Stories

Bobby awoke not to his alarm clock, but to the usual city traffic jam outside. It was so hot! He groaned and sat up in his bed, feeling the dampness of his thin sheets. He just sat there absorbing the heat because he didn't feel like getting up. All of a sudden Bobby's alarm clock began to ring like crazy. He pressed down Snooze and turned it off.

"It’s still the beginning of spring and it’s already this hot,” Bobby grumbled to himself. He checked his alarm clock, which had failed to wake him up. It was already 8:00! He was about to miss the school bus! Bobby jumped out of bed. He had forgotten the humidity of the day because of his lateness, but now he immediately remembered it as large beads of perspiration trickled down his forehead. Bobby quickly wiped his sweat off, his forehead dripping. His whole bedroom felt stuffy. He swiftly pushed aside his pale blue curtains and grunted as he lifted the window up, only to find even hotter air and a sizzling ray of sunshine that blinded him. Quickly, he closed it, regretting his decision.

Bobby began to undress: he pulled off his pajamas rather violently; then began to put on the long-sleeved shirt and jeans he had set up the day before, but then decided against it. Instead he put on a short sleeved shirt and shorts. Then, he sprinted downstairs. His parents had already left for their jobs. Bobby grabbed his backpack, his lunch, and an apple; then put on his sneakers and ran outside, chomping the apple. Remembering that food wasn't allowed on the bus, he took one last bite of the apple and dropped it on the sidewalk, then sprinted around the block in time to see the large yellow bus about to leave. He had made it. Bobby grinned to himself and high fived his own other hand.

There was smelly gas pumping out of the bus. Bobby held his nose as he got on. The bus driver glared at him.

“Next time I’m not waiting for you,” she hissed. "You're not going to make every other kid on this bus late." Bobby glared back. When she turned her back he stuck out his tongue at the back of her head. Then he threw a wadded up sheet of paper at her seat. His friends Jon and Erik snickered and fist bumped Bobby.

"Score." When Bobby arrived at class, his teacher, Ms. Rosen wasn't running around making sure everyone was ready for their first class, Language Arts. She was standing in the middle of the classroom, with a bored look on her face.

“All right, class, today a specialist from a nearby town is going to teach us about the environment. You may take your time unpacking.” she announced. “Since this really isn't important,” Bobby thought he heard her mutter.

When everyone finished unpacking and putting their backpacks in their lockers, a woman who looked rather out of breath came into the classroom.

“Good morning, everyone,” she said. “I’m sorry if I was late, since I biked here.” The class gaped at her. Everyone in Bobby's town drove or took the bus. His town was big on transportation. There were even around four or more car dealer shops. Ms. Rosen rolled her eyes. The woman didn't seem to notice.

“Just so you know, my name is Gwen and I’m a specialist on the environment. I’m here to teach you about global warming. I think at least some of you don’t know what global warming is,” she continued.  Gwen paused for a second, which gave Ms. Rosen time to say under her breath, “Or don’t care.” Bobby didn't know what was up with his teacher. Gwen began to talk again, so Bobby focused his attention on her. She launched into an amazing speech about global warming, its causes and effects, and how to prevent it. Bobby started feeling guilty about keeping the bus waiting, making there—even if only a little—more harmful gases in the air. He also felt bad about the paper and the apple he had littered, which would create some greenhouse gas. And Bobby found his answer for why it was so hot. Because of global warming! All the global warming was making the hole in the ozone layer in the atmosphere bigger, letting in more harmful and hot rays of the sun in. Bobby was awed, but most of his classmates were acting like Ms. Rosen was: yawning, stretching—possibly on purpose—until the end of Gwen's speech.

At one part, when Gwen was talking about the effects of global warming, Ms. Rosen had muttered “And life goes on.” Bobby couldn't believe it! How could anyone say something like that? Bobby thought. But those are most people’s thoughts of the environment, Bobby decided and sighed.

