She Was His First

2

Charlie grinned wide as the station wagon finally stopped. The Shultz family had been driving for more than three hours. For those three hours, Charlie was stuck in the car with her boring parents, her fussy baby sister, and the radio that was picking up out-of-town stations that didn't play all the songs she liked. It was like heaven to her when she got to climb out of that hot, cramped car. She stretched her arms by going to the nearest tree and grabbing a low branch with both hands. She lifted her feet off the ground and swung there, her fingers digging into the rough tree bark.

A woman with dark curly hair, Greta, rushed out of the house. She wiped her hands on the plaid apron around her waist, leaving flour marks. Charlie knew she had been cooking her wonderful home made biscuits. Greta made a beeline to Mrs. Shultz and grabbed her in a hug.

"It's so good to see you," she said.

A man came out and greeted Mr. Shultz. He was wearing an outfit that made Charlie think about farmers. He waved at Charlie and she waved back. The men started unloading the luggage. Mrs. Shultz got Charlie's sister out of the car seat and she followed Greta inside. The two cousin's had a lot of catching up to do. Mr. Shultz and the farmer, Isaac, carried the luggage in.

Charlie stayed at the tree. She climbed up on a branch and looked at the plums among the leaves, wondering if they were ripe yet. She loved plucking plums off of the tree and eating them fresh. A big one was out far on the branch above her. It looked ripe enough. She stretched out-

"What are you doing?" someone asked.

Charlie stopped and looked down. It was a little blonde girl with a long braid. She had a cartoon character Charlie liked on her shirt and she looked a little older than Charlie. A little brown haired girl stood nearby. She looked slightly younger and was wearing a plaid dress. Charlie smiled down at them.

"Trying to reach this plum," she said, pointing.

"Ew, why?" the blonde girl said. "You're not gonna eat it are you?"

Charlie thought a moment. She had a chance to make some new friends. Greta's place could get really boring during Charlie's family's visits. There usually wasn't other kids around, but this time, it looked like she was lucky. She might have something to do during the long days. The girl didn't look like she liked plums though, and if Charlie said she did, the girl might not like her.

"No," Charlie said.

"What's your name?"

"Charlie."

"That's a boys name," she giggled.

"Charlotte."

"I'm Amy and this is Sarah."

The girl with the brown hair waved as Amy pointed at her. Charlie waved back.

"Do you live here?" Sarah asked.

"No. It's my mom's cousin's house," Charlie said.

"Oh. Come down and play with us," Amy said.

Charlie climbed down, excited to play with new friends. She jumped the last few inches to the ground, acting like a gymnast that just jumped off a beam. The girls all laughed.

"What do you want to play?" Charlie asked.

"You pick," Amy said.

Sarah looked away suspiciously. "Here he comes, Amy," she mumbled under her breath.

Amy looked away and so did Charlie. A boy with short brown hair was walking toward them. His clothes were dirty and faded. He looked about the same age as Amy. Amy didn't seem to like him. She looked at him the same way she looked at the plums.

"Come on," she said to Charlie and Sarah. "Run."

***

Quick Author Fact: Charlie's name didn't come from Good Luck Charlie. I named her Charlie, because that's the other name my mom tells me she had picked out for me. Since I needed to change the name, I figured I'd pick out a name that was almost mine--a name picked out many years before that show existed. <3