Read Online Next Year in Israel by Sarah Bridgeton - Free Book Online

can get out of it.”
    Mia walked over to Leah with her head down. “I feel hot, like I have a fever. Can I stay on the bus?”
    “Shall I get out the thermometer from the first-aid kit?”
    “I’ve also got cramps from my period,” Mia said.
    “Don’t even try,” Leah said.
    The walk up the canyon was a steep incline. We kept our backs against the protruding rocks as we approached the plateau. Chatterbox distracted us with his ongoing commentary about restaurants in Tel Aviv until we reached a three-foot gap between us and the trail.
    Chatterbox jumped into the air. “The Deleck’s mediocre.”
    “Now isn’t the time to talk food,” Mia whined.
    “Who’s first?” Chatterbox kneeled on the edge of his cliff. “I’ll catch your hand.”
    “I’ll go first,” Jake said.
    “Let the girls start,” Leah said.
    “Women and children first,” Ben said.
    “I’m first.” Jordyn traipsed to the edge and looked straight up at the sun. “Whoopee!”
    She caught Chatterbox’s hand.
    Mia was next. She panted. Her freckles looked sallow.
    “Are you okay?” It was sad that her birthday was turning into a jump-for-your-life exercise.
    “I feel sick when I look down.”
    I wiped sweat off my forehead. “Don’t look down.”
    Mia’s legs shook. “My body will smash into a million little pieces if I fall.”
    “Look ahead,” I coached. “Grab his hand.”
    She stepped widely into the air like she was bypassing a puddle. “I did it,” she cheered from Chatterbox’s side.
    “Next!” Chatterbox yelled.
    My turn. I leapt through the air.
    Yeah, I was soaring!
    “Can I go?” Ben nudged.
    “No, you have to wait your turn,” Leah said.
    Mia still looked pale while we watched the line of students jump, one by one. Leah directed the order, until Ben and Jake were the only ones left.
    Jake smiled deviously. “Can we jump at the same time?”
    “No,” Leah decided. “He can’t help both of you at once.”
    “We don’t need help,” Ben said.
    “Watch your attitude,” Chatterbox snarled from his rock.
    Jordyn squatted. “I’ll catch you.”
    Ben answered her in Hebrew. I wished I could have translated.
    Leah nodded at Chatterbox. “Jake goes first.”
    Ben frowned at her.
    Jake floated in the air, steady and even. Ben didn’t wait for him to land. He leapt up and dropped to our side.
    After the jump, we made our way to a monastery built into the rocks. When we returned to the bus, Mia finally spoke. “I miss my family and friends.”
    I knew from her glassy eyes she was holding back tears. “You said your friends at home are boring. We aren’t boring here.” I took her phone out of her backpack and snapped a picture of her. “E-mail your parents this and tell them you overcame your fear of heights today.” I was eager to be the kind of friend that I always wanted to have.
    Mia grinned at me.
    Leah clapped her hands. “All right, loves. We’ve got a birthday today.”
    And while Mia’s face flushed, Leah led us through two renditions of “Happy Birthday,” the first in English and the second in Hebrew.

Chapter 7
    MIA BURST INTO OUR ROOM one Thursday night after we had been at the kfar for three weeks. She rubbed her hands together. “We’re going out tonight.” From my bed, I closed my flimsy Hebrew workbook, wondering what she had planned. The naysayer in me needed an explanation, as Leah checked on us several times a night.
    “I just saw Ben in the hallway.” Mia was practically jumping up and down. “He said Leah asked him to do the bed check tonight.”
    That seemed rather convenient. “She trusts us to police ourselves?” I fake-frowned. Saying no would be a huge mistake. I couldn’t disappoint Mia.
    “Her daughter went into labor. She’s on her way to the hospital.”
    No wonder. Her grandchild was giving us a free night.
    Jordyn walked into our room. “It’s the three of us girls. Everyone else wants to hang out in Ben’s room.”
    Since when did Jordyn become Mia’s