Sixth Grade Adventures

Chapter 003

Chapter 003  

The next morning, Chinu was admiring the eco-friendly house. She had put in a lot of effort previous night and it looked really appealing with its big windows and sky roof. The front of the house had a lush garden with grass that it looked almost real and a drive from the gate to the entrance. In the backyard, there was a small kitchen garden with vegetables growing abundantly. She had painstakingly pasted cardboard trees and also pasted vegetables cut from paper. She hung small curtains with bells inside on a couple of windows. The bells tinkled musically when the wind rustled.  

However, she did not like the blue plastic bucket kept at the back of the building but Suki said it was for rainwater harvesting. Whatever that was, Chinu did not bother to know! She continued to inspect their creation with pride. 

Chinu's dad wandered over, "That house looks good," he said. 

Chinu smiled broadly, "It's amazing isn't it? I was up all night building it." There was pride in her voice. 

"All by yourself?" her dad was surprised. He knew his daughter was creative but if she had done this from scratch all this by herself, then it was commendable. 

"Errr....." Chinu drew a long tone. "Su... Suki helped as well." 

Her dad nodded. He was aware of Suki's capabilities. 

"No wonder. She can definitely use her brains, that girl! Rainwater harvesting, right?" he indicated to the blue bucket. 

Chinu was miffed, "Are you saying I cannot build a house like that by myself? I did most of his work. It's important to read the design and make it."  

"Absolutely dear! It's just that Suki..." His cell phone rang and he looked at his daughter and said, "I have to take to this call. But we'll talk. I know you are smart." Chinu was not appeased. Her temper rose a notch. 

Suki came in just then and greeted her in a feeble voice. She coughed and her voice came out like a croak, "I am so... sick." Her glance fell on the house and her eyes widened, "You completed the house!" She walked quickly and examined it. Her eyes shining, she exclaimed, "It's perfect!" 

Suki opened the plastic bag she was carrying and took out a few items, "We need to finish up with some items." 

"What's all this junk?" asked Chinu sharply. 

"It's not junk!" Suki spoke with great difficulty. "We need all of this to prove that our house is eco-friendly. Else, there is no meaning to it." 

Chinu was aghast. Having that one blue bucket seemed bad enough and now all this. The house was going to get sidelined. No one would be able to see its true beauty or her hard work. She gritted her teeth. 

Suki meanwhile handed her a coil and some small pieces of cloth that looked like rags. 

"What is this thing?" Chinu said in horror picking up a tiny piece of cloth cut unevenly.  

"That's a t-shirt. I cut it out to hang on the.... clothesline. It's not... that great." 

"You should have told me. I could have cut some out. I have thick colored paper as well. But if I out it in the backyard, it will cover all the vegetables." 

Suki could not ignore her irritated behavior anymore, "What's wrong with you? You can put it near the wall here and it will not cover the vegetables." She ended with a coughing spasm after the long speech. 

Then she took out a plastic bicycle and set it on the drive. 

"Don't put it there," Chinu snatched it and kept it on the side. Suki stared at her while Chinu refused to meet her eye. 

"Put these on top of the roof" Suki finally said in between coughs, handing two small rectangular cardboard boxes covered with with glitter paper. 

"What is this?" 

"These are solar panels. It is meant to be a part of a solar water heater. It saves electricity by using sunlight to heat water.  

As Chinu placed it on the roof, a part of the roof caved in due to its weight. Chinu was upset. She threw the box down. "My house is broken now," she wailed. 

Suki looked up, surprised and hurt. However, before she could say a word, Chinu's dad who had overheard the last part of their conversation, walked in. 

He picked up the box and said, "Girls, this is easy to fix. Just give the roof some support from inside and glue the ends strongly." They worked in silence under his supervision and soon the house was fixed with solar panels. Chinu's dad left but decided to have a word with his stubborn daughter for being unfair to her friend. 

Suki too got ready to leave. But before she left, she whispered, "I thought it was our house." 

***** 

Was this house going to break their friendship? Will they be able to finish this project together? Stay tuned!