Timmy Turtle And The Plastic Disaster

• Ash Cockrem, Grade 2
• Short Story
• 2021

G’day mate! My name’s Timmy Turtle and I live just off the coast of Cairns in the Great Barrier Reef. I’ve got some bad news! The nasty humans have polluted our once pristine home. Oh look, my mum, Sarah the Sea Turtle, is calling me for dinner. I can smell roasted seaweed, my favourite!

At the dinner table (which is actually just a big rock), we chat about the same usual things, but then Mum gossips about a very odd occurrence. “The colour of our crystal blue ocean is now disgraceful! It is turning into an awful, green, mould colour,” Mum says disappointedly.
My little sister Tara Turtle says, “It’s those cheeky Oomans!”
“They’re not Oomans, Tara, they’re humans!” I tell Tara once I’d finish my dinner.
Then Tara and I head for bed. Just as I am about to turn into my bedroom (which is just a small cave), Tara whispers to me, “I hope this yucky water clears up!”

I wake up the next morning and I decide to go and play with my friend, Flint the Fish. He is as playful as a dolphin calf. On the way there, I see Rachel the Reef Shark. She is a bit of a meanie but has some humour. She tells me a very good joke. What did one shark say to the other shark while eating a clownfish? This tastes funny! She says.
I laugh so hard I nearly bring up my breakfast.

When I get to Flint’s place, it isn’t so funny. I can’t see him outside, so I go into his bedroom. To my utter amazement, he is trapped inside a plastic bag, suffocating! What do I do? I think anxiously. I try to pull the bag off, but my slippery flippers aren’t much help. I go outside and swim over to Rachel the Reef Shark. I say to Rachel, “Flint has gotten stuck in a plastic bag. Can you use your sharp teeth to tear the bag apart?” Rachel ignores me. Flint and Rachel are sworn enemies, so I will have to do this myself. As I sprint back over to Flint’s place, Rachel stops me. “Fine! I’ll help you!” she agrees in frustration.

We move into Flint’s bedroom, careful not to startle him. Rachel reveals her razor-sharp, white teeth and starts tearing the bag apart. A couple of minutes later, Flint is free! We lead him to the GBR Paramedic Fish building and tell them what has happened to him. They are so proud of us for bringing Flint to safety.

A week passes since the situation with Flint the Fish and Rachel and I are to receive medallions from the mayor of the Great Barrier Reef. Everyone is so proud of us! The mayor tells us that 100 million sea creatures die each year from plastic waste alone. Come on humans! This isn’t okay!