A Storm in Friendship

Whitney jumped as the loud thunder roared.

Great.Just what I needed.

She sat on her bed, going back to reading her book as she thought about how much more fun she would’ve had at Ashton’s house. Ashton was Whitney’s best friend. They had a lot in common. They were girls the same age, same favorite food, color, and even clothes store! Now their friendship was trying to be undermined by a girl, Carson. 

She used to be part of Whitney’s “friend group”, but when she daily insulted her and Ashton’s Christianity to win the liking of the popular girls, she decided she was too cool for them. Now when she was betrayed by the popular girls, she blames it on Whitney. Carson is now trying to get revenge on her by replacing Whitney with herself.

Whitney was willing to forgive her, so she set up a play date with herself, Carson and Ashton at Ashton’s house. But, apparently, Carson wanted to sleepover, so they had a sleepover without telling her.

Now, since the Florida hurricanes were stepping in today, she couldn’t even go to Ashton’s house. She tried not to think that Carson and Ashton were stuck in the same house, having the time of their lives and forgetting all about Whitney.

She decided that she just wanted to be alone. She went down stairs and to the kitchen to get a glass of milk. She brought it upstairs along with her favorite video game. She prepared herself for a day filled with gaming. She was only one round in when the mini TV just shut off. She tried to press the ON button, but when that didn’t work, she went to turn on the light, but she soon realized what had happened.

Great. Now the power’s out. It’s so pitch black in here I can’t even get out!

 She wandered around her big room, trying to find her flashlight. Just then her older sister, Tiffany, walked in her room with a candle.

“The power’s out all over the neighborhood. Are you okay?” her sister asked.

“Yes, I’m okay,” she responded, “Can I get one of those candles?”

“Sure thing. You need anything else?”

“Nope. I’m good.”

“Okay. Well… See later then,” her sister said awkwardly.

“Okay. Will you get me one of those candles?”

“Yeah, but it’s gonna be dark in here.”

“Oh yeah. I guess I’ll get it myself.”

“Sure.” Tiffany said before she left.

Whitney followed the light of the candle down the spiral stairs and to the main floor where a blazing fire lit up the room. She hoped that she wasn’t visibly mad about Carson. She got a candle and went upstairs without a word. 

Whitney decided to text Ashton. She said hi and then Ashton asked her face chat. The first thing she saw was Carson’s big red hair. A flash of jealousy whipped through her. She should be the one to hang out with Ashton. She should be the one making others jealous. She knew deep in her heart that this is not what God wants her to do, but at the moment, she didn’t care.

“Oops!” said Carson innocently.

“Hey guys!” said Whitney, trying to be cheery.

“I wish you were here,” said Ashton, “ Me and Carson are having the best time together!”

“Yeah, the best time ever,” said Carson in a smug voice.

“What did you guys do all night?” said Whitney, trying to hide her anger and jealousy.

“Oh, just everything you and Ashton do together,” said Carson, obviously trying to get a rise out of her.

“Yeah, we have a lot in common,” said Ashton, “We both like lasagna, we like the brand Tommy Hilfiger, and, surprisingly, we both like the same TV shows. It’s like everything me and Carson have in common, you and me have in common.”

“What a coincidence,” said Whitney without much enthusiasm.

“Yeah, it’s like I could replace you or something,” said Carson, half serious.

“Not really,” said Ashton quietly.

“So, you guys like each other a lot, huh?”, said Whitney, feeling really bummed, as if her best friend is being taken away from her. Oh, wait…

“Well, yeah, but she’s not like you, Whitney,” said Ashton quietly, as if she was scared of what Carson would think.

“What? What’s wrong with me?” said Carson, challenging her.

“Well, everyone is different…”

Whitney prepared to bring up the subject that Carson and Ashton are best friends now.

“Look, if you guys-”

“Whitney?” yelled her mom, “Are you coming? It’s devotionals tonight!”

Wednesday! I totally forgot!

“Sorry, guys, I gotta go. It’s Wednesday, devotionals night.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” said Carson in the same smug voice, “That just gives me more time to spend with Ashton.”

Fresh anger bristled through her. She felt like punching a hole right through that computer, and the only thing stopping her was her mom yelling for her.

She said goodbye and raced down the stairs and slumped on the couch to get ready for devotionals.

“Our topic this month is fear,” her father began, “Mainly because of the giant hurricane outside, but also other fears like not passing your test, or being left out, or maybe being insecure about, perhaps, your friends.” That was when Whitney started to listen in.

“These fears only get stronger until they completely control you. Then you are always worrying about being killed by a storm, or you’re always fearing what your friends think.” 

Her father talked on like this. He talked of how to deal with these fears, how they can control you. He talked about how to control them the next time they try to conquer you. He talked about this so long until Whitney’s heart was completely softened. She no longer felt jealous or afraid that her best friend was being taken away. Whitney’s heart was completely soft toward Carson.

When they were done, Whitney went straight to her room to call Ashton.

“Hey,” Whitney said casually. She started to get to her point when Ashton interrupted her. 

“I am really sorry about Carson. She totally made you feel jealous and acted as if we were best friends and-”

“Where is Carson?” Whitney asked.

“She went home. She kept on gossiping about you and insulting you until I felt like I was gonna burst, and I asked her to leave, since her mom was in the neighborhood.”

“So you aren’t friends with her?”

“Heck no! After all she said about you and our Christianity, I don’t think I’ll ever forgive her.”

“But that’s the point, Ashton. I want her to be my friend. I have already forgiven her.”

“WHAT! After all she’s done to you and me?”

“Yeah. I thought about what my dad said, and I overcame my fears about you and Carson being best friends.”

“Wow. You’re a lot more wise than you should be, huh?”

Whitney chuckled. “I guess so.”

“So, you wanna come over, or something?”

“In this storm, I don’t think that’s even possible.”

“Okay. So, we’re good? I mean with Carson and stuff. You really want to be her friend?”

“Yeah. I think it’ll be fun, to have a new friend-former-enemy thing.”

“Oh, my mom’s calling me. Guess I better go.”

“Yeah, you should. Good night!”

“Bye. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“Bye.”

“Bye,” Whitney finished as she hung up. As she got ready for bed, she wondered what Carson would act like. What if she totally rejected them? Whitney decided that she would deal with her fears of Carson. She would hand her problems over to God, like her father said. As she thought about this, she drifted off to sleep.