Spit Stories Two: Throw Up Stories

Prologue:
Okay, so you know I'm in college now. But I let you skip a whole ten years of my life! Well you won't get away with that again--here's what happened when I was 11.

Chapter 1:
"Sorry guys, can't play my clarinet today. In P.E. we did the mile." I sat in the middle of my orchestra group explaining why I couldn't do my warm up or pretty much anything else. Every time in P.E. that we had to run the mile, I threw up and then had difficulty breathing. And we all know that the clarinet takes lots of breathing.
"Oh my gosh, not again. Can't you just play a little? I know it's not your fault, but the band really needs you. Otherwise I'll have to take away your lead solo," said Linda, the manager. Take away my solo? That would be horrible, but I guess I really deserved it. After all, if I couldn't practice, I wouldn't do well at the concert. But wasn't there something else I could do?
"Linda, we all know what the mile does to us, right? Gosh, I hate the P.E. teachers," Julie exclaimed.
"Completely agree!" I seconded her thought. Then I thought about starting a campaign that we wouldn't be forced to run the mile. No, a little far-fetched--students wouldn't get that kind of support and would get into big trouble. Besides, how could we do it? It's not like we can just march up to the head master and expect him to agree! Nevertheless, I told the group about my idea.
"No, we would get into too much trouble! There's nothing we can do about it, okay?" rambled Linda. Well of course she wouldn't agree.
"That's a great idea! We could refuse to get our partner's time--"
"And create an underground newspaper--"
"And then when everyone finally agrees, we can tell the head master!" excitedly ended Lucy. I was so happy that my plan would work!
"We'll meet tomorrow," I shouted as I headed home to call Ms. Lisette.

Chapter 2:
"Totally! You need absolute rights to playing the clarinet. I'm all for it. Oops…sorry but I have to go now. I'm making dinner and the over just went off. See you later, Meg!" That was Ms. Lisette after I told her about the plan. We had talked about the first steps and things like that. She had told me that the best idea was to make an underground newspaper and get the whole school informed. I agreed because the more people the better. Then Ms. Lisette said that she would try to recruit some adults who could help. I started typing our newspaper.
The Evils of the Mile
Have you ever thought that running the mile is tiring, cruel, or sickening? Have you ever dreamt of campaigning against it? This is the newspaper for you. Make sure you don't let any teachers get a hold of this secret newspaper because we could get into trouble. When we have an adult, we can start petitioning to teachers. For now, just read the newspapers and get people convinced that running the mile is horrible. Here are a few convincing articles.
Tiring. Julie, a student at this school, gets very tired from having to run. She explains that she was so tired once that she could hardly pedal on the piano, which made a huge difference on the concert. The composition didn't sound as good and we definitely weren't as confident. Most of us run the mile in the middle of the day and we have to go straight back to school work after running it. It isn't very fair that we have to do this, being so exhausted.
Cruel. Lucy hates the mile. She just thinks it's cruel! Each time she runs it, she feels like she's about to pass out. Also, P.E. for her class is right before lunch so she's expected to eat lunch right after running! Isn't that a bit strange? Think of it this way: you run, get very tired and sick, and so you don't have a big appetite. So you're forced to skip lunch! Lucy also once had a huge test right after running, and her head hurt so much from the mile that she got a C on the test. This isn't too bad, but she normally gets As and occasional Bs. How cruel!
Sickening. Meg gets sick each time she runs the mile, and the gym teachers do nothing about it. Meg is forced to stay at school when she feels weak from running, getting sick and then skipping lunch. We definitely need to fix these problems.
This is our first edition. Sorry that it was so short. Please submit to us YOUR stories about running the mile. Also to join our campaign email us.
That was our first edition of the Evils of the Mile. It was short but sweet (and gross). We emailed the newspaper to everyone in the school and crossed our fingers about what would happen tomorrow.

