Born to Live

Humans.

        I'm not the kind of person who gets a hot head easily. You make fun of me, shame on you. You disapprove of how I act, whatever. You bash on what I enjoy, I could care less. But if you say anything remotely offensive regarding animals, don't bet on seein' the light of day again without regretting every word that's flown out your big mouth.

      I believe that animals and humans are equal. And why should anyone believe any different? We were all born on the same planet, Earth, the only known planet that can support life. Life. The most precious, fragile thing in existence. Beautiful while it lasts, tragic when it doesn't. And humans have ruined it all. 

     Just the thought of ignorant humans made me clench my fists. One of the most intelligent, widespread species on Earth, using their near endless knowledge to make what? Instagram and packaged doritos? Humans waste their knowledge to such an extent that I am disgusted to be identified as the same species. Instead of experimenting to create non-fossil-fuel based cars and affordable solar panels for all of mankind, they make disposable packages which trash up the Earth, filling up landfills, oceans, and the throats of innocent animals. The turtles for example, who suffocate on cheap plastic grocery shopping bags, dead. Dead because of human ignorance. It's one life taken from it, all because somebody couldn't spend the dollar for a reusable shopping bag.

    Nobody realizes how simple it is to make a change. Nobody except for me and a few conservation organizations.

   I stab a piece of my vegan waffle with my fork and chew ferociously. My phone buzzes, snapping me out of my mental rage. It was a text from my best friend Lauren.
The bus is at your house! Hurry!

Sure enough, the clock read 8:45, which meant the school bus was outside. I shoved the last piece of vegan waffle in my mouth, left the plate and fork in the sink, tossed on my backpack and ran out the door.

   The bus was there, waiting for me. I ran inside the bus and the driver shut the door behind me. I walked to the middle of the bus and sat down on the right side, next to Lauren who was waiting for me with a smile on her face. Most of the kids were quiet, but a few were talking to each other about dumb human things like drama and bashing on their classmates.

   In the seat behind me, I heard one boy whisper, "That one girl in my geometry class is so weird! She always talks about lizards and snakes and frogs."

    Another boy replied even quieter, "Oh! Reptile girl. She really is weird."

   Oh how I'd love to whip around and yell at those boys. How were they not ashamed of themselves for reducing a sweet, caring girl into nothing but a label? I glanced over at Lauren and noticed she felt the same distress. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. It wasn't worth it. I had already got in trouble last week for slapping some kid on the back for calling shelter pets worthless. But soon enough, I realized Lauren wouldn't stand for it.

Lauren got up, turned around and gave the hardest, most petrifying glare I'd see her give in a long time.

"You boys best shut up before I decide to come back there and slap some manners into you," Lauren said in the most firm, cold tone humanly possible.

I had to hold in a laugh when Lauren sat down and listened to both of the boys remain silent until they arrived at school.

***

   I had finished three of my classes which meant I had gotten half through the school day and it was time for lunch. The students with the same lunch schedule gathered in the cafeteria, some with lunchboxes, others with money to purchase school food. Disgusting, putrid school food.

   I set my kitten lunchbox down on the cafeteria table next to a few of my friends. I honestly don't give crap about kids who make fun of me because of my lunchbox. I got mine from a local shelter which donates the money to helping sick pets. Anytime somebody calls me out for having baby cats on my lunchbox, I tell myself, Think of the animals, they're more important.

My friends don't have the same "humans are destroying the world" outlook on life, (except for Lauren, she gets it) but I can get along with them because they don't blabber about utterly idiotic things like most people my age tend to.

   We happily talked about the new water park that was opening and how we should plan on going in two weeks while I consistently took bites of my delicious vegan noodles. Nothing better than a mouth-watering vegan dish.

   "How about not this Saturday, but the next one, we meet at the waterpark at 11 am?", Elizabeth asked us.

   "I can come," Lauren confirmed.

   "I don't have anything planned," Sadie added.

   I remained silent. It was one of those times where your brain hears a conversation, but it takes it 3x the time to process the words that are entering it. My friends all looked at me expecting an answer.

   "How about you Eva?", Elizabeth asked me with a hopeful tone.

   "Uhh... well.." I stuttered. "I dunno.. I don't wanna get in your guys' way..," I procrastinated.

   Automatically my friends beckoned me to come with them.

   "Aww come on, it'll be fun!", Sadie insisted.

   "It won't be the same without you, Eva!", Lauren encouraged.

   "Well okay then I guess..." I gave in.

   "Woo hoo!!!", my friends all cheered at the success.

   That was what I loved most about my friends. They were always so kind and encouraging, and they never left a friend behind.

***

My last class had finally come, P.E. I love running free in fields of grain, spreading my arms out like a bird spreads its wings. But I do not love running mindlessly in circles, sweating until you feel like an ice cream cone melting in the sun.

"Jog three laps and do 15 pushups for your warm up!", the coach exclaimed as the class already had pushed off and started their assignment.

The rest of the students had finished their final laps, while I was still on my last lap running beside Lauren. Out of my friends, Lauren definitely understood me the most.

"I'm distraught that shelters euthanize over 10 million animals each year!", Lauren cried.

"There's nothing humane or acceptable about it. People wouldn't kill humans if there wasn't enough space. Why should they treat animals any different? They aren't worth any less than human lives, but that's what they make them out to be!" I raged.

"It's unacceptable," Lauren confirmed. "We have to do something about it."

Lauren was definitely my best friend. She just understood everything like I do.

"Want to meet at my house on Saturday so we can find a solution?", I asked her.

"Absolutely!", Lauren beamed.

***

The exhausting school day had finally come to an end, so I pulled my backpack out of my locker and headed for the bus stop. Lauren and I stepped outside and a powerful scent immediately slapped me in the face. I could recognize the smell any day.

It was fire.