On Monday morning, Mrs. Maki, our fifth-grade teacher, announced that our class was going to start a recycling team. She planned to hold an essay contest to choose the leader. Students who were interested could write a paper explaining their strengths. With a surge of excitement, I started scribbling down ideas in my notebook. I thought, I am a recycling expert!
At lunchtime, I sat at a cafeteria table with my friends Mia and Wyatt. As they began their lunches, I told them, “I really want to be the recycling team leader; I know tons of stuff about recycling. Last summer, I helped my Uncle Roy set up a recycling station at his café—did you know that recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to power a computer for thirty minutes? Do you think I should include facts like that in my essay?”
Finally, I paused for a moment. That is when I noticed Mia and Wyatt exchange a glance.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, confused. “Don’t you want to help me?”
Mia tugged on her ear for a moment before she explained. “Devon, I’m working on my own essay; I would like to be the leader too.”
For a moment, her news startled me, but I swiftly found my voice again. “I know much more about recycling than you,” I argued assertively. “I even did a report on recycling for the science fair.”
Mia’s eyes flashed, but before she could reply, Wyatt interrupted us.
“You should both save your breath,” he said calmly. “Mrs. Maki is the one who will pick the leader. Now let’s finish eating.”
“Fine,” I muttered, and I bit into my sandwich again. Suddenly, it tasted like sawdust.
That week, I did not share any of my recycling expertise with Mia. However, in the end, she did not need my tips. On Friday, Mrs. Maki announced that Mia would be the team leader. I plastered a smile on my face, but I felt like crying.
After school, I managed to mumble my congratulations to Mia. Then I climbed on the bus with Wyatt, relieved to escape.
“I don’t think I want to join the recycling team anymore,” I told him as we sat down.
Wyatt turned and gave me a disappointed look. “Do you care about recycling or only about being a leader?”
I hung my head. “You’re right—I should still join,” I sighed. Wyatt probably would have made a great team leader too. He knew how to steer people in the right direction.
On Monday, Mia named our recycling group the R-Team and exploded into action. With Mrs. Maki’s guidance, she ordered several recycling bins, each a different color, so we could easily sort and separate our materials. Then she asked our team to help her make a schedule for rinsing the food containers we collected in the cafeteria. With a smile, she invited us to share our ideas too.
A week later, after our bins arrived, the R-Team discovered that some students ignored the colors and accidentally tossed their trash into the wrong bins. So Mia asked Camille, an artist in our class, to design bold posters that explained what went into each bin. As the days passed, Mia jotted down little notes and left them on our desks to tell us we were doing a great job. I have to admit that her messages made me smile. In fact, by the end of the second week, Mia had recruited every member of our class to join the R-Team.
One Friday afternoon, as Mia and I finished rinsing some cartons in the cafeteria kitchen, I finally told her, “You’re doing a great job. You’re organized and you motivate people.”
Mia’s smile was so wide it took over her whole face. “I’m glad you think so because I need your help with something special,” she said, “and I wasn’t sure you would agree.”
My head tilted to one side as I dried my hands. “What is it?” I asked curiously.
“I wondered whether you would put together a computer slideshow about the R-Team that explains why recycling is important,” Mia explained. “You’re great with reports, and you know so many cool facts.”
Instantly, I felt a bubble of excitement. I did love creating presentations, and this one would be about my favorite subject. “Who would watch it?” I asked.
“We could show it to the other elementary classes,” Mia said. “I’ve met a few kids who seem interested, and this might encourage them to start their own R-Teams or join our team.”
I nodded, suddenly realizing Mia’s best quality of all: she made use of everyone’s abilities.
“I’ll start working on that slideshow tonight,” I told Mia as we walked out of the cafeteria. I felt excited to have my own important role. By working together, we could turn our whole school into an R-Team.