Chapter 3:
Tips on the Protest.
Prepare for Protest.
How to Protest.
The Law about Protesting Peacefully.
What to do When a Teacher gets Mad.
Whose Number to give the Teacher.
Good Lies.
These were a few article names. I sent each one to Ms. Lisette, and she continued to love each one. But, as you probably predicted, the day came when we had to start protesting.
Chapter 4:
"Today we'll be running the mile. I will give you a card for you to write your name and time on once you have finished. Now remember, if you don't complete the mile in seven minutes you'll be running again, so you must try your best this time." At this moment Ms. Bush glanced at me. I glanced at my supporters, and then we all glanced at each other. Then we burst out in giggles.
The giggles didn't last for long, though. Before I knew it I was running around the green track about to throw up. But I didn't feel as headache-y…I guess because I had some hope. And supporters. I glanced behind my shoulder and saw the thumbs up that Julie was signing. She mouthed, "GO! GO! GO!" This was it, and I was actually going to do it. I don't really know how I felt because it was scary to be risking probation or something, but this was totally worth it. If Ms. Lisette said I was doing the right thing, I pretty much was doing the right thing.
I watched in amazement as when my supporters and I slowed to a walk, other kids slowed down too. Some people looked curious, and some looked so happy. A couple boys looked like they wanted to kill us. But that's okay.
"Now why aren't you running?" I waited a long time for someone to answer. Then I knew that I was the leader of this campaign so that someone would be me.
"We aren't running the mile if it's okay," I timidly said.
"DO YOU THINK IT'S OKAY?" yelled Ms. Bush.
"Well, not okay with you, but okay with us. That's what campaigns are for--to make things okay for us, the majority. And maybe you can get a part of the deal too," Linda bravely shouted.
"Yeah, I get so sick every time I run," added Julie. I shoved the Evils of the Mile in Ms. Bush's face. She read over it and gasped. Her face looked like a pinched monkey's face.
"You have two choices. You can give me your parents' numbers and quit this campaign thing or go to the principal's."
"Oh…tough choice," I smirked. I was doing well, wasn't I? "My mom happens to be a strong supporter of this campaign."
"Really…last time I checked she seemed to be fond of physical education."
I must have seemed to hesitate because Linda talked for me. "Women can change their minds," she replied. Ms. Bush narrowed her eyes with her hand on her hip. We all burst out laughing again. Then we looked at the clock and realized that the bell could ring in any second. I gave her Ms. Lisette's number and left.

Chapter 5:
Two months later so much had happened. Well, the campaign went on normally, with lots of protests that got us nowhere, but Linda and I had become best friends. She had given me the BFF necklace, which at our school was a symbol of best friends. I also got a Myspace and got tons of support for my campaign. So you may not think that's a lot, but it really is, because that was the time when I gained my confidence so that I could do much better with the campaign.

Chapter 6:
It happened. It happened! It happened. Can you believe it? My parents found out that I was campaigning and forbade me to type on the computer. Ha--like that would keep the newspaper from going out? Handwriting was fine with the school. My mom would scream at me every day, but you want to know something weird? I didn't care at all. I would just sit through the screams and nod. Then, at school the next day, I would continue campaigning. So that's not what really happened.
The most athletic and popular girl in school, Alicia, signed the petition, which made the petition complete--meaning that everyone in the school had signed it. That's part of what happened…but not what really happened. Again.
On a nice, bright, sunny day (it actually was pouring down rain but what does that matter? We were inside!) Linda and I held a party during free period. We hung huge banners that said "Petition Complete!! Join the celebration!" There was lots of laughter, cake, party hats, and confetti everywhere. Suddenly a big, booming monster entered the doorway. Everyone shrieked and cried for their parents! Just kidding. Here's what really happened: A sweet but professional teacher entered the room, and we all fell silent.
"What are you partying about? Oh…petition complete join the celebration," she read slowly, and then she said rather rapidly, "What are you petitioning about?" I was a little scared, but when Marci, who was a teacher's pet, spoke up, we were all settled.
"We are petitioning so we can make our school better, Ms. Frances. Running the mile makes some of the students unhappy, so we would like to find other ways to pursue athletic interest." Marci had got it. She just knew how to speak with wonderful vocabulary, which was one of the reasons that teachers liked her.
"You have to run the mile? Forgive me, I'm the eighth grade English teacher, so I don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to P.E. Did you know I failed it?"

Epilogue:
You get the idea of it now. Of how it happened. Of how we won the campaign! Some campaign it was. Now you know the major event that happened to me before I went to college. And well, that's about it!
No, one more thing. I can tell and retell the many stories of the campaign. Especially to my clarinet teacher. We call the stories Throw Up Stories.

Author's note: In Meg's school, kids who were fine with running the mile still ran it, and no one had a problem with it.