Caitlin's Lucky Charm by Lisa Schroeder
Thank goodness everything had worked out for the best, she thought. Just like her mom had said it would.
“We are going to have so much fun,” Esther said.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Caitlin said.
“Wait until we tell Sonny,” Tezra said. Her face drooped a little bit. “I just hope we can tell him soon.”
“I hope so too,” Caitlin said.
* * *
That night, another of Caitlin’s wishes came true. Shortly after dinner, Caitlin received a phone call from Tezra.
“Hey,” Tezra said. “I’m here at the soup kitchen. I’m using Mrs. Watson’s phone. She had your home phone number saved. I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to tell you. Guess who’s back?”
“Sonny?”
“Yes!”
“Oh my gosh,” Caitlin said. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah. He’s a little weak. But he’s doing fine. Mrs. Watson went and picked him up and brought him here for dinner. I told him about the two of us getting parts in the musical, and he’s so happy for us. He said he’ll definitely come and watch us.”
“Please tell him I said hi. And that I’ll see him on Wednesday, when we volunteer again. Thanks for calling and telling me, Tezra.”
“You’re welcome. See you tomorrow.”
Caitlin spent the next hour making snickerdoodles. As they cooled, she went upstairs to her room. She took off the bracelet and wrapped it carefully in some tissue paper. Then she pulled out a piece of paper and started writing.
Dear Mia,
First of all, thank you SO much for sending that photo along. I it so much!
I’m really sorry about your foot. It sounds awful. I know it must be hard watching your friends play soccer while you have to sit on the sidelines. Maybe you can be the team’s official photographer? At least you can take pictures, even if you can’t do the other things you like to do, right?
As you’ll see, I’m sending you some cookies I made tonight to hopefully cheer you up. I wanted to send you a fruit pizza, but it would have arrived a big mess that looked nothing like a pizza. I made one for my sister and her friends, and it turned out really good! They were so impressed, and they loved it as much as we did.
I’m also sending you the bracelet to wear next! I really hope you like the charm I picked out.
I was looking at my journal earlier today, thinking about how much has changed since I got home from camp.
The first week at school was so painful, because I was trying really hard to get in with one group of girls, even though I knew nothing about them. I just thought they looked cool and fun. Remember how my journal says, “BE UNIQUE, BE YOURSELF” on the front? It’s like I’d forgotten everything I believed and was trying to be someone I wasn’t just so I could try and fit in.
I’ve made two wonderful friends at school now. We’re in the school play together. And they cheered me up when I lost the class president election. (Don’t worry, I’m not too upset about it.) And I am happy to say they like me for who I am.
The girl who is a miserable dancer.
The girl who enjoys poetry and likes to read.
And the girl who is crazy for flowers.
I hope you enjoy wearing the bracelet and the flower charm. Pretty flowers are like my Cabin 7 BFFs – they brighten up my life so much.
I know you’re dying to know if the bracelet is lucky. I think you’ll have to find out for yourself. I can say this: I feel super lucky to have so many great friends, and you are one of them.
Be happy! Sometimes awesome shows up when we least expect it. I know it’s your favorite word, so I hope you get a whole bunch of awesome real soon!
Your Cabin 7 BFF,
Caitlin
Mia’s hands shook with excitement as she opened the box. Inside she found a large baggie of homemade cookies, a letter, and something small wrapped in tissue paper. Her heartbeat quickened. She slowly peeled back the tissue, wondering if it might be the one thing she was really hoping for.
When she saw the charm bracelet, Mia let out a little squeal. Caitlin had chosen her to wear it next! She pulled the bracelet out of the paper completely and whispered, “Awesome,” as she fingered the cute flower charm Caitlin had picked out. The bracelet no longer looked sad and lonely, the way it had the last time she saw it at camp. Like a dog without a bone, Hannah had said.
The thought made Mia smile.
She fastened it on her wrist and just like every other time one of the Cabin 7 girls had put on the bracelet, a camp memory came to mind.
In Mia’s memory, the four girls, Mia, Caitlin, Libby and Hannah, had just gotten back from a trail ride. It was the first time Mia had ever been on a horse, and she’d enjoyed it up until the point where her horse, Jet, had stepped on a wasp’s nest in the ground and gotten stung. All Mia had known at that point was that Jet flew off the trail and through the woods, giving his name new meaning. Mia had held on tightly, but when she had to duck to avoid a low branch, she lost her balance and fell to the ground with a loud thud.
She was okay, thankfully. But the barn wasn’t exactly close by, so she’d had to get back on the horse and continue to ride the trail. Mia’s three friends had been so kind and caring once they’d finally reached the end of the ride.
“Are you terribly sore?” Libby had asked her with her sweet British accent. “Shall we carry you to the cabin?”
Hannah, her southern friend, had given Libby a funny look. “Carry her? What is she, a sack of potatoes?”
Caitlin had stepped in and said, “Here, Mia. Put your arm around my shoulder and lean on me. Hannah, you’re closest to Mia’s size, get on the other side of her and do the same.”
Mia had started to resist but changed her mind. They’d really wanted to help her, and so she had let them. Once they were back at the cabin, her friends had insisted she rest on her bunk until dinnertime. The next day, the soreness really hit. Fortunately, the camp nurse gave her ibuprofen, and it had helped with the pain over the next couple of days.
Now, Mia sighed. It was so nice to have a strong memory of camp, even if it wasn’t her most favorite one because of the silly fall. She missed Camp Brookridge. More than anything, she missed her friends. Especially right now, when all of her friends at home were busy doing things Mia couldn’t do. She looked down at the walking cast she wore and stuck her tongue out at the stupid thing. No soccer. No surfing. No nothing, it seemed like. How ridiculous that she’d fallen off a horse and managed to not break anything and yet, when she fell off a simple step stool at the café a couple of weeks ago, she’d landed funny and fractured a bone in her foot.
Lisa Schroeder is the author of several books for young readers, including the Charmed Life series, It’s Raining Cupcakes, Sprinkles and Secrets, and Frosting and Friendship. She lives in Oregon with her husband and two sons. You can visit her online at lisaschroederbooks.com.
Also by Lisa Schroeder
Charmed Life
#1: Caitlin’s Lucky Charm
#2: Mia’s Golden Bird
#3: Libby’s Sweet Surprise
#4: Hannah’s Bright Star
It’s Raining Cupcakes
Sprinkles and Secrets
Frosting and Friendship
Text copyright © 2014 by Lisa Schroeder
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First printing, May 2014
Cover Photos by Michael Frost
Charms by Coherent Images
Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll
e-ISBN 978-0-545-60514-4
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written pe
Lisa Schroeder, Caitlin's Lucky Charm