The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - Alexandra Robbins [177]
She dropped the papers into Noah’s hands and returned to her seat. He placed them in the recycling bin. “Do you guys really think you’re making some kind of difference?” she asked.
“Of course! We’ve recycled over two dumpsters. Like five tons!”
“Really? That’s a lot, right?”
“Yeah, and we’ve been getting help from a lot of other kids to make it so good. From the kids who just recycle their paper instead of throwing it in the trash to kids who’ll stay after school and recycle with us, every little bit counts.”
“Oh. That’s cool. I’d help, but . . .” She trailed off and glanced down at her stomach.
“We’re happy to have anyone we can helping, and if you ever want some volunteer hours or a shot at a scholarship, let me know. We do work every week.”
Each time Noah successfully broke through to someone about recycling, his self-esteem soared. I might not get recognition, but maybe people really do see me as a leader, he thought. I’m not an aggressive, charismatic leader; I’m just trying to be nice and connect with people so that they feel welcome. As Noah gained confidence, other areas of his life improved as well. His grades had risen, he had scored a few goals on Redsen’s playoff-bound Frisbee team, and he was happy and relatively calm. Noah hadn’t crashed in more than a month.
The office door opened and a popular girl exited, laughing with the principal. Noah’s stomach dropped. Everyone knows a principal can go from zero to two hundred in one second, he thought.
“Come in, Mr. Giancoli. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you,” the principal said. Noah gingerly stepped over the threshold. He had never been in this room before. He rubbed his elbow anxiously as the principal sat down.
“Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble,” she said. “I just wanted to talk to you about something called the Senior Advisory Council. Have you heard of it?”
“I’ve heard of it, but I’m not familiar with it,” Noah said.
“It’s the students who petition for class privileges.”
Noah nearly screamed. Is she asking me to be on this?!
The principal continued: “A lot of things get done by class officers, but this is an opportunity to have another part. A legislative branch of sorts.”
Noah nodded enthusiastically.
“Would you be interested? Our meetings are once or twice a month, before or after school, over food, of course.”
“Definitely! I’d love to participate.”
“Good, good! I’m glad. Your teachers told me that you would be a great candidate for this.”
“Principal Clayton, if you don’t mind, may I ask a question?”
“Of course.”
“Who else is participating?”
The principal named three other students from various social groups.
“Thank you very much, Principal Clayton!”
“Well, I think we’ll have a great council. I’ll talk to you later,” she said as she handed Noah a pass for seventh period.
Noah contained his euphoria until he reached the stairwell. Then he began to skip slaphappily toward the stairs. Someone has recognized me and given me the chance to make changes! he crowed to himself, bounding up the stairs. And they’ve actually made a balanced council! The four of us will be able to unite, hopefully across all popularities, to make the school better!
Noah tripped on the last stair, flinging his books all over the floor. He looked around to make sure the stairwell was empty, laughed to himself, brushed off his knees, picked up his books, and resumed skipping down the hall.
ELI, VIRGINIA | THE NERD
After check-in for Westcoast University’s freshman orientation, a volunteer announced that students in the business program should leave for their introductory session. Eli went outside, realized he didn’t know where to go, and stopped.
While Eli had looked forward to the two-day orientation, now that he was here, he was scared. WCU was a sprawling campus, with tens of thousands of students. He wondered how many of them would judge him the same way his high school classmates did. The only way I’m going to make any friends is if I take the first step, he told himself. Okay. The next person who walks out