Usually in the mornings I have to herd the boys out the door. There are always about fifteen things they have to do first – like finish their Lego creation or see if they can squeeze between the sofa and the wall. But today they’re the ones dragging me out. ‘Come on, Sophie,’ Thomas keeps saying. ‘We’ll be late!’
When I open the front door, I see Daphne standing there with a bike. A beautiful green one, with a big red bow tied to the handlebars.
The boys go nuts. ‘Surprise! Surprise!’ they yell. ‘We got you a bike!’
‘I felt so bad about your bike being pinched from our yard,’ Daphne explains. ‘I remembered you said you liked green so I thought this might be okay.’
The bike is way more than okay. It is gorgeously, perfectly amazing. And it’s absolutely, definitely me. I look at it longingly. Because there’s a problem. ‘There’s no way Mum and Dad will let me take it.’
‘Oh, but you must take it!’ says Daphne earnestly. ‘Your parents are part of the reason I got it. They’ve done so many nice things for me since we moved here – helped me out, given me things, fixed stuff. But they never accept anything in return. And it’s second-hand, Soph. It wasn’t expensive, I promise.’
The bike doesn’t look second-hand. And I also start to wonder if maybe my old bike wasn’t stolen at all. Maybe Daphne has hidden it somewhere – like in the shed out the back.
The boys start chanting, ‘Try the bike! Try the bike!’
Eventually I give in. ‘Okay, okay! I’ll try it! For today at least – until my parents say I have to give it back.’
‘They won’t say that,’ says Daphne confidently.
The bike is light and comfortable to sit on. No squeaks. No swirls, no ribbons on the handlebars. I know what my mum would say. It looks so ordinary. You’ll just blend in with the crowd. But that’s exactly what I love about it. Surely it’s okay to blend in sometimes? I ride off down the street with the two boys yelling and waving from the footpath.
When I get to school, no-one’s around. Not Anya or Leni, not Josh or Adam. Not even Erin. It’s weird. I mean, Anya is often late anyway, and maybe Leni had some extra training to do today, but it’s strange that none of them are here. I have to face the long walk to homeroom on my own. Just as I feared, it feels like everyone is looking at me and whispering. Like they all know what happened. Maybe they think what Nelson wrote in the note was true and the picture of me was funny. That I’m a troublemaker and a weirdo and that I deserved it.
When I’m right near the lockers my heart almost stops. Because my locker is covered with folded pieces of paper, each with my name written across it, each in different handwriting. There are so many that when someone walks by, they all flutter like butterflies. Now I’m sure everyone is staring at me. Staring and waiting to see what I’ll do. How I’ll react. I can’t move. My feet are stuck to the ground.
Then Leni appears from somewhere and gives me a little push towards the locker. ‘It’s okay, Soph,’ she says. ‘Go and have a look.’ I force myself to walk up to the notes. I randomly pull one down. My hand shakes as I open it.
Dear Sophie,
You tell the truth when other people don’t. You are a good listener too. It took us a while to get to know each other but I’m glad we did.
It’s from Eliza, who I’ve now spotted grinning at me among the group of people now hanging by my locker.
Anya emerges from the crowd and comes up beside me.
‘Read mine,’ she says, pointing to a note that’s covered in tiny, glittery hearts.
Dear Soph,
You are AMAZING! So strong and so brave and clever. But you don’t have to be strong all the time. Leni and I are always there when you need us.
Love Anya.
I give Anya a hug. ‘Thanks,’ I say. ‘I won’t forget.’
Leni’s note says:
You don’t just believe what other people believe. You question stuff. I think that’s great.
The crowd around my locker is growing. Some of the people I know, some I’ve never even spoken to. Leo is there with Hazel and when I look back to my locker, I spot a note where my name has been written like a grafitti tag. Inside is a drawing – a girl with long, wavy hair like mine. She has one hand stretched up into the air, and balanced on top is what I first think is a basketball, but then realise is a globe of the world. In the other hand, she’s holding a sword.
Anya looks over my shoulder and laughs. ‘Hey! She looks just like you! That must be Leo’s note. Do you know he’s also painted the …’
Leni frowns at Anya and cuts her off. ‘Keep reading the notes, Soph,’ she says. ‘You’ve got a lot to get through before the bell goes.’
