It's a Green Thing Read Online Free PDF

today?”
    “We're not at war,” Brooke said defensively. “We're just trying to enlighten some people.”
    “You're right, Dominic,” I said quickly. “Let's declare the rainbow mural as a peace zone for the entire day.”
    “I'm in.” Marissa nodded as she opened a can of fuchsia paint.
    “You got my vote,” added Eddie.
    “And if we give this wall everything we've got,” I said, “we might even finish today.” I looked up at the mural and tried to imagine it finished. At that moment it looked like a giant jigsaw puzzle with lots and lots of missing pieces. But if we all did our parts, there was a chance we'd finish. So just as I'd done on the previous mornings, I began assigning painting positions. It kept us from stepping on each other or getting in the way.
    “Why do Amanda and I always get stuck on the ground level?” demanded Brooke.
    “Stuck on the ground?”
    “Yeah. You and Marissa always hog the ladders and the scaffolding,” Amanda said.
    “We've been up there too,” Dominic said.
    “Maybe it's our turn to work on top,” Brooke said.
    “Fine,” I told her. “I don't mind working down here.”
    “Me either.” Marissa shrugged. “I think it's cooler down here anyway.”
    “Just be careful,” I warned them. “Don't lose your balance.”
    Amanda laughed. “You probably didn't know that Brooke and I are on the gymnastics team. I can't imagine that either of us would lose our balance.”
    “Well, just don't try any backflips up there,” Eddie teased.
    It was actually rather pleasant working on the ground level. And even better working in a peace zone. By noon I wondered why we hadn't thought of this armistice sooner. Also, the mural was starting to look pretty good.
    “I'll bet we can finish it by the end of the day,” I said as we reconvened after lunch. Then, feeling unexpectedly generous, I offered to take everyone out for pizza after the mural was completed.
    “Sounds like a plan,” Eddie said as he took a bucket of peacock blue up the ladder.
    “And I remembered what the rainbow is a symbol of,” added Dominic.
    “What's that?”
    “It's a symbol of hope and promise.”
    “That's cool,” I said. “Maybe the kids will feel hopeful when they see it.”
    We continued to work quietly through the warm, muggy afternoon, listening to the music coming from the iPod Dominic had hooked up to a speaker. And although it was unfamiliar to me since it seemed to be Christian, it was actually pretty cool. Marissa and I were just finishing up a large section when we heard a scream from above. We looked over in time to see that Amanda had stepped from the scaffolding onto the ladder without considering that Brooke, on the opposite end of the board, had been caught off balance. By the time we got to her, she was flat on her back on the pavement, covered from head to toe in lime green paint. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't moving.
    “Are you okay?” I cried out. “Someone call 911.”
    She opened her eyes, wiped the paint from her face, and looked up with a stunned expression. “What happened?”
    “Are you okay?” I asked again.
    “I'm not sure.” Brooke tried to sit up, but Marissa stopped her.
    “Don't move. You might have broken something.”
    “That's right,” Dominic said. “Stay still.” He was off his ladder and at her side now. And Eddie, still up high, was on his cell phone.
    “Oh, Brooke,” Amanda cried as she came over to join us, “I'm so sorry.”
    “What happened?” Brooke said again.
    “Friday the thirteenth,” Marissa said in a serious tone.
    Okay, in light of the near tragedy, that comment wasn't too funny. But we soon discovered that Brooke seemed to be fine. Even before the ambulance arrived, and despite our warnings, she was up and walking about and acting like it was no big deal. And even though she looked a little odd in her green coat of paint, the paramedics proclaimed her fit enough not to need a transport to the ER, but they did make her