…embrace your journey of growth
By Zara Suleman Fatima
CHAPTER ONE
I walked past the streets eagerly awaiting the sight of granddad’s house. He was sick and this was the only opportunity I could use to see him. He was really sick and I didn’t know if I would be able to stand before him, I do not get scared easily but sometimes I fear his condition might get worse. Either the time moved slowly or I checked my wristwatch too often. The weather was quite cool for the summer. Here I was, standing face to face with the gate of my grandad’s house. In that moment, I remembered the first time I came to his house, after receiving my mum’s call that I’d be coming, he came outside waiting for me and his running towards me was the cutest thing ever.
He was sitting in his favorite chair, surrounded by pillows and blankets, but his eyes sparkled with warmth when he saw me. I felt relieved to see him happy, I sat down beside him. “Farhana, words cannot express how happy I am to see you”, he told me smiling. “I am beyond happy to see you too” I told him. Happy smiles carved their way into my face. “You know, I am getting much better and soon I’ll continue my environmental activism”, granddad said, his eyes sparkling even brighter. “I think you should recover fully first” I said. “I am fully recovered dear. I received a lot of gifts from the neighborhood I helped clean up”. He handed me a box of books and photographs. There was a book hand written about all the things my grandfather helped them do to their environment; some pages were of the time they cleaned the parked and the beach. “Who wrote this book?” I asked surprised. “There was a little girl who suffered from asthma. Her condition worsened due to the air pollution and when I came to their neighborhood to create awareness, the pollution reduced and her asthma got better”, he explained hugging the book. “Wow, all these love from cleaning?” I asked. “Yes Farhana, the new neighborhood I want to clean up is yours, would you like to me help out?” he asked. “I thought the club my school started was helping already?” I asked. “There’s not much a group of 5 teenagers can do” he replied. “I also wish more people could join the club”, I replied. “You should join too”, he said. “I am one of the first members”, I said proudly. “I am glad you care about our planet”. “Almost everyone does but they don’t know how to help”, I replied. Granddad and I chatted a lot but I had to go home, I hugged him tightly before leaving. Granddad’s street was so clean and healthy, different vendors came out in the evening, the environment was peaceful and lively. I bought some cotton candy for my little sister.
“Mum, I’m home”, I shouted. “How is your grandfather doing?” she asked. “He’s all better now”, I replied. “Farhana, you are back”, my little sister said giving me a big hug. “I bought cotton candy for you”, I told her giving her the ball of pink cotton candy. “Thanks sis”, she replied.
I came to my room, grateful for the day and all the learning opportunities. My dad sent me a text which said he was going to come home tomorrow. Dad is an entrepreneur so he always travels for business conferences and anything business related. Today’s visit to granddad’s house got me thinking, well, it’s true that a lot of us do care about the environment and our planet, most of us do not really know how to improve the conditions of our various environments. The one thing I don’t really like about the club my school opened for our environment is the leader, my classmate, Tiffany; she made me regret ever joining that club.
I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock. Mum was sleeping on the couch; her laptop was switched on, her glasses on the floor, books, newspapers, pens all over the table. I covered her with a blanket and she woke up immediately. “Good morning mum”. “How are you, darling?” she asked yawning. “I told you to get enough sleep yesterday”, I told her picking her pens from the floor. “I had to cover the story about AW’s gadget company, mum” she teased. “Funny but you need to have enough sleep”, I said. “I just have to submit this to the chief editor of the newspaper company” she replied. “Being a journalist is difficult”, I said. “Difficult but rewarding” Mum replied. After dinner, dad came home from his business trip; he bought a lot of stuff for me, my sister, my brother and for my mum too. Dad was tired so mum said we needed to give him time to freshen up and relax.
I came back to my room after praying Dhuhr. I had like 45 notifications all from my best friend Lily. The only thing she sent me 45 times was ‘Hey besty, I’ve got some news about Tiffany”, I am going to call her because if she could send me the same message 45 times, it means it was very important. “Lily, what’s the news?” I asked. “Tiffany told Mrs. Jane that she wants to screen out members of the Tiffany’s squad club”, she replied hastily. “She only has 5 members, can that girl be any worse?” I asked. “Mrs. Jane is backing her like she’s her relative”, lily said, we both laughed. “Well she is her aunt”, I replied. “I know, I’m coming for a sleep over by four pm”, she said. “It’s already 3:59 pm”, I replied. “Come outside and wait for me”. “Okay”.
I sat down in the patio waiting for Lily. Tiffany sent a message to the group she created for her club: ‘Tomorrow after school closes, we will go to the park to plant some oak trees’. Firstly, the park has more than enough oak trees and secondly, it’s super clean.
“Did you see what Miss Tiffany posted on the group?” Lily asked, “I sure did, I think she has run out of ideas”, I replied. “She should ask her club members for ideas”, Lily said. “I don’t think Tiffany would ever ask us for ideas. The club needs a new owner”, I told her. We chatted a lot mostly about the club and prepared for school the next day.
