Moxie isn’t sure what she should do. The weekend is coming to an end and every other Global Game Changer is already hard at work on their service project for the General Badge. It’s as if they all had one project in mind that was left over—one that was equally important, but just didn’t fit into any of the other badges. She isn’t so lucky. After days of racking her brain, trying hard to come up with a way she can turn her talents into a general good deed for the community, she still didn’t have anything.
“The General Badge is so hard,” she says to no one in particular.
“Still haven’t decided on a service project?” Pia asks, looking up from the personalized Christmas ornaments she was making for her family.
“No-ope,” Moxie sings, laying her head facedown on the table. “What am I good at, Pia?”
“All kinds of things, Moxie.”
“Be more specific.”
“Well, you are great at cheering.”
“I cheered for the Animals Badge,” she says into the table. “Next.”
“Um, dancing?” Pia replies.
“Rescue Badge,” Moxie says, rolling off the table, “but you made a good effort.”
Pia shrugs, returning to her ornaments.
Moxie continues on down the line, slipping beneath the table and popping up alongside Little Big Heart, who is so startled that he nearly drops the basket of glass bottles he’s holding.
“Whatcha doing, LBH?” she asks, patting the top of his head.
“Collecting recyclables for my Cub Scout pack,” he replies, trying to wiggle out from under her hand. “We’re raising money so we can go to the national conference this year.”
“Need any help? Huh? Huh?”
“You still haven’t figured out your service project yet, have you?” he says, grabbing his bottles and walking off toward the kitchen.
“Don’t judge, LBH,” she responds, waiting until he rounds the corner. “We can’t all be naturals like you!”
Moxie falls to the ground and rolls her way toward the couch, where Acer and IQ have computer parts spread out across the coffee table. They are holding small, green pieces up to a bright light, studying them closely.
“What’s up, Moxie?” Acer says, without looking away from what he is doing.
“I dunno,” she whines. “What are you guys doing for the General Badge?”
“We’re trying to Frankenstein together a computer for our friend. We got a bunch of used parts donated, but now we need to figure out how to put everything together. How about you, figure something out yet?”
“Why? What have you heard?” she says, pretending to be defensive. “That Moxie can’t cut it, huh? That she doesn’t have what it takes to Ignite Good! for the General Badge?”
Acer finally takes his attention away from the computer part, looking Moxie up and down with a confused look. “No?”
“Well, good,” she says. “Because it just so happens that Global Girl is waiting for me right now. I’m very important to the success of her service project.”
Acer nods, returning to his work as Moxie crawls away, stopping at the feet of Global Girl, who is trimming Pixel’s fur.
“Hey, that doesn’t count,” Moxie says. “That’s Animal Badge all day long.”
“Hello, Moxie,” Global Girls says. “What can I do for you?”
“Tell me how to Ignite Good! for the General Badge,” she whispers.
“I think you are putting way too much pressure on yourself,” Global Girl replies. “Just do something nice for someone without expecting anything in return, that’s all there is to it.”
“Would you like a back rub? Or maybe I could bring you a snack?” she asks. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“Try thinking bigger,” Global Girl says.
Pixel barks in agreement.
Moxie tries to think bigger, but bigger isn’t always so easy to think about. She wanders off to the kitchen, thinking that the least she can do is get herself a snack—eating always helps her think, and maybe if she brings some back to Global Girl as an offering, then she will be able to help with Pixel. But when she arrives, she finds the kitchen in disarray, dirty dishes stacked up by the sink, old food tucked away in corners, and a stove top that is so dirty it looks like it had been recently dug up from the ground.
“Gross,” she says, opening the refrigerator, finding it empty of everything but an old box of baking soda sitting lonely in the back. “WHAT!?”
She collapses to the ground, totally defeated.
“Well, now what do I do?” she says out loud.
But, as soon as she says it, she knows the answer.
Later that afternoon, as the other Global Game Changers are finishing up for the day, they start making their way to the kitchen.
“I’m starving,” Acer says, walking in first.
“SURPRISE!” Moxie yells as he walks through the door.
The rest follow quickly behind, finding Moxie standing inside a spotlessly clean kitchen, an enormous tray of healthy snacks held in her arms.
“Whoa, look how clean it is in here,” Little Big Heart says. “It looks amazing!”
“And I went shopping to get you all some snacks!” Moxie tells them. “I figured you would need it after such a long day of Igniting Good! for the General Badge.”
She puts the tray down on the counter and the rest of the Global Game Changers move in to feast.
“I knew you would come up with something great, Moxie,” Global Girl says between bites.
“I did too,” she says. “I never doubted myself for a second!”
