“Well, that was flattering,” Marissa said as we headed down to the storage room to meet the janitor and check out the ladders and painting supplies.

  “At least her expectations aren't too high.”

  Marissa laughed. “Yeah, I'm pretty good at meeting people's low expectations.”

  I wanted to ask her why that was, but we needed to get busy if we were going to put more volunteers to work tomorrow. And to my relief, Marissa actually knew how to work hard. By the end of the day, Marissa had gotten the paints, and I had managed to get a fair amount of the sketch onto the lower part of the wall.

  “Nice work, boss,” Marissa said after we'd put the supplies away and stood looking at the beginning of our mural.

  “Same back at you.” And I have to admit that I was kind of excited to see how this whole thing would turn out. And hopefully more people will show up to help tomorrow.

  Maya's Green Tip for the Day

  Don't pour harmful wastes down public waterways. Storm drains on public streets are for rainwater to run off so the streets don't flood. They're not a convenient way for people to get rid of chemicals or solvents or even the bucket of soapy water after you wash your car. Unless you use bio-friendly car-wash detergent, which I highly recommend. You need to respect that the water that runs off our streets eventually winds up in streams and waterways and can harm innocent fish or other marine wildlife. So don't use your street drain as a dumping spot.

  June 10

  As it turned out, we had a crew of seven workers this morning. Okay, not first thing. But by the time Marissa and I had gotten the ladders and scaffolding in place, the other five had arrived, and we put them to work applying paint. I was sketching fast, trying to get the outline of the mural onto the wall, with Marissa following me, chalking in numbers that we had pre-matched with colors for our painters to fill in.

  “It's a kind of paint-by-number thing,” I explained, trying not to stare at the odd assortment of volunteers. First there was Spencer, a hard-case dude with a reputation for all kinds of stuff, and his buddy Jake, who still has some rough edges himself, although he's a Christian. And then we had three clean-cut, preppy-looking church kids that Caitlin had managed to talk into helping us. To my dismay, Dominic was not among them. However, one of these kids turned out to be a quiet but hard-working guy named Matt Stephens. How he got mixed up with the other two, a couple of airheaded girls, was a mystery.

  Okay, I know it's wrong to call Brooke Marshall and Amanda Groves airheads, but even though they're part of the youth group, they're not exactly the kind of girls I've been dying to get to know better. Unfortunately, they remind me of Kim's buddy Natalie. Meaning they talk too much, have opinions that I don't necessarily agree with, and seem to think they are better than everyone else. Okay, that's my honest take on it. And this is my diary, so I can say what I like!

  Anyway, by noon it seemed that our ground crew of five painters was making progress. The color was going up, and despite Brooke and Amanda questioning stupid things like whether number seven was fuchsia or magenta, we were doing okay. Matt was a pretty fast painter, and Jake seemed willing to work, but Spencer acted like this was supposed to be a big party, and he spent most of his time harassing either Marissa or me (or perhaps he thought he was flirting). He kept a safe distance from the “church girls,” as he called them. And naturally, they were quick to point out anything that Spencer was doing wrong. Of course, he made this easy for them. And I suppose I don't really blame him. Brooke and Amanda seemed to invite it.

  But tonight as I write this, I'm a little concerned. I'm wondering, as a Christian, whether it's wrong to have bad feelings toward other Christians. There's no denying that Brooke and Amanda are Christians. They've made that pretty clear. But at the same time, I don't really want to be associated with them. And then I feel guilty. I guess I'll have to ask Caitlin for some clarification on this. Because the truth is, Brooke and Amanda make me want to run in the opposite direction or maybe just scream some loud obscenity like Spencer does.

  “Don't use the Lord's name in vain,” Brooke corrected him—over and over today. And it seemed that the more she said this, the worse he got.

  “Hey, Spencer,” I called. “Maybe you should come up here and work.” I thought some space between him and the church girls might help.

  His eyes lit up. “Yeah, babe, I'd like that.”

