November 14.

The Whole Story...

We will be forever hated by the classes after us. But we don't regret it. We don't care. Not one bit. We don't mind being remembered as "The Horrible 7th Grade Class Who Got Cheez-Its Banned." We will keep training and keep teaching until we take over the school.

And this is how it all began...

(flashback)

"Alright class, for the next little while, we will be learning about ancient Japan," Mr. White calls.

A few of us groan because it is hard to not fall asleep in some classes, but this guy has got it down, the way to make History entertaining.

"To start this small section off with something fun," he begins, "we will be learning how to throw a ninja star. I know this may not be traditional Japanese history, whereas Samurai would have used swords, known as Katanas, but I thought we could have a little fun."

I perk up and look at my best buddy, Al. We share an excited look and I blurt out, "really? Are you going to let us learn how to throw a ninja star?!"

"Yes, Leo, I am going to let ALL of you learn to throw a ninja star. Although we will be using origami stars."

We all jump up, hollering and hooting, pumping our fists, climbing onto chairs.

"Settle down!" Mr. White yells over the noise, but he has a little twinkle in his eyes, letting us know that he is excited too. Mr. White is the only teacher who has to ask our troubled, loud, energetic class to do something only once. We all sit down and look at him with ready eyes and attentive postures.

Al kicks the back of my chair while Mr. White is droning on about safety rules and I sneak a glance at him. He smiles his signature mischievous smile and I already know what he's thinking. You see, Al has a weird thing about Cheez-Its, and I know he's going to want to throw them like ninja stars. The thing is, I want to do it too. I give him the "should-we-get-everyone-else-in-on-this?" look and he nods vigorously. I write it on a note, because I have better handwriting, and pass it along. I secretly watch as it goes around the classroom, hoping and praying that Mr. White doesn't see it. I watch as Jenna, the last person, smiles and shoves the note towards Al, and about a second after he takes it from her, he stuffs it in his mouth.

"Ewwwww!!!" Jenna and some other girls cry. Some of the guys, including me, laugh. Mr. White is trying to keep a straight face because that part he saw, and Al is a very messy eater.

"Al, go spit that out. If you keep eating paper, you won't be hungry for lunch!" At this, we all laugh and then the bell rings.

When I get on the bus the next morning, Al is there on our bench waiting for me. His bright red hair is in his eyes, but you can see him smiling. He hands me a bag as I sit down and I know what's in it. Cheez-Its. Now, this bag isn't a small, snack-sized Ziplock bag, it's the size of my soccer bag.

"We don't even know how to throw the stars yet, Al!"

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that minor detail. Well, at least we can eat them. I'm starving. Also, I was up all night planning. We will have to throw them in the cafeteria because if we bring them in any other classroom, the teachers will take them," he whispers.

"Right," I agree.

When we enter the History classroom, Mr. White is standing in the front with a guy standing next to him. I sit down in my seat and find 3 paper ninja stars on my desk.

"Neat," I say under my breath.

"Good morning class, this is Mr. Keats, and he will be teaching us how to throw ninja stars. He has made us 3 stars each," Mr. White says.

Al picks one of his up and throws it at my head. What a great friend he is. Sadly, he has a relatively good aim. He hits me and Mr. White scolds him. At least he didn't throw it correctly. Then we learn how to throw the stars.

We practice outside at a line of trees. Mr. Keats has this weird accent that is hard to place, so we can't understand what he's saying, but we watch his hand, arm, and star very closely.

I am the first to throw. I hit the tree dead center and the whole class cheers. I beam so brightly the sun looks dim. I throw again. Right in the middle. Every star I throw hits the very heart of the tree. Al claps my back and says this under his breath so that only I can hear, "Looks like we have a leader."

That makes me so proud we decide to bump up the date of the Cheez-It war. November 14.

We learn for about 15 minutes then Mr. Keats has to go, so we do regular class. But I know nobody is paying attention. We are all waiting till lunch. We secretly talk about it. Our plan to take over the school. To throw Cheez-Its like ninja stars. We go home a while later, and practice throwing. Soon our army of boisterous 7th graders is ready to ruin the cafeteria. We all have 3 lunch boxes each, all full of small, orange squares.

The day has come.

I entered the cafeteria first, holding my bulging backpack full of Cheez-Its. I smile evilly and barely say "Charge."

Our army of chaos erupts.

"ARGGGGG!!" We all yell as we run and begin throwing the small squares. Cheez-Its are actually sticking into walls, breaking chairs, knocking over tables. The lunch ladies are screaming and hiding behind trash cans. Everyone is screaming while Al and I are on top of the only standing table, laughing maniacally.

We all got suspended. For a week, but the first day the whole class ate sandwiches together. My parents weren't even mad, they thought it was so funny. I don't think anyone of us will ever eat Cheez-Its again.

(Back to the present)

It's our class's first day back at school, and we all notice that the cafeteria is closed off. The lunch ladies officially hate us. We will always remember the day we struck back, for all of the terrible homework assignments, the day we colored the cafeteria orange. There is a sign in the door. We all get detention for laughing so loud. But we'll let you read the sign for yourself.