"Yo, Bob," Jon elbowed him. "Snap outta it."

Bobby blinked and came back into reality.

"That lady was soooo boring. Man, she kept droning on about globs of worms or something like that. Like, what in the world was she talking about? She sounded like she was cuckoo."

"She was talking about global warming, not globs of worms." Bobby responded. Jon snickered. "You weren't listening the whole time?" Bobby asked.

Jon flashed a mischievous grin. "Nope, on my phone textin' Erik. He agrees with me, right, man?" Jon high fived Erik, who had come up behind them.

"You know what, Jon? Sometimes you can be so clueless." Bobby said angrily. He walked away.

"Dude, don't you think Bobby has gone a bit crazy?"Jon muttered to Erik. "Not the old Bob I used to know."

Later, Bobby decided to talk to Gwen. He went out in the school hallway as Gwen was walking away.

"Uh, excuse me miss, could I talk to you?" he asked. Gwen nodded.

"Finally, someone who's actually interested in the environment," she muttered wearily.

"Did you notice the class? How they weren't paying attention?" Bobby asked.

"Yes, I did. Most people act like that. I just ignore them and keep on going on with my speech usually," Gwen replied.

"Oh. Wow, I wouldn't have controlled my temper," Bobby said. "I would have been angry that no one was paying attention," he told her. "How can I help the environment?" "...Could I help?" Bobby blurted out, not waiting for a response. Gwen nodded, so Bobby continued. "I was thinking, maybe we could get them to listen."

"Well, how? Get a megaphone and yell into their ears?" Gwen asked, making a tired attempt at a joke.

"I don't really know actually," Bobby said, shrugging. "But I really want to help them." He said solemnly.

Gwen hurriedly check her watch. "Shoot." she muttered. "Look—here's my phone number and the name of my organization—I need to run to..." Gwen seemed to hesitate for a second. "... another school," she finished. Gwen hurriedly scribbled down some words on a scrap of paper. She handed the paper to Bobby and waved before rushing down the hall and out the school's main entrance. Bobby sighed. He had so many questions for Gwen. But he had his own for himself to think about first. What could he do to help the environment?

And was there any, any way of changing how others thought?

Bobby chewed his lip until it bled as he headed back into the classroom. He shoved the slip of paper that Gwen had given him into his pocket and pushed open the heavy wooden door of his classroom. Ms. Rosen frowned at him.

“Don’t leave the room without my permission next time, young man,” she hissed as he trudged back to his desk, the stares and whispers of his classmates following him.

Throughout the entire school day, Bobby barely paid attention to his lessons. The world’s damaged environment haunted him whenever he tried to think of something else. As the last bell rang, Bobby absent mindedly packed his textbooks and homework into his backpack. He accidentally dropped his Spanish book by the classroom rug, and found a piece of paper that had been left next to the notebook. On it was scrawled some messy handwriting. He recognized it as Gwen’s, because his slip of paper and the paper that he had found matched. He began to read what looked like a reminder to Gwen:

After talking with Franklin Elementary School 5th grade, bike to lawyer’s office. Carpool with him to court, and try to convince the judge to file a lawsuit against millionaire Mr. Benjamin Rosen, against his company. Show the judge proof of the illegal poaching animals in the Everglades.

Bobby nearly dropped the paper. Gwen had lied about going to another school. She was actually going to a serious court case! Something about the name Benjamin Rosen sounded familiar to Bobby. Then he remembered. Benjamin Rosen was Ms. Rosen’s father! She had mentioned him several times to her students. He had suspected that Gwen and Ms. Rosen had known each other from somewhere, judging by the numerous glares Ms. Rosen had given Gwen during Gwen’s speech. But Bobby never guessed that the matter would be that serious. Lawsuits! Illegal poaching in the Everglades! His 5 th grade teacher’s father was a criminal, and she actually supported him!

