Part 9: Earth Day

"So, who else won the bet yesterday?" Alvin asked, grinning.

"Brittany gave me a chocolate cake since I pass the baton quicker than expected," Theodore replied.

"Well, it was so worth it," Brittany beamed.

"How about you two? Did you do a bet with each other?" Alvin asked Simon and Eleanor.

"No," Simon replied.

"Anyways, I want to say I'm sorry for all of you. Since I worked alone and investigated the racer all by myself without any permission from you, you might get in trouble," Jeanette sighed. "And thank you because you all helped me get out of that mess."

"That's what I want to here!" Alvin lilted.

"A thank you?" Jeanette asked.

"Definitely!" replied Alvin. "We all deserve it for our hard work and sacrifices, especially me!"

"Seriously, Alvin," Brittany argued.

"But before we could even start an argument again, we should think about our school project," Jeanette interrupted.

"Good idea, Jeanette," Theodore spoke.

"It's the start of the week and by Saturday, we have to finish it unless we will fail," Jeanette added.

"Since we have the money, we can do what we planned days ago," Eleanor answered.

"Yeah, but the money's not enough for all of that," Jeanette explained.

"I might actually have an idea for that!" Simon beamed. "Last night, I calculated the money that we won and the things we can do for our project to make it count!"

"I'm interested," said Alvin.

"I've been thinking that what if we can launch a community tree planting? Yes, the seeds can be free at the agricultural office, but, we can use the money to give free snacks to those who will come," Simon suggested.

"Right and we can donate the money that was left on charity!" Theodore added.

"C-Charity?" Alvin asked with a sense of regret on his voice.

"What's the matter, Alvin?" Jeanette asked.

"Can we... Can we just save the money for... you know... for buying the... the things we want?" Alvin asked.

"Seriously, Alvin?" Brittany groaned, "Have you forgotten about last year when Theodore got a winning lottery ticket?"

"Well, it's not Theodore's," Alvin argued.

The eyes of the people inside the room were dropped towards Alvin.

"Maybe... Maybe Alvin's right. We did worked hard for this," Theodore spoke before they gather around.

"Yeah, but how about the spirit of Earth Day? How about the spirit of helping the community?" Jeanette asked.

Alvin knew what has to be done. He stepped inside the circle and spoke, "Alright, Jeanette's right. We should just lose in this race but we got lucky! Maybe that is a sign that we should be thankful of what we have!"

The six knew what to do!

The next day, everyone gave invitations for everyone at the suburbs to join them for a community tree planting tomorrow.

When the tree planting came, all the people living at their community joined. With one seedling at a time, they could make a difference and they could save the world.

"According to a research, tree planting is recognized as one of the most engaging, environmentally-friendly activities that people can take part into better the planet," Simon reported in front of the school as he and his group stood at the stage.

"Trees provide numerous sustainable benefits for our planets," Jeanette spoke.

"Recently, we launched a community tree planting. We were so happy that everyone in this community joined," Simon added while showing the slideshows of the pictures taken on their project.

"We also donated some money for charity to help our fellow townsmen grow. If we share what we have, they will share to others, too," he stated. "If we all work together, we can have a better place!"

Everyone at school presented their projects. Some of them passed but some of them failed because of lack of cooperation.

At the end, they learned that working together will be a result for a better life.

-
-

"I saw you and Jeanette having fun last time I saw you two acting like a horse," Theo spoke.

"Do you want to try it?" Jeanette grinned.

"That'll be fun. I'll ride with Theo and Brit can ride Simon," Eleanor beamed.

"And I can ride on Alvin," said Jeanette.

"After that the girls will be the one to act as the horse, right?" asked Alvin.

"Sure! Why not?" Eleanor bravely replied.

"Wait, what?!" Brittany gasped.

"Come on, Brit. I'm not that heavy as you think," Simon lilted.

With their bike helmets on, the boys acted as a horse and took the girls for a ride. After that, they changed places.

"Yeehaa!" Alvin shouted as he ride with Jeanette.

"You sure are heavy, Theo, but I can handle it!" Eleanor jested.

"You know, this is actually pretty fun," said Brittany. "Neigh!"

--- The end of Earth Day ---