CHAPTER TWO
Dad drove us to school today; mum had to go to her office early this morning. Lily and I dropped my sister in her nursery class before we went to the seniors block. Before our assembly, Tiffany called us for an urgent club meeting. “Okay everyone, I called us for this meeting because I feel like we should change the club to a dancing one, what do you all think?” she asked. “Of course not”, I replied. “Yeah what do you take us for? Just because you don’t have any ideas for the club that doesn’t mean you can change the club to a dancing whatever”, Lily told her in a very furious tone, this was the first time I’ve seen Lily this angry. “Calm down Lily, there’s no point getting angry over what she says, am sure the principal will not agree”, I said, trying to comfort her. “Let’s go to the principal’s office then” Tiffany suggested. Luckily for us, the principal said Tiffany’s idea was not for the good interest of the club and she would appoint a leader for us herself.
During English class, our teacher, Miss Rose, assigned us to various tasks for the school’s art day. I was given to prepare the decorations, Lily was tasked to create a poem and Tiffany was assigned to create a dance for the event, I guess she ended up getting what she always wanted. The vice principal came to our class to call me. I don’t really know why I was called but I felt nervous.
“Farhana, can you enlighten me on the situation of your club?” Mrs. Amaya asked. “I feel like the club’s captain, Tiffany Greg, does not consider our ideas and she wants to turn the club into a dance club which the school already has”, I replied. “What do you think the club should really be doing?” she asked. “Our club should be focused on nothing but the environment, we should not only focus on cleaning parks, as there are a lot of things that need cleaning apart from parks”. “Don’t you think Tiffany has tried by taking the club to clean parks?” she asked. “She does nothing but sit down on the bench eating ice-cream”, I told her. “Why didn’t you guys complain sooner?”, “No one ever thought she would decide to totally change the club’s concept”, I replied. “Let’s go gather the club members, I have some amazing news for you all” she said.
The members of Tiffany’s squad (you may be thinking; ‘Is that a good name for an environmental club?’ I know right, it’s weird) gathered in the gym, waiting for Miss Amaya’s arrival. “I think she wants to change the leader of our club”, I told Lily and Tiffany immediately gave me a dirty look. “I hope so”, Lily replied loudly.
“Okay students, I called you guys to this special meeting for your club’s interest. From the information I have gathered, I think it’s time we change the leader of Tiffany’s squad”, she told us smiling. Lily began clapping; I joined her and the remaining members joined too. “I think Farhana will be a good leader”, Miss. Amaya added. “Wait…me?” I asked. “Yes you, I know you will be able to bring this club back to life in no time”, our principal told me, “I have something to attend to in my office so Farhana please continue the meeting”, she said. “I am so honored to be the leader of our club. As the leader, I am willing to hear each and every one of your ideas, I don’t want us to forget the aim of our club which is to ‘help preserve our planet’ and I know together we can all achieve that” I said. “That’s my best friend”, Lily told everyone as if they didn’t already know; our friendship is quite famous. “How can you guys accept this girl to be our leader?” Tiffany asked. “She is nicer than you and she is willing to listen to us”, Katelyn replied her. “Well then, I quit” Tiffany yelled. “Tiffany, don’t go yet, we haven’t changed the name of the club”, Lily told her but Tiffany already left. “Any name ideas? I asked. “Let’s call it the Green Earth club” Chloe suggested. “That’s an amazing name, Chloe; does anyone else have a suggestion?” I asked. “No one, well then its official, our club’s name has changed from ‘Tiffany’s squad’ to ‘the green earth club’”, I announced. “Good job Farhana. Let’s go to the park later to celebrate”, Lily said. “That sounds like a brilliant plan”, I replied.
Lily and I walked to the park after school; we sat on an empty bench. “This ice-cream is so good, no wonder Tiffany takes them anytime we come here to clean up”, I said. “Mhm”, Lily nodded in agreement. Two skateboarders came to our bench, they sat down beside Lily. “We are having a private moment”, Lily told them which we weren’t. I carefully looked at them; one of the boys wore a baggy jean trouser with a green shirt while the other wore a baggy jean trouser too but with a blue shirt and his faced looked swollen. “Is he okay?” I asked. I don’t know if my question was directed to Lily or the other boy which I didn’t know. “He got into a fight”, the other boy politely replied. “Sorry, take him to a doctor”, I told his friend. “We have gone there”, his friend replied. “I am sorry”, I told them. “Thanks”, the injured boy replied. “Wait, don’t you guys go to our school?” Lily asked. “We do”, they both replied. “Your names are Maxwell and Yusuf”, Lily told them their names. “You are right”, Yusuf replied. Lily looked at Max with pitiful eyes; I also felt pity for him. I was kind of shocked that these boys even go to our school and even attend classes with us, “I am really sorry Max, who did you fight with?” I asked. “Alex Greg, Tiffany’s elder brother”, he replied. “Isn’t that bullying?” Lily asked. “It is, just because Max was chosen as the basketball’s team captain and he wanted to become the captain but he lost”, Yusuf explained. “That means his sister is going to beat me”, I joked. “No way, we’re going to defend you, I will not let that family harm anyone else”, Max said. “For sure, that slim bone cannot harm you”, Lily assured me.
