7

After breakfast, Caleb and Jaden decided to investigate the Cheez Crunchies mystery before their next Mission Control shift. Step one was to check out the Earth Firsters.

When they walked out of the huge front doors, they spotted the protestors sitting in groups by a row of tents. “So do we just walk up to them?” Caleb asked. “Or do we —”

“I think the decision’s been made for us,” Jaden answered. The girl with the long black braid was trotting toward them, a bag slung over one shoulder. A younger girl with the same long black hair was with her.

“Hi, I’m Robin. You’re some of the contest winners, right?” the girl said, coming to a stop in front of them.

Caleb nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’m Caleb, and this is Jaden.”

“Nice to meet you,” she replied, smiling. “We’re having breakfast. You want to eat with us?”

Jaden raised his eyebrows. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. It’ll be good too. Everything’s locally grown. Did you know that they’ve started growing quinoa around here?” Robin asked.

“I don’t even know what quinoa is,” Jaden admitted.

“It’s a kind of grain,” Robin explained.

The younger girl made a face and pretended to gag. “Hey, do you guys have smart phones?” she asked. “You must. Everybody has one, if their parents aren’t crazy.”

“Lark, no!” Robin exclaimed.

“What?” Lark said. “If I borrow a phone, I didn’t buy it, so I didn’t use money that could be used to help people. I borrow my friends’ at school. Please just let me borrow one.” She looked back and forth between Caleb and Jaden. “I want to get to the next level of Bubble Witch.”

“They aren’t giving you a phone,” Robin said firmly. She turned back toward the boys. “So, breakfast?”

Caleb eyed Robin suspiciously. “It seemed like you didn’t want us around when we showed up yesterday,” he said. “And now you’re inviting us to breakfast?”

“We don’t have anything against you,” Robin answered. “We just don’t want some company spending billions of dollars on something stupid when there are so many people who need so much right here.”

“But every space mission has led to amazing new technology,” Jaden protested. “Like the research NASA has done on artificial muscle systems for their space robots has given people better prosthetic limbs. Firefighting gear used all over the country is based on lightweight materials that were developed for our space program. And —”

“And did you know that forty-nine million people in the U.S. have trouble getting enough food?” Robin interrupted. “Let me give you one of our pamphlets.” She dug around in her bag, spilling stuff onto the ground — a hairbrush, a library book, and a packet of Cheez Crunchies!

Caleb picked it up. “Wow. I didn’t know they had Crunchies trees in the U.S.!” he exclaimed.

Lark giggled. Robin snatched the Crunchies away from Caleb. “Those aren’t mine!” she snapped.

“Then why were they in your bag?” Jaden’s voice was calm, but his Spidey senses were tingling. Could Robin be the one who’d put the Crunchies in Samuel’s bag?

A blush spread up Robin’s neck and into her face. “It belonged to someone in my group,” she admitted. “I confiscated it.”

“She’s like the Earth First police,” Lark whispered.

“Look,” Robin insisted, “not everyone in Earth First is perfect. But we’re still right about how it’s horrible to waste a bunch of money going to Mars!”

Robin shoved the Cheez Crunchies into her bag, then grabbed the rest of her stuff off the ground. She took Lark’s hand and hurried away.

“I guess we’re not getting our second breakfast,” Caleb commented.

“That’s okay,” Jaden said. “She gave us something even better — a clue!”