Read Online The Summer We Saved the Bees by Robin Stevenson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Robin Stevenson
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guy.”
“Me too,” I said, but Mom was already gone.
Eva looked at me. “You okay, kiddo?”
“Yeah.” I couldn’t look at her. “Fine.”
“When I was your age, there was no way I could have done what you’re doing,” she said. “Seriously. I was way too self-conscious. So kudos to you, Wolf.”
“Not like I have much choice,” I muttered.
“Sure you do. Jade’s not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do.” She tilted her head. “Right?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. I guess.”
Eva looked like she was about to say something else, but Saffron tugged on her arm and she turned away. I sat down on the couch, holding a cushion against my stomach. The shirt was so snug that you could see the indentation where my belly button was.
A minute later Mom came flying back in. She was wearing black-and-yellow-striped tights, a short black skirt and a black top with long dangly sleeves. Wire-stiff wings fanned out behind her, and two long black antennae stuck up from the top of her head.
“Yowza,” Violet said. “That’s quite the outfit, Jade.”
Mom spun around, showing off. “What do you think, Eva?”
“Gorgeous. And you’ll certainly attract attention,” Eva said.
“That’s the idea,” Mom said. She held her arms out. “Come on, kids. Photo time.”
The twins were at her side in a heartbeat. I stood up, crossed the room and positioned myself behind them, so that I’d only be visible from the chest up. Mom smiled at me. I gave her a halfhearted smile back.
At least she hadn’t noticed that I wasn’t wearing the antennae headband.
Ten
SHORTLY AFTER NOON, Curtis dropped us all off in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery. I was carrying a canvas bag full of flyers to hand out. We’d printed them out three to a page and cut them apart. You could tell which ones the twins had cut because they were a little wonky. There was a picture of a bee in flight at the top, and our website link at the bottom. In between was a long list of facts about what was happening to the bees.
“Over here, I think,” Mom said. She had a bag of props with her juggling stuff in it and a couple of big poster boards. “Let’s set up right here.” She gestured at the large paved area where we were standing, at the base of a flight of wide stone steps.
I looked up at the two huge stone lions that seemed to guard the gallery and at the big pillars by the gallery doors. “Are we allowed to?”
“Wolf, really?” She laughed. “Such a rule follower.”
She made it sound like a bad thing. “I just wondered,” I said.
“Yeah, it’ll be fine,” she said. “There are lots of protests here—the steps are famous for it.”
“Okay.” I handed a bunch of flyers to Saffron and a bunch to Whisper. Saffron promptly dropped hers, and the wind caught them and started blowing them down the sidewalk. I muttered a rude word under my breath and took off after the flying papers. By the time I’d managed to chase them down, Mom and Violet had the poster-board display all set up, and a couple of curious pedestrians had stopped to see what we were up to.
“Here,” I told Saffron, returning her flyers to her. “Hold on tight, okay?”
She nodded, pink cheeked from the chilly breeze. Beside her, twisting the flyers in her hand, Whisper looked wide-eyed and frightened.
“Just stay together, okay?” I told them. “And don’t go anywhere—Whisper, quit crumpling the papers—just stay right here. Probably no one is even going to come and watch anyway.” Curtis was supposed to come back for us at two o’clock—he was going to drive around to a bunch of Chinese restaurants and collect used cooking oil to fuel the van—and I wondered what we’d do for two hours if no one showed up. Would Mom do her whole show anyway, juggling routine and all? Or would we just stand around, getting cold and looking dumb in our bee costumes?
“Hey, hey,” a low voice said behind me.
I turned. Ty was standing there, hands
“Me too,” I said, but Mom was already gone.
Eva looked at me. “You okay, kiddo?”
“Yeah.” I couldn’t look at her. “Fine.”
“When I was your age, there was no way I could have done what you’re doing,” she said. “Seriously. I was way too self-conscious. So kudos to you, Wolf.”
“Not like I have much choice,” I muttered.
“Sure you do. Jade’s not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do.” She tilted her head. “Right?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. I guess.”
Eva looked like she was about to say something else, but Saffron tugged on her arm and she turned away. I sat down on the couch, holding a cushion against my stomach. The shirt was so snug that you could see the indentation where my belly button was.
A minute later Mom came flying back in. She was wearing black-and-yellow-striped tights, a short black skirt and a black top with long dangly sleeves. Wire-stiff wings fanned out behind her, and two long black antennae stuck up from the top of her head.
“Yowza,” Violet said. “That’s quite the outfit, Jade.”
Mom spun around, showing off. “What do you think, Eva?”
“Gorgeous. And you’ll certainly attract attention,” Eva said.
“That’s the idea,” Mom said. She held her arms out. “Come on, kids. Photo time.”
The twins were at her side in a heartbeat. I stood up, crossed the room and positioned myself behind them, so that I’d only be visible from the chest up. Mom smiled at me. I gave her a halfhearted smile back.
At least she hadn’t noticed that I wasn’t wearing the antennae headband.
Ten
SHORTLY AFTER NOON, Curtis dropped us all off in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery. I was carrying a canvas bag full of flyers to hand out. We’d printed them out three to a page and cut them apart. You could tell which ones the twins had cut because they were a little wonky. There was a picture of a bee in flight at the top, and our website link at the bottom. In between was a long list of facts about what was happening to the bees.
“Over here, I think,” Mom said. She had a bag of props with her juggling stuff in it and a couple of big poster boards. “Let’s set up right here.” She gestured at the large paved area where we were standing, at the base of a flight of wide stone steps.
I looked up at the two huge stone lions that seemed to guard the gallery and at the big pillars by the gallery doors. “Are we allowed to?”
“Wolf, really?” She laughed. “Such a rule follower.”
She made it sound like a bad thing. “I just wondered,” I said.
“Yeah, it’ll be fine,” she said. “There are lots of protests here—the steps are famous for it.”
“Okay.” I handed a bunch of flyers to Saffron and a bunch to Whisper. Saffron promptly dropped hers, and the wind caught them and started blowing them down the sidewalk. I muttered a rude word under my breath and took off after the flying papers. By the time I’d managed to chase them down, Mom and Violet had the poster-board display all set up, and a couple of curious pedestrians had stopped to see what we were up to.
“Here,” I told Saffron, returning her flyers to her. “Hold on tight, okay?”
She nodded, pink cheeked from the chilly breeze. Beside her, twisting the flyers in her hand, Whisper looked wide-eyed and frightened.
“Just stay together, okay?” I told them. “And don’t go anywhere—Whisper, quit crumpling the papers—just stay right here. Probably no one is even going to come and watch anyway.” Curtis was supposed to come back for us at two o’clock—he was going to drive around to a bunch of Chinese restaurants and collect used cooking oil to fuel the van—and I wondered what we’d do for two hours if no one showed up. Would Mom do her whole show anyway, juggling routine and all? Or would we just stand around, getting cold and looking dumb in our bee costumes?
“Hey, hey,” a low voice said behind me.
I turned. Ty was standing there, hands
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