“Bobby, is there something you’d like to talk to me about?” Ms. Rosen had her nice teacher face on, the frown lines long gone from when Gwen had came. He could see a coat of blush and bronzer hastily applied to cover the wrinkles. But now he knew it was all fake. He couldn't trust his teacher anymore, if the crime affected her teaching or not. He played along with her.

“Nah, everything’s fine,” Bobby replied grinning as bright and cheerful as a lamp at night. Perhaps the grin was too much. He darkened his grin a few watts just in case.

To his dismay, Ms. Rosen noticed the smile’s fade. “I don’t think so,” she said doubtfully. Bobby held his breath as she searched his eyes. “Did that environmentalist tell you anything that was strange?” she questioned. She was going to be direct. If she was, Bobby decided, he was going to too.

“No, she just told me about some endangered animals in the Everglades,” he replied. It was a risky and bold move, but Bobby hoped she wouldn’t take it as a challenge and chicken out. “I wanted to help her by raising awareness about the environment because lizards are my favorite creature, and they live in the Everglades,” he added, playing dumb by acting innocent.

“I’m glad to hear that, Bobby,” Ms. Rosen responded. “Perhaps I’ll do a unit on animals for Science class.” Bobby let out his breath, relieved. But she wasn't done yet. “What’s that paper, Bobby? May I see it?” she inquired, her sharp eyes falling hard on Gwen’s reminder. Bobby paled.

“Oh, that’s just my math homework,” he lied.

“No, don’t you remember? We don’t have any math homework except to study for the test tomorrow. I don’t see why you need a sheet,” Ms. Rosen said. Bobby’s heart beat faster as he thought of an excuse. She took hold of Gwen’s paper but didn’t take it forcefully. Yet. “Let me see. It may be the wrong thing.”

“No, silly me. It’s History—“Bobby started, but was interrupted by Jon walking in. Slowly, his white face returned to its normal color.

“Hey, you comin’ to play football or not? We’re all waiting for you.” Jon, said, chomping a large wad of mint gum.

“Yeah, sure,” Bobby said gratefully. And swiftly, with one graceful movement, Bobby swung his backpack over his shoulder, snatched the paper right out of his teacher’s clutches, and followed Jon out the classroom, leaving Ms. Rosen baffled and annoyed.

Let the adults handle the illegal matters, Bobby thought to himself. He sprinted across the school’s football field, gripping the football. All I’m worrying about is the environment, he decided as he scored a touchdown and everyone cheered.

"This is so unfair!" Philip wailed one day. "None of my friends are forced to do this!"

It was a sunny spring morning. Birds twittered in the trees. The cool spring breeze blew softly in the air, rustling the leaves of lively trees gently. Rabbits everywhere scurried out of their burrows, this time with their newborn babies. Flowers looked ready to bloom, and some already have, proudly showcasing their new petals.

But this Philip did not notice. In fact, all Philip saw was the screen of his new television. He was ready to grab the remote and flip to his favorite channel when, like an everyday call, Philip's mother called,"Philip, your room light is on."

Now this did not make Philip happy.

He was outraged.

"So what?!" Anger flashed across his face.

"Actually, in a way." his father responded, looking up from his paper. " Every second you leave the light on without a person in the room, you waste electricity. It's a ton better to--"

Philip slammed his door shut furiously, without waiting for his father to continue.

"I don't care!!!!" a muffled sound from Philip's room, with everyone knowing it was Philip.

" Okay, children," Mrs. Daniels announced the next day at school. " We have a visitor coming today to teach us about the environment. So finish unpacking, quickly!"

Everyone walked to their desks, including Philip, who still was angry about yesterday. He was even redder now, at the mention of the environment.

"Oh, why do people do this?" He huffed, unaware of the teacher.

"Phillip," Mrs. Daniels clenched her teeth together. "You either behave during the visitor's speech, or I want you to write a composition for me about why it is good to have manners."

