If Not Us

  “Shelbourne Action”, Ruby said, her voice composed, “will be releasing more information about the level of sulfur dioxide emissions from Hadron in the next couple of weeks. Needless to say, this would be a much healthier place to live and raise our kids without an old and inefficient power station burning low-quality brown coal.”
  “Says you on the cushy doctor's wage!” Pritchard called out.
  “Yeah, what about our jobs?” It was another man in a Hadron cap. [...]
  Ruby waited. “This is not a debate,” she said. “I'm quoting data from the World Health Organization. There is no safe level of exposure to sulfur dioxide.” The man puffed his cheeks and shook his head as if he thought Ruby had no idea what she was talking about. Undeterred, she finished by encouraging everyone to consider the health of future generations. “And that leads us to our next speaker” Ruby said. “Hesse Templeton is seventeen years old and he's concerned about the future not just of Shelbourne, but of the planet. Please welcome him.”
  If Hesse had been queasy before, he felt worse now.
  He somehow got to his feet, but his legs didn't seem connected to his body. Leaning on the table, he sucked in half a dozen deep breaths. [...]
  Hesse made it to the microphone, feeling the heat that had built in the hall. The notes swam in front of his eyes. Frantically, he scanned the crowd. A trickle of sweat ran down the side of his face. He found Theo, who gave a reassuring nod. And finally, there by the side door, the face he most needed to see – Fenna. [...] You've got this, she mouthed.
  “G'day”, Hesse began, as much to test the microphone as to begin his speech.
  The crowd settled and waited.
  His notes became clearer but his voice still waivered. “My name is Hesse, and I'm part of the generation that's going to have to” – he stopped to clear his throat and swallow hard – “to live with the effects of climate change. When most of you are dead, we're the ones who will have to live in the world you leave behind.”
  He paused, expecting a reaction, but there was just silence.
  “Climate change will have a huge impact on towns like ours” he continued, his voice strengthening. “Unless we stop burning fossil fuels, we are on track for a sea-level rise of at least one metre by 2050. The king tides will flood all the houses along Riverbank Road.” [...]
  He and Fenna had given a lot of thought to the speech and had figured it best to hit them where it hurts. “In fact, half the houses in town are less than a metre above sea level. [...]
  “Rubbish!” someone yelled.
  All eyes turned to the middle-aged man who'd leapt to his feet. “I'm not going to sit there and be lectured by a child!” [...] “Climate change is a hoax!” he shouted. Spit flew from his mouth and landed in the hair of a woman in front of him. [...]
  “I–” Hesse started to say.
  “Oh be quiet and sit down” the man interrupted. “You're too young to understand. We don't want to hear what you've got to say. Do we?” he asked, looking around the hall for support.
  It seemed to Hesse time slowed down then. A woman sitting near the front stood up and faced the man. “I do!” she said. “I'm with Hesse.”
  “I do too,” yelled Mus, shooting to his feet like he'd just sat on a pin.
  “Me too,” called Theo. “I'm with Hesse.”
  “And me,” Steve Daly said loudly.
  The call rippled around the room as, one after another, people stood up, some facing the interjector, others making a point of eyeballing the bully boys at the back. Eventually, most of the crowd was standing. Never one to miss an opportunity, Tina started a chant. “Hesse! Hesse! Hesse!” It caught on, as people clapped in time and stamped their feet. Hesse looked at Fenna. She was standing on a table near the exit, her phone in hand, filming. She swung around and gave him a big thumbs up. [...]

  Hesse and Fenna walked home together. [...] Just as they reached the bridge, Hesse's phone buzzed. A message from Rachel: What do you think? He and Fenna leaned together and watched the video. Rachel had adjusted the sound, making it clearer. She'd edited the length to a couple of minutes, mercifully cutting out Hesse's fumbling when he first went to the microphone. It captured the intensity in the hall, the chant going up and filling the room. Best of all Fenna had focused on the woman who stood up in the front row, before the commotion began, the first one to say, ‘I'm with Hesse.ʼ
  Awesome, Hesse texted back. Now what?
  Rachel's answer was short and to the point. #I'mWithHesse
  Who do we send it to? Hesse asked.
  Everyone.