{"id":53036,"date":"2019-08-30T15:50:31","date_gmt":"2019-08-30T05:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.30.214.42\/?p=53036"},"modified":"2025-02-08T17:33:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T07:33:55","slug":"where-love-is-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/where-love-is-needed\/","title":{"rendered":"Karen and Melanie Series, Book 3: Where Love is Needed by Kathleen Paul"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>Best friends Melanie Honeywell and Karen Aimee share adventures, hardships and heartaches, and the growing pains of Christian faith.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id='product-component-1739000010260'><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/*<![CDATA[*\/\n(function () {\n  var scriptURL = 'https:\/\/sdks.shopifycdn.com\/buy-button\/latest\/buy-button-storefront.min.js';\n  if (window.ShopifyBuy) {\n    if (window.ShopifyBuy.UI) {\n      ShopifyBuyInit();\n    } else {\n      loadScript();\n    }\n  } 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size-full\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.writers-exchange.com\/karen-melanie-series\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/series-page-gold-text-small.png?resize=123%2C30&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Series Page Small\" width=\"123\" height=\"30\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-121810 size-full\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"footable_parent_215772\"\n         class=\" footable_parent ninja_table_wrapper loading_ninja_table wp_table_data_press_parent semantic_ui \">\n                <table data-ninja_table_instance=\"ninja_table_instance_0\" data-footable_id=\"215772\" data-filter-delay=\"1000\"            id=\"footable_215772\"\n           data-unique_identifier=\"ninja_table_unique_id_263498409_215772\"\n           class=\" foo-table ninja_footable foo_table_215772 ninja_table_unique_id_263498409_215772 ui table  nt_type_legacy_table selectable celled 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src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/smashwords.png?resize=112%2C30&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Smashwords Logo\" width=\"112\" height=\"30\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-208841 size-full\" \/><\/a><\/td>        <\/tr>\n    <\/tbody><!--ninja_tobody_rendering_done-->\n    <\/table>\n    \n    \n    \n<\/div>\n\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/blue-line-300x8.gif?resize=300%2C8&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Blue Bar\" width=\"300\" height=\"8\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1670\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Continue the series:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.writers-exchange.com\/camp-los\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" 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Continue the Series\" width=\"310\" height=\"110\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-222200 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book1-continue-the-series-small.jpg?w=310&amp;ssl=1 310w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book1-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=300%2C106&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book1-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=200%2C71&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.writers-exchange.com\/the-haunting-past\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book2-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=310%2C110&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Karen and Melanie Series, Book 2: The Haunting Past Continue the Series\" width=\"310\" height=\"110\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-222201 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book2-continue-the-series-small.jpg?w=310&amp;ssl=1 310w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book2-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=300%2C106&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book2-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=200%2C71&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.writers-exchange.com\/where-love-is-needed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book3-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=310%2C110&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Karen and Melanie Series, Book 3: Where Love is Needed Continue the Series\" width=\"310\" height=\"110\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-222202 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book3-continue-the-series-small.jpg?w=310&amp;ssl=1 310w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book3-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=300%2C106&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book3-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=200%2C71&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.writers-exchange.com\/the-wedding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book4-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=310%2C110&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Karen and Melanie Series, Book 4: The Wedding Continue the Series\" width=\"310\" height=\"110\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-222203 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book4-continue-the-series-small.jpg?w=310&amp;ssl=1 310w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book4-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=300%2C106&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/karen-and-melanie-book4-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=200%2C71&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B08MKJMMFR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/button_view-series-on-amazon.png?resize=276%2C43&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"View