The Adventures of Maddie Leon: Chapter 1 – 6

The Adventures of Maddie Leon
- A Continental Shift -

This book is dedicated to those discovering
change and uncertainty—is the way.

Book Themes include: Family and Friends | Grief and Loss | Identity and Belonging | Change and Transition

Book Synopsis: Maddie has a passion for fashion and possibility but her aspirations for the best summer ever are dashed when her parents accept a cultural anthropology assignment in Peru. Leaving Vancouver, Canada to live in Lima, Peru totally sucks! Then she meets Jojo Kofi Afram, another culturally transported kid, rescues Wynn from a life on the streets and discovers new ways to pursue her eco-fashion dreams. Life should be great – but it’s not! Her mom wants her to be ‘regular.’ She misses Jenna and Grandpa Leo to the stars and back, and now Tata Sylvie has the forgetting disease. Cultural differences, confusing friendships, trouble at school, and changing family dynamics are a lot to deal with for a teen.

NOTES TO READER

1. Chapters one through five are provided for reader enjoyment and feedback. A complete and free e-book will be sent to readers who offer constructive feedback or a testimonial for posting on our digital media sites.

2. This novel is a work of fiction written in Canadian English. The places named and names referenced are contextual and not intended to be factual. Underlined words are defined in the glossary. Facts and reader resources are accurate at publication date. Resources are for independent use or in the classroom when author, Terresa Augustine and publisher, TaLedi Publishing, (a division of TaLedi Enterprise Development Inc. 2003), are acknowledged. For permission, contact publish@taledi.ca.

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Best Summer Ever

Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA

Maddie never used to think about sweating. Now she was thinking about his and hers as they boarded down Burnaby Street.

“Look out!” hollered Kevin.

Maddie saw the mama skunk and her two kits scurry under the parked car. Boarding downhill, she had enough momentum to miss the spray. Two lengths behind, Kevin didn’t.

He jumped off his board, sending it flying her way. “No! Don’t!” she shouted, stopping the board with her foot as he wiped his face with the front of his T-shirt.

Choking on his words, he struggled to get his T-shirt off, then pawed at his phone. “I need a ride.” She heard him tell his mom or dad on the other end.

“Gotta go. See you later,” he said, pulling his board back up Burnaby Street.

The skunk’s spray drifted her way as she watched him go. She felt sorry for him but marveled at the chance to get some advice from Jenna about being a girlfriend.

Jenna was on the corner of Cardero and Davie, entertaining a small gathering with her dance moves, when Maddie arrived.

Completing a high-toe pirouette, Jenna asked, “Where’s Kevin?”

“Heading home. He got sprayed coming down the hill.”

Jenna wrinkled her nose. “Gross! When did something so cute become such a pest?”

Hands on her hips, Jenna leaned in so close her nose almost touched Maddie’s.

“So, tell me everything!

Are you the girlfriend now?

OMG Maddie! Your face—it’s redder than your hair!

He kissed you, didn’t he? I told you he wanted to!

Was I right or was I right?”

“Did you kiss him back?” Jenna asked.

“Yes, but —”

“But what?”

“What about Mika? She said she didn’t like him like that, but we know she does. What am I going to tell her?”

“You’re going to tell her Kevin’s your boyfriend!” said Jenna, turning to bebop up Cardero Street toward their school.

Following Jenna, Maddie felt heavy-footed, and her worst companion anxiety was throwing thoughts at her so fast she couldn’t think.

In the gym, Maddie scanned the task lists Mr. James had taped to the wall.

Relieved, she noted Mika and Jenna had the job of setting up chairs for grades four to seven, the parents, guests and teachers. She and Kevin were part of the stage decorating team. Their team would be a member short. She suspected he was now sitting in a tub of tomato juice, scrubbing the stench of skunk spray off his skin.

She helped inflate fifteen blue and fifteen white helium balloons. Then draped strands of twinkling star lights over the archway they would pass under to receive their elementary school graduation certificate.

Stepping back, she eyed the gym’s transformation from boring to beautiful. Soon she and her classmates will be high schoolers. But before that, her best summer ever was about to begin. Free to board, bike, and boat around Vancouver with her friends — so long as she kept her phone charged and was home on time for dinner.

Mika beckoned her to join a group photo shoot. Not ready to tell Mika about herself and Kevin, she waved her off and turned to Mr. James, still arranging trophies on the table.

Center stage, on the tables her team had skirted with the ORCA BAY school banner, Mr. James was organizing certificates tied with blue and white ribbons and arranging plaques and trophies.

“That’s new,” she said, eyeing an orca whale breaching from its trophy base.

Mr. James hustled around the table. Turning her back towards the gym now filling up with students, teachers, and parents. “New and confidential until awarded,” he said. “Time for you to join your classmates.”

Stepping down the stairs, she saw Mika heading straight towards her.

“So, you’re Kevin’s girlfriend now.”

Maddie felt an stab of regret for not placing a 24-hour code of silence on Jenna.

“I don’t care. My mom says it’s too soon for me to have one anyway.”

Maddie swung an arm around Mika and steered her towards their parents, thinking she too, might not be ready for a boyfriend.

Her thoughts and feelings moved from anxiously confused to sad-hearted as she watched her mom avoiding Jenna’s mother. Lately, her mom had become critical of them. She called them dreamers. Often adding something about them being “destined for disappointment.”

Her dad was the opposite. He always had time and room for others. When her parents weren’t away on one of their research projects, he’d invite neighbours, a friend, even a stranger he’d met earlier, over for a meal or cake and coffee.

