Green Algae and Bubble Gum Wars (18 page)

A
very felt like a gum zombie as she lugged her enormous backpack and a giant, foldable foam core poster down Beacon Street to Abigail Adams Junior High. Her feet might as well have had lead blocks tied to them at the rate she was going.

“Hey, Avery! Wait up!” sang a voice behind her. It was Maeve, jogging as fast as she could, which was a pretty hilarious scene. Her wild red hair was blowing everywhere in the sharp, spring wind, and the long, pink scarf she was wearing (a gift from Katani) kept blowing up into her face. “Blegh! I got cotton in my mouth!” she groaned, batting at the fabric. “So what's with all the stuff?”

“Science project,” Avery managed. “Stayed up all night to finish. Tired. Very tired.”

Maeve nodded. For once she'd finished all her work on the assignment early. She'd turned in her lab reports and had set up her station the day before. Partly it was due to Bailey and Matt's enthusiastic encouragement. But Maeve had
actually done all the grunt work herself. She had actually really enjoyed taking care of her plants. Maybe if she didn't make it in Hollywood, she could have a back-up career as a horticulturalist actress.
So many options.
Maeve was comforted by that thought.

It felt amazing to be home free before anyone else. She wanted to brag a little, but her mom always told her nobody likes a bragger. Plus, this might just be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. After the science fair project was done, Maeve might be right back doing the procrastination thing, just like Avery. She didn't want to jinx herself.

It wasn't often that Maeve could outrun, let alone outwalk Avery. She glanced back to see if maybe someone had attached heavy chains to her speediest friend's feet. She was a little surprised by what she saw instead. “Ave, so this shoe business…are you trying to make a statement, or are you just losing your mind?”

“Huh?” Avery glanced down. “Oh, you have got to be
kidding me
!” On one foot she was wearing one of her favorite bright orange running shoes, and on the other she had a bright blue high-top. “I look like a crazy person.”

Maeve smiled and threw her arm around Avery's shoulder. “Well, you're my favorite crazy person. C'mon, let's go.” And the girls skipped the rest of the way, perfectly in sync.

They arrived at school and made a beeline straight for the gym, where their classmates were hard at work setting up their projects. Maeve was thrilled to be done—it gave her a chance to mosey around the room and check out the cool things that other kids had come up with. Some projects were really awesome, but others, she thought, were kind of lame—like Pete
Wexler's cloud diorama, which was supposed to show how jet fuel can pollute clouds but was really just some cotton balls in a shoe box. Anna and Joline had teamed up to do a project about which brand of eyeliner lasted the longest. Their poster looked a little like Maeve's face after she cried so much about Matt. “Uh, just wondering, but what does this have to do with the environment?” Maeve asked them.

“We only used eyeliners that weren't tested on animals,” Anna haughtily explained.

“Duh,” added Joline.

Maeve had to muster up all of her strength not to burst out laughing. Joline was wearing green eyeliner with big gobs of tacky glitter, and Anna was sporting bright neon blue. The girls looked like they'd escaped from a clown colony. Now she knew what her mom meant by
too much makeup
. And what did products not tested on animals really have to do with the environment? But actually, looking more closely at Anna and Joline's poster, Maeve had to admit their research was pretty good. They
had
tested just about every eyeliner on the market.

The Trentini twins had made an exploding minivolcano. Maeve thought it was really cool to see it explode over and over again, and interesting to read about how volcanoes put gases into the atmosphere that could have effects in a totally different part of the world. The twins' poster informed her that in 1815, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia caused frosts during July in Europe, halfway around the world! “Did you see this?” Maeve asked Charlotte, pulling her friend over to the twins' booth.

Charlotte, however, had seen a ton of science fairs. She
said with a laugh, “You know, I've gone to school in Paris and Australia and no matter where on earth I turn up…
someone
always makes a volcano for the science fair.”

Isabel's artistic study of phytoplankton was absolutely breathtaking. She'd done an informative and thorough study of how global warming affected the algae, and the important role the algae played in the health of the oceans. It seemed that all her viewers were so captivated by her radiant illustrations they were actually getting really interested in her research, too.

