onto the platform, attacking Skye like a swarm of angry bees.

Skye slammed her door and leaned against it, her mind a puddle of mush. Her eyes flooded with tears as she looked at Melissa and Chad, whose blank faces registered only,
What do we do now?

Morgan strained to get Skye’s attention. “Skye! Say your line, or Joey won’t know what to do next.”

“I don’t care
what
he does!” Skye blurted out. Bursting into tears, she bounded off the stage and slipped out the door behind the organ. For a moment, she leaned against the wall and wept as if her life were over. With humiliation hot on her trail, she ran down the long hallway, charged out the back door of the church, and tore into the parking lot packed full of cars.

S
kye looked through an ocean of tears, struggling to focus on the Keystone Stables van at the far end of the lot. The evening sun, still beating down mercilessly, drenched her with a wave of hot, sticky air. She ripped off her mobcap, stuffed it in her apron pocket, and bunched her long flowing skirt into a tight wad. Wiping her eyes, she raced toward the van, weaving in and out of a maze of parked cars.
I have never felt so lame,
her heart cried.
My life is ruined!

Reaching the van, she grabbed the door handle and pulled hard.

Locked!

Skye’s layers of clothing choked her frantic body, forcing sweat to ooze from her forehead and join the waterfall of tears. Adding that to the cloud of embarrassment that hung heavily over her only made Skye angrier. A charge of hot temper shot through her from head to toe. Again, she grabbed the handle and yanked and yanked. Somehow, it just had to yield to her persistent force.

“You stupid door!” she screamed. She flopped against the van window, buried her face in her arms, and started to cry again.

“Skye,” Mrs. Chambers said as she gently touched the girl’s shoulder.

Skye looked into her foster mother’s gentle, blue eyes, fell into her arms, and sobbed uncontrollably.

“I hate him,” Skye cried. “I know it’s wrong, but I do.”

Mrs. Chambers caressed Skye in arms of tender love. Not a word was spoken while Skye wept bitterly.

Finally, Mrs. Chambers said, “Let’s talk.” Holding her foster daughter at arm’s length, she gently brushed the tears from Skye’s face. “I think you could use some tissues too.”

She unlocked the van, and the two climbed in. Mrs. Chambers idled the engine and turned on the air conditioner. Reaching under the seat, she pulled out a tissue pack and handed it to Skye. “Here, honey,” she said softly.

Skye emptied her nose into a handful of tissues. Cool air blew straight into Skye’s face, squelching her hot temper along with the van’s oppressive heat.

“Mom, w-why do I-I feel like this?” Skye sputtered. “I don’t want to, but I can’t help it.”

“Let me ask you a few questions. Okay?” Mrs. Chambers said.

“Okay.” Skye wiped her runny nose.

“Why do you hurt so badly right now?”

Skye cleared out her brain and rehashed the last five horrible minutes of her life. “Because everybody in the whole church laughed at me.” She sniffled and wiped her nose again.

“I know that’s how you feel, Skye,” Mrs. Chambers said, “but let’s take a closer look at what just happened. What did
you
do that made everyone laugh at you?”

Skye replayed the whole ugly scene in her mind again. “Uh—well—nothing. I didn’t have a chance to do anything.”

“Honey, perhaps your feelings about Joey have you thinking amiss.”

Silence.

“Now, put yourself in the audience, and tell me who or what everyone laughed at.”

Skye’s mind moved to the front pew where she could get a good look at Joey knocking on her door.

“Well?” Mrs. Chambers asked softly.

“Well, if they were laughing at Joey, I kind of let him down. I should’ve just kept going. He probably wouldn’t have known the difference anyhow.” After a long pause, Skye said, “It—it seems like they weren’t laughing at anybody. It must have sounded funny, that’s all.”

“That’s right. Often, things that happen onstage are funny because they come as a total surprise. What Joey said was completely unexpected. The audience wasn’t laughing at you
or
Joey. I’m so sorry you were caught off guard. The next time we do a teen program, we’ll make sure all of you know how to get through a scene if someone botches his lines.”

“But why do I feel the way I do about—about Joey?” Skye looked into Mrs. Chambers’ blue eyes, searching for a solution to a problem that seemed to have none. Staring out the windshield, she focused on feelings that weighed her down with a ton of guilt and shame.

“Time for another question. Okay?” Mrs. Chambers offered.

“Okay.”

“Why do
you
think you’re having problems liking Joey?”

Skye thought for a moment and then answered, “He’s just in my space all the time. He’s there every time I turn around. I feel like I can’t breathe!”

“Most girls would be thrilled with that much attention from a boy,” Mrs. Chambers kidded.

Skye glanced at the woman and wrinkled her nose. “Very funny.”

“Seriously, what is it about this young man that makes you so angry?”

Like a time machine, Skye’s brain flashed scenes of Joey from the first time they met. “I—I think it’s because I want to serve the Lord, but Joey gets in the way. He smothers me! He embarrasses me in front of my friends too.”

“Ah, now we’re getting somewhere.” Mrs. Chambers reached over and nudged Skye’s shoulder. “When you accepted Christ as your Savior and you became a Christian, did things change in your life?”

“You know they did,” Skye admitted.

“And what was the one thing you told me you wanted to do as a Christian?”

“From the beginning to the end, I wanted to give my life to God and do things for him.”

“And how does a young lady your age serve God?”

“By going to church—and reading the Bible—and praying. You and Dad always tell us that in family devotions.”

“I see. And have you been faithful in serving the Lord that way?”

Skye took another brief trip back in time and made a sour face.

“Skye?”

“But Joey’s always there, even in church, breathing down my neck.”

“Now that you’ve mentioned family devotions, I have a few more questions for you. Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Last month, what verses in the Bible did you kids decide to memorize?”

Silence.

Finally Skye said, “First John 4:19 to 21.”

“And what do those verses say, honey?”

Skye took a deep breath and mumbled, “Something about loving God and loving others.”

“Could you be a little more specific?”

Skye sucked in another deep, cool breath and surrendered her stubborn will. “All right; I get it. If you say you love God but hate others, you’re full of hot air.”

Mrs. Chambers chuckled. “Interesting paraphrase, but I think you have the idea.”

“Yeah,” Skye admitted. “I get it. But right now it’s in my head, not here.” She pressed her right palm against her chest. “This Joey thing is so hard.”

“Honey, I know it is. Nobody ever said the Christian life is easy. But with God’s help, we can do it.”

“But how?”

“You know we’re always telling you that the Christian life is what you
are
on the inside, not what you
do
on the outside. Do you believe God can change how you feel?”

“I guess so. I hope so.” Skye wanted it to be true but wasn’t quite sure.

“Tell you what. Let’s pray and ask the Lord to help you with your feelings. We’ll also ask him to help Joey. God loves him too.”

“Okay,” Skye agreed. “I’m willing to try anything.”

Mrs. Chambers glanced at her watch. “After we pray, we’ll go back inside. We still have five minutes before the grand finale. Do you feel up to playing your violin?”

“I must look a mess.” Skye fingered her hair and pulled her cap out of the apron pocket.

Mrs. Chambers brushed Skye’s face softly. “You look beautiful, honey. You even have natural makeup. Your cheeks are sunset red.”

Skye squeezed out a giggle and turned toward Mrs. Chambers. “Thanks, Mom,” she said with a big smile. “I think I’ll soon feel different about a lot of things, especially Joey.”

But in her heart, Skye wasn’t so sure.