The intercom screeched as Mr. James fiddled with his mic.

“Class Seven. Please gown up and take your seats.”

Maddie gave her parents and Jenna’s mom a wave, slipped into her blue and white trimmed cape, then took her spot between Mika and Jenna.

She watched the primary teachers encouraging the little kids to stop squirming on the floor. It seemed so long ago she was one of them. The only thing that mattered back then was being with her best friends, Jenna and Kevin. They were still her besties, but things had gotten complicated.

“Looking for your lover boy?” asked Jenna.

Maddie rolled her eyes. “Why does your boy-talk have to be gushy or gross?”

One by one, supported by classmate cheers and a few jeers, they went up to receive their graduation certificates. Each took a helium balloon as they left the stage.

Back in their seats, they prided themselves on their elevated high-school status and speculated about the Orca whale trophy still on the table. Most felt confident it was for Kevin, the school’s sports star, who had not yet arrived.

Through their excited chatter, she heard Mr. James call her name. Jenna and Mika earnestly pushed her into the aisleway as Mr. James picked up the Orca trophy. With each step toward the stage, she felt her face get hotter. “Flushing,” her mom called it. Irish Gran said it was “an ancestral gift.” Maddie was certain it was a puberty curse.

Maddie watched Mr. James’ mouth move. It seemed her butterflies had found their way to her head and now she couldn’t hear or understand what he was saying.

What had she done?

Why was she up here with him?

“Maddie Leon,” said Mr. James, “your passion for fashion and the environment has inspired Orca Bay Elementary and our community to join the global movement to keep unwanted textiles out of landfills.”

He swooped his arm across the gym. “With your donations and help from our neighbours, Orca Bay collected enough textiles to share with newcomers to our city and resellers.

Reselling some of the donations allowed us to top up our music department’s budget.”

Maddie’s flushing intensified as the student body cheered the purchase of a five-drum, three-cymbal electronic set.

Mr. James continued. “And from that mountain of unwanted clothes, we found cloth and accessories to make costumes for next year’s performance of Downtown Pan. A performance Maddie has promised to come back and help with costume creation.”

Another explosion of cheers rang out and Maddie wondered if everyone staring at her could see the sweat beads on her upper lip. She was glad the graduation gown hid her sweaty armpits but suspected her perspiration would stain the vintage lace tablecloth she’d thrifted and refashioned into a top for today.

“This award acknowledges the importance of ART in our core STEM curriculum,” said Mr. James, handing her the trophy.

Turning back to the audience, “Please join me in congratulating Orca Bay’s first STEAM recipient, Maddie Leon.”

Maddie saw Jenna and Mika leap out of their chairs. Soon, the entire class, including her teachers, were standing and applauding. A glance at her parents proved their reception differed. Her dad’s smile stretched across his face. Her mom was clapping, but Maddie could tell by the tightness of her face, she wasn’t pleased.

Back in the circle of friends, she let her joy rise though she knew it would be short-lived. Since her parents return from their research assignment in Ghana, her mom had been determined to quash her interest in eco-friendly fashion.

With the ceremony concluded, the grads gathered for group, family, and friend photos. She passed the trophy and graduation certificate to her dad and did her best to keep her mom at bay. She didn’t want to see or hear her disappointment; it would still be there when she got home.

Eager to get on with the day, she kissed her dad on the cheek and whispered, “We’re leaving.”

He hung his long arm across her shoulder and leaned in to keep their conversation private. “Your mom means well. She’s having a tough time letting go of some things she really wants to forget.”

She gave her mom a half-hearted hug, then turned to join her friends.

“Home by six,” she heard her mother say as they headed for the playground to release the balloons and leave their elementary school years behind.

Arm in arm, Maddie, Mika, and Jenna occupied the width of the sidewalk as they followed their classmates to the beach.

Maddie loved English Bay. The sandy beaches with tidal pools and great swimming spots hugged Vancouver’s downtown core. Year-round, it was busy with locals and tourists. They liked to stroll, ride or skate along the seawall, visit Stanley Park and the aquarium or simply relax on the benches to watch the people.

Out in the water, freighters waited to enter the Port of Vancouver. Once docked, they would unload cargo from around the world or pick up containerized goods bound for other countries. Sailboats and speedboats dallied between them, while larger vessels headed for open water. Their destinations might be Vancouver Island, Northern BC, Washington State, or Alaska.

Closer to shore, paddle boards, pedaled floats, dinghies, and little tugboats that ferried people from the West End to Kitsilano, Granville Island or Chinatown, populated the inlet.

They marked their spot on the beach with backpacks, sneakers, skateboards, and towels. Then twenty-nine of them lined up for the traditional high school baptism in the Bay.

Arms linked, they ran into the water shouting, “Bigger! Better! Beyond!”

My Life Sucks

Jenna poked Maddie’s leg with her toes as they lay in the sun to dry off. “Why are you moping? He’ll be here.”

“Jenna, do you think my only thoughts are about Kevin?”

“Then what’s your problem?”

Maddie sat up and brushed the sand off her legs. “The STEAM award.”

Jenna rolled onto her belly. “Oh yeah! Big problem!

For sure, you’ll get into Emily Carr’s art program now that you won that award. Our school days together are over. You’re lucky, Maddie. You know who you are and what you’re good at. Except for being your best model and an excellent dancer, I don’t know what else I’m good at, or what I’ll do when I finish high school.”

“I’m giving up on eco-fashion. I need to find something more mature and regular.”