CHAPTER THREE
The weather was really cold today, I sat down on my desk; the classroom was empty. I brought out my jotter I dedicated to the ideas I get. For the art day decorations, I had no ideas. Give me a pen and a book, I’ll work with it but I don’t like crafts. How about I use plastic bottles to make flower vases and then I can use cardboard as banners to decorate? “Hey Farhana, what are you doing?” Lily asked. “Brainstorming ideas for the art day, how is your poem coming along?” I asked. “It’s not even coming along” she replied. “Well you have to start working on it, the event is in a week”, I told her. “Have you seen Max?” she asked. “Nope” I replied. “Yusuf told me Max is good with poems”, she said. “That’s great, he can help you with your poem, what do you want to write about?” I asked her. “I want to write about art, the importance of creativity and how expressing yourself can help you emotionally”, she explained. “That’s an amazing idea”, I complimented. “Let’s go look for him”, she said, dragging me. “Maybe he is in the studio”, I told her. “Are you just saying that because we are outside the studio?” she asked. “Nope”, I replied but that was the reason I suggested we go check the studio and I was right, he was inside the studio. “Hey Max”, Lily waved. “Hi Lily and Farhana”, he greeted. “How are you feeling today?” I asked. “Much better, thanks” he replied, his dark hair got darker and his freckles were more noticeable. “Can you please help me with my poem?” Lily asked taking a seat close to him. “Sure”, he replied. While Lily was telling Max about her poem idea, I started thinking about the club I’m in charge of, honestly, I don’t know what activity we’re going to do today, should we clean the streets or volunteer at the zoo?, now that I am the leader of the club I see the struggles Tiffany faced but if she could have been a better leader to us, I think she would have lasted as the leader. “Earth to Farhana”, Lily teased. “What’s on your mind?” Max asked. “Nothing, I was listening very attentively to Lily, so will you be able to help her out?” I asked. “Yes, I will definitely help her”, he replied. “I’ll come back later”, I told Lily. “Wait for me”, she said.
“I thought you were going to stay with Max to work on your poem?” I asked, “I saw you leaving”, she said. “Why do I feel like you can write this poem on your own?” I asked. “I can, actually. I don’t know, I just want to make friends with Max and Yusuf, they seem very nice and they are in our class too”, she replied. “I just hope Tiffany does not make friends with them too”, I told her. “Yeah I know”, she replied. “I don’t really think they would want to be her friends”, I said. “After her brother fought with Max, I doubt”, Lily added.
When we went back to the class, Tiffany and best friends were singing, a song about the art day. “Was Tiffany assigned to make a song?” I asked Lily. “No way, even Miss Rose knows how bad Tiffany’s voice is, she was assigned to create a dance for the event”, lily answered. “True” I replied. “Can you guys please stop singing?” Lily asked them politely, I wanted to go there and give the 5 of them knocks on their heads. “We can’t. You may be the leader of your so called Green earth club but you’re not the leader of my voice”, Tiffany stated. “You don’t have the right to talk to my best friend like that”, Lily told her. “You only have one best friend, sorry for you, I have 4 best friends” Tiffany bragged. “It is better to have only one friend than to have 100 fake friends”, Lily replied her. “Enough Tiffany, you can sing all you want, in fact, have the class to yourself” I told her, dragging my friend away.
“Sometimes, you don’t need to reply Tiffany”, I told Lily even though she was angry. “Oh help me, if that girl makes me angry again, I am going to give her a tight slap”, lily replied. “Okay Lily”. I won’t let her slap Tiffany else there wouldn’t be a difference between her and Alex.
The one thing I dislike after arts and crafts is Physical Education which we were having right now. I sat down in one of the seats close to Lily. The boys in our class were playing basketball, they were grouped into teams. Max was the captain of one team and Yusuf was the captain of the other, it was a match between the two friends. “Max just put the ball through the hoop” Lily informed me. “I am also watching the match” I reminded her. “I am so excited to see who wins this game”, she said. When the game was over, the two teams ended up having a tie. The next activity was exercises. Sweat trailed down my cheeks as I jogged, after some minutes, my leg refused to move. I don’t really exercise regularly which I should.
