Look Out, Lancaster County

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  “It was an accident. I told you I was sorry.”

  Rachel placed her hands on her desk and stared straight ahead. She wasn’t interested in anything Orlie had to say.

  “Good morning boys and girls,” Elizabeth said as she took a seat at her desk.

  “Good morning, Elizabeth,” Rachel said along with the other children.

  “I’ll be reading Matthew 18:21–22,” Elizabeth said as she opened her Bible. “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”

  Rachel was tempted to bite off a fingernail, but she picked up her pencil and stuck it between her teeth instead. Seventy-seven times? That seemed impossible! Maybe the verse was talking about good friends, like Mary. If Mary had said or done something to hurt Rachel, it would be easy to forgive her—but not Orlie or Audra, who weren’t even her friends.

  As Rachel stood with the other children to recite the Lord’s Prayer, she glanced across the aisle at Audra’s desk. There sat the big red apple Orlie had given her.

  Rachel barely heard the words being recited by her classmates. All she could think about was how miserable she felt without Mary. During singing time, Rachel struggled to sing along.

  When the children finished the last song and were about to return to their seats—whoosh!—a sparrow swooped into the room through an open window.

  Some of the children screamed and ran to hide under their desks. Others darted around the room, laughing and trying to catch the little bird. Rachel just stood there, wishing there was something she could do to rescue the poor creature.

  Aaron and Orlie bumped heads as they lunged for the sparrow at the same time.

  The bird swooped past Jacob. He raced after it, tripped on Phoebe’s foot, and fell flat on his face.

  “Scholars, back to your desks, schnell!” Elizabeth clapped her hands, and everyone raced to their seats.

  Rachel had just sat down when—floop—the little bird landed right on her head! She sat there a few seconds to see what the bird would do and was surprised when it didn’t fly away. Maybe it needed a friend as much as she did.

  The room got quiet as everyone stared at Rachel. Slowly she raised her hands and lifted the sparrow off her head. Then she walked to the back of the room, opened the door, and stepped onto the porch to let the bird go.

  Rachel smiled as she watched the sparrow fly up to a tree. At least I know someone likes me today.

  Rachel was in a better mood by the time she got home from school that afternoon. After the sparrow landed on her head and she set him free outdoors, the rest of the day had gone better. Everyone said how special they thought it was that the little bird landed on her head. Everyone but Audra, that is. She hadn’t said a word to Rachel all day. Well, that was fine with Rachel. She didn’t like talking to Audra anyway.

  “I think I’ll ride my skateboard in the barn,” Rachel told Jacob as they entered their yard. “I checked there last night, and the floor in the main part of the barn is clear of hay.”

  Jacob shook his head. “As many times as you’ve fallen on that skateboard, I’m surprised you still ride it.”

  “As our teacher always says, ‘Practice makes perfect.’”

  “Jah, well, you can practice riding your skateboard if you want to, but I’m going to work with Buddy.”

  Rachel put her hands on her hips and squinted at Jacob. “You’d better not let that mutt in the barn while I’m skateboarding.”

  Jacob shook his head. “Don’t worry. We’ll stay in the yard.”

  “Good.” Rachel tromped up the steps and entered the house. She glanced in the kitchen, but there was no sign of Mom. Maybe she was in the living room.

  Rachel looked in the living room, but Mom wasn’t there, either. She was probably in her room taking a nap. Mom took lots of naps now that she was expecting a baby.

  Rachel hurried upstairs and changed out of her school dress into one of the dresses she wore for playing and doing chores. Then she rushed downstairs and out the door.

  When Rachel entered the barn, she headed straight for the shelf where she kept her skateboard. She carried it to the part of the barn where the hay had been cleared. Buddy was nowhere to be seen, so Rachel thought it’d be fun to give Cuddles a ride on her skateboard.

  Rachel cupped her hands around her mouth and called, “Here, Cuddles! Come, kitty, kitty.”

  Cuddles stuck her head out from behind a bale of hay. Meow!

  Rachel clapped her hands. “Come here, Cuddles. Let’s go for a ride on my skateboard.”