Sounds of giggles trailed behind Philip as he slumped to his desk, obvious that it were his classmates laughing at him. Philip gritted his teeth together, desperately longing to get out of the school.

"Okay, kids," a blond haired woman announced clearly. "I am here to talk about the environment. First, who knows what air pollution is?"

Several hands waved in the air. Philip stared at the woman in wonder, as he wondered who the woman was.

Why doesn't she tell us who she is? Philip wondered.

"Okay, that guy in the red shirt," the woman said, stretching her arm to point to James, Philip's best friend. "Will you tell us what air pollution is?"

Philip shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, yawning purposely and stretching his arms.

"Actually, I'm just wondering what your name is," James said stolidly.

"Oh," the woman blushed, then cleared her throat and announced,"I'm Ms. Davis. Call me Katherine."

"Anyways," Katherine continued."Some of you might be wondering what's the big deal about the environment. Answer: because our environment is being severely damaged. Why?"

At this point, Katherine reached in her handbag and pulled out a diagram of the Earth before continuing. She pulled out a stick from behind her back and pointed it at the top of the earth. Several people leaned in for a better look. Philip, however, rolled his eyes towards Katherine and glared at Mrs.Daniels. Mrs.Daniels frowned. She motioned for Philip to be quiet, then returned to her work.

" First we shall talk about global warming. This is the ozone layer. It is a layer in the atmosphere that protects us from the harmful rays of the sun." Katherine stopped to face the class. " But now look at the harm people have done to the earth."

She flipped the diagram of the earth and the next page revealed an image of factories, smoke pouring through the top. The sky was gray and dirty, but Philip doubted that it was going to rain. A gasp went through the classroom.

"In this picture, these factories are creating pollution." Katherine said. "Air pollution, that is. Now, all these pollution harms the ozone layer, which makes a hole in the ozone layer. This means that the sun's harmful rays will reach the earth and nothing will protect it. It will harm us, for a start, but something else will happen, too." she said.

Katherine sat down by the teacher's computer, then something appeared on the class's smartboard. The screen showed the north pole, and a polar bear was struggling on a cube of ice, looking at the broken land of ice around it.

"Since there is a hole in the ozone layer, it lets in rays from the sun. That also means that the poles' ice is melting. This means it will affect two main parts in nature. One: the polar bears and other arctic animals. The ice melts, and the arctic animals have no place to live. No ice to live on; the polar bears are facing a great danger. This makes polar bears endangered. Don't worry if you don't know what that means, we'll get to that in a second. Two: storms and hurricanes. The melting ice makes a rising sea level, which causes hurricanes, floods, and other disastrous storms."

Suddenly, a loud thump came from the back of the classroom. To Philip, it sounded like a tree falling. But he didn't think twice about it.

"Oh, the wood choppers are at it again," Katherine sighed. "Just how impressed I am at how much they cut down the school's promise tree." Katherine said sarcastically.

A gasp of horror spread across the room.

The school promise tree? Philip thought. That can't be true!

The school promise tree was a tree that was planted on the day the school was made (a long time ago) and it kept the promise that everyone would be kind, helpful, and respectful to one another. That tree was really special to everyone. It was a willow tree that grew beautiful pink and white flowers in the spring.

" And if it were cut down..." Philip thought in horror. He couldn't even think about that. He ran to the windows with everyone else, peering down at the workers. Then suddenly it clicked. The environment. The trees. He suddenly noticed that at this very moment, a million trees are also being cut down in all the other places in the world. Though they might not be special trees like this one, they still have an important role on the earth. Without them, he probably can't even exist because there will be no oxygen. Philip suddenly felt guilty that he had talked that way the day before.

From then on, Philip became very alert of the environment, and even started his own committee.

Robert didn't like how his days began. In fact, he hated them! And he didn't just hate how his days began. He hated how his whole day went.