All the members of my club gathered in the gym. “Good afternoon guys, I am so happy to see that the 5 members of this club are loyal” I said. “Good afternoon Farhana”, they greeted. “Before we start planning the activities for this term, I want us to use next week to attract more members”, “This term we are going to volunteer at a zoo, clean the parks, hold peaceful talks with AW’s gadget and any good ideas you guys bring”, I added. “How are we going to attract more members?” Chloe asked. “If you have plenty of friends, please tell them about the club and I have also asked Miss Amaya if I can say a little speech about our club during the arts event” I explained my methods to them. “That’s a good plan”, Miles complimented. “Just tell us what to do” Chloe said.
CHAPTER FOUR
I entered the art studio to add some final touches to the design I created. My plastic bottle flower vases needed some artificial flowers and I also needed to write some quotes on the cardboard. Lily was in the class memorizing her poem; I can’t wait to hear her poem.
“Hi Farhana”, Max and Yusuf greeted, “Hey” I replied. “Have you finished your decorations?” Max asked. “How do you guys know that I am to make the decoration?” I asked. “Miss Rose told us she chose you to make the decorations and you would not disappoint her”, Yusuf explained. “Here I am making decorations out of plastic bottles”, I said. “They are beautiful, especially those flower vases, you got to tell me how you made them”, Yusuf complimented. “What are you guys supposed to do?” I asked them. “We are a team, and we were tasked to handout the flyers and make sure all the parents and students are seated”, Max replied. “She paired you guys?” “Yes, Miss Rose knows that we are too competitive with each other” Yusuf said. After the basketball game, I believe. “Guess what happened guys?” Lily asked. “Tell us” I replied. “Tiffany asked Miss Rose if she could swap duties with Chloe, so now Tiffany will sing while Chloe will dance” she replied. “How do you know?” Max asked. “Miss Rose asked me if that would be a good idea”, she replied. “What did you say?” Yusuf asked. “I told her, if Tiffany believes she can sing, then let her” she said. “She is going to embarrass herself” I told Lily. “You are supposed to be happy that I did a good thing for Tiffany, that was what she wanted and I helped her fulfill her dream” Lily said. “Oh well” I replied.
Max, Yusuf and Lily were chatting while I had a lot of work to do. Today’s classes were reduced to 4 instead of the regular 8 classes we have, Miss Amaya understands that we have a lot of preparations to do. The arts day was scheduled for next term but some students suggested that we carry out the event this term so our principal suggested that the students should plan and execute the event while the teachers should guide us. I just need to spray my vases pink then I am through.
“Need some help?” Lily asked. “Yes” I replied. “Help me remove the artificial flowers while I spray paint the vases” I explained. “You should hide these from Tiffany, I know she might try to spoil them if we go home” Lily said. “I’ll hide them but first I need to finish them”, I replied. Spraying the flower vases was an easy task except that some of the paint touched the cardboard which made it look even better.
“Finally, you’re done Farhana” Lily said. “I am going to the class to rest, are you coming?” I asked. “Yes” she replied. “Max, Yusuf, let’s go to the class” she shouted. Tiffany was in the classroom practicing her song. I sat down on my desk with Lily, Yusuf and Max sat down on the seats in front of us.
“Just listen to her voice” Lily said. I lifted my head from the desk, my body wanted to lie down and sleep, Tiffany and her 4 friends sang high notes that were capable of cracking the windows and tearing our ear drums. “Don’t interfere this time Lily, let her sing to her heart’s content” I told her. “So… when did you and Lily meet?” Max asked me. “Farhana and her family moved to our city a year after I did, we met on a Thursday of August when we were in grade one” Lily answered. I can’t believe she still remembers the date. “How about you and Yusuf?” I asked Max. “We became friends last session”, Max replied. “Tomorrow’s art day is going to be exquisite” Yusuf said. “And tiring” Lily added. “I have to come an hour earlier than you guys to decorate the hall” I told them. “Don’t worry, I’ll come early too” Lily assured me. “What are you guys talking about?” Tiffany asked. “Nothing that concerns you” Lily replied. “Anyways, make sure you guys have front row seats tomorrow” she said, cat walking her way out of the class.
Both of my parent were home early today including my brother who just graduated from college. “What’s the special occasion?” I asked smiling “and congratulations Ahmed” I added. “Thanks muffin” my elder brother replied. “Your granddad fell sick, honey” mum told me. “How?” I asked. “Don’t worry, he is in the hospital and we will go pick him in the evening” Dad told me picking my little sister, Aisha. “There’s good news though, he will live with us after we pick him from the hospital” Ahmed announced. “It is good news actually” I replied.
Mum, Dad and Ahmed went to pick Granddad from the hospital. Aisha was whining that she was hungry so here I am, preparing spaghetti for dinner with my little sister as my assistant chef. My parents and Ahmed came home late and my mum was so happy I made dinner which made me feel a little bit happy. “Wow, Farhana, your meal is delicious” Granddad complimented, his voice weaker than the last time I visited him. “Thanks” I replied. “Dad, you will live here with us” mum told him. “Yes, you can carry out your environmental cleanups here”, dad said. Granddad didn’t look happy but right now, he didn’t have a say.
