It’s 1969 and 13 year old Charity faces sex, drugs, rock and roll, moonshots, school bussing and

the Vietnam war armed only with her faith and her Good News Bible.

SYNOPSIS:

Charity sits on the front porch with her dog, Blackie, reading her Good News Bible as her

parents leave for a music festival. Soon after they leave, her sister arrives with friends and bags

of marijuana plants to be dried in the basement. Her Sunday school presentation on “what is

love” only earns snickers, but at least Steve walked her home. And invited her to help throw his

paper route (but didn’t help carry her record player). Early the next morning the paper boys talk

big about how they’ll show the darkies at the new school who’s boss. Her parents are off to

another concert, but one of their friends needs someone to babysit. As they show her around the

house before leaving for the concert, people keep saying her parents are so cool, they drop acid

and… and Charity is devastated. After they leave, she checks on the baby and calls Steve. But

she’s not ready for what he wants and she sends him away.

Her best friend, Becky, think she’s crazy to send Steve away, so Charity invites him over again

and they are necking on the couch when her older sister comes down the stairs swinging at

imaginary bats. Steve skedaddles and Charity calls Cole to help her figure out what to do with

her sister. Cole knows she’s tripping on acid and seems to just know what to do. At least she has

her Bible to comfort her. Then she sees Becky and Steve kissing. She confronts her parents, but

they don’t even deny what they are doing, and her sister won’t stop doing what she’s doing

either. And her friends are still saying horrible things about the kids at the other school. Charity

is close to giving up.

The first day of bussing and there are only a few fights at the black school. One day after school,

Becky is watching the black girls practice dance moves. Charity asks the girls to show them.

They decide Becky has rhythm. Charity not so much. Things are good until her sister tears into

her for telling their parents about her bad trip. All alone, her faith lost, she tosses her Bible in the

trash and when a boy from the bus invites her out to a club that lets kids in she decides to go. He

offers her a joint and after one hit her asthma has her wheezing desperately. The boy doesn’t

know what to do but Cole is there. He finds her inhaler and takes care of her. Turns out Cole

see’s who she really is and just wants her to be the sweet girl he loves. She digs her Bible out of

the trash and finds hope in her verses once again

CHARITY