First went, “Robert, turn off the lights! You’re wasting electricity, you know!” That was Robert’s mom. It was like a daily call. His mom told Robert that so many times that he was actually used to it. However, whenever his mom called up to him, he would roll his eyes. Yeah, whatever, he would think as he went up to his room to turn off the lights, what's so important about it? Can’t she wait a few minutes?

Next was his dad, who said, “I've never heard of a little creature that knows how to turn a faucet on but can’t turn it off!” Ugh, Robert thought again. He just couldn’t see how important it was.

Robert had always felt better when he went to school, but today, he felt like he was about to puke. Until today, the teacher had never talked about the environment.

"Class!" Ms. Reef, his teacher clapped her hands impatiently, motioning for everyone to "stop hustling around". "Today in science, we have an important lesson to learn about! It is based on the environment. I got a letter from an environmentalist that he wanted me to teach y'all about the environment. He was too busy himself to do it, though."

Ugh, Robert thought as he pulled out his science textbook lazily, desperate to miss the "important lesson".

Robert had always believed what his teacher had said in the past, but this might be the first time he didn't believe his teacher.

"Who knows what's so important about the environment? Leave it to the environmentalists, Ms. Reef. You don't have to bore us in class by teaching us this and that about the environment," Robert thought hastily as he slumped down in his seat, secretly texting his friend, Abraham. His hands flew familiarly on the keyboards, texting him a message:

Hey Abe. Wonder what's up about this and that about the environment. Ms.Reef, like, she's thinks the environment is like, soooooooooooo important. Ya think she's gone crazy or what?

Robert jumped up from his slouching position and hid his phone as the teacher swiftly walked past him. His eyes followed where the teacher went- to the back of the room. He let out a breath he had been holding, and slouched back down his seat. Bzzzz. His phone buzzed as Robert was slouching down. Sneaking a look at the screen of his phone, he noticed Abe had texted him back. Soon they got into a short conversation:

Abe: Possibly.

Robert: Ya. u notice how she twirling her hair and her eyes are sort of twinkling when she talks about that environment guy?? Ya think she's getting married or what?

Abe: I bet you so. Hey, 100% she already has. She's probably pregnant. I mean, yo man, she's really fat in her belly-welly.

This time Robert had to laugh. He looked up quickly just in time to hear that they had a report due next Thurs. on the environment. She wanted to "make sure you understand what I've taught you". They had to write about the environment and how they can help it. She said to go on search information on computers and books in the library.

Robert groaned. "Woo-hoo. How very in-teresting,"he thought sarcastically. "I can't wait 'til I get home."

“Good day, hon?” Mom asked as Robert walked through the door.

“Unh,” Robert mumbled, barely making a sound. He opened the refrigerator, then got out an apple and some honey. His mom sliced the apple for Robert. After his snack, Robert told his mom about the assignment.

"And I should go to the library or a computer to get information for the report," Robert said, repeating almost exactly what Ms. Reef had said. Instead, he said it sadly, as if going there might kill him.

“That’s a great idea,” his mom said, “I'll bring you there in a sec!” She walked quickly to grab her purse, then waited for Robert at the bathroom sink, where Robert was washing his hands.

“What's the purse for?” Robert asked.

“I need to go to the supermarket to buy some food. I forgot to tell you, but someone is coming for dinner today,” his mom replied. "We're just going to discuss about the environment and how people should not waste water.” his mom emphasized the last word, eying the faucet.

"Whoops," Robert quickly turned the faucet off, and finally managed to drag himself out the door and into his mom's minivan, where she was waiting.

It took a long time for Robert to find a book about the environment. Eventually, Robert found a book called 'OUR ENVIRONMENT'. After the librarian scanned Robert’s book, his mom took him to the supermarket. She bought food for dinner that night: chicken, potatoes, gravy, etc. Robert begged his mom to buy him a bag of potato chips. She did and Robert began eating the bag at once. After Robert finished eating, he tossed it onto the ground. His mom stared at it. Robert knew what that meant.

