Reasons to Cheer

The class reps carry the bags of food from the gym to the parking lot. But when we get there, there’s more than just school buses and the food bank truck waiting for us.

There’s also a news truck.

“Do you think we’re going to be on TV?” I ask Joey as the crew gets out of their truck and starts setting up cameras.

Joey gives me an I-have-no-idea-what’s-going-on look.

We watch as Mrs. Finney and Mr. Lee walk up to greet the news crew and another woman I don’t recognize. Mrs. Finney shakes the woman’s hand, and then she tells us she has two announcements to make. Everyone listens while she talks.

“Students, this is Mrs. Montgomery. She’s the manager of Fern Falls Grocery. When I told her about your food drive, the store generously agreed to donate one hundred turkeys to go with all the canned goods you collected. That means one hundred families in Fern Falls will have everything they need for a complete Thanksgiving meal.”

When she says that, all the reps cheer. That’s great news—and it’s so nice of the grocery store to be so generous.

But Mrs. Finney has more news. “What all of you have done to help families in need is pretty incredible, and I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

She gestures to the news crew. “You’re all going to be on the evening news!” When she says that, all the reps burst out into more cheering.

Lindsay and Melissa start jumping up and down. “We’re going to be famous!” shouts Lindsay. It’s easy to see how excited she is.

Even though I’m too old to jump around and scream like a first grader, I’m pretty excited too. It’s cool to think that what started as a small idea turned into something big.

“First, we want to film you kids loading the bags of the food onto the truck,” says one of the camera crew from the TV station.

We all start picking up the bags and putting them on the truck. There are a lot more bags than there are reps. It takes a long time to load the truck.

As I’m carrying a bag to the truck, Mary Ann walks up beside me with a bag. “It’s pretty cool that we’re going to be on TV,” she says.

“Yeah,” I say. I can’t help but think about the only other time we were on TV. It was when Mary Ann and I went to New York and were on the Fashion Fran show.

We were best friends when we did that, but a lot has changed since then. We used to do everything together. Lately, there have been a lot of things she hasn’t wanted to do with me, including the food drive.

“I’m sorry I didn’t want to plan the food drive with you,” Mary Ann says like she can read my mind.

“It’s OK,” I say. And it is. Even though we’re still friends, we’re different. I get that we don’t have to do everything together like we used to.

Mary Ann places her bag onto the truck and smiles at me. “You did a really good job. And I’m not just saying that because we got a homework-free week or because we’re going to be on TV. It was a great idea, and it’s cool that it’s helping a lot of people.”

“Thanks,” I say, and I smile. It means a lot to me that she feels that way.

After we finish loading the bags, I stand back and look at the back of the truck. It’s pretty impressive to see all the food that we collected.

I stand with the rest of the reps and watch as the reporter from the news station interviews Mrs. Finney and Mr. Lee and Mrs. Montgomery.

When they’re done, I expect them to pack up their cameras and leave, but what happens next surprises me. “Mallory McDonald and Joey Winston,” says the reporter.

Joey and I raise our hands, and the reporter motions us over to the spot in the parking lot where they were filming the interviews with the adults.

“As heads of the food drive, can you answer a few questions?” she asks.

“Sure,” I say.

“I’m in,” says Joey.

She motions to the cameras to start filming. “We’re at Fern Falls Elementary with Mallory McDonald and Joey Winston, student heads of the food drive. What did organizing the effort mean to both of you?” She holds the microphone out to Joey like it’s his turn to answer.

“I’m happy our school could help families have what they need for a Thanksgiving meal,” says Joey.

The reporter moves the microphone to me.

“I’m happy we could help too,” I say. “Even though we were the heads of the food drive, we couldn’t have done it without our principal, Mrs. Finney; our adviser, Mrs. Daily; and all the students who brought in so many cans. It was a group effort.”

“Thank you both.” The reporter looks at the camera. “This is Nadia Gonzales reporting from Fern Falls Elementary.” Nadia smiles at Joey and me. “Be sure to watch Channel 6 news tonight,” she says. Then she motions to her camera crew to pack up their truck.

“Students, it’s time to go back to your classes,” announces Mrs. Finney.

But before we leave, Joey and I have something we both want to say to her. “Thanks again for everything you did to help us,” Joey says. “Especially for giving everyone the homework-free week.”

Mrs. Finney smiles at us. “I’m planning to make the food drive an annual event at Fern Falls Elementary,” she says. Then she winks. “But next year, we’re going to find a system to keep the cans organized.”

I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day!