I woke up my 5 am to pray Subhi, I greeted my parents and my grandfather; he looked happier and healthier. By 7 am, I started my walk to school. “Good morning Farhana”, someone greeted me from behind. I turned around to see Max; he was holding the pamphlets for the event. “Good morning Max, should I help you hold some of these pamphlets?” I asked, his hands were full of them and this was not all, Yusuf also has some with him. “Yes, please”, he replied. “I am so nervous” I said. “Are you nervous to arrange the flower vases and hang up the banners?” he asked. “I have a speech to say about my club” I replied. “Don’t worry; I know you can do it” he assured me.
Just as Lily presumed, Tiffany searched the studio for my flower vases. Lily and I stuffed paper in some bottles and today, Max and I found them torn. I came to the hall with the flower vases, the hall looked plain, and I thought Miss Rose would add some professional decorations but the school relied on my decors.
Max placed the pamphlets on the seats while I placed the flower vases on the stage and the entrances of the halls.
“Lily, you’re next”, I told her arranging the pleats on her dress. “I am so nervous”, she replied, “If there’s one person I know who could say a poem fluently in front of 700 people, it’s you” I told her. She smiled afterwards and went on stage.
“There’s nothing I could use to express myself than art,
From paints and crayons,
To the canvases and papers,
A beauty the brush imprints on the papers,
For many to see,
Every piece of art enriched with emotions.
Art is not just about brushes and paints,
Rather it is a way I express what I feel,
What I know,
Art unifies everyone,
Art says, let’s look with our eyes and feel with our heart,
Art, Art, is beautiful.
I am so proud of my best friend; her poem got me feeling like painting.
“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, my name is Farhana Mohammed and I would like to use a few minutes to introduce a new club meant to help improve our environment. I present ‘The green earth club’, a voluntary club where we students will carry out various activities for the betterment of our plant. Such activities include; cleaning streets, parks, volunteering at the zoo, planting trees and creating awareness. This is not a task for one person cos the planet is way big but if we join our hands together, I believe we can make a positive result for our planet”. My speech was followed with a round of applause from the audience; I hope we get more members.
CHAPTER FIVE
This weekend, Lily and I decided to celebrate our wonderful performances during the arts day and also to discuss the activities we might do for our club.
“How do you like my new hairstyle?” Lily asked, “The ponytail is perfect” I replied. “I asked Max if they could join us” she told me. “Did they say yes?” I asked. “Yup, they will come in some minutes” she replied. “I saw Tiffany in my mum’s salon while I was making my hair, she looked like she’s been crying all night” Lily added. “What could have possibly made Tiffany cry?” I asked, surprised, I never believed the day would come when someone would say Tiffany cried. “That’s why I called the boys, Yusuf always knows what’s happening in the school” she said. “Don’t you think we’re invading her privacy, we shouldn’t find out something about her life she decides to keep private” I told her. “What if it’s something we can help her with?” she asked. “Hello Lily and Farhana” Yusuf greeted. “Hey, so tell me, what happened to Tiffany?” Lily asked. “Her parents cut her allowance because she almost made the city’s mall run out some expensive jewelry even though her parents bought some for already” Yusuf explained. “I didn’t expect that to be the reason, I thought it was something serious”, I replied.
The four of us chatted a lot until Max and Yusuf had to go for their skateboard practice and Lily also had to go home to complete her chores. I can’t wait to see how many new members our club will have by tomorrow.
I collected the membership form from Miss Amaya and no new member joined. Why? I gave a speech during the arts day so we could have more members and club activities begins today.
“So how many members do we have now?” Lily asked. “Still 5”, I replied. “Why are students refusing to join?” she asked, “I don’t know. We’ll just have to clean the street behind the school with our 5 members” I replied.
“Hello guys, today we are going to clean up the streets behind our school, what do you guys think?” I asked them hoping they would agree. “I am sorry but if you expect the 5 of use to clean up that big street then you are wrong”, Chloe said. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Yes Farhana, the 5 of us cannot clean that street, in fact, we cannot carry out all the activities you planned for us until our members increase” Miles agreed to Chloe, with that the 3 of them left. Lily and I were the only 2 members going to clean up the street.
The street was in a horrible condition, plastics were on the pavement and the trash bags leaked all over the concrete floor. Lily arranged the trash bags while I picked the up the plastic. No matter how many hours we could spend on this street, the both of us cannot get it cleaned. “Hey, I could ask Max and Yusuf to help us” Lily suggested. “We can’t call them anytime we need them; they are also having basketball practice. If you’re tired we can continue another time” I said. “I am tired so…”, “let’s go home then” I told her.
We didn’t clean the entire street but at least we cleaned half. I don’t know why students refused to join our club; did they think it was too much work? Or did Tiffany do something?
“Lily, do you think Tiffany convinced students not to join our club?” I asked, “I don’t know, but maybe”, she replied. “I know how I am going to find out” I thought.