OMG! he thought, what’s so bad about one piece of litter, doesn't she know about trash going to the dump land? This one piece of litter means nothing to that big pile of trash! Still, he picked it up and threw it into the trash. His mom unlocked the car and drove him home.

“Well, that was fun!” Robert's mom’s guest was sitting in the living room with his mom. They were chatting while Robert was quietly sitting in his bedroom having nothing to do. He had done all his homework. There wasn't much homework. He reached for the library book deciding whether to read it or not. He finally decided to read it.

“I’ve got a book to read, so why don’t I read it?” Robert thought. It was a thick book with 276 pages. Robert still wanted to read it. He opened to the first page, then began to read the wonderful, long book.

He learned that air pollution was harming the atmosphere, that water pollution was contaminating the water, and that people were littering, causing the pollution, and wasting the earth's natural resources. As he read, he began to become more and more interested into the environment. He was practically digging into the book, eager to find out all of the answers he had been wondering about while he read the book. 'Why do factories make so much pollution?’ he had wondered. The more he read, the more questions poured into his mind. The more questions he had, the more he wanted to read the book. While he read the book, he started to give up the idea of becoming a singer, and wanted to be an environmentalist. He also felt guiltier than ever as he read about litter and pollution, thinking of the numerous times he had left the lights on, and the potato chip bag he had littered.

“Hey, maybe I could help it too, and there won't be so mu--"

“Robert!” his mom called, “It's past eleven! Go to bed!” Whoa! Robert was surprised. He was so wrapped up in his book. He bookmarked the page he was on, and went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth. When he went to bed, he fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Yawn! It was the morning. Robert woke up, dressed, and then went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Then he noticed something different. His room lights weren't on. He noticed because his mom didn't call up to him. When he went downstairs, he noticed he didn't leave the faucet on either. At school he was more determined to get to science than math (his favorite subject). Was it because of the book he read last night? He didn't know. At school it wasn't math or science yet. It was spelling. Robert was great at that too, but somehow he didn't enjoy it. At math, he noticed that he didn't enjoy it either. When he looked around, the other classmates were looking bored too. During class, Abraham texted him a note:

Hey, have u started ur report yet? i'm on the "how can you help it part". it's so fun!

Gulp! Robert had forgotten all about the assignment! He should start right away! Robert quickly texted him back, then eagerly listened to the rest of the lesson.

“Class, time for lunch!”Ms. Reef led them to the cafeteria impatiently, and as Robert munched on his lunch, (meat loaf sandwich, m&ms, and crackers and sugar cookies-yum) he noticed he noticed the people in his class filing into the cafeteria looked disappointed that they were going to recess.

Robert sat next to Abe, and a few other friends in his class- Justin, Austin, Jack, and Eric. Robert chatted while he ate (duh), but noticed that this wasn't his normal conversation. They were talking more about the environment than fooling around, throwing bread balls at the girls.

"Hey Rob, why ya staring?" Eric poked Robert's knee as he talked, desperately trying to get his attention. "Didn't ya hear what Abe said? I thought you two stuck together like two peas in a pod."

Robert blushed, remembering the time when Abe had said that.

"Anyways, he said we're gonna play a round of soccer at recess," he continued. He paused hesitantly, then asked, "Right Abe?"

"Might."Abe stared at his knees, fidgeting with something in his hands. It was obvious that he really didn't want to play, but somehow, he managed it.

At recess, Robert and Abe were in the field playing soccer. Well, trying to play soccer. All they could think about was the assignment. Then Robert began to brainstorm. Why hadn't he thought about that? If he was going to keep blabbering on and on about the assignment when he didn't even start yet, why couldn't he just start writing his assignment at recess? The playground was buzzing with excited shouts of the children playing in the fresh spring air. Although he was about the same age, he felt older and more mature than them. While checking to see if there was any people, Robert nudged Abe's knee.

