#28 Mallory Makes a Difference

by Laurie Friedman

  “We could post them around school and in the classrooms,” Mary Ann says like she’s finishing Zoe’s thought.

  Mrs. Daily smiles. “That’s an excellent idea.” She sends Zoe and Mary Ann to her classroom to get poster board and markers.

  I agree with Mrs. Daily that it’s an excellent idea. I just wish Joey and I had thought of it.

  When Mary Ann and Zoe return with the poster board, Mrs. Daily breaks the reps into small groups so there are younger kids and older kids in each group. As the groups make posters, Joey and I explain how cans should be collected.

  “It’s a three-step process,” I say. “Step one: tell the kids in your grade which foods to bring in. Step two: bring the cans you collect to the gym. Step three: put the cans in the area marked for your grade.”

  Joey shows the reps how we sectioned off and marked areas on one end of the gym for the reps to stack their cans.

  “It’s simple,” I say. “When the food drive ends, we’ll count the cans and the grade that brings in the most cans wins the homework-free week.” When I’m done explaining, there are lots of questions. It’s clear some of the reps don’t think this is as simple as I do.

  What if kids bring in the wrong kinds of cans?

  What if kids bring in boxes instead of cans?

  What if kids eat what they bring in?

  As Mrs. Daily answers the questions, I can’t help but think about an expression she taught us in third grade: off to a rocky start.

  It means that a situation is difficult from the beginning.

  When Joey and I talked to Mrs. Finney about doing the food drive, it seemed pretty simple. I never anticipated that kids in our class wouldn’t be speaking to us or that the reps would have so many questions.

  The food drive has definitely gotten off to a rocky start.

  I just hope the rest of the voyage is smoother sailing.

  Keeping It Straight

  Last Friday, the reps talked to all the classes about the food drive. They put up the posters we made and told them which foods to bring in.

  They reminded everyone that the grade that brings in the most cans wins the homework-free week.

  It has been a week since the food drive started. I expected kids to bring in lots of cans. But I never expected that this would turn into a problem.

  Keeping the cans straight has been a big challenge. If you don’t believe me, keep reading and you’ll see what I mean.

  MONDAY

  Monday was the first day that kids could bring in cans. Joey and I were in the gym with Mrs. Daily during lunch when the second-grade reps, Tristan and Amy, brought in the bags of cans their grade had collected.

  “Look how many cans we have,” said Amy as they started taking cans out of the bags and stacking them in the second-grade area.

  While they were stacking, Marcus and Mike brought in the bags of cans the third graders had collected. They put their bags down next to Amy and Tristan’s and started stacking their cans in the third-grade area.

  But while they were stacking, they got confused about whose bags were whose.

  “That bag belongs to the second grade,” said Tristan when Marcus picked up one of the bags and started taking cans out of it.

  “It belongs to the third grade,” said Marcus.

  The next thing I knew, Tristan and Marcus were shouting over who brought the bag in.

  Mrs. Daily stopped the argument. “That bag belongs to the second grade,” she said as she took the bag from Marcus and handed it to Tristan.

  All I can say is that I’m glad Mrs. Daily was there to be the referee.

  TUESDAY

  On Tuesday, there was another problem over who brought in which cans, but the problem didn’t happen in the gym. It happened in the bathroom.

  I didn’t see the problem when it happened. But I heard about it.

  Mary Ann told me she and Zoe stopped in the bathroom on their way to take the fifth grade’s cans to the gym. When they went in, they had seven plastic grocery bags filled with cans, but when they came out, she said they only had six.

  “While we were using the bathroom, we heard a group of sixth-grade girls come into the bathroom, and we think they took one of our bags,” said Zoe.

  Even though Mary Ann and Zoe seemed sure of what happened, I wasn’t convinced. “If you were using the bathroom, how do you know it was sixth-grade girls who came into the bathroom?” I asked.

  “By their shoes,” said Mary Ann.

  A lot of sixth-grade girls have cute shoes, so that made sense. But something else didn’t. Why did Mary Ann and Zoe both have to go to the bathroom right then? Couldn’t they have waited until after they’d dropped off the bags? Or taken turns so that one of them was always watching the bags? But I didn’t say any of that, because I didn’t want them to think I was blaming them.

  Instead, I asked, “Is it possible you could have miscounted your bags?”

  When I said that, Mary Ann and Zoe looked at each other.

  “Don’t you want the fifth grade to win the homework-free week?” asked Zoe.

  “Whose side are you on?” Mary Ann asked me.

  I told them that as head of the food drive, I’m on the side of fairness, but I don’t think that was the side they wanted me to pick. It seemed like winning the homework-free week was more important to them than bringing in food for people who need it, which was the whole point of the food drive. The things they said bothered me for the rest of the day.

  WEDNESDAY

  On Wednesday, the problems over who brought in which cans continued. At lunch, all the reps from all the grades brought cans into the gym. By this point, there were a lot of cans, but the fourth grade had a lot more cans than any other grade.

  Everyone noticed it. Especially one of the third-grade reps, Annabelle Blake. “What if people try to move cans so their grade will have more cans?” Annabelle asked.