  “Great.” I climbed down the ladder. “Go for it.”

  “I thought we were both going to be working up there.”

  “Like you really wanted to work with her,” scolded Amanda. “We know what you are up to.”

  And so it went. Oh, it's not just that these girls seemed afraid to get their hands dirty or break a nail—although that was the case at first. But they had this superior attitude. I'm not sure if it's because they're Christians or because they just honestly believe they're better than the rest of us, but it was like they were doing us this huge favor by lowering themselves to help out today. Such saintly servants of the Lord. Really, someone should've just handed them their crowns and sent them packing. Quite honestly, I hope they don't come back tomorrow. And unfortunately, I have no doubt that Marissa feels the same.

  Anyway, it was a relief to call it a day. Although even that started another disagreement. “Don't pour that down there!” I yelled at Brooke. She was about to pour a bucket of sludgy paint water down the street grate.

  “What?” She looked up in surprise.

  “There's paint in there.”

  “So?”

  “So that grate is for rainwater runoff.”

  “So?” Now she gave me a defiant stare.

  “So the paint in there will harm fish and plant life.”

  Brooke just laughed, and before I could stop her, she poured it down.

  “Brooke! What are you doing?”

  “The fish won't mind a little paint in—”

  “That is so wrong!” I went over and looked down on her. She's this petite little blond thing (a gymnast, she's told us several times). “Don't ever do that again. Do you understand?”

  “Don't get so worked up, Maya.” But she took a couple of steps back like she thought I was going to hit her. Okay, maybe I felt like hitting her, but I would never do something like that.

  “And quit being so mean to Brooke.” This came from Amanda, who was standing by her friend now.

  “I'm not being mean,” I said as calmly as I could. “I just think we should show some respect for the environment.”

  Brooke laughed. “What are you? Some kind of environmental freak? A green bean?”

  “A tree-hugger?” added Amanda.

  Well, all I could do was just walk away. Still, I plan to stand my ground on not contaminating the environment. To my surprise, Marissa, Spencer, and Jake all backed me on this—although it's possible that it was simply their way of standing against Brooke and Amanda. I think Matt was afraid to say anything. Mostly I'm hoping that Brooke and Amanda won't show tomorrow.

  After Marissa dropped me at Kim and my uncle's house (I still have a hard time calling it home, although I want to), I was still feeling grumpy. And when I saw Kim putting something in the garbage can, well, I kind of lost it.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Huh?” Her dark eyes grew large. “Taking out the trash.”

  “But is that really trash?” I pulled an empty tomato soup can off the top of the bag in her hands. “This can be recycled.”

  She shrugged. “Yes, I know that.”

  “And this.” I grabbed an empty peanut butter jar.

  “Yes…” She frowned.

  “And these newspapers?” I pulled a section of the news out, sending garbage tumbling onto the garage floor. “I can use these to compost with.” I've already been scavenging items for the compost station out in the garden. Although my uncle has been forgetting and throwing his used coffee grounds down the sink. But this morning I told him that coffee grounds can mess up his plumbing, and he seemed to listen.

  Kim made a face at me. “Looks like I've been arrested by the EP.”

  “EP?”

  “Environmental Police.” She set down the garbage bag. “Do you plan to lock me up, or can I get off with just a fine?”

  I forced a smile. “Sorry, I guess I came on a little strong.” Then I told her about Brooke. “I guess I'm hypersensitive today.” I looked down at the spilled trash. “And this is your house. I really don't have any—”

  “Look, Maya…” Kim paused. “You're absolutely right to care about the environment. And I totally agree with you.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. Except that recycling takes time. And I work all day. And then there are household chores and dinner and—”

  “And I should help out more,” I said, feeling guilty.

  “No, you've been helping a lot.”

  “How about I take over the trash detail? I could separate recyclables and make a system that's easy for everyone to use.”

  She nodded. “That would be awesome, Maya. I'm sure Dad would appreciate it too.”