"You got any paper?" Robert asked.

"I think so,” Abe said, thinking. "You want it?"

"All." Robert replied.

He remembered the environment book he had taken to recess. Taking the paper from Abe, Robert raced to a table and got to work.

"Hey, Lela!" a high voice called. Lela looked up, sweat dripping from her chin in the Mexican heat. She pushed down her dark sunglasses and adjusted her two-piece swimming suit. Her wet, matted hair stuck to it.

"Hi, Francesca. What's up?" Lela stared longingly at the pool, wishing she could dive in and escape the sun. Unfortunately, the diving board line was long. She forced herself to be polite and looked Francesca in the eye. Lela never exactly liked her, because Francesca was always considered the leader of her group and was constantly ordering her friends around. Francesca grinned at Lela, friendlier than usual. She was wearing a sleeveless sundress, flip flops, and sunglasses that kept her curly brown hair from falling across her coffee eyes. Her minion friends, Bonita and Bertha, wore similar dresses. Lela suddenly felt self-conscious about her own appearance, knowing that her messy hair, sweaty face, and too tight swimming suit was worse than unattractive in Francesca's eyes. As Lela predicted, Francesca scrunched up her nose in disgust as she took in Lela's appearance.

"Oh, I just love summer, but I hate getting burned. I'm wearing the latest trendy rose scented SPF 70," Francesca said, eyeing Lela's red sunburns that ranged from toe to forehead. "I like your swimsuit! I was going to get that, but I saw this even prettier one." she continued, emphasizing the even in her her words, and lifting the bottom of her dress to show off a bright neon pink colored swimsuit. "Oh, let me get to the point. Bonnie, be a dear and ask Lela." Bonita seemed to smile triumphantly when Francesca gave her commands. Lela frowned suspiciously.

"So we were just wondering if you wanted to go to the mall with us," Bonita said. A mall trip! So that was what it was all about.

"Which one?" Lela questioned.

"The one near the Gulf," Bertha said.

"OK, I'll just go change. Be right back," Lela started, but Bertha cut her off.

"No, Fran already prepared some clothes for you. You have to look as good as us to be seen with us." Bertha demonstrated by twirling her long hair with her finger, nail polish shining off her fingernails. She grinned smugly at Bonita when she saw Francesca smile approvingly.

"You have a minute to change and meet us at my Jeep," Francesca barked impatiently. "Now get going!"

A few minutes later, Lela was sitting in the back of Francesca's white Jeep with a jealous Bonita, Francesca speeding and Bertha happy in shotgun; Vivir Mi Vida blasting on the radio. Lela shifted uncomfortably in the scratchy pink sundress Francesca had picked out for her. Finally the girls arrived at the mall, and Bonita quickly hopped out, embarrassed to be in the backseat.

"Change of plans! Eva found something that she wants us to see. It's at the Gulf." Francesca announced. Eva was another one of Francesca's minions.

"But I wanted to go shopping!" Bonita blurted out, sour after the backseat issue. Francesca shot her a venomous glare. A rule of being in Francesca's group was no talking back to her. Bonita quickly shut her mouth. Lela, unfamiliar to the group's rules, spoke.

"The Gulf of Mexico is closed because of the oil spill." she informed. "We're not allowed to go there." Francesca frowned at Lela.

"Well, I get final say. And I say yes, so we're going." Francesca replied coldly.

"Fine," Lela frowned in return. The four girls headed up to the gulf, ducking under the Caution tape. They met Eva, who was wrinkling her nose at something brown and oily that Lela couldn't make out.

"Ewww, what's that?" Francesca said, backing away a few steps. Bonita and Bertha did the same, but Lela curiously peered down at it. Suddenly the strange object twitched. The girls shrieked.

"It's... a loon." Lela breathed. "What's a loon? Some sort of crazy person?" Francesca demanded.