  Olivia Fine, one of the sixth-grade reps, rolled her eyes. “None of the reps are going to cheat,” she said.

  “For a homework-free week they might,” said Annabelle.

  Mrs. Daily spoke up. “I trust all the reps to be honest.”

  But Annabelle wasn’t as trusting. “Maybe we need to hire a security guard to watch the cans,” she said.

  Mrs. Daily told Annabelle we’re going to have to depend on an honor system and not a security guard.

  THURSDAY

  By Thursday, the cans were really stacking up. Every rep from every grade brought in more cans. Most of the cans were where they were supposed to be—in the sections for each grade. But some of the cans were in front of the sections and some of the cans were behind the sections. After school, Joey and I went to the gym with Mrs. Daily so we could straighten up the donations.

  “It’s kind of hard to tell which cans belong to which grade,” said Joey.

  “I think we should post a sign that reminds the reps to stack their cans neatly in the section for their grade,” I said.

  “That’s a good idea,” said Mrs. Daily. So Joey and I made a sign.

  Then I made a wish that people would pay attention to it.

  FRIDAY

  Now it’s Friday, and all day long, kids were still bringing in cans to school.

  They were also talking about the food drive and how much they want to win the homework-free week.

  I know this because Joey and I went to all the classrooms this morning to remind kids that Monday is the last day to bring in cans.

  But no one needed reminding.

  The first and second graders showed us the sticker charts their teachers had put up outside their classrooms.

  “We get a sticker for every can we bring in,” said one first grader.

  “We want to get a lot of stickers,” said a second grader.

  “And we want to win the homework-free week,” another second grader said. Then all the second graders started cheering.

  When Joey and I went to visit the third grade, they were rehearsing a song for the Th
anksgiving assembly next week. When they finished singing, they told Joey and me they’ll be onstage twice at the assembly next week.

  “Once when we sing our song,” said one third grader.

  “And a second time when we win the homework-free week,” said another third grader. When he said that, the third graders all started clapping like that was exactly what they planned to do.

  I was surprised how competitive the first, second, and third graders were. But they weren’t competitive at all compared to the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders.

  After school, reps from all the grades brought their cans to the gym and the fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade reps were all talking about how their grade was going to win the homework-free week.

  “The fourth grade is just getting started,” said Annabelle.

  “The sixth grade is going to win,” said Jake.

  “You won’t beat the fifth grade,” said Zoe. “We’re bringing in more cans on Monday.”

  I think Jake took that as a challenge because he said, “Game on.” Then he gave Olivia a look like they needed to get their classmates to bring in more cans.

  I felt like I needed to remind everyone what the food drive is really about. “Helping other people is what’s important,” I said.

  “So is winning a homework-free week,” said Jake.

  When we left the gym, I told Joey I was excited everyone was so into the food drive, but I was also a little worried that maybe kids are too into winning the homework-free week.

  “At least we’re going to collect a lot of cans,” he said.

  Joey had a point. But still, I was worried that the hype over the homework-free week had gotten out of hand.

  CANFUSION!

  A riddle: What do you call a mix-up over cans?

  Answer: CANfusion!

  Get it? Unfortunately, there’s nothing funny about the canfusion that is going on at Fern Falls Elementary.

  The problems started this morning.

  Today was the last day of the food drive. Kids from every grade—and not just the reps—brought cans to the gym. I think everyone was curious to see if they could tell which grade brought in the most cans.

  By lunchtime, we realized we had a problem.

  Joey, Mrs. Daily, and I went to the gym to try to straighten out the cans, but it was an impossible task. There were cans EVERYWHERE!

  “What are we going to do?” I asked Mrs. Daily as I picked up a can of cranberry sauce that was sitting in the middle of the gym floor.

  She looked at all the cans like she was trying to figure it out. But before she had a chance to do that, Jake and Olivia and Zoe and Mary Ann came into the gym.

  “Which grade brought in the most cans?” Jake asked.

  They all looked curious, but it was pretty clear there wasn’t a simple answer to Jake’s question. “I’m afraid we have a mess on our hands,” said Mrs. Daily. She picked up a can of green beans and a can of sweet potatoes that were sitting on the bleachers. “I don’t see how we’re going to be certain which grades brought in which cans.”

  That was definitely not the answer anyone wanted to hear.

  “If you don’t know which grade brought in the most cans, how will you know which grade wins the homework-free week?” asked Mary Ann.

  Mrs. Daily shook her head. “It doesn’t seem that we will be able to know that.”

  Olivia gasped like what Mrs. Daily said was the worst thing she’d ever heard. Mary Ann, Zoe, and Jake all stood there open-mouthed with their arms crossed like they felt the same way.

  “It’s important to remember why we had a food drive,” Mrs. Daily said.

  But I had a feeling that the reps weren’t listening to her.

  Word spread faster than butter melting on pancakes that there was a mix-up over the cans. By the end of lunch, everyone knew about the problem.

  “Is it true?” some second graders asked me.