  So that's just what I did. And it probably sounds crazy to some people, but getting everything all organized actually felt really good to me. Okay, maybe it was one small step for Maya Stark, but it was one giant leap for the Peterson household—and not bad for the environment either. To start with, I retrieved several old five-gallon buckets from my aunt's garden shed. I cleaned them up and clearly labeled them. One for glass. One for metal. One for soda cans that can be returned to the store for a refund. One for newspapers. Then I called the garbage service to find out if and when they pick up these things. As it turned out, they don't. And I thought that was wrong. So I approached my uncle.

  “I can't believe your town doesn't encourage recycling,” I said as I showed him my new system. “Lots of sanitation businesses offer special boxes for their customers to use to separate their recyclables.”

  To my surprise he wholeheartedly agreed with me. And he appreciated that I'd set them up to recycle. “Maybe there's a way we can encourage this through the newspaper,” he said. “Because you're right. We need to catch up with the times here.”

  And so, despite the irritation of people like Brooke Marshall, I am feeling hopeful. There are people who are concerned about the planet. And really, shouldn't Christians be extra concerned? I mean, they know the God who created the planet. Doesn't that make them want to take special care of it?

  Maya's Green Tip for the Day

  It's easy to create your own home recycling center. First, decide where to put it and determine how much room you have. Then find some containers large enough to hold your recyclables. I recommend containers that are washable like garbage cans or wastebaskets, but you can use a cardboard box or grocery sack lined with a plastic trash bag. Clearly mark the containers: Glass, Metal, Newspapers, Redeemable Containers, Reusable Bags. The keys to making this work are a handy location, clearly marked containers, and diligence.

  June 11

  Today, the third day of the mural project, my patience wore extremely thin. Not only were Brooke and Amanda making me miserable, but they also managed to drive off Spencer and Jake. Now I'm not terribly surprised that Spencer left, since he didn't really seem to get the work ethic, plus he wasn't making any headway with Marissa or me. But I was disappointed that these two girls were able to offend Jake. Because he is actually a Christian too. I'm pretty sure he got fed up with their “preaching” and as a result never returned after our lunch break. Who could blame him after they actually questioned his faith?

  “Why do you have that evil-looking tattoo?” Brooke asked when Jake rolled up his sleeve and she caught sight of the dragon image on his arm.

  “What makes it evil?” Marissa paused from mixing a can of paint and glared at Brooke. “I happen to think dragons are pretty cool.”

  “Yuck,” Amanda said. “Dragons are a sign of the devil.”

  “Says who?” Jake said.

  I was perched on a piece of scaffolding, trying to focus on my sketching. Not that it was easy to ignore them.

  “Everyone knows that dragons are satanic,” Brooke said. “The Bible says so.”

  “Where in the Bible does it say that?” Jake said.

  “I don't know where exactly,” spouted Brooke. “I just know it's there.”

  “Besides,” Amanda said, “I can't imagine why anyone would want a dragon permanently imprinted on his body.”

  “Or any image, for that matter,” Brooke added. “Tattoos are evil.”

  “So dragons are evil, and tattoos are evil,” Jake said. “Does that mean I'm evil too?”

  “It means you're inviting evil in,” Amanda declared.

  “How can you possibly know that?” I questioned from up high. I glanced at Marissa now. She just rolled her eyes and dabbed on a spot of magenta. But suddenly I wanted to apologize to her for questioning her dragon sketch on Monday. In fact, I almost wished we had decided to use it after all. Brooke and Amanda certainly wouldn't have offered to help with something that “evil.”

  “Because it's obvious,” Brooke said. “Just look at dragons, and you'll know they're evil.”

  “Who made you the expert on dragons?” I shot down at them. “And what about Puff the magic dragon? Was he evil?” Then I started loudly singing the old folk song, and Marissa and Jake joined in with me, and I hoped that would be the end of it. But as soon as we stopped singing for lack of lyrics, Brooke started in again.