Jenna bolted upright. “No way! What about our plans? You said we were going to maddily modify clothes and keep textiles out of the landfills.

“My mom says it’s a poor career choice. People are always changing what they want to wear, and most clothes aren’t even made in Canada anymore.”

“When did your mom get to be a fashion expert?

Oh, lookie there!” said Jenna, pointing towards the English Bay Bathhouse. “Here comes your boyfriend.”

She and Kevin walked hand in hand up Burnaby Street, talking about their upcoming day at Playland. “What about the roller-coaster?” she asked, wondering if he could feel the sweat on her palm.

Kevin spoke into his fisted hand with his broadcaster’s voice. “Breaking News. Grade seven grads go down in the rubble of an ancient coaster.”

“You should say high schoolers.”

“Either way, I’m not riding it. A sports broadcaster is more appealing with a full set of teeth and good looks.”

Maddie flashed her FOB across the apartment entrance panel. “No problem. Jenna will ride it with me.”

Worried that a neighbour—or her parents—might see them kiss at the front door, she ducked inside, then turned to give him a wave.

Waiting for the elevator, she wondered if she was ready for this change to their friendship.

What would happen if he wasn’t her boyfriend? Could they go back to being regular friends?

Riding up to the 15^th floor, she pondered what her parents would say if they found out. Was she even allowed to have a boyfriend? She didn’t want her best summer ever to get messed up over this.

She dropped her skateboard and bag in the entranceway then stepped into the kitchen.

Her dad held a spoonful of spaghetti sauce in front of her. “You can confirm this is the best I’ve ever made.”

Maddie savoured his secret sauce. She knew his secret was in the spice—but what spice? Whatever she guessed, he denied.

“I think you’re right. Now that I’m off to high school, I’ll need to know your secret.”

“Not so fast! As your father, I hold all rights to my daughter’s favourite food; making me forever essential to her.”

“Have you forgotten you’re away from me, more than you’re with me? It’s time to give it up Papa.”

He planted a kiss on top of her head. “Nope. You must forever await my return.

How was the beach party?”

Opening the fridge, she leaned in, looking for something to eat. “Kevin’s dad sent five large pizzas. The boys gobbled those up. I had watermelon and two cupcakes.”

He pushed the door closed with his foot. “Dinner is almost ready. Better do something with your hair! Your mom wants to get some photos to send to your grandmothers. If we don’t send them soon, they’ll think you didn’t graduate.”

She laughed at the possibility and headed to the bathroom to wash up and deal with her messy beach hair.

Bent at the waist, she coaxed the paddle brush through her thick, curly mane. Grains of sand fell at her feet, while most knots defied the effort. Flipping upright, she smiled at her image recalling her grandpa’s words that ‘a girl with hair like hers certainly had the spirit of a lion inside her.’

She tugged the brush through her hair, thinking how wonderful it must be to be a lion. If I were a lion, no one would expect me to do or be anything other than a lion. Why should a lion get to be itself, but not me?

Her dad’s shout that dinner was on the table sent her butterflies spinning. Pulling the door open, she wondered why her life had to be so confusing.

She slipped into her chair, gave her mom a guarded smile then turned her attention to the hill of spaghetti on her plate. Skillfully, she twirled a forkful, thinking it really was the best spaghetti sauce ever as she slurped in the danglers.

Her mom pushed a napkin towards her. She kept her eyes on her plate, sensing her mom’s patience with her was low. Since returning from their assignment in Ghana, her mom had been grouchy, mad, or sad, all within minutes, and mostly at Maddie.

“Why didn’t you tell us about the STEAM award?” her mom asked. “Jenna’s mother knows more about your activities and ambitions than we do.”

Maddie twirled another forkful. “I didn’t know I was going to get it… and Jenna’s mom likes to listen and talk to us. When she was our age, she liked thrifting and refashioning clothes too.”

“And look at her life now, serving eggs and burgers all day. With your grades, you could be a scientist, engineer, or a professor. Even an accountant or computer programmer would be better than cutting up perfectly good clothes or buying what other people throw-away!”

“But I don’t want to be any of those things,” she said, looking into her mom’s matching green eyes that were boring like lasers into her. “I want to design clothes and refresh used stuff.

Why is that so wrong?”

Her mom scoffed at her words. “Today’s careers are grounded in science and technology—not fashion.”

“Eco-fashion is science, technology and art, and it’s what I like to do.”

“We don’t always get to do what we want to do. You need to make good choices now if you want a successful career and stable future.”

“And…” her dad said, roughly rubbing his throat, that was now red and pimply up to his chin.

“Say it,” said Maddie, knowing his tell. “You’re going away.

Who are you leaving me with this time?

I want to stay with Jenna and her mom. I don’t need a nanny or someone else’s grandmother to mind me!”

Her mom slapped her utensils on the table. “Really, Maddie! Every time we get a posting, you complain.”

“Most parents don’t leave their kids for weeks or months to go study someone else. Too bad I’m not one of your research subjects you could stay here and study me!”

The legs of her dad’s chair scraped the floor, sending a shiver down her spine. “Okay, you two, let’s focus on the best part of the assignment. You’re coming with us!”

Maddie dropped her loaded fork and stretched across the table to hug him. She’d been waiting forever to go on assignment with them.

“Finally!

Where are we going?

When do we leave?”

“Maddie! Your hair! It’s in your father’s spaghetti!”

Maddie flicked her hair out of the plate, speckling the wall behind with saucy dots.

“Peru.”

