In the late winter of that year, the northern lights danced across the sky above the small town of Blackcliff and the vast plains of Alberta that surrounded it.

A crooked sign read "Blackoil", naming the silhouetted pumps behind it. The hesitant creaking of machinery could be faintly heard through the narrow walls of the house.

Natasha Starr's big round blue eyes stared up at her ceiling. It was very crowded. Her black hair framed her pretty dark skinned face, which could be faintly seen in the dim light of her room. The ceiling was covered in stories from various magazines her parents had ordered from Edmonton, where she used to live. They were from the past couple months. All of the headlines were the same:

November 2, CLIMATE ACTION NOW! December 5, THE CLIMATE NEEDS OUR HELP, and yesterday's: SAVE OUR PLANET! Natasha's tired eyes scanned the headlines. She knew what she had to do. But she also knew of the risk she would have to take.

Natasha's life had gotten harder ever since her family, her mom, her dad, and her of course, had moved to the tiny town of Blackcliff. It was a town surrounded by the colossal oil pumps that the town relied on. Her parents had started working for the oil companies last month. They had been transferred to this small town in the middle of nowhere! Natasha missed her room and the big city of Edmonton that she had lived in. Her friends were distant, she felt like she could barely remember them. She knew that wasn't true, but the thought of never seeing them again brought tears to her eyes. She blinked them away.

Suddenly, Natasha was brought back to earth by her mother, Louisa Camillo, coming to check on her. Her mom entered the room. Just seeing her stout but proud mother standing there made the girl want to jump up and hug her, but she held back. She love her mom so much. Natasha knew that her mother understood that, but she didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. The thought of her long gone friends was still harshly present in her mind like the cold wind of winter.

Her mother's sweet voice rang out in the quiet room.

"Are you asleep sweetie?" her mother questioned.

There was no answer. To stop the sadness building up inside her, Natasha thought of her parents. She thought of her mother's kindness, love and care. A feeling of protection radiated from the figure in the door way.

This thought made Natasha more melancholic, so she instead thought of her father, Martin Starr. He was very smart, just like his daughter. He was always the one that Natasha went to for help. Her father shared her interests in science and also in all the misunderstood creatures of the world. When Natasha was younger, he had asked the principle of her old school to move her up several grades, but they had declined his request. So instead after school every day, he would tell her everything he knew. He cared dearly for everyone in his family, but working had changed him. She remembered when he would stay home with her and tell her stories of his days as a kid.

Natasha lay still, thinking, until her mom finally left the room to join her father. Natasha relaxed and snuggled up in her covers. Almost instantly she dozed off into an uneasy sleep, dreaming about her first day of school tomorrow.

tomorrow.

Natasha sauntered down the rickety stairs into the fragrant kitchen. It smelled delicious. Bacon was sizzling in the pan.

"Did you sleep well honey?" asked Natasha's father. His big blue eyes surveyed the room with care.

"I slept fine," replied Natasha. Her parents exchanged concerned looks. Natasha knew that they could sense that something was up. The truth is that she wasn't ready to start a new life away from her old life. She loved her old life to much. She didn't want to make her parents sad so she stayed quiet.

"Are you OK Natasha?" her mom questioned gently.

"Ya," Natasha lied, "I'm OK." She kept her head down and didn't look up until she was eating. The family ate in silence. Surprising her parents, Natasha spoke up.

"I'm gonna help the climate," she spits out.

"Sweetie, what was that?" asked Louisa.

"I'm gonna help the climate," Natasha repeated, her confidence growing.

"And how are you going to do that?" laughed her father.

Natasha paused for several seconds, thinking.

"We need to shut down the oil companies", she said with confidence, which died out almost immediately when she glanced up at her parents. It was their quizzical looks that almost shut her down.

"What are you talking about?" asked her dad, his voice full of concern. "Our community relies on that company, and you know that" he explained nervously.

"Well maybe it you paid a bit of attention to the climate you would know that its the right thing to do", retorted Natasha.

She couldn't believe it! The frustration was building up inside her but she knew she would just make it worse.

"We need to do something because if we don't we will soon be living in a horrible, toxic world full of waste" explained the girl who spoke barely loud enough to hear.

"Are you trying to lose everyone their jobs?" demanded her father, his soft face looking down on his daughter with worry in his eyes. There was no answer from Natasha.

"If that company stops producing oil, the whole community will crumble to dust" her mum continued.

Natasha's parents looked down on her with doubt as she slowly got up and left the room. Her idea was a fail. She could feel their worried stares on her back as she left the room.

She pulled on her beat up running shoes and stepped out into the cold but fresh morning. She took off down the street to her new school which lay a few blocks away.

School, in Edmonton, was a place to escape. Not anymore! As she walked in to the school she would be attending for the first time, her spirits sank. the paint was peeling and she could tell that it was way overpopulated. She was lucky that she even had a locker. The Wi-Fi barely worked and the desks looked like they were a hundred years old. There was no painted walls or shiny desks like in her last school. There was only the ancient building that she had to spend  the rest of her high school years is in. By looking up at the ceiling and the walls around her Natasha could tell that this building wasn't earthquake-proof or anything proof. To be honest she was surprised it was still standing.

The bell broke her train of thought and she was off to her first class.

As Natasha side stepped through the groups of students she became aware of the many eyes following her down the hall. The threatening kids scrutinized her every move and she could hear their laughter behind her back.

Natasha's classes passed quickly and soon were nothing but memories.

But she would never forget the startled looks on her fellow classmates' faces when she raised her hand for all the complicated questions in every single class. She would also never forget when Vanessa Beauregard, the most popular girl in her grade, came up to her. They had made a deal. Natasha would do all of Vanessa's homework while Vanessa pretended to be Natasha's friend.

Natasha had a slight skip in her step as she casually sauntered home, but it died down almost at once as she stepped up to her front door. As she opened the door, the talking coming from the house ceased unexpectedly. Natasha knew that her parents were talking about her. She ran up to her room, and almost at once faint voices could be heard again downstairs.

At least Natasha's school life was improving. She had finally made some real friends and her best friend's name was Abigail. She was great. She made Natasha feel like she was back home in Edmonton. She was funny and she always made Natasha's day better. The best thing about her was that she agreed with Natasha and was willing to help her save the climate. Every day they got more and more aware that the climate needed their help.

As they strolled down the hall towards the big gym for a mandatory assembly she realized what they had to do. As all the students filed into the  spacious gym, Natasha took her spot in the highest point of the bleachers next to Abigail.