“Well, if I learned anything today, it's that art can really inspire people to care about something. That's so cool!” Isabel gushed.

“Totally,” Avery agreed. “If I had any artistic talent, I would definitely use it to get everyone fired up about all kinds of important causes.”

“That's why we all have to stick together,” Maeve proclaimed. “So we can all use our different talents to help each other do whatever we want to do.”

“I like that!” Charlotte agreed.

“Example: as the ultimate gum chef slash wizard, I can provide you all with a lifetime supply of Avery Madden's Green Tea Lime Fusion gum!” Avery cried. Everyone laughed. “C'mon. Come with me.” Avery led Charlotte, Maeve, and Isabel to the massive stand she had prepared in the corner. It looked like a gum shrine—she had tried to document every kind of gum that she had created by sticking goopy wads all over the poster.

“It looks a little…,” Isabel started, not sure how to say what she was thinking.

“Gross?” Avery suggested. Isabel nodded. “Yeah, I wanted my poster to be all natural—no glue, you know? So I just had Scott chew all the gum till it was soft and then I stuck it to the foam core. But it didn't turn out quite as scientific-looking as I pictured it in my head.”

The girls giggled. “That must be the Tru Blu, right?” Charlotte asked, pointing to a huge wad of electric blue gum stuck in the middle of all of Avery's earth-toned samples.

“I call it Blue Sludge!” Avery announced. “Can you imagine actually putting that garbage in your body?”

Charlotte trembled. “Scaaary. Only Avery's natural gum for me from now on!” she declared.

“And me,” added a voice behind them.

The girls turned to see Katani grab one of Avery's free samples from the bowl she had put out on a table. “I got to admit,” started Avery, “even though we aren't fighting about the gum factory anymore, I still didn't exactly expect you to support my cause.”

Katani shrugged. “I checked out the links you sent me to those rain forest and nutrition sites. You're right—all the preservatives and artificial stuff in that Tru Blu gum are gross.”

“Whoa, wait a sec, Kgirl. Did you just say I'm
right?
” Avery asked.

Katani looked serious. “Well, we're both right. Cutting down on packaging would be better for the enviro, and using chicle in gum is better for my bod
and
the rain forest economy—but I still think the gum factory will be good for the economy here in Boston.”

“And, um, actually…you're right about another thing,” Avery admitted. “I
should
have done better research. When
Mr. Moore asked me to look into the factory's carbon emissions, I found out that they already have a really solid plan for reducing their carbon footprint. The factory's going to be really energy efficient.”

“So…?” Katani prompted her. “You're not trying to shut down the factory anymore?”

“Nope. But I am trying to get them to relocate so they're closer to the T and change how they package their gum. Mr. Moore really likes my report, and he said he's going to get in touch with some people he knows on the city council. Maybe the Green Machine can really make a difference!”

“That's so great, Avery!” Charlotte congratulated her.

“Thanks! So if the factory ends up making those changes, then I guess I can live with Tru Blu, as long as they keep their carbon emissions low. But Avery Madden's natural Green Tea Lime Fusion is still the only thing
I'm
chewing.”

“I'll agree with that!” Katani said with a grin, high-fiving Avery.

Suddenly a familiar voice echoed over the loudspeaker in the gym. “Attention, students,” Mrs. Field's calm but firm voice commanded them. “May I have just a moment of your time for an announcement from one of our janitors, Mr. Clauson.” There was a pause, and the BSG exchanged looks. What was this about?

“This announcement is in regard to the ‘gum wars' some of you have been waging in the halls of our fine school,” Mr. Clauson intoned after a pause. Avery gulped. “I am asking you to stop this silliness immediately. No more gum on the stairs. No more gum on the floor. And especially no more gum on the chairs! I don't care if it's green or blue or purple
paisley polka-dotted—if I see one more sticky, icky, chewed-up and spit-out piece, there
will
be consequences.” The loudspeaker clicked off.