  Meow! Meow! Cuddles darted behind the bale of hay.

  “All right then,” Rachel said with a shrug, “if you don’t want to go for a ride, I’ll have all the fun myself.” She stepped onto her skateboard with her right foot, pushed off with her left foot, and sailed across the barn floor. “Whee…this is so much fun! You don’t know what you’re missing, Cuddles.”

  Rachel turned and headed back across the barn on her skateboard. The barn door opened and Henry stepped in. At the same time, Cuddles darted out from behind the bale of hay and zipped right in front of Henry.

  “Look out for my cat!” Rachel shouted. It was too late—Henry stepped right on Cuddles’s tail!

  Mee-ow! Cuddles screeched, and her ears went straight back. Then she darted across the floor in front of Rachel.

  Rachel swerved to miss hitting the cat, but her skateboard tipped and fell to the floor with a crash.

  “Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” Rachel tried not to cry, but her knees started to bleed and they hurt something awful.

  “Rachel, are you hurt?” Henry asked, rushing to her side.

  She nodded and touched her skinned knees. “You should have watched where you were going.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Henry as he helped Rachel to her feet. “I never expected your cat to run in front of me like that.”

  Rachel’s chin trembled and her eyes filled with tears. “Look at my dress!” she wailed, pointing to an ugly tear in the skirt. “Mom’s gonna be awful mad when she sees this. If you hadn’t stepped on Cuddles’s tail, it wouldn’t have happened.”

  “How do you know that?” Henry motioned to Cuddles, who lay curled on a patch of straw, licking her paws. “That narrisch [crazy] cat of yours could have raced in front of your skateboard and caused you to fall even if I hadn’t stepped on her tail.”

  Rachel frowned. “You’re not sorry for making me fall. You’re trying to put the blame on Cuddles.” She whirled around and raced out of the barn.

  When Rachel stepped into the kitchen a few moments later, she found Mom sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea.

  “Rachel, your dress—and your knees!” Mom exclaimed. “What in the world happened?”

  Rachel told Mom what happened, and she ended it by saying, “I’m really mad at Henry for what he did!”

  “Did Henry apologize?” Mom asked.

  Rachel nodded. “But I don’t think he meant it.”

  “I’m sure Henry didn’t purposely step on the cat’s tail. You need to forgive your brother.”

  Rachel stared at the floor.

  Mom left her seat, opened a cupboard door, and took out a box of bandages and some antiseptic. Rachel took a seat at the table and stuck out both legs.

  “Does it hurt much?” Mom asked as she dabbed some of the medicine on Rachel’s knees.

  “A little.”

  When Mom finished bandaging Rachel’s knees she said, “Run upstairs now and change out of your dress. When you come down, you can mend your dress.”

  Rachel swallowed around the lump in her throat. “I don’t see why I have to fix the hole in my dress. It was Henry’s fault that it tore.”

  Mom squinted at Rachel over the top of her glasses. “As I said before, I don’t think Henry stepped on Cuddles’s tail on purpose. Now do as I say and run upstairs to change your dress.”


  Rachel trudged up the stairs, mumbling, “I don’t think anyone likes me.”

  Rachel changed into a clean dress and was walking down the stairs when—whack!—she heard something hit the living room window. Rachel raced into the room and looked out the window. Lying in the flowerbed was a baby robin with its feet in the air. Rachel dropped her torn dress on a chair and raced outside. She had reached the spot where the bird lay, when Cuddles streaked across the yard, heading straight for the helpless little bird.

  “No, Cuddles!” Rachel quickly picked up the bird. Relieved to see that it was still breathing, she set it on one of their bird feeders. “Don’t worry, little birdie,” she said. “You’ll be okay. I’m sure you’ll be able to fly again.”

  Rachel dashed into the house. “Mom, Mom!” she shouted as she raced into the kitchen. “A baby robin hit the living room window, and it was lying in the flowerbed with its feet in the air. I rescued the poor thing and put it on one of our bird feeders.”

  “Are you sure the bird wasn’t dead?” Mom asked. “Hitting the window like that could have done in a baby bird.”

