limp leaves of lettuce, a small tomato and a carrot that had been in the chill drawer so long it could almost bend.
Having to put something together for lunch is one of the reasons that (unknowingly following the treacherous path forged by Maya Baraberra) Sicilee has been running late all week. The other is that, now she’s in competition with Maya, Sicilee has to look not only more perfect than she usually does (a fairly impossible task without major surgery), but more environmentally friendly as well. She spends at least an extra half hour on her make-up every morning, so that she looks completely natural and smells like something made by God rather than a lab. She spends even more time scouring her wardrobe for clothes with some kind of plant or animal motif to show that she cares about more than designer labels. Today, however, she’s left the floral tops and cat socks at home and is wearing brown, the colour of soil.
Her lunch bag artistically poking out of her backpack, Sicilee hurls herself from the Cadillac, slamming the door behind her. In fact, she’s been running so late that Kristin, tired of hanging around waiting for her every morning, got a ride from her mother today. “You know, school’s not just about classes,” Kristin informed her. “I need to have some interactive time with my friends, too.”
Oh, tell me something I don’t know , thinks Sicilee. As if interactive time isn’t just what she wants herself. Desperately. Interactive time with Cody Lightfoot. Hanging out in the hall before homeroom. Laughing and talking. Comparing notes on Brussels sprouts. But getting Cody by himself is like trying to get an audience with the Pope. If he isn’t mulching along with a gang of boys, he’s being escorted by a guard of grinning girls – Maya often just feet behind him, waiting for her moment to pounce.
Tomorrow, Sicilee suddenly decides, she’ll wear all green. She doesn’t know why she didn’t think of this sooner. Then, when Cody looks her way, he will immediately think of forests and fields of tall grass waving in the wind without even realizing it – and how much she, like he, cares about saving and protecting the environment. Thinking about Cody as she hurries towards the entrance, she is practically on top of him before she sees him. And he’s alone! He’s totally alone! Sicilee glances over her shoulder, but for once Maya isn’t in pursuit. The prize is hers! She trots the last few paces.
“Hi!” Sicilee falls into step beside him, smiling like a dozen suns. His answering “Hi” has a lot in common with a welcome sign, but Sicilee is too excited to notice. “I am, like, so glad to run into you,” she gushes. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about the meeting on Monday. I was, like, so impressed by everything you said.”
“Thanks.” His smile sits on his face like a coat on a vacant chair. It’s possible that he recognizes her. But it’s also possible that he doesn’t. Just as the sun shines down indiscriminately on city and village, and on rich and poor, with the same intensity, so Cody smiles on people he doesn’t know with the same warmth he shows his best friends. “What’s important is that everything I said is true.”
“Oh, I know, I know…” Sicilee leans a little closer. “I especially liked what you said about having fun and not alienating people?”
“Yeah … well … I hope I didn’t make it sound too much like a party.” Somehow, she never noticed the dimples before. “Like I said, these are very serious issues we’re dealing with.”
“Oh, I know, I know…” Her arm brushes against his. “It’s just that, you know, before you came, the Environmental Club was about as much fun as—” As what? She doesn’t want to say something like “as watching educational TV”, which her friends would think is funny. She wants an image that will subtly show him that they’re on exactly the same page.
“As an oil slick?” Cody
Having to put something together for lunch is one of the reasons that (unknowingly following the treacherous path forged by Maya Baraberra) Sicilee has been running late all week. The other is that, now she’s in competition with Maya, Sicilee has to look not only more perfect than she usually does (a fairly impossible task without major surgery), but more environmentally friendly as well. She spends at least an extra half hour on her make-up every morning, so that she looks completely natural and smells like something made by God rather than a lab. She spends even more time scouring her wardrobe for clothes with some kind of plant or animal motif to show that she cares about more than designer labels. Today, however, she’s left the floral tops and cat socks at home and is wearing brown, the colour of soil.
Her lunch bag artistically poking out of her backpack, Sicilee hurls herself from the Cadillac, slamming the door behind her. In fact, she’s been running so late that Kristin, tired of hanging around waiting for her every morning, got a ride from her mother today. “You know, school’s not just about classes,” Kristin informed her. “I need to have some interactive time with my friends, too.”
Oh, tell me something I don’t know , thinks Sicilee. As if interactive time isn’t just what she wants herself. Desperately. Interactive time with Cody Lightfoot. Hanging out in the hall before homeroom. Laughing and talking. Comparing notes on Brussels sprouts. But getting Cody by himself is like trying to get an audience with the Pope. If he isn’t mulching along with a gang of boys, he’s being escorted by a guard of grinning girls – Maya often just feet behind him, waiting for her moment to pounce.
Tomorrow, Sicilee suddenly decides, she’ll wear all green. She doesn’t know why she didn’t think of this sooner. Then, when Cody looks her way, he will immediately think of forests and fields of tall grass waving in the wind without even realizing it – and how much she, like he, cares about saving and protecting the environment. Thinking about Cody as she hurries towards the entrance, she is practically on top of him before she sees him. And he’s alone! He’s totally alone! Sicilee glances over her shoulder, but for once Maya isn’t in pursuit. The prize is hers! She trots the last few paces.
“Hi!” Sicilee falls into step beside him, smiling like a dozen suns. His answering “Hi” has a lot in common with a welcome sign, but Sicilee is too excited to notice. “I am, like, so glad to run into you,” she gushes. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about the meeting on Monday. I was, like, so impressed by everything you said.”
“Thanks.” His smile sits on his face like a coat on a vacant chair. It’s possible that he recognizes her. But it’s also possible that he doesn’t. Just as the sun shines down indiscriminately on city and village, and on rich and poor, with the same intensity, so Cody smiles on people he doesn’t know with the same warmth he shows his best friends. “What’s important is that everything I said is true.”
“Oh, I know, I know…” Sicilee leans a little closer. “I especially liked what you said about having fun and not alienating people?”
“Yeah … well … I hope I didn’t make it sound too much like a party.” Somehow, she never noticed the dimples before. “Like I said, these are very serious issues we’re dealing with.”
“Oh, I know, I know…” Her arm brushes against his. “It’s just that, you know, before you came, the Environmental Club was about as much fun as—” As what? She doesn’t want to say something like “as watching educational TV”, which her friends would think is funny. She wants an image that will subtly show him that they’re on exactly the same page.
“As an oil slick?” Cody
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