For a moment, the world slowed. The loud voices and obnoxious laughter of high school kids faded into the background. Lorena watched her fellow peers in the process of a kissing game in the back of the bus. The driver was yelling at for them to sit up. Two girls up front rolled their eyes saying the guys were so immature before turning back to texting their own boyfriends.

Were they really so naive of the world? Were they really so innocent or just stupid enough not to pay attention? Did they not know that while they were goofing off innocent people in the Middle East were being bombed on? That in Sudan, so many children were dying of starvation? Did any of the kids here care that when they tossed a candy wrapper out the window they were destroying the environment? Of course not; these kids here are so self-centered they are blind the bigger problems around them other than a date for the winter formal.

But Lorena cared about the world. Every night she would go on a program that would donate rice to Darfur if you spelled words correctly. Her parent’s always shook their heads, amazed at why their teenage daughter wasted her time on that. They both encouraged her to see a movie with her friends or go out on a date whenever Lorena brought up any serious issues. So she kept her opinions to herself, not letting anybody know how much she wanted to help.

It wasn’t that Lorena was odd and the other kids treated her differently. No, in fact she was widely accepted and had lots of friends. It was just sometimes she found everyone to be so immature, so blind to the world. It frustrated her how nobody seemed to care that there were Japanese fisherman who hunted whales or that there was a growing problem with animal cruelty in the U.S. But Lorena never said a word to anybody, still secretly helping the world become a better place.

A whoop rose up snapping Lorena out of her reverie. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” The entire back of the bus was chanting. It took a moment before Lorena realized it was meant for her and a boy blushing in the seat across from her. Abandoning her previous brooding's, Lorena smiled and leaned forward to do her duty.