Where Living Waters Flow

Here I was; in a new house, new town, new, new, new. Still, one thing had not changed; bore. What could one lonely fourteen year old girl who lives with her grandparents expect? Fun? Excitement? They aren't James Bond, into the whole "liscence to thrill" thing. The neighbors are all their age and there's no kids that I know that are around. The most exciting event that occurs here is a Bible camp place; Odosagih. I've gone there for evening services for five years, so I know about the place.
I guess we moved to a nice enough place. It's small-ish, but sufficient. It's not like it doesn't have indoor plumbing or electricity or anything, it's just different from where we were before. Twenty-five plus acres of woods, neighbors at a reasonable distance, fresh apples in the fall, it really is a great place to live. But now I'm here.
**
"Mikaila, phone," my grandmother greeted me one late morning of waking up.
My slow hands held the phone lightly. "Hello?" I said, trying not to sound like I had just woken up.
"Hi, Mikaila. It's Mrs. Burch," the voice on the other line responded.
"Oh. Hi."
"So... would you be interested in helping out with a musical at Odosagih?"
I smiled. One of my favorite things to do is perform. "Sure."
"Great. Can you meet us at the tabernacle at three?"
"Yeah. I'll see you then. Good-bye."
"Bye."
I took a deep breath and smiled. Maybe this summer will not be nearly as boring as I anticipated.
**
Mrs. Burch smiled as I walked onto the stage and sat with an uneasy, but gentle smile in return. "Here you go." She handed a manilla folder with a packet of music and lines. My script.
"Thanks," I said under my breath.
I started flipping through until she called me away from the opening song. "This is Ben and Jon."
"Hi."
"Hello." Their voices both chimed in at the same time.
"Hey." I attempted acceptance on my face to make myself look like I was worthy of more than their melancholic looks.
"Okay. Let's start the first song and hope that more people show up," Mrs. Burch announced.
**
The script seems interesting enough. Pretty basic, but, good for a production that will have its first (and last) performance in about three weeks. The music is so jazzy and fun; very fitting for a last day of school type musical.
It reminds me so much of the Christmas musical I did this last December. "Dr. Newheart's Christmas Cure", which was about a doctor (Dr. Newheart) who told a bunch of kids that the only way that they could feel true happiness is by becoming a Christian. With the help of my character, Erin, the one who all ready knew about Dr. Newheart and Jesus and so on. Erin is to Dr. Newheart as Riley Poole is to Benjamin Gates from "National Treasure". Except, we did not go around trying to find treasure for worldly wealth; we shared the treasure of being a Christian.
My only purpose besides holding those strong soprano notes in the musical is to fill in for any extra characters like Kid 1 and Nerd 4. I don't mind, though. The only real reason that I was asked to be in the musical was that it needed more people. So, here comes the Little Riley Poole to save the day once more!
**
I have finally been introduced to the whole cast. Kaitlin, Alexis, Caity, and Matt (and, of course, Ben and Jon). Kaitlin's the typical sweetheart with a great smile and willing to help out. Caity and Matt are always hanging out with each other, so I really don't know a lot about them yet. (They're brother and sister, don't they hang out enough at home?) Alexis is just quiet, so I really don't know much about her. Jon is bubbly and fun to be around.
And then, there's Ben.
Boy-ish charm, a sweet, sensitive smile, deep chocolate eyes, and a warm, beautiful laugh. I never would have guessed that my summer would have turned into this.
**
Caity and I are splitting her role in two. Mrs. Burch (and everyone else) can clearly tell that there are plenty of issues and challenges when trying to memorize lines that are anywhere from two sentences, to two paragraphs at one time. Matt is just being a smart-Alec about it (you know, like Alec Trevelyan; he has a comeback for everything) and picking on his sister that she cannot memorize her lines and that her hard drive is full. Then we pretend to beat on him and tell him that he has no heart.
This bunch at Odosagih just keeps getting more and more interesting.
**
Tonight was performance night! We rocked! Well, at least I think so. I know that my dad and his girlfriend, Patty said that they were proud of me. Patty? Proud of me? Hm... well, I guess stranger things have happened.
One thing I know for sure is that I've made some great friends. Caity and I exchanged numbers and Facebook pages, so, I guess you could say that she's the best friend. Ben and Jon (as I) actually like "The Lord of the Rings". Jon even likes "FlashForward"! And I thought that I was the only person that I knew who got into the show. (Even though it's cancelled.)
But the best part of the evening was when Ben and I were pretty much the last two people in the room. He had his great, showy smile on and shook my hand saying "It was fun working on the musical with you." Maybe it's just the hopeless romantic side of me talking, but I think that I really, really like him!
What a night.
**
Tomorrow Ben and Jon (and their parents) are leaving. But I did get to see Ben one last time tonight.
I was walking around during the "meet-and-greet" or "greet-and-meet" or whatever it's called part of the evening service, and suddenly a voice rips through my thought with a "Hey, you!"
I look over my right shoulder. Ben was working at the sound board thing-a-ma-jig, so that explained why he was attending an out of one's mind boring service. And, of course, there was his heart-melting smile.
"Hey!" I replied, feeling like a complete idiot for missing him.
"What's up?"
"Oh, not much. It feels like it's been forever since I saw you! Though it's only been, like, four days!"
Oh, God, I was rambling. I was rambling with exclamation points.
"Well, see you later," Ben said, his warm smile now present on his face.
"Yeah." I tried not to blush. Don't blush. Don't smile stupidly. Don't faint. Act natural. NATURAL!
I filled a styrofoam cup with water from the back cooler. Then headed back to my seat, passing Ben on my way, my eyes never leaving him. Only was it until I was at my seat that I could have fainted once again. What was it about him? Oh, well. I guess I'll find out next summer.
**