Trouble in the Trees Read online

  Trouble in the Trees

  YOLANDA RIDGE

  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 JC813’.6 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 BOX 5626, Stn. B

  Victoria, BC Canada

  V8R 6s4 ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS

  PO BOX 468

  Custer, WA USA

  98240-0468

  www.orcabook.com

  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

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 1

  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 higher…

  “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 expression—the 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, reminders…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.

  Chapter 2

  I took a sip of milk so I wouldn’t choke on my sandwich. “What do you mean, a bylaw against tree climbing?”

  “Looks like the other residents of Cedar Grove are as worried about your tree climbing as I am.” Mom was still frowning.

  Jumping up from my chair, I grabbed the piece of paper off the table. It looked exactly like all the other notices the council sent out.

  Dear Residents of Cedar Grove,

  This notice is to inform you of a new interim bylaw recently approved by the Cedar Grove Neighborhood Council.

  Bylaw 47.21: Tree climbing, defined as any activity consisting of ascending and moving around in one or more trees, is prohibited on Cedar Grove property unless performed by a certified arborist.

  All trees within the property line of the Cedar Grove Townhouse Complex are governed by this bylaw.

  Please note that this new bylaw is effective immediately. As per Neighborhood Council procedure, this interim bylaw will be ratified at the upcoming Annual General Meeting. In the meantime, any resident found in violation of the bylaw will be fined in accordance with the Neighborhood Act.

  Thank you for your attention to this matter.

  Sincerely,

  Cedar Grove Neighborhood Council

  I was stunned. I read the notice twice. No more tree climbing? I was pretty sure that’s what they were trying to say. This must be a joke.

  “I’m still not sure the council can do that,” Dad said.

  “Well, I’m sure they can. It’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt climbing those trees,” Mom said.

  “But that’s what kids do. They climb trees,” Dad replied. “What’s next—a ban on hide-and-go-seek? Or tag?”

  “It’s dangerous, Steven! I keep saying that! Why aren’t you listening to me?” Mom took a step away from Dad and crossed her arms, signaling that the case was closed. Mom and Dad didn’t like to disagree, and they worked hard at what they called “united parenting.” A little too hard, in my opinion.

  I chewed slowly through the rest of my lunch, even though my appetite was gone. How could I stop climbing trees? My mind started racing, trying to think of other places where I could climb. Problem was, we lived right in the middle of Vancouver, one of the most populated cities in Canada, where lots of people were crammed into a small area surrounded by the ocean and the mountains. There weren’t a lot of climbable trees around. The ones in the park by the school were all skinny and small. The ones lining the Fraser River pathway had all been trimmed so the lowest branches were too high to reach. And the trees in the field between Cedar Grove and the neighboring townhouse complex? Well, now there weren’t any trees there at all. They had been chopped down to make room for the adults to play Ultimate Frisbee.

  While I was eating and thinking, I heard the sounds of a street hockey game starting up. Nets were dragged into the street. Hockey sticks scraped against the cement. I went to the window and saw that Tyler and his sidekick, Michael, had already separated everyone into teams. Five players for the Blues. Four players for the Reds.

  Over the noise of the hockey game I could hear some girls skipping and chanting: “Ice-cream sundae, banana split. Salina’s got a boyfriend, who is it? A! B! C!…”

  There were five girls, all younger than me, that I privately referred to as the Cedar Grove Girly-Girls. They were always—I mean ALWAYS—skipping. I often went to bed at night with the sound of their rhymes ringing in my head. And all their favorite rhymes were about boyfriends. I had no idea why. I had no interest in boys whatsoever. Not in that way.

  I didn’t have any interest in skipping either. After about five minutes, I found it boring. All you had to do was jump. Over and over and over again. There was no thinking involved. I guess that’s why they spent so much time coming up with those rhymes. And since I wasn’t very good at rhyming, I didn’t spend much time with the Cedar Grove Girly-Girls.

  On the other hand, I loved playing sports with the boys who lived in Cedar Grove. There were always enough people around to start up a game of something. It was the best part about living in a complex like Cedar Grove. The worst part was that everyone always seemed to know all your business.

  Leaving the rest of my lunch untouched, I ran to get my shoes so I could join the Reds. They didn’t really need another player. Michael was so good at hockey I was sure he could beat all five Blues on his own. But I was anxious for the distraction.

  “Hey, Bree,” Ethan, Cedar Grove’s kid genius, called my name as soon as I stepped outside.

  It took me a second to spot him sitting on the steps in front of his house, watching the action. “Hey, Ethan. Why aren’t you playing?” I asked.

  He shrugged.