I came to school quite early today, i was going to find out if Tiffany convinced students not to join my club or not. I heard a whistle and I knew it was my signal. “Is it you, Bella?” I asked. “Can’t you recognize your old friend?” she asked. “I am sorry, I cannot recognize anyone wearing a black petticoat, a hat and dark shades of sunglasses”, I replied. “You are forgiven. My sources told me that Tiffany paid some students not to enter your club and she bought expensive jewelry for some of the girls”, Bella told me. “Are you sure?” I asked. “Farhana, I’ll eat my words if I am wrong”, she said. “Thanks pal”.
‘Okay so, Tiffany paid people not to join my club and the students also agreed. How can they let their choices be bought by money’, I thought.
CHAPTER 6
“Aren’t you going to confront Tiffany?” Lily asked, “What’s the use?” I asked, “If the students wanted to join my club but didn’t join the club because of Tiffany there’s nothing i can do again”, I added. “What do you mean there’s nothing you can do again? Are you going to give up?” Lily asked, her voice becoming faint. “I give up, I cannot change people’s mind. Look at the way the both of us struggled to clean the street, even our own members quitted on us” I told her. “Well well, if it isn’t the newest leader in town”, Tiffany told her friends but Lily and I knew she directed her words at me.
The midterm holiday started today, my family planned a 3 days stay at the beach, unlike any other beach, this beach we were going to was turned into a resort for holidays. Lily came along with us, we are like family buddies.
“Farhana, look, some of the students are cleaning up that street”, Lily told me pointing to the street, “It is true, but who is leading them?” I asked, “From the looks of things, no one is, they are cleaning it by themselves, hey, hand me those binoculars”, she said, “They are also wearing our club’s badges” she added, “Are you sure?” I asked, “Girl, no one has ever questioned my sight”, she replied, “True, you have the sight of an eagle”, I replied, “This is such good news darling, maybe the students realized what we did for the street reduced the bad stench that we smell every day in our classroom”, she told me. “What if Tiffany instructed them to do so, you know, to make us think we have new members?” I asked, “What if Tiffany didn’t?’ she asked, I laughed.
The salty sea breeze made me forget about the club drama, the warmness from the sand made me feel so happy and satisfied. “Farhana, even though we are on holidays and you saw somewhere dirty; would you ignore the place and continue your holiday?” Lily asked. “No, I would clean up that place then continue my holiday”, I answered. “There’s a place in the beach that is dirty”, she said, “What are you waiting for, take me there” I told her, “Hold on, I want this breeze to make my hijab fly up”, I added.
There were a lot of plastic cups, gum wrappers, diapers and what looked like a dried fish in the water and fishes lived there, I could see them below the water surface. Why would someone throw diapers in the ocean?
“Farhana get in the water, I can’t clean these alone” Lily complained, “My beautiful long dress will get soaked in the water”, I also complained, “Just kidding, I am coming” I told her entering the warm water. I looked up from the water, I saw granddad, and he was smiling and nodded in approval when she saw me looking at him. I felt happy, because granddad was smiling and that area of the beach looked clean after we finished.
Mum and dad prepared dinner while my granddad told Ahmed stories of his younger years. Lily and I sat down on the patio of the cabin. “Look at the picture Tiffany posted” Lily showed me. “Someone please tell that girl that there’s something like an oversized hat” I said. “Good words” Lily complimented, “Have you heard from Max and Yusuf?” I asked her. “I don’t think so, I haven’t even chatted them both” she replied. “Same”.
This morning after praying, I felt energized, we were going back home tomorrow and I wanted to make the most out of today. “Wake up Lily”, I said, hitting her with a pillow, “I need two more minutes” she replied, her eyes still closed. “I am not going to give you a minute to sleep” I told her adding some floral pins to my hijab. “Why are you so energetic today?” she asked getting up from the bed. “I don’t know. I woke up with so much energy” I replied, “Okay” she said.
I rushed through breakfast to make sure I get one of those free canoes before they were all taken. “Lily, hurry up and come outside” I shouted. “At least allow me to swallow my prawn” she shouted back. After some minutes she came out. “Ahh! I cannot ride the canoe, I’m scared of travelling on water”, she told me pushing the canoe away. “It’s not for us, it’s for my big brother” I said. “Great” she replied. “What should we do today?” I asked her. “I am going to use today to create a website for our club” she replied, “Want to join”, Lily added, “Okay”.