“I hope that's the end of that!” Katani declared.

“It is from my end, you got my word,” Avery agreed. “This gum war is officially over!”

“So what did you end up doing your project on, Katani?” Charlotte asked.

“Check it out!” Katani motioned for the girls to follow her over to the table she had set up on the other side of the gym. “I call it…mood lighting.”

The girls all oohed at once. Katani had made several little dioramas that looked like tiny rooms and had placed different-colored lights in each. They were tiny colorful bulbs—like Christmas tree lights. “You know how Kelley is very sensitive to lights?” Katani asked.

“Yeah. I once saw this thing on the Discovery Channel that said that people with autism have superpower senses,” Isabel recalled.

“Well, we end up using up a lot of power in my house because of Kelley's special light requests. The lights in my project run completely on energy generated by water power. See?” Katani opened a water valve and a little fountain of water began running and turned on a pink light in a little model bedroom.

“That is so cool, Katani!” Charlotte gasped.

“You know,” Maeve agreed, “pink lighting makes people feel better.”

The girls laughed. “I mean, it's cool that you did a project that is not only good for the environment, but good for all
families with someone who has autism,” Charlotte said with a smile.

“I also calculated the amount of money and energy you can save by changing all the light bulbs in your house to CFBs—compact florescent bulbs,” Katani went on. “They're pretty incredible. They use seventy-five percent less energy and last for up to ten times as long! Changing light bulbs is something every family can do.”

“That really is truly fabulous, Kgirl,” Maeve complimented her. Isabel and Charlotte just shook their heads in amazement. Katani always put everything she had into projects; this might be her best one yet.

Isabel jokingly poked Charlotte. “So when do we get to see this incredible secret project that you, Nick, and Chelsea are doing?”

Charlotte zipped her lips mysteriously. “We are setting up in a top secret location.”

“Top secret, eh?” Avery craftily rubbed her hands together. “Bet it won't be so top secret when I find it myself. Come on, girls!” she teased, egging on the rest of the BSG to follow her on a mission. Maeve and Isabel giggled and skipped after Avery.

A look of panic struck Charlotte's face. “Wait! Stop!” she cried, half laughing, as she ran out behind them.

Katani didn't have time for an undercover science detective mission right now. She still had a lot of work to do on her display to make it just perfect. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Reggie, a few booths down, putting the final touches on his very dramatic project—a model go-cart track that used only hybrid carts, powered both by fuel and batteries. Katani had to admit, she'd felt slightly jealous at the
number of kids who had gushed over Reggie's display. It was pretty flashy, complete with rock music and colorful, blinking lights. Katani's project looked modest in comparison, but she had worked very hard and had gotten every detail just right.

She mustered up all of her acting skills—if only she could morph into a different person like Maeve—and pretended to be totally cool and nonchalant as she sauntered over to Reggie's booth. Up close, Reggie's project was even more impressive. The go-cart track was so perfect, Katani thought, it was a shame that there wasn't a population of two-inch tall people to enjoy all his hard work. He had decorated the track with tiny flags and painted everything perfectly—it almost looked like a mini-carnival! Katani stared at the track.
This boy genius is too amazing!
she fumed to herself. Reggie was so busy fiddling around with batteries and wires on the floor that he didn't even notice her subtle inspection.

Just then, she caught sight of Reggie's calculations for how much battery power the cars would require. Katani might not have been very good at acting, but she was exceptional at math. And it didn't take her long to figure out that one of Reggie's calculations was off. She did a little quick math on the pad of paper she was carrying and realized that if Reggie applied his work, those go-carts weren't going to get very far. Suddenly Katani felt bad for the little two-inch people she had imagined, because if they actually existed, they wouldn't have a very fun time at Reggie DeWitt's go-cart track when their carts ran out of battery power!

She felt a surge of smugness and superiority to that know-it-all science geek who had oh-so-rudely borrowed her very
own father.
This'll show him that he's not as smart as he thinks!
Katani gloated to herself.