Storm Read Free

wear it.
    “So, how was the run, Holly?” Malia asked sweetly.
    But then, Malia was sweet.
    Holly narrowed her eyes anyway. “My heart nearly exploded — not that you or Jenna would care.”
    Bethany, Jenna, and Malia burst out laughing. Holly grinned.
    “I could’ve warned you about Bethany, but no one listens to me anyway,” Monica sniffed. “I know how people respond to my advice. Oh, sure! Why don’t we add the whole
island
to the surf team, Monica?”
    “Oh, cut it out, Monica. I’ve been on the team for over a year now. You need to find something else to gripe about,” Jenna blurted out, then blushed to the almost exact shade of her red hair. Everyone fell silent.
    They could all remember when Monica had been reluctant to invite Jenna onto the Hanalei Girls Surf Team last year.
    Bethany grinned.
    “Impressive,” Monica said, not knowing what else to say, and they all laughed, including Monica.
    “Okay, surf girls,” Sarah announced, breaking into their banter. “Step up and be counted!” She checked their names off her list and looked up with a grin. “Growth spurt! Bethany, you are definitely roof girl today.”
    The other girls snickered.
    “Better than hubcap girls,” Bethany said, sliding a grin at Holly and Malia, the shortest of their group.
    Cars were lining up now, and as soon as Sarah checked off the last girl, she left her little table to act as traffic director, greeter, and cashier.
    More students arrived and joined in the work. Many, not waiting to get orders from Sarah, simply picked up a sponge, commandeered a hose, or grabbed a chamois. They all worked well together too—for most of the day.
    Then there was the little incident of turning the hoses on each other that became an awesome eruption of flying sponges filled with soap and spraying water. Sarah managed to bring everything back under control until the end when Bethany, Holly, and a couple of the boys gave her the “grand finale” by dumping a bucket of water over her head.
    Sarah took the dousing in good humor, cheerfully threatening revenge on the plotters.
    “I wouldn’t take it so well if I got my makeup messed up like that,” Holly noted gravely as she and Bethany emptied buckets and rung out sponges.
    “Holly, you’re starting to scare me,” Bethany teased as they made their way back to where Sarah sat. They plopped down next to Sarah as she counted the money for the mission trip.
    “So, how did we do?” Bethany asked hopefully.
    “Not too bad,” Sarah said with an encouraging smile. “We’re a couple hundred closer to our goal.”
    “How much more do we need?” Holly asked.
    “I figure around five thousand dollars,” Sarah said.
    “Why so much?” Bethany asked, trying not to let her heart sink.
    “Well, we need to rent vans, pay for lodging, and help with airfare. And then there is the cost of the materials to build the houses in Mexico,” Sarah said, and then smiled. “The only thing that comes cheap on this whole trip is our labor.”
    “Too bad the celebutante didn’t show up today,” Holly sniffed. “If I were rich, I’d fund the whole mission trip!”
    Yeah,
Bethany thought, ready to climb aboard Holly’s pity train … until she saw the crooked smile on Sarah’s face.
    “You two need to quit worrying about what other people have and trust God,” Sarah said as she packed her things away. “We’re talking about
God.
You know, Creator of the universe! Don’t you think he can get the money to us for this little mission trip?”
    “Well, why hasn’t he then?” Bethany asked, then bit her lip worriedly. “I mean, I don’t mean to sound disrespectful or anything …”
    “I don’t get it, either,” Holly admitted. “We’re trying to do something good—something I really think God wants done—but it’s been really hard for us to make the money to cover everything. Then there’s my uncle who goes to Vegas to drink,party, and gamble … and he comes home with twenty grand in