Left Out, Sienna?: Sienna

By Joy Vee

Sienna always has the best ideas! But sometimes she comes across as bossy. When she finds herself left out of her friendship group, she doesn't know why, or how to make it better.

Sienna learns important lessons at Kids' Church and tries to find the truth in the pages of the Bible. As she struggles with whose opinion matters, can she make the right choices and win back her friends? And does she even want to?

With guided questions at the back related to the story this book is perfect to read with friends and family as you grow in God together.

Joy lives in Lincoln, England with her husband and two teenage children. She loves to encourage others to have big adventures with God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Broad Place Publishing
• Release date: Sep 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781915034328

Book preview

Prologue

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Dear Emily,

I know you’re cross with me, but honestly – I don’t know why. I’m not sure what I’ve done to upset you so much, but I’m sad that you aren’t speaking to me. Can we be friends again, like we were two weeks ago – before it all went wrong?

I miss hanging out with you.

Please talk to me again,

Sienna.

Chapter 1

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Two weeks before...

Sienna was excited about the short film she and Emily had made. But she wasn’t so sure about the parts her friend was adding to their out-take video.

‘This is gonna be hilarious. No one’s expecting us to make a blooper reel,’ Emily was fully focused on the screen, watching the scenes play through and stopping at certain parts. They had spent the last four weeks working on a short video advertising their school for a national competition, and now they were using some of the extra footage to make a funny reel for their classmates to enjoy.

‘I’m glad I suggested it,’ Sienna said, frowning slightly as Emily chose another shot of her pulling a face.

‘Who cares who suggested it?’ Emily muttered. ‘We are both making it. It doesn’t matter whose idea it was.’

‘I suppose,’ Sienna agreed. ‘But why are you only choosing shots of me being silly? It’s supposed to be out-takes from all of us. I don’t mind having a laugh, but I’d hate for people to think I was stupid.’

‘Oh, I’ll be in it too,’ Emily tapped her fingernails on the table as she watched a replay. ‘It’s just you were on screen most, so I’m doing those parts first.’

‘Oh, remember that time you fell over? Let’s put that in, with some silly music. Here. Let me find it?’ Sienna moved in front of the screen, pushing Emily out of the way, and started skipping through the footage they had spent the last month recording.

‘Oi, Sienna!’ Emily snapped.

Before Emily could say any more, Miss Reid, the girls’ teacher came in.

‘Hi girls. How’s the video coming along?’

Earlier in the year, Miss Reid had heard about the competition from another teacher friend and suggested it to their class. Initially, everyone was eager to help, but after the first week, most of the class were bored. In the end, it was left to Sienna and Emily to finish the video. Fortunately, their friends Sophia and Phoebe helped out.

‘How long is the final video?’ Miss Reid asked, sitting next to the girls.

‘It can be between three and five minutes, but ours is nearly three and a half minutes.’ Emily said, twisting one of her red curls around her finger.

‘We filmed some of the Year 1s playing and the Year 6s having a debate. We also videoed the work displayed on the walls,’ Sienna chipped in.

‘I interviewed the head teacher, and Sophia filmed while I interviewed Sienna and Phoebe.’

Both girls smiled at their teacher.

‘Well, it looks like you have everything in hand. You have worked really hard on this, and who knows, maybe ours will be the winning video. Well done, girls.’ Miss Reid left them to their work.

‘We should do something special to celebrate finishing the edit,’ Sienna suggested, shutting down the computer and half-hoping the blooper reel wasn’t saved properly.

‘Definitely!’ Emily said, flicking her curly red hair over her shoulders. ‘Why don’t we go for lunch at that new pizza place in town?’

‘And we could invite Sophia and Phoebe too,’ Sienna headed to the door, hoping that Emily would forget about the out-takes and all the embarrassing things she’d caught on video.

Chapter 2

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‘Sophia!’ Emily waved and ran over to their friend. Emily and Sophia’s mums were both pregnant, and they had created a ‘Big Sisters’ Club’. They were now best friends and spent lots of time at each other’s houses.

Sienna looked around for Phoebe. She’d recently moved into their school from another school in town, and Miss Reid had asked Sienna, Emily and Sophia to look out for her. Sienna saw her standing near the table where they usually ate lunch and headed in her direction.

‘Hi, Sienna.’ Phoebe pushed her glasses further up her nose and gave a lop-sided smile. ‘How is the video coming on?’

‘We’ve finished the competition one, and we’re just working on a comedy out-take reel now.’

‘That sounds fun.’ Phoebe bit her lip, ‘I’m sure you’ll have loads of material from our interview. I really messed it up.’

‘No, you were fine. Everyone gets nervous! I thought we had lots of footage of different people, but it seems to mainly be Emily and me messing around. Do you remember when we were watching the dance class, and I was doing dad-dancing in the background? We’re just putting in things like that.’

Phoebe’s face relaxed into a grin. ‘What about when you were in the Year 1 classroom, and pretended you didn’t know how to use the building blocks?’

‘I think we’ve added the bit where I hold up a picture, obviously drawn by a Year 1 child, and talk about how it is my most artistic work ever.’

Phoebe laughed out loud. ‘That was so funny.’

‘What was funny?’ Sophia asked, her braids dancing on her shoulders as she and Emily came over, arm in arm.

‘We’re just talking about the blooper reel,’ Sienna smiled.

‘Us too, girl! It sounds hilarious. I choked on my drink when Emily was telling me.’

‘We’re thinking of going out to celebrate, maybe next weekend,’ Emily said. ‘How about that new pizza place in town?’

Sienna mentally counted how much money she had left from Christmas. ‘And we could go to the cinema afterwards.’

Sophia whooped loudly. ‘Yes!’

Phoebe adjusted her glasses, squinting slightly. ‘On our own? Do you think our parents would let us?’

‘We are eleven now,’ Sienna said. ‘We’re far more grown up than we were before. We’ll be walking to secondary school on our own from September, so we can tell them we want to practise being responsible.’

Phoebe frowned. ‘I’m not sure,’ she said. ‘My parents don’t like me going out with other people. They don’t want me to get into trouble.’

‘What if my mum picked you up in the car,’ Emily suggested, ‘and then dropped you back home after the film? Would that make it easier for your parents?’

‘Probably,’ Phoebe nodded slowly. ‘But it wouldn’t surprise me if we turned up at the pizza place to find my two older brothers sitting in the corner keeping an eye on me.’

‘And if we go next weekend,’ Emily pursed her lips, ‘it’ll give us something to look forward to, so we don’t keep stressing about the competition.’

‘Ooh, wouldn’t it be exciting if we won? You’d be on TV and everything,’ Sophia giggled.

Sienna tried to smile. ‘I feel sick just thinking about it. Part of me wants us to win because we’ve worked so hard and had such great ideas. But part of me doesn’t want to. What if we won, but I forgot what to say on TV, like I did when we were filming the interview? Everyone would think I was an idiot.’

Phoebe put her hand on Sienna’s arm. ‘It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. We’re your friends, and we think you’re great.’

Chapter 3

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Jack wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

‘That was delicious. Thanks, Mum,’ he said, glancing round the table. ‘Why do you guys eat so slow? Even Mrs Smith finishes her food faster than you. It’s a pity she couldn’t come for dinner