Series on Amazon\" width=\"276\" height=\"43\" class=\"wp-image-64614 size-full aligncenter\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/button_view-series-on-amazon.png?w=276&amp;ssl=1 276w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/button_view-series-on-amazon.png?resize=200%2C31&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 276px) 100vw, 276px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1670\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/blue-line.gif?resize=300%2C8&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"8\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1mid-grade-readers-300x150.png?resize=300%2C150&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Chapter 1 Mid-Grade heading\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-140328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1mid-grade-readers.png?resize=300%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1mid-grade-readers.png?resize=200%2C100&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1mid-grade-readers.png?resize=768%2C384&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1mid-grade-readers.png?resize=655%2C328&amp;ssl=1 655w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1mid-grade-readers.png?w=900&amp;ssl=1 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Melanie Honeywell sprawled on her back in the grass behind her best friend&#8217;s house. Crossing her arms behind her neck like a cushion, she watched the one cloud that sailed across the blue summer sky. It shifted from a hedgehog to an alligator.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Changes,&#8221; she muttered. &#8220;Mom says I have to adapt to changes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Karen sat cross-legged near her. &#8220;That sounds like fun.&#8221; She twisted her face into a comical mask, but her best friend stared at the cloud. &#8220;Was she talking about the new school or your adopted cousin?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Both, and I&#8217;m to have a mature Christian attitude.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;More fun,&#8221; said Karen and flopped down on the grass to stretch out on her stomach. Rufus, her black lab, bounded up and dropped a slobbery ball beside her. She picked it up with two fingers and pitched it across the narrow lawn.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;With most of the organizational meetings taking place in our living room,&#8221; sighed Melanie, &#8220;I&#8217;ve heard more than enough about Oak Valley Christian School.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Karen laughed. &#8220;Couldn&#8217;t you have bribed them with chocolate chip cookies or something? You could have offered them extra punch if they voted for any name other than Oak Valley Christian School.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Melanie laughed too, and in a deep grown-up voice, she recited. &#8220;Oak Valley Christian School, meeting at Oak Valley Christian Fellowship, in beautiful downtown Oak Valley at the corner of Main Street, and,&#8221; she paused for dramatic effect, &#8220;you guessed it, Oak Valley Drive!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Both girls giggled.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So <em>very<\/em> original,&#8221; commented Karen, as she carefully picked up Rufus&#8217; wet ball to throw again.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was enthusiastic about a new school in our own church, but I&#8217;ve been listening to problems every Tuesday night all summer. Did you know we won&#8217;t even have desks when we start next week?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Come on, Mel. You don&#8217;t even like to sit at a desk. Maybe we&#8217;ll have cushions on the floor or something.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re right,&#8221; Melanie admitted. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been doing a lot of complaining lately. Let&#8217;s talk about something besides the school.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So, how&#8217;s your new cousin?&#8221; asked Karen.<\/p>\n<p>Melanie groaned and put her hands over her face.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t remind me about Samantha. She&#8217;s going to go to the school, too&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We aren&#8217;t going to talk about our school, remember?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not. I&#8217;m talking about being stuck with my stuck-up cousin for nearly eight hours a day, five days a week, nine months of the year.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Maybe she won&#8217;t be in our classes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s in seventh grade. The school&#8217;s so small there&#8217;s only one seventh grade.&#8221; Melanie rolled over on her stomach and beat the grass with her fist.<\/p>\n<p>When her mock tantrum finished, she propped herself up on her elbows, putting her chin in her fists, and frowned. &#8220;When Aunt Maggie and Uncle Mike talked about adopting, I thought they meant a cute little kid like my little sister Crystal. Instead, we get an already grown-up, nasty teenager.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Well, the adoption isn&#8217;t final for a while. Maybe they&#8217;ll get sick of her and give her back.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No chance. She&#8217;s as sweet as honey when the adults are around.&#8221; Melanie sat up abruptly and swung her legs around to sit cross-legged. &#8220;Every day she&#8217;s at our house going through my stuff and saying things like the flowers on my wallpaper and bedspread are out-of-date. Where does she get off talking like that? You&#8217;d think she worked for fashion magazines. &#8221; She threw herself back on the grass. &#8220;She&#8217;s lived in foster homes all her life. She doesn&#8217;t know that I know, though. My mom says I have to be nice to her, but Mom doesn&#8217;t know what it&#8217;s like. Samantha&#8217;s come over every day for two weeks, and I have no privacy anymore.