I always thought Lily was someone who disliked the color pink but turns out that was the most color she used in the website. “I thought you disliked pink?” I asked. “I don’t like all the shades of pink, just the baby pink shade”, she replied. “Are you going to continue the club?” she asked me, “and don’t tell me you don’t know” she added, “I am not going to give up, if no one joins the club then the both of us will carry out the activities of the club, it’s about the environment and no one else” I replied, “You’ve never made me prouder” she said wiping the corners of her eyes as if there were tears. “So girls, tell me about your club”, my dad said sitting next to me. “Farhana wanted to give up at first because Tiffany paid students not to join the club”, Lily told my dad in one breath take. “Ha-ha Lily, you speak to much you know” I said loudly, “Farhana and Lily, I want you guys to know that there will be a lot of ups and downs in life but what matters is if you decide to give up” dad said giving us croissants. “That’s some strong advice” Lily told him. “If Tiffany tries to act smart, you let me know” he told Lily because he knows I’ll try to handle her myself, “Don’t worry uncle, one punch and she’ll say good bye to her incisors”, Lily replied. “No punching or any physical fight dear” dad told her.
CHAPTER 7
Nothing much changed in school, except the membership form Miss Amaya handed me, we have 10 new members in total, I don’t know what made students join my club. This week of school is about counseling, a team of 6 counselors with the aim of resolving any conflicts students may have with each other. Last time they settled Lily and Tiffany’s quarrel but it has gotten worse now.
“As you all already know, this is counseling week and I am going to call some students who I think haven’t been going along lately, once you’re called please go to the hall”, our class teacher announced, ”Lily, Tiffany and Farhana”, she called, “Alexis and Jacob”, she continued calling names.
“Hey girls, my name is Miss Belle and I am your counselor, your teacher told me about the club situation, what do you have to say Lily?’, she asked, “I was a member of the club and I felt like Tiffany did a bad job as the leader” Lily told the counselor, “What do you have to say about this Tiffany?”, Miss Belle asked, “Lily and her best friend teamed up against me, they convinced the members of the club to complain about my leadership” she said, Lily rolled her eyes, “And you Farhana?” Miss Belle asked, “I just want to appreciate Tiffany for paying students money so they wouldn’t join my club and I would also like to thank her for buying some of the girls expensive jewelry so they would not join the club I was assigned to lead” I explained, “Why did you pay students not to join her club?” Miss Belle asked her, “I was the leader first” she said. “You were a bad leader, there was nothing you did for that club” Lily told her. “Miss Belle, I feel like this matter is not worth counseling, if Tiffany can’t deal with me being the leader then it’s none of our business” I told her, I was fed up, “What’s really wrong with you Tiffany?”, Lily asked, “I just feel like the both of you guys always get what you want and this time I didn’t want you to become the leader” she replied. “Tiffany, I am sure that there are a lot of things Farhana and Lily wanted but they didn’t get. In life, sometimes you get what you want and sometimes you don’t” Miss Belle explained, “You are actually right Miss Belle, like that one time I wanted to get a new TV even though I just got one” Tiffany told her, “Yeah something like that, so is your matter settled?” Miss Belle asked, “Maybe”, Lily and I chorused, “It sure is”, Tiffany replied. These counselors just spoke to us, they didn’t really settle anything.
“Can you imagine Tiffany said ‘It sure is’ when Miss Belle asked her if the matter was settled” Lily told Max and Yusuf, “I knew she was not worth fighting”, I told them, “It is good she ended what she started”, Max said.
After school hours, we held our club activities; at the zoo. The zoo keeper gave us each an animal to feed; I was given a cute fluffy white rabbit. Normally, a rabbit is always fed with carrot but in this zoo, the carrot was mixed with Brussels sprout, celery and supplements, like a healthy salad. It ate its meal and began hopping. “Well done”, the zoo keeper commented. Lily was nowhere near finish, and she got one of the friendliest animals, a dog. “Hey Lily, why haven’t you finished?” I asked her patting the rabbit. “I am so scared of the dog, I’ve heard a lot of cases where dogs attack humans”, she replied, “See, he is barking at me”, she added, “They only attack humans who have bad intentions on their owners for instance they bark when a thieve is trying to attack their owner, give the dog his bone and he’ll stop barking at you” I told her. “Oh”, she replied. She dropped the bone in the dog’s kennel and ran towards me. “You’re done” I told her. “Let’s all go home now”, she said, calling all the members. The school bus was already waiting outside to drop us home.
Tiffany behaved like she didn’t see us today, she ignored Lily and me when we tried to ask her to excuse us, and I thought she said she had ended her drama with us. “I bet she’s still upset because of the club leadership thing”, Lily said, “If she wants it so bad, she can have it”, I said, “No way, Miss Amaya has already chosen the club leader, if you decide to let Tiffany become the leader again, this time, the club might lose all its members” Yusuf told me. “I’m going to go over to her seat and I’ll speak with her” Lily told us, “Lily don’t, she has gone, hasn’t she?”, “Yup”, Max answered.