  Rachel shook her head. “No, no, I’m sure it was still breathing. I’m going back outside to check on it.” She ran back outside and over to the feeder. She was happy to see that the little bird was still there, and it was breathing!

  “Come on, little birdie, fly away, fly away.” Rachel stared at the bird, hoping it would fly.

  Suddenly, the bird opened its eyes, looked right at Rachel, and flew high into the tree.

  Rachel smiled. This was the second time today that she’d rescued a bird, and she felt really good about that. In fact, helping her little bird friends had made her feel better about her otherwise rotten day.

  She wished she could tell Mary about the two birds she had helped. Maybe this was a good time to write that letter to Mary she’d been meaning to write.

  Rachel hurried into the house and went straight to her room. She took a seat at her desk and got out a piece of paper and a pencil. Then she began writing the letter.

  Dear Mary,

  I’ve been waiting to hear from you ever since you moved, and I don’t understand why I haven’t gotten a letter yet.

  Have you been busy unpacking? I’ve been busy here, too. Grandpa hurt his back the other day, but he’s doing better now.

  There’s a new girl at school. Her name is Audra, and Elizabeth gave her your desk. Audra’s been mean to me, and it doesn’t seem right for her to be sitting in your desk.

  Something good happened today, though. A bird got into the schoolhouse and no one could catch it. Then the bird landed on my head, and everyone was surprised when I picked it up and took it outside.

  When I got home from school today, a bird hit our window and landed in the flowerbed. I thought it might be dead, but I set it on a bird feeder, and when I checked on it again, it was okay and flew into the tree.

  Rachel stopped writing for a moment when a lump formed in her throat. She should have been telling Mary all these things in person—not writing them in a letter.

  “Oh, Mary, I miss you so much. Please write back to me.”

  Chapter 7

  Chain of Events

  As Rachel entered the schoolyard the following morning, she spotted Orlie talking with Audra again. They were grinning like a couple of little kids with a sack full of candy. Rachel noticed that Orlie held Audra’s backpack, as well as his own.

  Rachel kicked at a stone with the toe of her sneaker. I knew it. Orlie does like Audra better than me. He probably walked her to school this morning.

  Rachel wasn’t sure why she cared so much. It wasn’t as if she and Orlie were best friends or anything. Only Mary had been Rachel’s best friend, but now Rachel had no friends at all.

  “I don’t care,” she mumbled under her breath. “I don’t need any friends.”

  “What was that, Rachel?” Jacob asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “You said something. I heard you.”

  “It was nothing important, and I wasn’t talking to you, anyway.”

  “Who were you talking to, little bensel?”

  “I was talking to myself.” Rachel whirled around. “And stop calling me that! I’m getting tired of you picking on me all the time.”

  “I’m just teasing.” Jacob wrinkled his nose. “Can’t you even take a joke?”

  Rachel didn’t answer. Instead, she plodded up the schoolhouse steps and hurried inside.

  “You’re the first one in class again,” Elizabeth said when Rachel took a seat behind her desk a few minutes later. “You must really like being in school. Maybe you’ll grow up to be a teacher like me someday.”

  Rachel pursed her lips. She hadn’t even thought of what she’d like to do when she grew up. Maybe becoming a schoolteacher wouldn’t be a bad idea. It would be better than getting married like her sister Esther had done. On the other hand, Esther seemed really happy being married to Rudy. Now that they were expecting a baby, Esther had a smile on her face all the time.

  “So what do you think, Rachel?” Elizabeth asked. “Would you like to be a schoolteacher someday?”

  Rachel shrugged. “Maybe.”

  Elizabeth smiled and patted Rachel’s shoulder. “I guess I’d better ring the school bell now.”

  “I want everyone to play baseball,” Elizabeth announced before dismissing the class for their noontime recess. “It’s a beautiful spring day, and the fresh air and exercise will be good for us all.”

  Rachel frowned. She wanted to swing—not play baseball during recess.

  Even though she enjoyed doing lots of outdoor games, playing baseball was not one of her favorite things to do.

