Chance for Solinea

By Genene Stradling

What else can go wrong for Solinea? In the three years since her mother had walked out leaving her with her stepfather, Tom, all she wanted was to be a "normal" teen-age girl with a normal life - friends, a real home and regular food. Just when it seems that things are starting to work out, her mother shows up out of nowhere. Why? Can Solinea forgive her? Does she still love her? The hurt and anguish and confusion tear her apart, what can she do? To top it all off, Solinea is in a school dance contest that night and - her skirt falls off! Yep! Right there in front of everyone. Does she have any chance for her normal life? Is she strong enough? Could be! "At some time in most of our lives we may feel like Solinea; alone and so overwhelmed with our problems that we just want to run away. But, we finally realize the only way to deal with them is to just face them like she did."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645843788

Book preview

cover.jpg

Chance for Solinea

Genene Stradling

Copyright © 2019 Genene Stradling

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2019

ISBN 978-1-64584-377-1 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-64584-378-8 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

On the Road

In Holbrook, Arizona

Solinea Moran Doesn’t Dance!

The Birthday Party

Solinea Is ‘‘In"

Denise!

The Dance Festival

Out in the Desert

Ben

Chapter 1

On the Road

‘‘Ooh! Yucky, yucky cockroach! Solinea Moran grimaced as she hit the big black bug with her shoe. That was the second one that day. How gross! She wrinkled her nose and frowned as she scooped up the dead bug with a paper and carried it to the trash can. ‘‘I hate cockroaches! she shuddered as the ugly thing disappeared among the garbage.

She went back to spreading margarine on two pieces of bread, and then got a glass of water. That was lunch. Solinea eyed it with a general feeling of distaste. It was the same lunch she had had all week. ‘‘Oh well," she sighed as she tore one of the slices in two and stuffed it into her mouth. At least it was better than the lunches she had at school, which was only water from the water fountain. At least the bread added some substance to the menu, she thought as she stuffed the other half into her mouth.

It was the last day of spring break. Finally! She was beginning to think it would never end. Her step-dad, Tom Sherwood, had had to work all week, and since she hardly knew anyone else in town she had been stuck at home by herself with nothing to do.

The little house they had rented just before Christmas was small, and the only furniture they had was a mattress in the only bedroom, and an army cot they got at a surplus store for Tom to sleep on in the living room. Then of course, there was the red vinyl kitchen chair they found at the dump, that was still in pretty good shape and a slightly rusted TV tray they used for a table. That made housekeeping a breeze.

The kitchen was the best part of the whole house. Well, maybe the second-best part, there was indoor plumbing! Living in a car had made her really appreciate that. There was an actual stove and refrigerator—that worked! A lot of the places Tom and Solinea had lived in in the last few years didn’t have either, or at least one that worked. So most of the time they just ate right out of the can or box or bag or whatever they had. Not a lot of dirty dishes that way. That was okay since they didn’t have very many dishes anyway. Tom always said that he liked to travel light—which meant he could just pack up at a moment’s notice and leave whenever he felt like it.

Solinea could hardly believe it had been three and a half years since she had woken up and found that stupid note. But even now the knot in her stomach got tight. She had been thirteen years old, and it had seemed like