  “How did the cans get mixed up?” a third grader asked Joey.

  “We heard the contest is off,” a group of fourth graders said to us both.

  Kids in every grade were talking about how no one was going to win the contest. Everyone was mad about it. To be more specific, they were mad at Joey and me.

  When the last bell rang, all I wanted to do was go home. But as I was leaving, Devon stopped me. “I’m sorry everyone is mad about the mix-up over the cans,” he said. “I think it’s great that we had a food drive, even if nobody wins the contest.”

  “Thanks,” I said. I was glad somebody got it.

  Devon had more to say, though. “I don’t talk about this much,” he told me. “But when I was little, my dad lost his job. Since there are five kids in my family, it was a pretty hard time for us. When we didn’t have enough money and needed food, we went to a food bank and it really helped.” He paused and looked at me.

  I wasn’t sure what to say. I hadn’t realized his family had gone through such a tough time. “I’m really sorry that happened to your family,” I told Devon.

  “I just wanted you to know that what you’re doing will make a lot of difference for a lot of people,” he said.

  I said I was really glad he told me the story.

  All day, I had been worrying about the mix-up over the cans. But hearing Devon’s story made the fact that everyone is mad at Joey and me seem less important. The homework-free week would be nice, but this food drive is really about doing something good in the community.

  When I get to my street, I walk straight to the wish pond and sit on the bench by the edge of the pond.

  I used to come here all the time when I wanted to make a wish. I haven’t done it for a long time. I guess as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten more doubtful about the whole make-a-wish-and-it-will-come-true thing.

  But right now, there’s a wish I want to make.

  Even though it seems kind of babyish, I pick up a stone on the side of the wish pond and squeeze my eyes shut.

  I wish I can find a way to make sure that the whole school will remember why the food drive is important and that we can all focus on what really matters.

  When I’m done making my wish, I throw my stone into the wish pond and I open my eyes. This is one wish that I sure hope comes true.

  Bagging It

  “Look on the bright side,” says Mrs. Daily. “There are a lot of cans!”

  That part is true. The food drive is over, and we definitely collected a lot of cans of corn, green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, and pumpkin pie filling.

  But as I look at the faces of the class reps who are packing those cans into bags for the food bank to pick up after the assembly tomorrow, no one looks very happy.

  “I still can’t believe the cans got mixed up,” Max Garcia mumbles as we start to line up the bags of food along one side of the gym. “Everyone in my grade wanted to win the contest.”

  “The sixth grade wanted to win too,” says Jake like he can sympathize with Max.

  “So did the fifth grade,” says Zoe.

  “And the third grade,” adds Marcus.

  Before the first- and second-grade reps have a chance to say how much they wanted to win, Annabelle Blake joins in the conversation. “It was your job to keep the cans straight,” she says to Joey and me.

  Joey points to the sign we made. “It was everyone’s job to keep the cans straight.”

  Mary Ann and Zoe roll their eyes like that doesn’t change anything.

  “No one gets the homework-free week like you promised,” says Jake. “It’s not fair.”

  “It’s not just about a homework-free week,” I say.

  Mrs. Daily nods. “Mallory is right.” She gestures to the bags that are now neatly stacked along one side of the gym. “Our efforts were more than successful,” she says. “You all set out to help collect cans of food for people in need, and you should be very proud of the job that you did. This food will make a big difference to a lot of families in our community.”

  A bunch of the reps nod l
ike they get it. But as we leave the gym to walk back to class, it’s easy to see that everyone is still upset about the contest.

  “I feel bad,” says Joey.

  “Me too,” I say. “Even though the homework-free week wasn’t the point of the food drive, I still feel like we let everyone down.”

  Joey nods. “I wish there was something we could do.”

  Suddenly an idea pops into my head. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. “Maybe there is something we can do,” I say.

  Even though no one is near us as we walk down the hallway, I lean over and whisper my idea into Joey’s ear.

  There’s a good chance the person who needs to give the OK for my idea will not be OK with it.

  Still, it can’t hurt to try.

  “What do you think?” I ask when I’m done explaining.

  Joey looks at me and grins. “Let’s give it a shot,” he says.

  As we walk down the hallway together, I can’t help but think that this will be our third trip to the principal’s office in the past two weeks.

  Hopefully, it will be our last.

  Making a Difference

  “Students, may I have your attention please?”

  Mrs. Finney waits at the podium until everyone in the auditorium is quiet. “The food drive was a big success. We brought in a lot of food. These donations will go a long way to help people in our community who are in need. I’m so proud of everyone who participated, and I’d like you to give yourselves a big round of applause.”

  Mrs. Finney waits while the whole school claps. When the applause stops, she starts talking again.

  “I know there was an unfortunate mix-up over the cans that were collected, which meant that it was impossible to know who won the homework-free week.”

  When she says that, some of the kids in the back of the auditorium boo.

  I look at Joey, who is sitting in the chair next to me. Yesterday, Joey and I went to Mrs. Finney’s office and explained the situation to her. Then I told her my idea for a solution. She said she would think about it, but she didn’t promise anything.