  “Let’s play the boys against the girls!” Aaron shouted.

  “No way,” said Phoebe. “There are too many good boy players, so it wouldn’t be fair if all the boys were on one team.”

  “I agree,” Audra spoke up.

  “I’ll decide who will be on each team,” Elizabeth said. “I’ll also play on one of the teams, and my helper, Sharon, will be on the other.”

  Elizabeth soon had the children divided into two teams, and everyone took their place. Rachel was glad she wasn’t on Orlie’s team, but it didn’t make her happy to see that Audra was on his team.

  Rachel’s team was up first, with Rachel first in line to bat. With a sense of determination, she stepped up to the plate. Gripping the bat and clenching her teeth, she waited for Orlie to pitch the ball.

  He smiled at Rachel, gave a quick nod, and—whizz!—the ball zipped over home plate. Rachel swung hard but missed.

  “Strike one!” Elizabeth hollered.

  Orlie pitched another ball to Rachel, and she missed again, the weight of the bat spinning her around in a circle.

  “Strike two!”

  Rachel knew she only had one more strike left, and then she’d be out. She couldn’t let that happen. She had to hit the ball and make it to first base—maybe two or three bases—maybe even make a homerun!

  She took her stance, holding the bat firm and steady. The pitch came fast, and—whack!—she smacked it out into left field!

  Rachel dropped the bat to the ground and took off running. She ran so fast her kapp strings waved behind her like streamers. She sprinted to first base and kept on running.

  She heard Orlie holler, “Catch that ball, Audra! Tag Rachel out!”

  Rachel kept running—past second base and heading for third. She was going to make it—maybe all the way home!

  Rachel saw a white blur out of the corner of her eye, and then Audra leaping into the air. Thwack! The ball thunked Rachel right on the nose!

  “Ach, my naas [nose]!” Rachel nearly gagged when she felt something drip down her throat—a strange, metallic taste. She touched the end of her nose, and when she looked at her fingers, there was blood on them.

  Orlie rushed forward. “I’m sorry, Rachel. I thought Audra was gonna catch the ball.”

  “I tried to catch the ball, but
it came too fast.” Audra stared at Rachel and squinted. “I hope your naas isn’t broken. It looks kind of swollen.”

  Elizabeth rushed up to Rachel and covered her nose with a tissue. “You’d better come inside with me so I can get the bleeding stopped.”

  With tears stinging her eyes and her nose throbbing like crazy, Rachel followed her teacher into the schoolhouse.

  “Take a seat at your desk, and I’ll get some cold water and a clean cloth,” Elizabeth instructed. “In the meantime, keep that tissue over your nose.”

  Rachel did as her teacher said, trying not to give in to the threatening tears pushing against her eyelids. I’ll bet Orlie threw that ball so it would hit me in the nose, she fumed. Audra probably missed it on purpose, too.

  Elizabeth returned to Rachel’s desk and placed a cold cloth on Rachel’s nose and one on the back of her neck. “Let’s see if that stops the bleeding,” she said. “If it doesn’t, I’ll try some vinegar.”

  “Vinegar?” Rachel had never heard of anyone with a nosebleed having to drink vinegar.

  “It’s an old-time remedy,” Elizabeth explained. “You put a little vinegar on the end of a tissue and stick it up your nostril to stop the bleeding.”

  “That sounds awful.” Rachel hoped her nose would stop bleeding on its own. It was one thing to eat something that had vinegar in it, like pickled beets or dill pickles, but putting vinegar up her nose didn’t sound fun at all. She was sure it would sting.

  A few minutes later, Elizabeth came to check her nose. When she pulled the cloth aside, she smiled and said, “The bleeding has slowed. It should stop soon, I think.”

  Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. No vinegar for me.

  By the time the others had come inside from recess, Rachel’s nose had stopped bleeding.

  “Are you all right?” Orlie asked as he took his seat in front of Rachel.

  “My nose has stopped bleeding, but it still hurts,” she said.

  “You’re not mad at me, I hope.”

  Rachel gave no reply.

  Orlie shrugged and turned to face the front of the room.