  Before I could ask him any more questions, one of the other boys yelled, “Bree! Wanna play?”

  “You bet,” I said grabbing a stick from one of the open garages. “I’ll be Red.”

  “Not afraid to lose?” Tyler was playing goalie for the Blues. As he looked up at me the ball sailed past him into the net.

  “Goal!” Ethan yelled. This cheered me up a little. Okay, a lot.

  “Time out,” Tyler said, glaring at Ethan.

  The boys reluctantly followed Tyler’s lead, as usual, and the game stopped. Some players took a water break. Others slowly got ready for the next face-off. They didn’t stop because they wanted to. They stopped because they thought they had to. At twelve years old, Tyler was the oldest and biggest kid living in Cedar Grove. Not including the teenagers, who never wanted anything to do with us.

  “Hope you’re not planning on climbing trees anytime soon, Bree.” Tyler laughed. “If you do, I’m going to have to report you to the Neighborhood Council.”

  “What’s he talking about, Bree?” Ethan asked.

  “Tree climbing is illegal in Cedar Grove now. Your parents could get fined.” Tyler sounded pleased, probably because the one activity I could actually beat him at had just been banned.

  “The council has banned tree climbing,” I mumbled to Ethan, trying not to let Tyler get to me. A fight with Tyler would only make things worse. If that was even possible.

  “Really?” Ethan said, his eye’s growing wide. “I can’t believe it.”

  “Believe it,” Tyler said. “It’s true.”

  A lot of the Cedar Grove kids hadn’t heard the news yet. The notice had only just arrived in the mail. Everyone seemed pretty upset. Except Tyler. For sure he was glad I wouldn’t be able to get to the top of every tree before him. Before anyone.

  “What’s the fine?” Michael asked. Michael was eleven—the same age as me—and he acted like the world revolved around Tyler.

  “Don’t know,” I replied. I hadn’t thought about that. It didn’t really seem to matter. For me, the fact that it wasn’t allowed was enough. I wasn’t the type to break the rules. Not because I was a goody-goody, but because I was almost certain to get caught.

  “Oh, it’s probably only a hundred bucks or something,” said Tyler. As if he had any idea. “Not enough to stop someone who truly wanted to climb a tree.” He smirked at me.

  “It’s two hundred and fifty dollars for the first violation and five hundred and twenty-five for the second. If you don’t pay the fine, the Neighborhood Council can sell your townhouse and keep the money,” Ethan said. I was surprised to hear him speak up like that, especially around Tyler. He’s usually pretty quiet.

  Michael whistled. “That’s a lot of money!”

  “The fine is nothing compared to being kicked out of your house,” said Ethan.

  “This sucks,” said Peter, one of the boys who liked to climb with me.

  “Really sucks,” added another.

  “Isn’t your mom the president of the Cedar Grove Neighborhood Council?” Tyler asked Ethan.
/>   “Uh…yeah,” Ethan replied, looking down at his shoes.

  “She’s sure made things miserable around here. Since she became president we’ve lost the jungle gym, then the weight room, and now this. What’s her problem anyway?”

  “Leave Ethan alone,” I said. “It’s not his fault.”

  Tyler turned toward me. “You’re right. It’s your fault, Bree. Always needing to climb higher and higher. Encouraging other kids to take risks. What’d you think the council was going to do?”

  I stood there in silence, searching my brain for a quick and clever comeback. Nothing. I looked around at all the other kids. They were all staring at me, waiting for a response.

  Was it really my fault? I wasn’t sure. But I knew one thing for certain. I was going to have to do something about this tree-climbing bylaw.

  Chapter 3

  I had to wait until lunch at school the next day to discuss the tree-climbing situation with my best friend Sarah. During the week she lives with her dad and stepmom in a townhouse complex near Cedar Grove, but she spends weekends at her mom’s house in Surrey. Even though Surrey’s only an hour from Vancouver it feels a lot further because Sarah’s mom is really strict about Sarah’s phone and computer use.

  As we were eating some disgusting thing the cafeteria cooks had tried to disguise as food, I told her all about the letter from the Neighborhood Council and how Tyler had told everyone that the new bylaw was my fault.

  Sarah ran her tongue over her braces and then said, “It’s not your fault that you’re good at climbing trees.” That’s why Sarah is my best friend. She sees things the same way I do. And when I’m not sure about something, she makes it all seem clear.

  “Do you think there’s anything I can do about it?” I asked her.

  “I don’t know, Bree. It’s gonna be tough,” Sarah said thoughtfully.

  “But I have to try, right?”

  “Of course.” Sarah stuffed a spoonful of slop into her mouth before continuing. “Remember when my dad went to battle with our council over clotheslines?”