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Calm down, Mel,&#8221; said Karen.<\/p>\n<p>Melanie sat up again, hitched her shoulders, and let out an explosive sigh when they dropped.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Did you know I&#8217;m hiding over here?&#8221; she asked.<\/p>\n<p>Karen giggled.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not funny!&#8221; declared Melanie. &#8220;I had to sneak out to come over here before Samantha showed up today, or I would have been stuck listening to her tell me all about every wonderful place she&#8217;s lived. According to my cousin, all of them are better than Oak Valley.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You need to make yourself think about something nice,&#8221; advised Karen. &#8220;Now, don&#8217;t think about our school, and don&#8217;t think about Cousin Samantha. Let&#8217;s talk about Miss Kate. She&#8217;s nice and she&#8217;s going to be our English teacher.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Yes! That&#8217;s something nice. Miss Kate is wonderful. She&#8217;s so sweet and pretty and patient. I&#8217;m so glad she decided to teach.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Did you know her first name is Bernadette?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It isn&#8217;t Kate?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No, Kate&#8217;s really her last name!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I thought that&#8217;s just what the little kids called her in Sunday school.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Nope.&#8221; Karen threw the ball for Rufus again. Her friend hadn&#8217;t thought a gloomy thought for a couple of minutes, and Karen couldn&#8217;t resist the urge to tease her.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Of course,&#8221; she said innocently, &#8220;Miss Kate thinks Samantha is sweet.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Karen!&#8221; Melanie snatched Rufus&#8217; ball and threw it with force. &#8220;I came here to get away from that snob. I don&#8217;t want to hear her name. I don&#8217;t want to think about her. Pretty soon I&#8217;ll be in the same classroom with her, stuck for hours every day with Miss Priss.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Oh, you poor, poor thing! I just pity you! Stuck alone without anyone else!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You wish,&#8221; Melanie retorted. &#8220;You&#8217;re going to be stuck with her, too.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Melanie, it&#8217;s not going to be that bad.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve only spent a little time with her. Believe me, Samantha gets worse the more you&#8217;re around her.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; said Karen, &#8220;if she gets too bad, we&#8217;ll put spiders in that long cobwebby blonde hair. We&#8217;ll put Mexican hot chili sauce in her soft drink. We&#8217;ll put itching powder in her tennis shoes. We&#8217;ll&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We won&#8217;t do anything, Karen,&#8221; said Melanie. &#8220;Remember, <em>we&#8217;re<\/em> the Christians.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a beautiful day, isn&#8217;t it?&#8221; said Karen to the two stony-faced girls on her doorstep.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sure it is,&#8221; said Melanie without the least bit of enthusiasm.<\/p>\n<p>Karen turned the key in the front door lock. She pushed and pulled the doorknob to make sure it locked. Then she turned to face Samantha Jackson and Melanie.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We need to hurry,&#8221; said Samantha in honeyed tones from the Deep South. The girls started down the street on their first walk to Oak Valley Christian School. &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t like to be late.&#8221; She flipped her beautiful white-blonde hair over her shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>The habitual gesture made Melanie grit her teeth.<\/p>\n<p>The three girls walked in silence until Karen thought of something to say, something neutral that surely wouldn&#8217;t start a fight.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So, do you two know whether or not they got desks for the school yet?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A smile flickered across Melanie&#8217;s face. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think so,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Maybe we&#8217;ll get to sit on the floor after all.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t believe I&#8217;m going to Pokey Oaky School,&#8221; said Samantha, once more tossing her fine, silky white hair as she spoke with the heavy Southern accent. &#8220;The school I went to in Georgia the year before last was so big I actually got lost the very first day. Some very nice boys helped me find my class. One of them was the captain of the football team. The school I went to in Chicago was in an old department store downtown. Of course you couldn&#8217;t tell it had once been a department store. They had spent millions renovating it. It was eight stories tall. My favorite school was in Texas, actually in Houston, near the Space Center. Some of the astronauts&#8217; sons went to that school.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;How about the astronauts&#8217; daughters?&#8221; asked Melanie.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t notice girls, Mel dear,&#8221; said her cousin.<\/p>\n<p>Melanie rolled her eyes. Samantha ignored her and went on with her list of schools. As they neared the church, she made one last comment.