Trouble in the Trees
Trouble
in the
Trees
Y
OLANDA
R
IDGE
ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS
Text copyright © 2011 Yolanda Ridge
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Ridge, Yolanda, 1973-
Trouble in the trees / Yolanda Ridge.
 (Orca young readers)
Issued also in electronic format.
ISBN 978-1-55469-385-6
I. Title. II. Series: Orca young readers
PS 8635.I374T76 2011 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â JC813'.6 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â C2010-907918-3
First published in the United States, 2011
Library of Congress Control Number
: 2010941959
Summary
: When tree climbing is banned at her townhouse complex,
Bree assumes a new role in her community: activist and advocate.
Orca Book Publishers is dedicated to preserving the environment and has printed this book
on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
Typesetting by Jasmine Devonshire
Cover artwork by Pete Ferguson
| ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS PO B OX 5626, Stn. B Victoria, BC Canada V8R 6s4 | ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS PO B OX 468 Custer, WA USA 98240-0468 |
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Printed and bound in Canada.
14 13 12 11 ⢠4 3 2 1
In memory of my dad,
who always encouraged me to climb to the top.
Contents
I stood on the branch and reached up. It was too dangerous to go up on my tiptoes, so I arched my back and stretched my arms as far as they could go. Up. Up. Up. Just a little higherâ¦
“Brianna Bridges!” Mom's voice shot up from below. “Get down right now.”
I lost my balance.
Tumbling forward, I barely managed to grab the trunk of the tree with my outstretched arms. My legs automatically swung forward and wrapped around a branch I couldn't see but knew was there. I looked down and tried to catch my breath.
“Mom! Don't freak out! I'm fine,” I called back. Under my breath I added, “At least I was until you showed up.”
“Now, Brianna.” I could just see Mom through the leaves. She was standing with her feet apart and her arms crossed. She didn't have anything with her except a folded piece of paper, which stuck out from underneath her armpit. A branch blocked my view of her face, but I knew by the tone of her voice that she was wearing her
I mean business
expressionâthe one that makes her eyebrows scrunch together so tight that the space between them disappears.
“But, Mom, I'm almost at the top,” I said, even though I knew this was an argument I wasn't going to win.
“I know. Come down. Now.”
“Oh, Mom⦔ I sighed loudly.
As slowly as possible, I worked my way out of the tree I referred to as Mount Everest. Why did she have to show up just as I was making progress?
“We need to talk,” Mom said when my feet finally hit the ground.
“Do we have to talk now? I was almost at the top.”
“You're going to have to take a break from tree climbing.” She uncrossed her arms and waved the piece of paper in front of my face. “A long break.”
“But I need to get to the top of every tree in Cedar Grove.”
“You may want to, but you don't need to.”
“No, I need to. Tyler doesn't think I can do it, and I know I can.” I rolled my eyes. I shouldn't have to explain this to her. Again. Mom knew all about the rivalry between me and Tyler.
“I don't understand why you're so worried about Tyler. You already know that you're the stronger climber.” Mom shook her head as she spoke.
“But I need to make sure that he knows it too.” I glanced over toward Tyler's bedroom window, which faced the Cedar Grove courtyard and the trees. I didn't want Tyler to overhear me talking about him. And I really didn't want him to know that I gave our rivalry a second thought. That would be bad.
“We're going in. It's time for lunch anyway,” Mom replied. She was already walking away.
“Was that the talk we
needed
to have?” I followed her, knowing I had no choice.
“No,” she said. “Your dad needs to be in on that one.”
As we walked through the front door of our townhouse, Mom said, “You'll never guess where I found her, Steven.”
Dad smiled at me from the kitchen. “Up a tree?”
I smiled back at him and nodded.
“If it's got branches, Bree's going to climb it,” Dad said as he put a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches on the table.
Mom frowned, but the rest of her face softened as she stood next to Dad, putting one hand on his back and showing him the piece of paper with the other.
“Right,” Dad said. The laugh lines on his face disappeared.
“What's this all about?” I said as I sat down at the table. The smell of fried bread and melted cheese made me realize I was starving. I'd been climbing all morning.
“It's about this notice,” Mom said.
“I kinda figured,” I said. “Has the school finally written to tell you that a child as brilliant as me doesn't need to attend classes regularly? Or did CTV see me climbing and write to ask permission to feature me in an upcoming segment of
Percy's Prospects
?” I smothered my sandwich with ketchup and took a big bite.
Dad, who normally laughed at my attempts at humor, kept his mouth straight. “You're not going to like this, Bree.”
“So, what is it?” I asked, swallowing hard. “You guys are acting even weirder than usual.”
“It's a notice from the council,” Dad answered.
I rolled my eyes. Boring. The Cedar Grove Neighborhood Council was always sending us something. New rules, regulations, remindersâ¦all aimed at making it easier for a large number of people to live so close together. Or so they said. Personally, I was tired of all the bylaws made up by old people who didn't remember what it was like to be a kid.
Last year, the council made it illegal for anyone under sixteen to be in the weight room without adult supervision. That hadn't bothered me too much, but it sure bugged Tyler, who was always trying to hang out with the teenagers. Then they expanded the bylaw to include other common areas, making a bunch of us mad because we could no longer play hide and seek in the storage room or race our skateboards on the smooth, wide asphalt of the parking garage.
I didn't think there was anything left for them to ban. The notice was of no interest to me. I took another big bite of sandwich.
“There's a new bylaw, Brianna,” Mom said.
“Surprise, surprise,” I mumbled, not looking up from my lunch.
“It's a bylaw against tree climbing.”
Now she had my attention.
I took a sip of milk so I wouldn't choke on my sandwich. “What do you mean, a bylaw against tree climbing?”