CHAPTER 9
Not long after Jenny returned home from church, Carol knocked on the Sekers' door. One of Phoenix's hoop earings dangled beneath Carol's new hair style. She smiled, but with a glint of determination that sent chills through Jenny.
"Your new best friend isn't with you?" Jenny asked as she let Carol in.
"How did you do it?" Carol demanded.
"Do what?"
"Block the Ouija's power. We know you did something."
"You mean the Ouija board didn't work?" Jenny asked, beaming.
"What did you do to stop it?" Carol said more loudly.
Wow! The prayers really worked, Jenny thought. She stood between Carol and the door, with her arms crossed, and said, "How do you know I did something?"
"Phoenix figured it out," Carol snarled. "Why would you do such a thing? I thought you were my friend."
Jenny raised her eyebrows. "I don't think Phoenix is the right kind of friend for you."
"So you're trying to break us up by blocking the Ouija's power?" Carol's face reddened.
Jenny glowered back. "That's not why I blocked its powers. But if Phoenix stops hanging around you because the Ouija board doesn't work, so much the better. Phoenix has ruined our friendship."
"No, you ruined our friendship." Carol jabbed her in the shoulder with a finger. "You used to enjoy the same things I do. You used to want me to be happy."
"I do want you to be happy," Jenny said. "But the Ouija board is not going to make you happy. It's evil. I've been trying to tell you that, but you won't listen. You used to listen to me."
"You're narrow-minded." Carol poked Jenny again. "It is not evil."
"If it's not evil, then why did Jesus stop it from working?"
"What does Jesus have to do with it?" Carol said, disgusted. "Phoenix is right: You are overly religious."
Jenny put her hands on her hips. "I asked Jesus to be with you when you played with the Ouija. And since demons flee from Jesus, they weren't around to make your Ouija board work."
"Demons!" Carol shrieked. "What do you think I am? A devil worshipper? All I'm doing is playing with a Ouija board. Demons! Hah! I don't know you any more, Jenny. You never used to talk this way. Phoenix said you're ruining things, and she's right. If that's the kind of friend you want to be, we're through." Carol shoved Jenny aside, plowed through the door and slammed it shut.
Jenny balled her hands into fists as she stared at the closed door. "Well, Carol," she huffed. "If that's the kind of friend you want to be, I don't want you to be my friend!"
Jenny's determination to stay angry at Carol made her decide to avoid the next youth meeting. The planned topic was "Forgiving Even When It Hurts."
"I think you should go," Jenny's mother told her during lunch.
"I just don't feel like it, okay?" Jenny retorted.
Samantha said, "I'd go, if I were old enough."
Jenny grimmaced at her. "You two are ganging up on me again. Why can't I do what I want to do?"
"Dear," Mrs. Seker said. "I'm only thinking of how it could help you."
"You're still on my case about Dad," Jenny said. "Forgiving him won't change the past or the present."
"But it would help you with Carol," Mrs. Seker said.
Jenny pushed a chunk of omelette around on her plate. She answered quietly. "My forgiving Carol isn't going to get her away from Phoenix."
"You never know, dear."
Jenny jumped up. "Just leave me alone! You don't understand! I can't forgive Carol unless she wants me to."
"Alan said they'll be talking about how to mend broken friendships. Why don't you go just to see if it'll help you with Carol? Isn't your friendship worth it?"
Carol and Phoenix set up the Ouija board in Carol's darkened bedroom.
"Are you sure Jenny doesn't know we're doing this right now?" Phoenix asked.
"She doesn't know anything I'm doing any more," Carol said unhappily.
"We'll soon find out if she's been praying again," Phoenix said.
Carol hesitated before putting her fingers on the planchette. "If prayers can stop the Ouija's power, are we so sure the Ouija is good?"
Phoenix laughed. "We're just having some fun. If Jenny was really a good friend, why would she try to stop you from having fun?"
Carol shrugged.
Phoenix picked up the planchette and waved it in front of Carol. "If we're going to tap into more of the Ouija's powers, we can't have Jenny interfering. Fortunately, the Ouija can help us stop her. Are you ready?"
"I guess."
With fingers and planchette in position, Phoenix closed her eyes and called on the Ouija's power. "O great Ouija, there is an obstacle to our reaching higher levels of psychic awareness. Her name is Jenny Seker. Can you stop her from interfering?"
The pointer moved to yes.
The car bounced as Jenny sat in the back seat while her mother drove her to the youth meeting. Outside the window, the sky was dark, starless. A sense of something going wrong crept into Jenny. She wished she had stayed home. The closer they got to the church, the stronger her wish grew. She thought of Samantha back home and wanted to be with her.
Jenny tried to relieve tension by stretching her legs across the seat. She had to take her seat belt off to feel comfortable. But even that position didn't relax her.
She watched her mother steer through the traffic. She looked so alone, a single mother whose husband could still be alive, if only—. And yet, she had forgiven him. How? Could Jenny?
The headlights of a car coming down a side street glared brightly and made Jenny squint. As they continued to grow brighter, Jenny realized the car was coming right at them, not stopping. Jenny screamed, tires squealed, metal crunched, the car jerked sideways, the lights went black.
The next lights Jenny saw were square, blurred lights, one rushing into another. The car was still moving. No, it was not the car. Jenny was on a stretcher being wheeled down a bright hallway. A bag of clear liquid hovered above her, held by the hand of a man running beside her. Voices, many voices, hung around her.
And then she felt the pain. It seemed like the inside of her left leg was on fire! She tried to cry out, but the light returned to darkness.
"Jenny, Jenny," a woman's voice called.
Jenny opened her eyes and focused on her mother's tear-soaked face. A few scratches marred an expression of joy. "You're going to be okay," her mother said.
Jenny tried to sit up, but dizziness forced her to stay down on the bed. "Where am I?" she asked weakly.
"In the hospital. We were in a car accident, hit by a drunken driver. You're a little banged up. Your left leg is broken."
Jenny realized her leg no longer felt like it was burning.
"They gave you medication for the pain," Mrs. Seker said. "You're wearing a cast from your ankle to above the knee. You're going to stay in the hospital overnight for observation. Then I'll take you home tomorrow." Her mother leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "You're very blessed, you know," she said, tears refilling her eyes. "The other car veered off just as it hit us. As if something pushed it away. I'd hate to think of what would have happened if it had hit us full force. We have much to thank God for."
"Carol," Jenny said.
"Huh?"
"Tell Carol what happened to me."