LEMON HEAD (English version) #Wattys2016

17.LET'S SAVE THE PARK

I must admit that, at the beginning, I thought that Stella's idea was absurd and useless. Throught it all, it wasn't that bad and any of us had a better one so we started to work on it as soon as we could.

During the rest of the day we took a lot of papers and made banners that said: Let's save the park, They won't take it away from us or We want it to stay, writting it with bright colors.

The first day we started in front of the park that, as the mayor had asked, they had stopped to destroy for three days wich were the deadline that he had given to us. The five of us got strewn over that place and the streets around the park explaining to everyone our idea and our project.

It had been a couple of minutes since I hadn't seen anyone around the street where I was untill I saw a small woman probably around fourty walking towards me.

-Excuse me, have you got a moment?
Fortunately, that woman stopped and listened to me because some people just ignored you or walked away because they "were in a hurry".
-You may have heard about what they want to do with the Park of the Oblivion.
-Yes, and the truth is that I find it really bad that they hadn't consulted something like that to us. That park is so beautiful, or at least more beautiful than the parking and the hotel they want to build there.
-Perfect. My friends and I have started a protest movement against that but we need more people's help.
-What kind of help?
-Well, look -I said showing to her a white paper with some signatures written on it yet and taking a pen from my pocket-, the only thing you've to do is sign here to prove that we aren't the only ones fighting against it.

Besides that information, we also told the people the day and the time when we were going to see the mayor so they could take part of a little manifestation.

It was a help that required not too much effort and that, by that moment, it was pretty successful. Despite of it all, not usually but sometimes, I obviously found some people who didn't want to sign it because they agreed with the hotel stuff or because they didn't give a shit about it.

At the end of that day we had got a little more than three thousand signatures in total. We expected that we'd got more during the next days.

In the mornings we stayed there, in front of the park. The second day's afternoon we went to ask for signatures in the park where, as I had already told, I performed for first time with The Teencers. And the third afternoon we went to the town's central square wich was next to the town hall.

The three days had passed so on Thursday midday after school we went to the town hall. I guess that the recepcionist already knew that we had to come because this time she didn't haw or complain about that we go upstairs to see the mayor.

We came into his office and this time it was Robert who put a lot of papers full of signatures on his table.
-We've asked it to everyone of the town we have found aged between ten and ninteen. We're about 20.000 people in this town and there are 17.972 signatures in total, there isn't any of them twice -Mariah explained-. You can check it if you want.

In that moment we heard some screams and shouting from outside, in front of the town hall's door. The mayor went out on the balcony when he sometimes made some speeches and we followed him.
-They won't take it from us!
-Let's save the park!
-Just leave it the way it is, we want it to stay!
That's what people screamed holding banners like our ones. The mayor looked abashed at the beginning. Then he went away to take a microphone and started to speak:
-Dear people, I know that I was wrong and that I should've consulted you the changes I decided to make in this town before I implemented them. But thanks to these guys -he pointed to us with his hand- and a the effort they've made to get the signatures that prove that most of you want to keep up the Park od The Oblivion, I'll stop the labour and preserve it.

There was a big cheer.

-But -he continued-, I also know that these guys have a band wich is getting pretty popular here called 2 Lemonade Mouth. So I have to communicate you another change: Since today that park's name will be "The Lemon Tree Park". In addition, a lemon tree will be planted in the middle of the park so that name makes sense and to symbolize the strength and constancy of these guys so the small tree'll grow and get higher everyday, just like this guys are doing and will keep doing. Give them an applause, please.

People were really happy and congratulated us so much. We were the stars of the day.