"No. Loons are a kind of bird. This loon must have gotten trapped in the oil. It's probably dying, so it needs help." Lela replied.

"Ewww! No way I'm touching that disgusting bird--I could get my new sundress dirty. That... thing looks so creepy!" Francesca exclaimed, shuddering and turning away from the loon. She hooked elbows with Bonita and Bertha and announced, "I'm going!" Eva trailed behind them. "Oh and Lela, if you're going to stay with that gross creature, you must be as loony as it is!" she added snottily, suddenly switching from her sugary attitude to a cruel one. Bonita, Bertha, and Eva snickered nastily. The foursome strode off cackling, and glanced back at Lela and pointed. "Loony loser!"

Lela ignored the teasing. She crouched down by the loon and gazed at it sadly. She decided she would get home and take a pair of rubber gloves to pick up the loon and take it to safety. Then Lela realized she didn't have a ride home. "Wait!" she called after Francesca. The group pretended not to hear her. Lela sprinted after them. Quickly, she stepped in front of their path.

"Get out of the way, Lela. I don't like you," Francesca taunted. Bonita, Bertha, and Eva laughed in agreement.

"I don't care if you like me or not. I need a ride home, so you have to take me back because you took me here." Lela said determinedly. Francesca doubled over laughing.

"Oh, that's just so hilarious!" she exclaimed, gasping for breath. "I need a ride home," Francesca mimicked in Lela's husky voice. "Lela darling, just 'cause you want a ride home doesn't mean you're getting a ride home." Francesca and her group stepped around Lela and piled into the Jeep. "And anyway, there's no space in my car," she said innocently, her eyes flicking between a large open seat and Lela tauntingly. "Oh, sorry, I meant there's no room for your enormously wide knees in my car."

Lela's eyes automatically went defensively to her knees. They were stick skinny. A comeback popped into Lela's mind in a split second. "At least they're not as wide as yours," she shot back. Then she started to walk away, the sundress swishing against her legs. "Oh and by the way, thanks for the dress," Lela added. Francesca's eyes widened in rage and humiliation and Lela walked away, but she couldn't let Lela win.

"Good luck finding a ride, dear," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice, flashing a wide lip-glossy innocent smile, starting her Jeep's motor.

"Yeah, Frannie, thanks. By the way, I have something called a cellphone which allows me to call my parents, in case you didn't know what the definition of ‘cellphone’ is," Lela called over her shoulder, wondering why she didn't think of it earlier. With a face red as a tomato, Francesca drove away furiously with a cloud of smoke.

After texting her mother, Lela sat by the sidewalk and waited. Her aunt, who was an environmentalist, had just come back from a meeting and was going to pick her up. Finally her aunt's minivan pulled up.

"Hola, Lela! Hasta luego?" Lela's aunt pulled Lela into a hug.

"Tia Rosa!" Lela hugged her aunt back.

Rosa switched to English. "So, Lela, why are you here at the Gulf? I'm pretty sure you're not allowed here." Lela's aunt said sternly, her Hispanic accent making her sound playful. "As a matter of fact, me and my fellow environmentalists have been discussing the big oil spill. I thinking about how much I missed you the whole time! That's enough about me. I want to hear everything about you! Why are you here?" Rosa inquired.

Lela filled her aunt in on what had happened with Francesca and the loon.

"Oh, dear, I'm sorry to hear that. But you must be strong and stand up against those girls. May you show me the loon?"

Lela led Rosa to the loon. "Tia, could you help the loon and take it to your place and get it healed? I know it's a lot to ask of you, but I really feel bad for the poor animal." Lela begged.

"Oh, that is a mere task for me. I will make sure it is well." Aunt Rosa replied. "But I have a task for you. Next time those girls get to you, ignore them and try not to be mean back to them."

Lela instantly felt guilty, thinking about the numerous nasty words she had said that even Francesca's comments compared to them. "OK, Tia Rosa. Thanks for the advice!"