“Wow! Does GG know?”

Then, remembering her best summer ever had just begun, she added, “How long will we be gone?”

“Your grandmother is thrilled. It’s the first time I heard joy in her voice since grandpa died.”

Maddie watched his eyes shift between her and her mom. “What’s wrong? Is GG okay?” She couldn’t bear the thought of her grandmother dying too.

“She’s fine. But. Well, you know. Since grandpa died, your grandmother has been alone and so… we decided this is a good time for us to move to Peru.”

“Move! To Peru!”

“Yes, Maddie. That’s what your father said. We’re moving to Peru.”

“What about my friends? And Emily Carr? You promised!”

“We found you a new school,” her mom said. “It’s an international program. You can study in English and Spanish.”

Maddie shoved her plate across the table. “Study in Spanish! I can barely understand it!”

Her mom’s palm stopped the plate from leaving the table. “You’ve done perfectly well in French-immersion. Spanish will be easy for you.”

She stared at them, wondering if they were even her real parents. Perhaps she was part of some weird cultural anthropology project, and it was their job to see how she coped when kept in a state of distress.

“But I don’t want to leave Vancouver! Jenna, Mika, and I planned the perfect summer, and…” Maddie hesitated. What about Kevin?

“And what?” her mom asked. “You always wanted a bigger room and more space. It’s the right time and perfect opportunity for all of us.”

Maddie wrapped her arms across her chest to hold herself together. This was totally unfair—and just wrong. Except for GG. She didn’t want her grandmother to be alone. Being alone sucked. She should know. Her parents were always going off on some cultural research project and leaving her behind.

“I’ve spent a lot of time finding this school for you. You should appreciate my efforts.”

“This sucks!”

“Don’t say suck,” her mother snapped. “It’s rude.”

“The school has a theater program,” her dad added. “They’ll appreciate your fashion and design skills.”

Her mom pushed her shoulders back and turned to face her father. “She’s going for the STEM program! It’s time she got serious about her future!”

“I am serious! I’m an artist, not a whatever else you think I should be.”

Her mom pushed her plate back across the table. “Finish up. Your grandmothers are waiting for photos.”

Maddie didn’t bother to stop the meatball that rolled off the plate and onto the floor.

She pushed her chair away from the table. “I’m not hungry.”

“What about cake? It’s from the Big Scoop,” he said.

“Ew! Gross!” said Maddie, hopping away from the table as sauce from the wayward meatball oozed between her toes.

“Maddison Marie Leon.”

She didn’t turn back. When her mom said her full name, she knew a lecture, or lesson, would follow. She didn’t want either.

“Let her go, Sophie.” She heard her dad say before slamming the bathroom door.

Sitting on the edge of the tub, she ran warm water over her sauce covered toes. The rushing water washed away the sauce but not her tears or the sinking feeling that they were stealing her life away from her.

Maddie’s Moving

Maddie stared at her “Best Summer Ever” journal page. Her list of things to do—wasn’t going to happen.

She picked up her purple Sharpie and scribbled over it.

“You’re lucky to have me and not my parents to look after you,” she told Jolie, her one-eared rabbit. Maddie cradled her for comfort, “I’d never leave you or my kids behind.”

Looking back at the messed-up list of all the fun things she had planned to do this summer made her head and stomach hurt. She spit on the page then watched the purple ink bleed into the porous paper.

Putting aside the journal and Jolie, she dug around in her bag for her phone. She really needed to talk to Jenna.

Maddie: JENNA! Are U there?

Why is no one around when I need them?

Stretching out on her bed, she flicked the reed-ball off the dresser with her toes. Her grandpa had brought it back from one of his trips to Thailand.

She set the ball on her belly then took long, deep breaths to slow her racing heart, and thoughts. The ball rose and fell with her breath while she punched out another message to Jenna.

Maddie: Need to talk NOW!

She used to think being left behind was the worst part of having parents who were cultural anthropologists. But taking her from Vancouver, her friends, and the chance to study at Emily Carr was even worse.

Maddie dropped the phone on her bed and put the ball back in motion. Grandpa Leo told her Thai grandmothers made these balls from reeds, so their grandkids had something to play with or to throw at the water buffalo if they got too close to the crops or their ball game.

She didn’t have to worry about any water buffalo, but she worried about almost everything else. Like something would happen to her parents when they were away on an assignment. Her mom said she was silly to think like that. But her great-grandfather died far from his home, on a war assignment. And once, Grandpa Leo got stuck in a cave, when a wall he and his team were excavating collapsed.

And she worried about Grandpa Leo not listening to GG, who always told him to eat more veggies and less sweets.

Now she worried if she didn’t give up her eco-fashion dreams, her mom would never like her the way she used to.

She was thinking moving to Peru was the most terrible idea she’d ever heard when her phone pinged.

Jenna: What’s up?

Maddie: I’m moving!

Jenna: WHAT?? Where??

Maddie: Peru!

Jenna: no way! Why?

Maddie: they got an assignment there

Jenna: stay with us

Maddie: I’m 13!

Jenna: what about Kevin?

Maddie: WHAT ABOUT ME!!

Jenna: u tell him?

Maddie: I’m telling you!

Jenna: what can I do?

Maddie: nothing

Jenna: want me to come over?

Maddie: she’ll say no

Jenna: tell her we have a project

Maddie: school’s over

Jenna: we can work on our bathing suit i can come over early!

let’s make French toast

Maddie: maybe…

Jenna: GTG – mom’s home – text me a time to come over

Maddie wound herself up in her bed sheet to avoid the reality she would soon be the new kid. The weird one, like Mika when she came to Vancouver from Osaka.