  “You see?” she said in that superior tone. “Puff was magic, and everyone knows that magic is evil.”

  “Where do you come up with this stuff?” I demanded, ready to engage.

  “It's a well-known fact that dragons and magic and witches and all those things are evil,” declared Amanda.

  Fortunately, it was around noon by then, and Matt, who until then hadn't said a word, suggested we take a lunch break. I was actually hoping that Brooke and Amanda would be offended enough by our dragon position to call it a day and not come back. But as I mentioned, it was Jake and Spencer who didn't return. And for Jake's sake, and ours, I felt sorry.

  “If we weren't so desperate to get this project done, I'd tell those two girls to take a hike,” Marissa whispered as we both stood on the scaffolding scrutinizing the mural's progress this afternoon. I was drawing, and she was following behind me, keying in the paint colors. Our new time-saving strategy was to sketch the outlines, then put dots of color so the “painters” knew what color to paint the various shapes. So far, other than religious differences, it all seemed to be turning out just fine.

  “I know,” I muttered. “And if it makes you feel any better, I'm sorry I called in the church people.”

  “See, you should've listened to me.”

  “But Matt is nice.”

  “I think he's an anomaly.”

  “And me?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Both of you.”

  “Another thing,” I said quietly. “I'm sorry about something else.”

  “What?”

  “That I rejected your dragon suggestion.”

  She snickered. “Can you imagine Brooke and Amanda painting that evil image?”

  “My point exactly.” I glanced down to where the preacher girls were working on a section of varying shades of purple.

  Marissa shrugged. “Well, whether we like them or not, they've actually turned out to be fairly good painters.”

  “I suppose.”

  “So if we can just avoid talking about dragons and witches, maybe we'll survive this and be done with it in a few more days.”

  “Hello up there,” called a guy's voice.

  I looked down to see Dominic and another guy I didn't recognize waving at us.

  “Dominic!” Brooke ran over and threw herself at him in a big hug. “I'm so glad you came.”

  Okay, I have to wonder why some girls think it's acceptable to literally throw themselves at a guy that way. Is it because they're cute and petite and assume that every guy can't wait to get his arms around them? I'm just not comfortable acting like that. Plus there's always the chance for rejection.

  But Amanda was right there too, hugging Dominic with equal enthusiasm and warmly greeting his friend, who was actually rather good-looking too. Not as handsome as Dominic, who could pass for a young Johnny Depp with blue eyes, although I think Dominic's taller.

  “Are you guys here to help us?”

  “You bet,” Dominic said. “Hey, Maya, how's it going?”

  “Pretty good. You're really here to paint?”

  “Of course,” Brooke said in that I-know-it-all voice. “I'm the one who called and invited him in the first place.”

  “And this is my new friend, Eddie Valdez.” Dominic introduced Eddie to everyone, including Marissa, which surprised me. I didn't know Dominic actually knew her by name. “Eddie's family just moved next door to us. And I coerced him to come and help with this project.”

  “Cool,” Brooke said. “We're in need of some good workers.”

  I wanted to point out this was only because she and Amanda had driven the others away, but I managed to bite my tongue. Still, as the afternoon wore on, it wasn't easy to keep my thoughts to myself. From the way Brooke spoke to Dominic and Eddie, you'd have assumed that she was in charge of the entire project. It's like she wanted to take the credit for everything. And that irked me.

  “The children who use this building are really going to like this mural,” she said when Dominic complimented the design. “It's colorful and fun, and of course you probably know that the rainbow is a Christian symbol.”

  “What's that you're saying about the rainbow?” Marissa said from up high on the scaffolding.

  “That it's a religious symbol,” Brooke said. “Surely you know that.”

  “I know that it's a symbol used by the homosexual community,” Marissa said in a slightly smug voice. “Also there's the human rights Rainbow Coalition.”

  “Well, that's only because they stole it from the church.”