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This place is the size of a flea compared to Los Angeles Central High. In fact I wouldn&#8217;t be surprised if most of the equipment in this school was acquired at a flea market.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Melanie winced. She knew that a member of the congregation had found a set of encyclopedias and practically brand new Science textbooks at the Denver Flea Market and bought them for the school. She suspected Samantha knew it, too.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Perhaps&#8230;&#8221; Samantha started one more dig with a smile as sweet as honey one her lips.<\/p>\n<p>Warned by the tone of her cousin&#8217;s voice, Melanie prepared herself for another verbal stab at the Christian school.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Perhaps,&#8221; continued Samantha, drawling the word out, &#8220;a more original name would be Alley Valley Christian School. Didn&#8217;t I hear someone say they found bookshelves in the alley behind one of the old shoe stores downtown and painted them for the school library?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Samantha laughed at her own witticism, but Melanie stopped walking. Eyes squinted, hands balled into fists, she glared at her cousin.<\/p>\n<p>Karen looked over her shoulder at Melanie.<\/p>\n<p><em>Oh, no<\/em>, she thought, <em>Melanie&#8217;s about to lose her temper.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Look,&#8221; said Karen, desperately trying to avoid a fight. &#8220;There&#8217;s the school.&#8221; She pointed at the church. &#8220;Let&#8217;s race!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Samantha looked at her like she was crazy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You <em>are<\/em> kidding, aren&#8217;t you?&#8221; she asked in her most sophisticated drawl.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Karen and turned to Melanie. &#8220;Come on, Mel, let&#8217;s run.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Melanie transferred her attention from the cousin who made her furious to the best friend she knew was trying to keep her out of trouble.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Okay,&#8221; she said, &#8220;I&#8217;ll say go.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>She glanced back at Samantha who looked incredulous.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Go,&#8221; yelled Melanie. Karen and Melanie took off.<\/p>\n<p>They reached the front steps of the church with Karen in the lead.<\/p>\n<p>Melanie huffed and puffed. &#8220;I could never beat you, Karen. You&#8217;re too fast. You&#8217;re a good runner. You&#8217;re a good friend too. I was just about to pulverize my adopted cousin.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I know,&#8221; said Karen. &#8220;Then you would have been sorry later, and I would have to listen to you moan and groan &#8217;cause you weren&#8217;t nice to her and your mom and dad would be so disappointed. I just thought I&#8217;d save myself from having to listen to all that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Melanie grinned at her. &#8220;Yeah, right.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Honeywell is right before Jackson in the alphabet so Melanie ended up sitting right in front of Samantha. All morning she heard Samantha&#8217;s snide comments and tried her best to ignore her.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, just before lunch, they left the classroom and went to the sanctuary for Chapel.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This has got to be the stupidest school I&#8217;ve ever been in,&#8221; said Samantha. She tucked a long lock of the silky blonde hair behind her ear and frowned at the students sitting on the first row pew.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s only the first day,&#8221; said Melanie. &#8220;They&#8217;ll work the bugs out.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mrs. Cailey, the school secretary, had just told the students to be patient for a few more minutes. Pastor Lightfoot was on the phone and would be along as soon as he could to start the Bible class.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I personally don&#8217;t think this school will last until Halloween,&#8221; said Samantha not bothering to lower her voice. Samantha watched Mrs. Cailey disappear through a door. &#8220;That old lady has a voice like a squeaky mouse.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Mrs. Cailey is very nice,&#8221; said Melanie.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And,&#8221; Samantha said, ignoring Melanie, &#8220;glasses like the bottom of pop bottles.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Karen sat on the other side of Samantha. She pushed her own thick glasses up on her nose and scowled at Melanie&#8217;s cousin. Melanie knew Karen had heard the ugly remark. Karen could be self-conscious about her glasses and the braces on her teeth.<\/p>\n<p>Samantha sighed loudly and fidgeted with her skirt. All of her clothes were new. Melanie knew they were, because Samantha had arrived at Aunt Maggie&#8217;s and Uncle Mike&#8217;s with only one small suitcase.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The school I went to in New York was called Avalon Heights.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think you&#8217;ve told us that before,&#8221; said Karen.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I never expected to be stuck in Small Town, America at Pokey Oaky Alley Valley Christian School.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That surprised a chuckle out of Melanie. Pokey Oaky did sound funny and nobody, well none of the kids, liked the name of the school. There wasn&#8217;t a valley anywhere to be seen and there was an alley behind the church. Melanie turned the laugh into a cough. She didn&#8217;t want to laugh at anything Samantha said. If she could help it, Melanie would never back Samantha on anything.