She shuddered, remembering how she and Jenna teased Mika about the food she ate—and laughed when she bowed to the teacher.

And what about Kevin?

A knock interrupted her growing worry list.

“Can I come in?”

“I’m sleeping.”

She heard the door open.

He nudged her over to make room for him on the bed. “Then who’s speaking to me?”

From inside her protective cocoon, she asked, “Why do we have to move? Why don’t you just leave me like you always do?”

“Because you’re old enough to join us on assignment. If you’re in Vancouver and we’re in Peru, the possibility will be lost.

Plus, I want you to know your Peruvian culture.”

“I already know it. We’ve been there a hundred times.”

“Visiting your grandparents is not the same as living there. When you live someplace, you become part of a community, and the community becomes part of you.

I thought you’d be super excited about living in a house. No more waiting for elevators while our ice cream cake melts.” He wrapped his arm around her sheeted self, “and GG is making room for you in her art studio.”

Maddie peeled the sheet back. “Why did you pick such a weird career?”

“Actually, cultural anthropology is a rather cool and interesting career. You get to see the world and live in lots of different places. Your mom and I have learned a lot about other people’s traditions, food preferences, sports and even fashion. We’ve also made a lot of good friends.”

Maddie lowered the sheet so she could snuggle up beside him. “But you always leave me.”

“Yes. That is a negative aspect of the work. But moving to Peru will change that. And we can finally go to Machu Picchu and that textile factory in Ollantaytambo you always talk about.”

“And the Inca Museum,” she added. “Grandpa said we’d go there to see the artifacts he found in the Sacred Valley. Now he won’t be there. That’s not fair.”

He put his arm around her. “I’ll take you to those places and show you all the things he loved about the Valley and the Inca people.”

“Why doesn’t GG move here? If she lived with us, you and mom could go away whenever you wanted, and I wouldn’t have to leave my friends.”

“Not much work for cultural anthropologists who majored in Latin American history in Canada, and besides, I’m ready to go back home.”

“But it’s not my home.”

“Why would you say that? You’re Peruvian too.”

“I never met a Peruvian with red hair and green eyes,” said Maddie, burying her face in her hands.

“Remember the boy who kept bugging me at Grandpa’s funeral? He said I looked like a lizard—the kind you keep in a zoo!”

He lifted her chin. “You, dear daughter, are like Peru’s scarlet peacock, a bright, beautiful butterfly.”

She shrugged his arm off her shoulders. “I heard mom talking to Irish Gran yesterday. She sounded angry.”

“Yeah. They’ve got stuff to sort out.”

“What stuff?”

“Her mom wants her to come back to Dublin.”

“To live?”

“I’m sure your Gran would love that, but she’ll settle for a visit.”

“Why don’t we visit her?”

“Your mom’s not ready.”

“I wasn’t ready for Grandpa’s funeral—we still had to go. And I’m not ready to move to Peru.”

Maddie turned to look at her dad. “Did something bad happen to mom when she lived in Dublin? Is that why she won’t talk about it or doesn’t want to go there?”

“You know her best friend Annie, died in a fire. Her death traumatized your mom. She told me it was too difficult to stay. And, well, you know what happened next—beautiful Irish lass meets a tall, handsome, and charming Peruvian man in Anthropology 101,” he said, grooming his hair with his fingers. “They fall in love, marry, and move to Vancouver where their baby girl is born, and the three of them live happily ever after.”

Maddie gave him a rough nudge with her shoulder. “Mom doesn’t seem happy—and neither am I. I don’t want to leave Vancouver.”

“Consider it an adventure. Chapter two in Maddie Leon’s life story. New people to meet, fresh places to go and lots of new things to see and do,” he said, tousling her hair.

“My word! Your mom is right—your hair has gone wild!”

Maddie collapsed on her bed. “Why doesn’t mom like me anymore?”

“Why would you say that? She loves you!”

“Then why does she want to change me? Why does she want me to give up on eco-fashion?”

“She thinks it’s a risky career choice.”

“How is fashion risky? Everyone wears clothes!”

“True. But the amount we buy, then throw away is a problem for us and other countries too. Ghana receives bales of clothing; some can be sold but too much of it ends up in their landfills. That hurts the resellers and the local fashion designers.”

“That’s why eco-fashion matters!” said Maddie.

“Designers could refashion used clothing into something fun and fresh—something people want to wear.

Mika’s mom told me in Japan a kimono gets redesigned until it’s beyond repair. And then, it gets burned so they can use the ash for cleaning or fertilizer.”

“BINGO! That’s the reason I love cultural anthropology! You get to discover how other cultures live, interact with one another, and care for their environment.”

“Then why doesn’t mom love eco-fashion?”

“Because she loves you more. What she saw in Ghana reminded her of how difficult—sometimes even ruthless—the fashion industry can be.

She doesn’t want your life to be difficult. Your mom wants to keep you safe.”

“Well, I don’t feel safe being taken away from Vancouver. And I don’t care about Ghana. I don’t even know anything about that place.

But I know, dumping clothes into landfills harms the environment.

I could make a difference—if Mom would let me.”

Hanging On

Jenna pulled Maddie’s umbrella away from Mika. “You’re getting all the good stuff! I should get this. I helped Maddie paint those stars.”

Maddie wrapped her hand around the umbrella shaft. “I’m taking it with me. It rains a lot in Lima too.”