I read solidly for ten minutes but it’s hard to keep up. Just as I take one down, someone else will turn up and stick another on. I look at Leni and Anya and shake my head in amazement. ‘How did you guys organise this?’
‘Actually it was mostly Eliza,’ says Anya. ‘And when people found out about what Nelson did, they wanted you to know that not everyone thought like that.’
The bell has just rung when Adam and Josh appear, carrying a piece of folded cardboard about the size of a door. They lean the cardboard against my locker and Adam fastens it with a long bit of tape. Inside it says, Sophie Bennett, you rock!
Leni looks at Adam and raises her eyebrow. ‘Big idea, few words, huh?’
‘Something like that,’ grins Adam.
I feel a whole lot of things right then, all mixed up into one. I’m embarrassed about the fuss and it’s a bit horrible that everyone obviously knows what happened. But of course I’m also touched that so many people would do this for me. Even people I don’t really know. In the notes, a lot of the same words keep popping up. Admire. Respect. Strong. Brave. They’re good words. Words that I didn’t realise people connected with me.
I guess you can be confused about who you really are, but you can also be totally confused – even wrong – about who other people are, too.
Everyone is heading off to class when Josh comes up and slips one more note in my hand. He looks a little red. ‘The big note was really from Adam,’ he says in a rush. ‘This one is mine.’
‘Thanks,’ I say and suddenly my face feels hot too. I start to open it but he stops me.
‘Uh, read it later,’ he says and then he hurries away.
I try to make myself wait until the break to read Josh’s note. But I can’t hold out that long. I take a peek at it during class when no-one is looking.
Dear Soph,
How many other people would touch a dead possum to save its baby? How many other people give up their free time to fight for stuff they believe in? How many other people think as hard about things as you do?
I only know one. You.
Sophie, you are the coolest person I know. See you at the rally on Saturday.
This feeling, like the warmest of hugs, covers me. It takes a lot of effort not to start laughing right there in the middle of class. I manage it – just – but there’s no way I can wipe the huge, happy, goofy grin off my face.
On Saturday morning, my parents call from the bus and say they’re going to be late.
From the corner of my eye, I see Daphne waving her hands around, trying to get my attention. ‘Hang on a minute, Mum,’ I say.
‘Tell them we’ll meet them at the rally,’ says Daphne. ‘We’re all going anyway.’
‘You’re going to the rally?’ I say, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice.
Daphne nods. ‘Eliza wants to go and I thought it’d be good for the boys.’
I pass this message on to Mum and she sounds as surprised as I am. ‘Do you think she’s serious about going?’ she says.
‘Yes, I think so.’ I lower my voice. ‘Mum. She’s even wearing flat shoes.’
Mum laughs and I can tell that, like me, she didn’t realise that Daphne even owned any flat shoes!
I was planning to leave Poss at home, but at the last minute I put her into her tr
avel pouch. It seems only fair that she should come to a rally to save her home.
We catch the train into town and the boys, who don’t go on trains much, are super excited to be on one, and very, very loud.
Eliza sticks her fingers in her ears and looks at me, groaning. ‘Any chance I can come and hide out at your place?’ she says. ‘You know, when the noise levels get dangerously high at home?’
I laugh. ‘Sure. Anytime.’
I’m amazed at how many people have turned out for the rally. Sometimes there’s hardly anyone at these things and that can be really depressing. But when there’s lots of people you get this fantastic feeling – a ‘great energy’ as my mum would say. Today the energy is incredible.
I find myself looking at other people and wondering about who they are and why they’ve come. You see such a mix of people at rallies – not just people like my parents. I love that. It makes you feel less alone, I guess. Like you’re not the only one who cares about the planet. Like you don’t have to save it all on your own.
‘Sophie! Over here!’
I turn to see Anya waving at me like a mad thing. Beside her are Leni and Adam. Josh is there too. He grins at me and I grin back. The ‘like’ gauge has disappeared from my head, which is fine because I don’t need it anymore. His note made it pretty clear how he feels. I’m about to go over and join my friends when someone taps me on the shoulder. It’s Mrs Franks with her husband, and a little kid in a pusher.
