A Change for Good

Chapter 11- Just Watch.

Dedicated to RainbowTie64 for helping me brainstorm! Thanks so much!

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After a whole day of researching, printing, gluing, calling, and typing, Monday morning finally comes. I hope all my effort will prove my point, but I am still a little nervous to stand up to the whole school. I talked with the principal on the phone, and she said that it was a good idea. In theory, yes, but I am not quite sure about reality anymore.

 As I slowly trek up towards the bus stop along the cruelly long road with my poster propped up on my hip, I see a faint outline of Logan through the damp morning fog. Yesterday's freeze coated the blades of grass with frost, and the crunch under my feet causes Logan to turn to face me.

"Good morning, and what do you have here?" He furrows his eyebrows and nods at the poster.

I lower it to the frozen ground. "You'll see at lunch," I say as steam rises out of my mouth. When I was little, I used to love it when I went outside on a cold and snowy winter night with Kai and lay in the snow with him while we looked at the steam rising up and disappearing. It always seemed like the most magical thing to us.

I smile at the memory, but then snap back into reality when Logan puts a warm hand on my forehead.

"Uhhhh.... are you okay? You seemed a little out of it just now," he observes.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," I reply, shaking my head. Now I'll start missing Kai all over again, thanks to that flashback.

The bus comes rumbing down the lane and we get on, blasted by the heat at the steps.

"So you aren't going to tell me anything?" Logan asks.

I shake my head. "Nope." I know that if Logan knows, he will want to help. I cannot let that happen because this is my own life, my own fight.

First, second, and third period seem to take forever, especially when I glance at the clock every two minutes. But fourth period finally comes, and I quickly grab the board and flyers from my locker before speed-walking down to the cafeteria.

"Watch it, city girl," A boy sneers as I bump into him when rounding the corner.

If my plan works, all of this will end, I tell myself as I ignore him with a raise of the chin and set up the board in the corner of the cafeteria.

After only 30 seconds or so, Amber, Melissa, Kevin, and Brandon make their way over to my table.

"Hey," Brandon says. "Do the right thing, end farm-animal cruelty now," he reads from the title of the poster.

Melissa's face lights up. "Cool! Are these to take?" She picks up a flyer sitting on the table.

"Of course, help yourselves, you guys," I smile back as all four of them take flyers. "I decided to raise awareness because I know what is happening at many large livestock-oriented corporations and I won't let that happen. You guys can help me spread the word about the mistreatments of all these innocent animals and end animal cruelty," I recite from the speech I wrote the day before.

"Impressive," Kevin nods with a serious look on his face.

"Wow, totally cool!" Amber squeals. "I'll tell everybody!" And with that , the group hurries off.

Within five minutes, students are crowding around my poster and looking at the revolting pictures of chickens crammed in dark rooms, horses being slaughtered, and alive pigs beng lowered into vats of boiling water. Afer all, someone would have to be inhuman to disregard those pictures. Even the kids who were nasty to me started to ask me questions. Good thing I did my research beforehand, I think as the last flyer is snatched away.

My plan must have worked, because for the rest of the day, nobody makes rude remarks toward me. In fact, people actually start saying hi to me in the hallways.

As I shut my locker in passing period before 6th, I see a face on the other side.

"Oh!" I gasp, startled.

A boy is leaning against the row of lockers, making eye contact with me. His emerald green eyes shine as his mouth turns up into a smile. "You're Anna, right?"

I nod.

"Well, what you did at lunch was pretty cool. I know lots of people who are still talking about it," he says.

I zip up my backpack and swing it over my shoulder. "Thanks," I smile.

He squints. "Hey, aren't you that girl from New York?"

"Uhhh.... yeah. I guess," I respond hesitantly.

"Well, you aren't too bad after all. Great talking to you!" And with that, he vanishes before I can get his name. Oh well.

On the bus, Logan shakes his head as he sits down next to me. "Man, what you did was pretty awesome," he says.

I smile. "Thanks." How much praise can a girl get in one day?

"Everyone was asking me if I knew you. You seem to be the most popular girl in school at the moment!"

And with that, a huge grin crosses my face. Finally, I think to myself. My rightful position.

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A/N:

There's chapter 11 for you! Thank you so much for your patience, I know it's been (more than) a while since I last updated, but I hope it was worth it!

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