She handed Jenna the shorts she’d covered with ‘x’s and o’s’ for Pride Day. “Try these. Comes with a SweeTART belt.”

Jenna grabbed the belt. “How’d you make this?”

“It’s my old Dora belt. I ironed the wrinkles out of the candy wrappers we saved, glued them together, then sprayed it with fabric glaze. Et voilà! It’s kind of small, but I like how it bunches the shorts at my waist.”

Laughing, Jenna wiggled into the shorts. “You don’t have a waist.”

“You can’t wear those,” said Mika. “They’re too tight! And too short!”

Laying on the bed, Jenna took a deep breath and struggled to hook up the belt.

Maddie laughed at her scrunched up red face. “Can you breathe, or get up?”

“Blast! Nothing fits me!”

“Here! You can have my mitts and toque.”

Jenna slipped the red felt mitts Maddie had covered with iridescent beads on her hands. The summer sun bounced off them and a rainbow of colors fell over the three friends.

Jenna plopped herself back on the bed. “Doesn’t it get cold there?”

“Yeah, but they’re too Canadian.”

“What about these boots?” asked Jenna.

“They’re mukluks,” said Maddie, plucking the boot off Jenna’s foot.

Her grandpa had given them to her after an archaeological project in Nunavut. Even though her mom kept saying she was packing too much stuff; she couldn’t bear to give away anything he’d given her.

Jenna collapsed on the bed. “I’ll be a fashion flunky without you!”

“You’ll figure it out.”

She dropped her legs on top of Mika. “You’re the one who figures it out. I’m the attractive model!”

“Hey!” said Mika, crawling out from underneath Jenna. “You’re too big for this bed!”

“I’m not taking my Maddily Modified fashion with me.”

“You can’t leave yourself behind!” said Mika.

“My mom says if I’m going to fit in, I need to be more regular.”

“But you’re not regular,” said Mika. “You’re… you!”

“Was me. Now I’ll be a misfit, the weird kid sitting by herself in the lunchroom.”

Jenna wrapped her arms around Maddie and pulled her onto the bed. “I love the weird you.”

“Me too,” said Mika, joining the entanglement.

Maddie’s dad poked his head into the room. “Hey, girls! What’s going on?”

“We’re mourning,” sighed Jenna. “Just one more sleep, then we’ll never see Maddie again.”

“You’re on your screens all the time.”

“It’s not the same,” said Jenna, “we can’t hug her… or try on each other’s clothes.”

Maddie’s phone vibrated on her dresser. “It’s the boys. They’re at the bus stop.”

“You okay if I take down your bed while you’re out?” her dad asked.

“Does it matter what I want?”

“You’ll need the floor space if the three of you are still planning to sleep here tonight.”

She picked up her backpack. “Okay, but don’t move my stuff. I’ll finish packing when we get back.”

“Eight o’clock. At the front gates,” he said to their backs. “Text me if anything changes … and not too much junk food.”

They claimed two rows at the back of the bus. Maddie sat between Kevin and Jenna. Mika and Kevin’s cousin hung across the seat in front of them.

Maddie felt strangely out of her body as she watched the four of them calculate their combined funds and tally the two-for-one ride coupons they got with their report cards. She was going to miss them. HECK! I’m going to miss myself.

“Change of plans,” she said, squeezing past Jenna to look at the bus route map. “We’re going to Chinatown. Three stops to Pender Street.”

“We can’t do that!” said Mika.

“Can do! Remember—BEST SUMMER EVER. We get to come and go as we please. Besides, I want dim sum, not deep-fried twinkies.”

Jenna joined her in the aisle. “Yeah! Let’s do it!”

“What about your dad? He’s picking us up at eight!” said Mika.

“You have sixty-four days of summer vacation left,” she said, challenging Mika. “Today is my last day.”

Sitting around the table littered with empty bamboo steamers, chopsticks, dirty dishes and balled up napkins, they made plans for ‘next’.

“Call your dad,” said Mika. “You have to tell him where you are.”

“What I need to do is keep my phone charged and be home by eight. Who’s ready for Gastown!”

“Me!” said Jenna. “Let’s go!”

They cut through T&T grocers to pick up a box of mango and pineapple ice-pops.

Back outside, they walked past RICE. Once she and Jenna became friends with Mika, her family took them to this restaurant for family celebrations. It was there she learned some basic Japanese and discovered Okonomiyaki. Mika taught her how to make them. Hers weren’t as good as what they got at RICE, but they were still delicious.

Tears pooled in her eyes as she lingered in front of Dressew’s window, mooning over the three-tier sewing cart she’d been saving for. She’d packed up most of her kid-stuff to make room for it in her tiny bedroom. Another plan busted.

“What’s the matter?” asked Jenna.

“I keep thinking about everything I’m leaving behind.”

“We can still text and screen time. And my mom is going to get me a job at Hamburger Mary’s. I have to start in the dish pit, but once I’m fourteen, I can serve. Then I can really save! By the time we graduate from high school, I’ll have enough money to come to Peru.”

“Hurry up you two!” Kevin called. “Ol’ Steamer’s ready to blow.”

Arm in arm, Maddie double stepped to keep up with Jenna’s long stride.

They took selfies in front of the Gastown Steam Clock and many more as they wandered the Cobblestone streets, danced in front of musicians, and applauded the buskers.

At Aujourd’hui they shared two plates of double-fried French fries covered in chewy cheese curds and poutine gravy. Every fifteen minutes, the steam clock blew, reminding Maddie her time was almost up.

