Free Just Ask by Melody Carlson Page A

the first place. And without the column, I couldn't afford the Jeep. Talk about stuck.
    “Why are you being so quiet?” asks Natalie.
    I shrug then tell her I have a headache. Okay, I feel bad for lying, but there's no way I can tell her my feelings are hurt by the fact that she and the others were so harsh on Jamie today
    “Sorry.” She leans back in the seat and looks slightly disappointed.
    Now I'm feeling guilty for being such a lame friend. I know I can't be much fun for Natalie. “It's okay I'm starting to feel better now.”
    She smiles. “Hey, I almost forgot. Do you want to go to a movie on Friday? There's no home football game that night.”
    “Sure,” I say “Which one? I heard that—”
    “I already have a movie picked out.”
    “Huh?” Now I'm confused. This is very unlike Natalie. If we go to a movie, we usually discuss what we're going to see.
    “It's kind of a surprise, Kim.”
    “A surprise? What do you mean?”
    “But it'll be my treat.”
    “What are you talking about, Natalie?” I think maybe I'm getting a real headache now.
    “Come on, Kim. Just say you'll go.”
    “To a surprise movie that's going to be your treat? Why are you being so nice? It's not like it's my birthday or anything.”
    “Maybe I just like you.” She gets this crazy grin now, and despite myself, I have to give in.
    “Okay, I'll go to your surprise movie.”
    She nods. “Cool. So do you wanna drive?”
    I roll my eyes at her. “Sure, you just invited me so you'd have a ride.”
    “That's not it. I just figured you'd prefer your Jeep to my old beater. But if you really don't want to drive.
    “Yeah, you're right.”
    So I stop at her house, and even after I question her, she still won't tell me what we're going to see. Then I gohome and check online to see what's playing, but nothing seems interesting enough to be such a big surprise. I can't figure Nat out today. Guess I'll have to wait and see.

Eight
Saturday, October 1
    Well, I went to the movie with Natalie last night. And she was right—it was a surprise. Actually, it was more of a shock. I'm not even sure what I think about the whole thing yet. The truth is, I feel sort of numb.
    First of all, the movie wasn't playing at an actual theater. It was at Natalie's church. Okay, I'm thinking when she lets me in on this bit of crucial information, a church movie, great, just what I need right now.
    “Why?” I ask her when I realize what's going on. “Why on earth are you taking me to a movie at your church?”
    “You're not backing out, are you?”
    “I didn't say that. I just want to know why you'd put me through a church movie.”
    “It's not a church movie.”
    “Yeah, right.”
    “It isn't. Mel Gibson is in it.”
    Suddenly I remember something about this Jesus movie that Mel Gibson produced last year, although I don't think he starred in it. As I recall it was pretty controversial, but I never saw it when it was playing at the theaters. Could this be the same one? “You mean he's actually in the movie or that he produced it?”
    “Both.”
    “Oh.”
    “Come on, Kim. Don't be a wet blanket. This is a really amazing movie, okay? Just trust me.”
    And so I quit arguing, and, feeling like Natalie's puppet, I drive past the big message board sign that her church has prominently placed near the street. Today's gem is: “Open your heart, open your mind, open your Bible.” Yeah, right, whatever. I try to keep my mouth shut as I drive around and around, trying to find an empty space in the huge parking lot.
    Then we're walking through these big glass doors that make me feel like we're going to the mall instead of church. And never mind that I avoid going to church with my own parents—a small traditional church where nothing unusual ever happens—but here I am going to Natalie's megachurch where the pastor has been known to yell occasionally. Just great. I can hardly wait.
    Okay, in retrospect, I can admit that the movie was well done, at least on