CHAPTER 15

The next morning, Miss Greer’s classroom wall was covered with new articles from the class.

Miss Greer stood back and put her hands on her hips. She smiled.

“That’s better!” she said, clapping her hands.

The newspaper was better, but things between Ada and Rosie were not. They weren’t even speaking to each other. They were, however, very eager to talk to Sofia.

“Did you know that birds are hurt by the climate crisis?” Rosie whispered on her way to the pencil sharpener. “And bird populations are dropping around the world! We need to help them.”

During spelling, Ada passed Sofia a note: Did you know that turtles have existed for 215 million years? But some are going extinct!

Then Rosie sent a note with a drawing of a flock of birds. Ada saw that, frowned, and sent another note with a picture of Sofia holding a turtle.

Before long, Sofia’s pockets were stuffed with notes. Sofia was relieved when it was time for the class debate. She still didn’t know who she was going to vote for, but at least the election would be over soon and things could get back to normal.

Rosie had brought Gizmo to add some interest to her presentation. Ada had borrowed a turtle named George from her cousin and had him in a small pen on the floor.

Ada and Rosie stood beside each other but didn’t look at each other. Miss Greer introduced each of them, and their teams cheered. Then she called on Sofia to say a few words and ask some questions the class had written.

Sofia walked to the front of the class. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her folded speech. As she did, her friends’ notes tumbled to the floor.

Sofia unfolded her speech and began to read. “We, the students in Miss Lila Greer’s class, stand here today on the brink of a new era in Grade Two!” she began. “Never before has any class . . .”

She looked at the scraps of paper on the floor.

“Never before has any class . . .”

Sofia paused. She looked again at the scraps on the floor.

“Never . . .”

Suddenly, Sofia refolded her speech. She looked at Ada and Rosie and her classmates with their Bird and Turtle buttons. She looked at Miss Greer.

“Go ahead,” said Miss Greer.

“My speech was fancy and talked about why elections are important and their history,” Sofia said, “but I forgot something.”

She took a deep breath and continued.

“Actually,” Sofia said, “ we forgot something.

“We forgot something important,” she continued. “We got so excited about the election that we forgot why we’re having one. Our election isn’t about birds or turtles or pets at all. It’s about deciding on something we care about together.”

Sofia smiled. “Together,” she said. “That’s the important part.

“In a community, we have to care about each other and listen to each other,” she continued. “Otherwise, we won’t want to be a community anymore, and it won’t matter if we have a bird or a turtle. Or even if we have a pet at all.

“Well,” Sofia finished quietly, “that’s all I wanted to say.”

The class burst into applause. Miss Greer nodded and smiled. Ada and Rosie looked at each other and then looked at Sofia. Then they squished in for a big hug.

“I’m sorry,” whispered Rosie.

“Me too,” whispered Ada.

They both hugged Sofia, who felt a big wave of relief wash over her. It was going to be okay after all. Rosie and Ada stepped out of the huddle and shook hands, and the debate began.