‘Mrs Franks!’ I say. ‘What are you doing here?’
She laughs. ‘Because I want to save the forest, of course!’
‘We used to like hiking there,’ her husband adds.‘We’re hoping we can do it again once Lucy’s a bit bigger.’
Mrs Franks introduces me to her husband and he beams when he hears my name. ‘So you’re the famous Sophie Bennett!’ he says. ‘I’ve heard a lot about you.’
Anya comes over and tugs me away. ‘Erin and George are here with the banner,’ she says. ‘You’ve got to come and see it.’
I’m dying to see the banner, actually. The others finished it yesterday at lunchtime, but I wasn’t allowed in because it was a big surprise.
George and Erin unfurl it. ‘Ta-dah!’ says Erin.
Painted on it is a big portrait of Poss, based on the photo that Jo took. Underneath the picture it says, Save my home. The whole thing looks incredible.
‘Leo did the outline for us,’ Leni explains, ‘and we coloured it in. Do you like it?’
I nod. ‘I love it.’
As we raise up the banner, Poss pokes her head out of the pouch like she wants everyone to know that it’s her in the portrait. It’s super cute and people start pointing us out to each other and smiling.
A woman comes up with a huge camera and asks if she can take a photo. It turns out she works for the local newspaper and she’s doing a story about the rally. We all crowd together and the photographer snaps away. She wants to know where we’re from and why we’re there.
Erin puts an arm around my shoulder. ‘We’re here because of Sophie,’ she says.
The photographer turns to me. ‘And why are you here?’ she asks.
I think about it. I guess I could say I’m here because of my mum and dad. Or because it’s just something I’ve always done. But these answers don’t feel quite right. In the end I point down at Poss and say, ‘I’m here because of her. When she’s big enough, I want to release her into that forest. I want her to have a good place to live.’
My parents turn up just as the rally is about to start moving. I’m holding one side of the banner so I quickly pass it on to Anya and then I fling myself on them (being careful not to squash poor Poss, of course!). It’s only been a few days since I saw them, but it feels like ages. I can tell they feel the same.
‘You’ve grown!’ my mum says.
‘Who? Me or Poss?’ I say.
Mum laughs. ‘Both of you.’
‘Looks like we’re moving,’ says Dad, and sure enough the crowd has started to walk.
‘Are you going to walk with us, Soph?’ asks Mum. ‘Or with your friends?’
I look over to our rally group. More people have turned up now. Leo, Archie and all their skater friends. Hazel, Olympia, even Edi. Erin’s friends Briana and Phoebe are standing with her and George, and Erin is trying to get them all chanting, ‘We need trees! We need trees!’
This feeling wells up inside me. This is amazing. All these people who could be doing something else, but they’ve decided to come here because they think this is worth fighting for. In the end, our Powerpoint presentation at assembly was just the big picture that Jo took of Poss and me blathering on for a bit. But maybe that was enough. Or maybe they were all planning on coming anyway. Whatever the reason, it makes me feel great.
And then there’s Josh. I know he’s there because he cares about this cause. But I think – I’m pretty sure, at least – that he’s also here because of me.
I give my parents a hug. ‘I might walk with my friends for a while,’ I say.
The rally starts snaking its way down the main street. The trams can’t go anywhere and people stare out the windows at us. Some people look annoyed, but other people are interested. They stop to watch and I even see a couple step off the road and join us, just for a block or two.
It’s very crowded. So crowded that I don’t think anyone notices when Josh, who is beside me, takes hold of my hand as we walk along. He gives me a shy smile and I smile back. And suddenly I don’t feel like I’m walking anymore. I feel like I’m floating.
Sophie Bennett Saves the Planet
published in 2013 by
Hardie Grant Egmont
Ground Floor, Building 1, 658 Church Street
Richmond, Victoria 3121, Australia
www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au
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A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia.
9781743581148
Text copyright © 2013 Meredith Badger
Illustration and design copyright © 2013 Hardie Grant Egmont
Design by Michelle Mackintosh
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