Explanation for the Migration

Today I saw another flock of birds fly in that weird formation again. It was my first migration, after just learning how to fly last month, so I had no idea what to expect. I continued to stare in awe as the birds flew farther away, growing smaller and smaller, off into the distance.

"Dude, quit staring at them like that. You're weirding me out." my best friend, Tiki exclaimed.

"It's amazing that they all know exactly where they're going. Don't they ever get lost?"

"Well, it's never happened to our group."

A strong breeze came along and nearly knocked me and Tiki off our branch. Isn't it too windy for migration today? What if the wind blows us off course? Maybe we should just migrate tomorrow...

Tiki noticed the worry on my face while I was deep in thought.

"Don't worry so much, nothing bad has ever happened to our flock.....But there was that one time..."

"Wait, WHAT?"

"Hehe, I'm just kidding. You're so gullible, Charlie."

"And you're so mean." I huffed in annoyance.

A few minutes later, our group leader, Ava, called us over for our migration meeting. Maybe I'll learn why we have to migrate with that strange V formation. I saw a bunch of other black-capped chickadees fly over to our tree. With all the chatter amongst us I can't even hear myself think. They all kept talking louder and louder just to hear their own conversations. I noticed Ava started to get pretty upset. I brace myself before my not-so-visible ears start hurting a lot. I cover them with my wings in the nick of time.

"SETTLE DOWN EVERYONE!!!! I AM GOING TO BEGIN OUR MIGRATION MEETING!!! I DON'T HAVE TIME TO LISTEN TO YOUR TRIVIAL CONVERSATIONS NOW, YOU ALL CAN TALK LATER!!!" Ava screamed.

Within a second everyone was dead silent. It's incredible all that came out of her tiny little beak. She told us that we are, once again, traveling south. She explained which bird would go where, in our V formation. But why does it have to be a V? What if I want it to be a W or something? I flew over to Tiki while Ava continued to blabber on about what a V looks like.

"This is so boring. I wanna know why we have to be in a V formation, not what it looks like." I whispered.

"Instead of talking to your friends while I'm talking, why won't you just raise your wing? I'll tell you why." Ava glared at me.

How did she hear me? I was whispering so quietly...

"We fly in a V formation because it's tradition." she explained.

"Actually, we do it because it helps us catch the preceding bird's updraft, and to save our energy during the migration." the bird in the extremely large glasses corrected.

"NO CALLING OUT, CALVIN, UNLESS YOU RAISE YOUR WING!" she snapped.

"Y-Yes ma' am." Calvin buried his head in his wing in embarrassment.

I looked around and observed the birds in my group. They all seem pretty nice--some whispering to each other and surprisingly not getting caught. Or maybe Ava just hates me. I remember her being in the same class in school. She was at the top of the class, which resulted in her being one of the group leaders this year. She's changed quite a bit, easily becoming annoyed if things weren't done right. Ava was so popular and friendly back at school. I'm starting to regret being assigned to this group. I was brought back into reality when I heard her yell at another bird for slouching in her wooden chair.

"SIT UP STRAIGHT MISSY! DIDN'T THEY TEACH YOU THAT IN SCHOOL???" Ava yelled.

I watched as the poor bird tried holding back tears, but failed. I turned around and saw the last flock fly by. Should I tell Ava to wrap things up? But I don't wanna be yelled at too... You know what, I don't care anymore. I raised my wing and patiently waited until she finally noticed me.

"Um, Ava, the last group of birds just left." I said nervously.

But instead of being yelled at, she switched back to her nice self. She looked at her mini cuckoo clock.

"Oh! We're late! Thank you for reminding me, Charlie." Ava smiled.

We all got into our positions and took off. I was next to the bird who was crying earlier. She had a yellow spot where her left eye was, and another patch of yellow on her wing. Based on my observations, this might be her first migration too. I looked forward and saw the sun was setting. It was a beautiful sight with shades of orange, purple, pink, red, and yellow. I'm glad we left late. I stopped staring at the sunset and remembered what Ava told us at the meeting. We had to stay on guard for any obstacles or larger birds that might eat us. I learned at school that it's more dangerous to travel at night when there could be lots of nocturnal creatures.

"Are you worrying again, Charlie?" Tiki said without turning around.

"How did you know?"

"We've been best friends for a long time. I don't need to see you to know that you're worrying your head off about our journey."

"Aren't you worried as well? It's getting dark."

"It's not likely to get ambushed by the creatures lurking in the darkness when we're in a group that's this big."

"But it's a possibility."

After a few hours, it was so dark that I couldn't see anything. I listened to the flapping of wings as we kept going. Suddenly, I heard louder flapping to the left of us. But Tiki said it was unlikely for an ambush to happen. Was he wrong?

"Give us a few of your friends, and we'll spare the rest." one voice said.

"Why on earth would we do that?" Ava looked around.

"Unless you're willing to sacrifice everybody to be a large feast for us." another voice whispered.

There were seconds of silence between both groups until Ava finally gave us a signal. We purposely flew near obstacles causing our predators to crash into them. If we kept this up, I might puke. This is why I hate roller coasters. After flying around another pole, I heard a crash in front of me. It couldn't have been those other birds trying to eat us. They all stopped chasing after crashing one too many times. We landed on the grass to see who fell. Tiki was on the ground, holding his wing in pain.

"Just go on without me. If everybody stays here, the birds are going to eat us all. I can hear them coming." Tiki winced.

"I'm not leaving you!" I whisper-yelled.

"Yes. Yes we are. I hate leaving a bird behind, but we're all gonna die if we stay here." Ava sighed.

She and the rest of the flock flew away, while I stayed with Tiki. We both walked deeper into the tall grass, waiting until we couldn't hear any more flapping. I have no idea how long it will take to reach our destination. I just hope the others aren't too far ahead. Me and Tiki slept in the grass, shivering when the wind blew, until the sun came up. Before Ava left, she told us to continue traveling south, and then we'll meet them there. For the next few days, we waddled as far as we could, taking breaks every few hours.

"I think my wing is finished healing." Tiki said.

"Then we better hurry. I bet Ava and the others are already waiting for us."

Tiki wobbled a little bit when he first took off, but he seems alright. As we continued our journey through the air, we discovered interesting places. From tall buildings, to cafes, and creatures that had four feet that were round, like the berries we'd eat. I can't wait to tell the others about all these new things. Suddenly, I spotted a worm-like creature near a trash can. Food perhaps? I swoop in and eat it whole. Definitely not a worm. But VERY delicious. A little girl runs up to me and drops some on the ground.

"Tiki, you have to try these. They taste delicious!" I hollered.

"They sure do. Those are called french fries."

"They're fries from France?? I've always wanted to go there!"

"No, they're probably not from France. It's just what they're called."

Me and Tiki eat lots of french fries, careful not to eat too much, because that would affect our flying. I carry a few french fries in my beak to share them with the others when we reach the south. It took us weeks until we finally made it to our destination. But by the time we made it there, I already ate the wonderful worm-like snacks.. Maybe when we return to the north I'll introduce them to french fries.

"So, did you like your first migration?" Tiki asked.

"It was scary at first, but I discovered a lot of new things!" I exclaimed.

"Let's just hope that next time we won't encounter those other birds on our next migration."

I told Ava about all the things me and Tiki saw on our journey. I think we're going to stop for french fries in the city next time. I can't wait!