She called her dad at seven to say they’d catch the bus home and promised to be back by eight.

That night, Maddie lay between her two best friends experiencing a depth of loneliness she didn’t know you could feel—especially when other people were with you. She practiced her slow, deep breathwork to stop her mind from thinking and worrying, until only one thought remained—their pinky promise to go to university together.

Mika wanted to attend UBC or SFU. She didn’t think her mom and dad would want her to leave Vancouver. And she thought having dinner at home a few nights a week would keep their food costs low.

Maddie and Jenna voted for Paris or Ho Chi Minh City. They wanted to live where you could speak French, wear fashionable clothes, and have your own moped.

Neither the sirens nor the hooting and hollering from the party across the laneway could drown her sorrow.

She watched the rising sun nudge the night away and thought about all the things that could—and would—go wrong for her in Peru.

Goodbye Vancouver

Maddie sat in her empty room, sketching wilted daisies in her journal. She heard the wheels-of-goodbye approach as her dad pulled his and her mom’s travel bags down the hall.

“Taxi in twenty,” he said, pausing at her door. “You can start taking our bags down to the lobby.”

Her phone beeped as she crammed her journal into an overstuffed backpack. Waiting to leave was proving to be worse than getting ready to go. Every text and phone call felt like she was pulling a band-aid off an unhealed wound.

Kevin’s text read, “Friends forever.”

Jenna text, “VC standing by!” followed by a string of dancing emojis.

“Goodbye sucks,” Mika wrote.

Mika’s unusual expression made Maddie smile—and hurt, thinking about all the people and things her parents were taking her away from.

Pulling herself up from the floor, she took a photo of the wall art of her stick family at the beach. At seven, she was certain her parents would love it. Instead, her mom confiscated her markers, crayons, and paints.

Her mother’s voice chased her remembering away.

“The cases! They and you are supposed to be in the lobby.”

She hoisted her pack onto her back and emitted a groan that sounded more like a wounded animal than a girl moving on.

Four large black bags, covered with flags and landmark stickers from around the world, blocked her exit. She used her hips and feet to nudge them aside, then pulled her own and one of theirs into the hallway.

Perched on one of the big bags, Maddie stared at her shoes, rolled her ankles, and stretched her toes. She was grateful to feel anything other than the pain in her heart and the ache in her belly from her butterflies fighting to get out.

“Take these as well,” her dad said, arriving with two more body-sized bags.

“I know it’s hard to leave, but it’ll get better. You need to give it some time.”

“Will we ever come back?”

“We’ll see.”

The elevator bell rang, and the doors opened. She dragged two bags inside, knowing ‘we’ll see’ meant no or probably not.

He hauled in the two body-size bags. “Let the cabbie in. You can start loading. We’ll be down in five.”

The weight of departure grew as the elevator descended. By the ninth floor, she knew she was going to cry.

Waiting in the lobby for the cabbie to arrive, Maddie could hear Robert, their neighbour playing the piano in the community room. She kicked at the bag in front of her, recalling how her mom cried when Robert sang Goodbye My Friends, at their going away party.

It wasn’t fair her mom could cry. But when she did, her mom frowned, gave her the stink-eye, or reminded her she was a teenager now—as if teens didn’t cry! Her life really did suck!

Squished between her parents, they crossed Burrard Street Bridge. Below, Sunset Beach was quiet; too wet for a beach day or ball-hockey game.

Out on the water, two tankers waited to unload and seven waited to load. Watercraft of all sizes were already positioning themselves to watch tonight’s fireworks display.

It felt extra cruel that her parents would take her away from Canada on July 1st.

Later today, her friends would all meet at Sunset Beach to stake out their party spot. They’d probably play some volleyball and kick around the soccer ball. She knew for sure they’d eat pizza and have cake. Once it was dark, the Festival of Lights would honor Canada’s birthday with a 30-minute fireworks show off the barge in the Bay.

So much for the best summer ever.

Her spirit sank lower as they drove up Granville Street. They passed Nick’s Spaghetti House, her family’s place for celebrations. Half a block from Nick’s was the Big Scoop. Today, the ice-cream parlor would serve strawberry-vanilla swirl cones, and maple walnut sundaes with red and white candy chips to honour Canada.

The last shop on the south end of Granville was Lucie’s Cakerie. For as long as she could remember, she’d come here every year to pick out her birthday cake. Last year, she chose a ten-inch red velvet cake covered in cream cheese frosting and drizzled with raspberry sauce. Her friends loved it. She was going to get the same one this year, but now she wouldn’t have friends—or a party.

With every click of the fare meter, the airport got closer, and the clouds became darker. The ride reminded her of the day when GG called from Peru to say, ‘come quick.’ She tipped back her head to keep the tears in her eyes and rubbed her stomach to calm the protesting butterflies.

Her mom reached over and patted her leg like she was a pet. “Most kids would love an adventure like this.”

“I’m not most kids.

Did you know you can get arrested for kidnapping your own kid?”

Her dad put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

Heavy raindrops fell on the windscreen, roof, and road as they ramped onto the airport overpass.

The cabbie parked in front of the international departure doors. She stood on the sidewalk breathing in the ocean air. The raindrops on her face hid her tears.

Inside the airport, she pushed the loaded luggage cart towards the check-in counter. Although comfortable preparing for a trip, the flying part, especially the turbulence, stressed her.

She shuddered, remembering the last time they flew to Peru. Worried that Grandpa Leo would die before she got to hug him one last time, turned her stomach into a knot so tight she threw up her breakfast on her mom’s shoes.

