Treading Water

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Authors: Laurie Halse Anderson
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sitting in front of David, so there is no reason for Bruce to yell at me. But Bruce is Bruce.
    â€œGlad you liked it,” I say in a regular voice. I always hope Bruce notices that he can hear us just fine, but he never takes the hint.
    Then David tips forward so all four legs are on the floor. His brow is furrowed, and he actually stops eating. “Did we have some chicks die, too? I thought it was just the duckling.”
    â€œBruce is talking about dyeing. With a
y
,” I say. “Not dying with an
i
. Wait a second. I guess that’s dyeing with an
e
not dying with an
i
. You know, like the bunnies at the feed store?”
    Zoe and Maggie have joined us. Maggie doesn’t look at me, but just coming to the table is a great start.
    Zoe sits and asks, “What’s this about dying?”
    She shakes her head and opens her lunch sack. David looks even more confused.
    I try again. “You know how people tie-dye shirts and pillowcase? And some people dye their hair?”
    Zoe nods.
    â€œWell, there are people who actually dye—as in color—animals. Specifically, baby chicks, ducklings, and bunnies. I talked about it in my science class report,” I tell them.
    Zoe snaps the salad bowl closed. “You have got to be kidding!” she says. “Is that legal?”
    â€œSome places it’s not. But too many places it is. In fact, David and I saw two dyed bunnies at the Ambler feed store.”
    â€œIt’s true,” David says. “Pink and purple.”
    I take a spoonful of yogurt. I won’t tell the Vet Volunteers what I intend to do about those bunnies. They just wouldn’t understand. But I need their help with the second part of the plan.
    â€œThere is something we can do about it.”
    â€œWhat’s that?” David asks. He swipes my banana. “May I?” he asks, holding it up.
    â€œGo ahead,” I say. “Anyway, I talked to Mr. Shuler about us bringing our reports to some of the high school science classes. Not all of them, maybe just the biology classes.”
    David looks at Zoe.
    Maggie says, “Would you stop trying to make us go to the high school?” She wipes her mouth with her napkin. “None of us want to go with you.”
    Maggie looks over at David, as if daring him to contradict her.
    David looks at me and shrugs his shoulders. He tips back on his chair and asks Bruce if he has any food to spare.
    Zoe says, “I wouldn’t mind going over to the high school.” She grins. “If it will help animals.”
    Maggie stares at her cousin and says, “Sunita isn’t going to want to do this, either.”
    Um, Sunita is sitting right there.
    â€œSunita can decide for herself,” I retort.
    This gets Sunita out of her book. She looks up and glances around at us without understanding.
    I take a deep breath. It makes no sense to get worked up about any of this. If my friends knew some high school kids, they would not be fighting me on this. So I try to explain.
    â€œListen, there is nothing to worry about. Nothing for any of us to be nervous about. Why is everyone so anxious about the high school? They’re just students. Like us.”
    No one says anything. Maybe they don’t understand.
    So I explain, “The high school kids can get more done. People listen to them more than they listen to us.” I turn to David, “Remember when we were at the feed store and the tractor-supply store?”
    He nods.
    â€œWell, they would have taken us more seriously if we were older. If we had some teenagers helping us with our Vet Volunteer projects—like this problem of abandoned animals—we could get so much more done. For instance, Nick, one of my friends in the Outdoor Club, I bet he would want to help us. And I’m thinking of moving our Environmental Club meetings to the high school. They have bigger rooms, and I know we’d get more high school kids participating if we held

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