“Tiffany Greg I would like to knock some sense into your head”, Lily told her, “Meaning?” she asked, “I should be the one asking you how I’ll knock some senses into your head, what’s your problem with the position of club leader?” Lily asked her, “It is personal” she replied, “I came here to get answers” Lily said. “It has always been my dream to join the school’s cheerleading team, during my auditions the captain asked if I was popular and I told her I wasn’t, that’s when the idea came into my head, if I become a leader of a club I might gain popularity” she explained. Lily laughed hard before asking her if she could even do a summersault, “I can” Tiffany replied, “Well if you want to join the cheerleading team so badly we will tell the captain how popular you are during your auditions” I told her, “You guys would do that for me even though I paid people not to join your club?” she asked, “We would?” Lily asked me, “Yes we will”, I relied them, “I should cry right but I only cry for expensive things, come on, let’s go for my auditions”, Tiffany said dragging Lilly and me to the hall.
“You are back?” the captain asked her, “Yes sweet heart” Tiffany replied, “OMG! Its Tiffany, can I take a picture with you?’ Lily asked her bringing out her smartphone, “If we get a picture with you, we will become famous instantly”, I said, “And this answers your question of how popular I am”, Tiffany told her.
CHAPTER 8
I sat down besides my siblings listening to my granddad’s stories. The warmness from the living room made this even more thrilling, I felt like I was living in a fantasy. Mum brought us ice-cream and she sat down next to us. “It is so amazing to see my child and my grandchildren together”, granddad said, his eyes tearing up, I got up to give him a tight hug. Any moment from now I could burst from happiness.
“This is the last club meeting for the term guys”, I told the members and they responded with a round of applause. “I just want to tell you guys that we did it, we’ve come this far. We couldn’t carry out some of our activities because of we had a little amount of members at first but next term we’re going to up our game in making a positive impact in the planet. Through our website we are going to spread awareness”, I said, “Yes!” Lily screamed, “I want us to focus during our examinations and also, during the holidays we should individually help clean up, small actions can make a big difference” I told them, “As the assistant leader, we made a huge progress this term, we cleaned the parks, Tiffany told us to plant trees which we didn’t, Uhm… two members cleaned the street behind our school and we also volunteered at the local zoo and next term we are gonna go bigger” Lily said, “Is it too late if we join?” some voices asked, I turned around to see Maxwell and Yusuf, they were panting as if they ran not to miss our meeting, “Farhana, is it late?”, Lily asked me, “It is never too late to join the Green Earth club” I replied. The members were happy when going home.
“Assistant leader, huh?” I asked Lily, “Yup, you’ll need someone to bring you tea, tell you not to give up and someone that will always be your best friend”, “You know, my mum once told me that she named me Farhana which means happiness in our native language because I was very happy as a baby and 14 years later I am”, I joked, “I do need someone to bring me tea, tell me not to give up when I want to and someone that’s always going to be my bestie” I added. “If you choose to be happy you’ll always find happiness” Lily said, “I feel like we should celebrate the progress of our club with a sundae” I said, “True”, Lily replied.
TASKS TO DO TODAY
Perform tasks to become a member of the Green earth club.
Environmental quiz
1. Which substance makes up 78% of the air?
a) Nitrogen
b) Dust
c) Water
d) Water
2. Which of the following will help you save water?
a) Close taps properly and fix leaking pipes
b) Flush the toilet five times
c) Take long showers
d) Using energy- efficient light bulbs
3. Which of the following is the most eco-friendly mode of transportation?
a) Car
b) Train
c) Airplane
d) Bicycle
4. Which of the following is NOT a recyclable material?
a) Plastic bottles
b) Newspapers
c) Styrofoam cups
d) Glass jar
How many did you answer correctly?
Answers
1. Nitrogen
2. Close taps properly and fix leaking pipes
3. Bicycle
4. Styrofoam
Fun fact: Styrofoam cup is not a recyclable material. It takes 500 years for Styrofoam cups to decompose.
TRASH PICK UP CHALLENGE:
Your first challenge as a green earth club member challenge levels.
1.Trash collector: Collect 10 pieces of trash in 1 week.
2. Trash Terminator: Collect 20 pieces of trash in 2 weeks.
3.Planet Protector :Collect 50 pieces of trash in 1 month.
Challenge Tasks.
1.Collect trash in public spaces (parks, beaches, streets )
2.Sort and recycle trash
3. Encourage friends/family to join the challenge.
Green Earth Challenge
Grow a greener planet, one activity
Challenge levels:
Seedling: 2 eco-friendly actions
Sprout: 4 eco-friendly actions
Bloom: 6 eco-friendly actions
ECO-FRIENDLY ACTIONS
1. Plant a tree
2. Start a small garden
3. Reduce water wastage
4. Use eco-friendly means of transportation (for example, a bicycle)
5. Recycle 5 plastic bottles
6. Use reusable bags
7. Create a compost bin
8. Participate in a community cleanup
9. Create recycle bins
10. Organize your own community cleanup
ABOUT THE BOOK
Join Farhana on this journey as she takes charge of a club dedicated to protecting the environment. With the unwavering support of her best friends and friends she meets along the way, she strives to leave a positive impact on the society.
