The Mighty Quinn (27 page)

Quinn dropped one pebble over the railing. He closed
his fist around the rest. “What was it like, in Spokane? I bet it was tons more interesting than Hillsboro.”

“Not really.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Sometimes. I miss biking out to the Spokane River with my parents, to this place with huge rocks that look like a giant's teeth that are all piled up in the riverbed. They were from a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago, I looked it up. I miss taking the bus over to Idaho, to Coeur d'Alene Lake. Logs from the old sawmills would float down the streams into the lake. You could ride the logs and pretend they were Viking warships.

“I miss my friend Divyesh and my best friend, Kate. Divyesh's family was from India, and their house smelled like spicy tomato and cream sauces. His mom would draw these beautiful, swirly patterns on my hands, with special ink that lasted for a week. Kate had a tree house in her front yard, and she loved going to the movies. She'd go to any movie you wanted to see, even if she'd already seen it three times. I
don't
miss Randall Harper. Every day at school he ate those disgusting cheese puff things for lunch, and he chewed with his mouth open so you could see his orange-stained teeth. Kate said he had a crush on me. Ga-
ROSS
.”

“I don't think I could ever move to a new town,” Quinn said.

“You could if you had to. It's not like it's up to the kids. If your mom or dad changed jobs, you'd have to
go.” Neally tossed a pebble far out into the creek. “I wasn't happy about it, when my parents told me we were moving. I looked up Hillsboro in one of our atlases. I
had
to look it up—who's heard of Hillsboro? I read about the weather and the geography. Mom said I'd like it, that I'd meet new friends and have new adventures.”

“Grownups think they know everything.” Quinn flashed Neally a wicked grin. “That's what some know-it-all told me.”

“They do know
some
things.” Neally arched her eyebrow. “Not everything, but some things. They knew I didn't want to leave Divyesh and Kate, especially Kate, even though I never said anything about it. Then one day Mom told me that in Hillsboro there was a best friend that I hadn't met yet.” Neally jiggled the pebbles in her hand. “Isn't it amazing? Someone you didn't even know was telling me about you.”

Quinn felt a familiar warmth ascending from his chest to his neck. He knew that in a few seconds the redness would spread to his face, and for the first time in his life he didn't care that anyone who looked at him would know that he was blushing. “Aye and always.” Quinn squeezed his fist tight around the remaining pebbles in his hand.

“What's that?” Neally asked.

“Aye and Always. It's an Irish saying. It means ...” Quinn chuckled. “It means, ‘Aye and always.'”

Neally began to hum a tune that sounded vaguely
familiar to Quinn, but he couldn't quite place it. Then he remembered Neally and her father, sitting in their kitchen.

“All oldies all the time.” Quinn shook his head. “You and your dad have
got
to find another radio station.”

“The Mighty Quinn.” Neally smiled slyly.

Quinn pointed up at the sky. “Do you see that one?”

” Neally continued humming.

“The big one on the left. It's the most awesome cloud you'll ever see. If you don't look soon, it'll change in a minute.”

“How do you know that?” Neally asked.

“A best friend told me.”

Quinn opened his fist, releasing his handful of pebbles into the creek, and the most perfect water rings in the world rippled out to infinity.

THE END

Ask a few of these and let the conversation begin!

1.
    
Neally and Sam, using evidence and applying principles of logical thinking, proved Matt′s accusation against Quinn to be false. Have you ever been falsely accused? How did the accusation make you feel? Were you able to prove that the accusation was false, and if so, how?

2.
    
What does it mean to be tolerant, or to practice tolerance? How is having tolerance for a person or an idea different than respecting a person or an idea?

3.
    
Friends and classmates often tease or play pranks and practical jokes on each other. When do such acts cross the line into cruelty or bullying?

4.
    
Bullies often try to avoid taking responsibility for their actions by blaming their victims (“Why are you so sensitive?” “It's not serious—can't you take a joke?” “He was asking for it, he_______!”). Who is responsible for their own behavior—the bully, the victim, or some combination?

5.
    
Some people criticize so-called “green” or “do-gooder” deeds. They say a small action like recycling makes you self-satisfied and smug, and is a distraction from dealing with wider or more difficult issues. (“I pick up aluminum cans at the park, so it doesn′t matter that much if I drive two blocks to the store instead of walking or taking the bus.”) What do you think?

Here are some projects and activities to do at home and in your community

1.
    
Clean up your community park or playground.
Just like Quinn and his class did, you can volunteer to pick up trash in your community. You can even get your friends and family involved. Make sure you contact your local Parks and Recreation Department first to see if you are required to follow any guidelines or have a permit. You might even be able to get local businesses to donate money for garbage bags, gloves, and other materials.

2.
    
Grow your own garden.
Neally's family has a greenhouse where they grow many different kinds of vegetables. Growing your own fruits and vegetables is a great way to promote sustainability. Just make sure that the plants are able to survive in the zone that you live in and that you follow their needs for water and sunlight.

3.
    
Donate items you no longer need.
You can donate items like clothing, toys, books, or games that you are no longer using to local shelters and donation centers. Encourage your friends and family to look for items that they could donate as well.

find more online at
quinnresources.scarlettapress.com

Robyn Parnell's fiction, essays, and poems have appeared in ninety books, magazines, anthologies, and journals. Publishing credits also include her book of short fiction,
This Here and
Now
, and a children's picture book,
My Closet Threw a Party
.

Parnell lives and writes in Hillsboro, Oregon (city motto:
Yeah, we're not Portland, but at least we're not Oxnard
.). She shares her life with one husband, two children, four cats, one bearded dragon, one corn snake, one ball python, one goldfish, and innumerable dust bunnies.

Katie and Aaron DeYoe met while studying graphic design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. They are both full-time graphic designers and spend their free time drawing, doodling, painting, and printing. They also enjoy riding their serendipitously matching red Schwinns around Minneapolis.