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Well, well,&#8221; said Samantha under her breath. &#8220;Here comes Pastor Goodyshoes, at long last.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;His name is Lightfoot,&#8221; hissed Melanie.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Rightfoot, got it!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Melanie scowled at her cousin. She heard Pastor Lightfoot&#8217;s soft &#8220;ahem&#8221;, and looked up. He was watching her oddly. She suddenly realized Samantha was sitting there with an angelic attentive look on her face while she had been caught glaring.<\/p>\n<p>Melanie and Karen met for lunch outside under an elm tree.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Did you see the way Samantha buttered up Mrs. Villegas? We aren&#8217;t even in class yet and Samantha&#8217;s telling Mrs. V. she can&#8217;t run because she has asthma.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Ugh,&#8221; Karen agreed. &#8220;What does she have to make such a big deal for? Running a mile is fun!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Melanie looked at her friend and laughed. &#8220;I think you&#8217;re the only one I know who actually likes running the mile, Karen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Well,&#8230;it&#8217;s fun to feel the wind against your face. It&#8217;s&#8230;it&#8217;s invigorating.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Melanie laughed again. Karen jumped back to talking about Mel&#8217;s annoying cousin. &#8220;Samantha would be great in drama. Do you think the accent is real?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I know it&#8217;s not because I&#8217;ve heard her talking normal.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s with her, Mel? I&#8217;ve never met anyone I disliked so much!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Karen suddenly giggled.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What?&#8221; asked Melanie.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You, my shy and quiet friend, got in trouble in Chapel. I&#8217;m the one who gets in trouble, never you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Melanie looked thoughtful.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You know, Kare, I&#8217;m getting worried.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What about?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I really don&#8217;t like my adopted cousin. I&#8217;ve even hoped she&#8217;d mess up really bad so my aunt and uncle will just send her back from wherever she came.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I can understand that, Mel. Samantha is a real pain.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Yeah, but I feel bad because I don&#8217;t like the way she acts, and I&#8217;m beginning to not like the way I act.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You just don&#8217;t like her because she&#8217;s a phony,&#8221; said Karen.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Well, Pastor Lightfoot looked at me with that awful frown in chapel, and I wanted to say, &#8216;Don&#8217;t look at me. It was Samantha&#8217;s fault. She&#8217;s the bad one.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Yeah.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Then the Bible lesson is Genesis, and Adam says it was Eve&#8217;s fault, and Eve says it was the serpent&#8217;s fault. Mom says the preacher never makes the sermon for just one person, that everybody listening hears what God wants them to hear. I thought Pastor Lightfoot did that sermon just for me. But, it makes sense that he would start the school year in Genesis. I think Mom is right, and it was God talking to me about my attitude toward Samantha.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Karen looked thoughtful. She opened her plastic bag and pulled out her sandwich.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That means we have to be nicer,&#8221; she said after taking a couple of bites and waiting until she&#8217;d swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Yeah,&#8221; agreed Melanie. &#8220;That&#8217;s what I thought, too.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Best friends Melanie Honeywell and Karen Aimee share adventures, hardships and heartaches, and the growing pains of Christian faith. Continue the series: &nbsp; Melanie Honeywell sprawled on her back in the grass behind her best friend&#8217;s house. Crossing her arms behind her neck like a cushion, she watched the one cloud that sailed across the blue summer sky. It shifted from a hedgehog to an alligator. &#8220;Changes,&#8221; she muttered. &#8220;Mom says I have to adapt to changes.&#8221; Karen sat cross-legged&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":147170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[201,272,208],"tags":[81,56,290,54,52,545,395,172,417,14,258],"class_list":["post-53036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian","category-mid-grade-primary","category-young-adult","tag-kindle","tag-amazon","tag-book","tag-christian","tag-ebook","tag-kathleenpaul","tag-midgrade","tag-primary","tag-writersexchangeepublishing","tag-ya","tag-youngadult"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/where-love-is-needed-ebook-cover-logo.png?fit=777%2C1124&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1tQiy-dNq","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53036"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56439,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53036\/revisions\/56439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/147170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}