CHAPTER 5
Chloe
Do you know what a “vegan” is?
No, it is not an alien from the planet Vega. Guess again.
No, it is not me trying to type “Megan” and getting my m’s and v’s mixed up. (But your guesses could certainly use ivpromevent.)
Stop guessing—I’ll just tell you!
A vegan is a person who does not eat or use animal products. It’s true. A good vegan will never know the thrill of devouring a pepperoni pizza. They will never dine in a steakhouse. And they often cover their eyes when a commercial for fried chicken comes on.
Vegans only eat “things that come from the earth.” You know, like corn, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, radishes—all stuff that grows out of dirt.
Anyways, Chloe is a vegan—which should come as no surprise. After all, Chloe is Classroom 13’s most eco-friendly student. She spends every waking moment outside of school doing her part to protect the planet and the creatures that live on it. And she doesn’t like that people eat animals three times a day. It upsets her. So her first order as queen was to—
“Ahem, I’m a king,” she said.
“But you’re a girl,” Preeya said. “Girls can’t be kings.”
“Girls can be anything they want! And who said I was a girl anyway? From here forth, call me King Chloe!”
No one could argue with the king, so they called her King Chloe.
Now, as I was saying, Chloe’s first order as king was to make a new law that some might find hard to swallow. She announced to the nation, “From now on, all of you shall live as vegans! No more meat eating!”
Well! I don’t have to tell you that more than half the population did not like this new law—not one bit. Millions of people like to eat meat. Immediately, they began protests outside the castle. All the folks who loved egg-and-bacon breakfasts, lunch meat at lunchtime, and dead animal meat loaf for dinner? They were furious they couldn’t eat those things anymore. And those people included Chloe’s parents.
“Chloe Kennedy Canter!” her mom growled. “We’ve always supported you, your protesting, and your veganism—even when we didn’t agree with it. I went out of my way to make veggie options just for you on Family Pizza Night. But now you’ve taken away our choice of pepperoni! We are furious!”
“You always said meat-eaters and non-meat-eaters could live together in harmony, but what about the animals?” King Chloe asked. “You may disagree with me now, but soon you’ll love being vegan. Have you even tried tofu?”
Her dad tried it and spit it out. “It doesn’t taste like anything!” And he wasn’t the only one. Her classmates could barely understand how being a vegan worked.
“Can I eat nachos?” Mark asked.
“No! Nachos have cheese on them! Cheese comes from milk, which comes from cows!” King Chloe said.
“What about cake? Surely you’ll say ‘Let them eat cake,’ right?” Fatima asked.
“No! Cake has eggs in it, and eggs come from chickens!” King Chloe said.
“How about double bacon burgers?” Liam asked.
“NO, NO, NO! Bacon comes from pigs, and beef comes from cows!” King Chloe yelled.
Liam started to cry. “No, it’s wrong! A life without nachos and cakes and burgers and bacon is just plain wrong.”
“I don’t mind trying something new,” Ms. Linda said, “but what are we allowed to eat as vegans?”
King Chloe’s royal chef made a sampling of vegan foods. Beef-less burgers. Chicken-less chicken salad. Fake bacon. As they tried it, most of the kids spit it out. “It tastes like cardboard!”
“Perfect! Cardboard comes from paper, which comes from trees!” Chloe noted.
Chloe’s classmates hated this new law. Several of them (I won’t say who) came up with an idea to get rid of the vegan law. After Chloe went to sleep, they called her parents and reminded them of something parents love to do.…
The following day, Chloe’s parents marched to the castle and called King Chloe outside. “You’re grounded, young lady!”
“I’m not a lady—I’m a king!” Chloe declared.
“Well, you’re still grounded. Come on. We’re going home. You might be a king, but we’re still your parents!”
Chloe was grounded for a whole month. That may sound like a harsh punishment, but at least she got to choose her meals while she served her time: veggie pizza, avocado toast, and… whatever that brown thing is.
“It’s a piece of chocolate cake,” Chloe said.
“It doesn’t taste like chocolate cake,” Mason said.
“Well, it’s vegan cake. It doesn’t have milk or eggs or butter, but it’s still really delicious.”
“If you say so.”