“Cold?” her dad asked as he helped her out of her rain jacket.

“I miss Grandpa.”

“Me too. He was a wonderful dad, and I loved how much he loved you.”

Maddie slipped her hand into his. “I wish things didn’t change.”

“If things didn’t change, you’d be in kindergarten, or not even born. Change is always happening. You just don’t notice it when life’s going your way,” he said, turning to the attendant, who scanned their boarding passes and took their bags.

In the boarding lounge, Maddie found an isolated spot. She shed her heavy bag, pulled out her journal, then turned to her phone.

Scanning the messages, she realized there was nothing left to say to her friends. Her parents had blown her life apart.

Switching her phone to airplane mode, she turned her attention to the people in the waiting area to play Who Are You? She and Grandpa always played this game they’d made up while waiting for her parents to return from an assignment, or for GG to finish working on one of her murals.

He was best at making up stories about where people were coming from or going to, because of all the places he’d been. Her part was to figure out what interesting items they carried in their travel bag.

In the boarding lounge, she watched a boy about seven or eight squeeze himself between a row of back-to-back seats. Then, lying on his back, he reached up to pull the long ponytail of a teen sitting in one of the seats.

Must be his sister. She always wanted a brother or sister, but not a pesky one like that. It would be better to have a bestie—like Jenna as her sister.

She was surprised when the girl swiftly pulled him out from his hiding spot, then slapped his belly with the magazine she’d been reading.

ELLE! Her favourite fashion magazine! Mr. James gave her an A+ for her report on Fast Fashion Options and let it be her personal reading choice because the magazine was available in both French and English.

Besides being informative, it had loads of pictures and links to eco-fashion designers that she now followed on social media.

Who Are You? The girl was fashionable. Dressed in a baggy boyfriend shirt, patchy vest, knee-high socks, and brown patent leather boots with red laces. Probably a teen actor, but why would her little brother be tagging along? Maybe a model, going to Paris for fashion week. Maddie wished she was flying to Paris for her summer break.

Grandpa Leo promised to take her there when she finished high school. He said they’d eat chocolate éclairs at a café table in Montmartre’s artist garden. That’s where he first saw GG, sipping lattes with her sorority sister, Sylvie.

He’d been an archaeology apprentice at that time. The project leader had taken him there to celebrate his discovery of a hidden vault that held artifacts thought to be lost during wartime.

He said they would picnic under the Eiffel Tower, visit museums, eat French foods like Coquilles Saint-Jacques and escargot. She thought eating snails was disgusting but he always said you won’t know if you don’t try.

But now Grandpa was dead, and she was leaving her eco-fashion dreams, her friends, and Vancouver.

A pre-boarding announcement interrupted her thoughts about the girl, Paris, and her own grief.

Standing in line, her butterflies swooped and looped. They and she were heading south. So far south, summer was winter—and no one would believe a red-haired, green-eyed, freckled-faced girl from Vancouver could be even one part Peruvian.

Settled in seat 12E, she turned on her playlist and flipped through the coloring book she’d bought at the airport bookstore. Mr. James always encouraged her and her classmates to do something creative like coloring, listening to music or belly breathing when you were feeling stressed or anxious. Right now, she needed every tool in her self-care kit to get through the reality of leaving Vancouver.

With her eyes closed, she concentrated on her breath as the plane raced down the runway. Once in the air and headed south, she turned her attention to turning the line-art butterfly in the coloring book into one of Peru’s scarlet-peacocks.

Absorbed in coloring, the flight attendant’s hand waved in front of her face, startled her.

“Something to drink or eat?”

She glanced over at her parents now immersed in their own interests. They seemed to forget she was traveling with them.

“Coke please.”

Grandpa always laughed at how colas made her belch a big one. He thought she should enter the International Burping Competition. The grand prize was five hundred dollars. If he was with her and a big one erupted, he’d add one or two of his own and tell any scorning onlookers or her parents, they were making music.

The attendant set the can, along with a glass of ice and straw, on her tray. Ignoring the glass and straw, she drank from the can. As expected, an enormous burp followed. Except for her mom’s laser green eyes boring into her, no one commented or contributed.

No doubt about it—she was all alone.

☼ ☼ ☼

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Complete Table of Contents provided below fyi.

________________________

The Adventures of Maddie Leon
– A Continental Shift –

1. Best Summer Ever

2. My Life Sucks

3. Maddie’s Moving

4. Hanging On

5. Goodbye Vancouver

6. Jojo Kofi Afram

7. Bienvenidas a Lima

8. Grandpa’s Map

9. Surquillo Market

10. Wynn the Peruvian Dog

11. Culturally Braided

12. TGIF

13. Stranded

14. Grateful

15. Hatching a Plan

16. Twists and Turns

17. Choco Museo

18. Competition Heat

19. It’s On

20. Full House

21. Lost and Found

22. Stakeout

23. Common Bonds

Reader Resources

CULTURE

Cultural Awareness
The Cultural Iceberg
Culturally Braided Cuisine

CAREERS

   Career Discovery
21^st Century Careers
Eco-Fashion Careers
Culinary Careers

COMPASS

Self-awareness
Resiliency
Belly Breathing
Journaling

DIY

EAT-IT Scorecard

Sweet Potato Chews

WynnWear Raincoat

Continued conversations

Cultures

Careers

Inner Compass

MORE MADDIE available at maddie-and-wynn.com.

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The Adventures of Maddie Leon - A Continental Shift -