Who knew? A Wayside Fanfiction by Tyler Raymundo

NOTE: I'm not the best writer, and this is my first time writing fanfiction. This is a continuation of the fanfic I'm currently working on. (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are on my profile)

So, I would recommend kicking back, and getting out your bag of Lays potato chips. Or whatever snack you happen to have on hand. Don't worry. I won't judge. Why would I? This is a fanfiction after all. We are free to do whatever we want! (almost) ;) Always remember: no one can judge you when you're reading fanfiction. That's one of those things that'll stick with you your whole life! Or at least I think so. It's really up to you.

Here it goes. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Double Reverse Cherry Bomb

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Todd woke up to his alarm screaming once again. At first, he thought it was Saturday, meaning he could sleep in, but then he realized what day it actually was: Thursday. Tomorrow was the Valentine's Day Dance and he didn't have anyone to go with. He didn't mind this at all of course, but he did, on the other hand, have to worry about Maurecia asking him out, because that would mean he would have to tell her no. He was capable of doing that, but he also didn't want to hurt her feelings.

On Thursdays, Todd's parents got to sleep in, since they both had that day off every week. So that meant he had to fix up his bowl of cereal on his own. While doing so, he turned on the television to see if there were any good cartoons on at that time. To his surprise, there was! Spongebob was on, and it was a good one, as well. You can't beat the classic season one episodes.

So, he got his favorite bowl of Uh-O's and began to watch. Nothing takes your mind off a dance quite like a cartoon sponge getting lost and singing while delivering a pizza. He tried his best not to laugh too hard, so he wouldn't wake up his parents.

A few blissful moments past, and then Todd was more than ready to face the day. He couldn't help but say "goodbye" as he went out the door, even though he was the only one awake. He locked it, and then he was officially on his merry way.

"Well, what's even the percent chance that Maurecia's going to ask you out, anyway?" Todd thought to himself as he walked down many familiar sights leading to the bus stop. It was so cold that he could see his breath! "Hopefully I won't have to hurt her feelings. That would be the worst."

A few moments later, and he was now at the stop for the buses. He was a few minutes early, as well, somehow! Which was great because he needed more time to think. "I mean, even if she did ask you out, would that even be such a bad thing? Is there anything bad about having a girl like you?" He continued on in his head. "In general, not really. But when that girl constantly punches you because that's apparently how she shows her emotions, then maybe."

The bus arrived around two minutes later, and from there he was off. He was the only kid in his class that was on the bus this particular morning. As such, he decided to just relax for a bit from all the stress he was having from all the stuff going on at school. There were a few kids from the grade below him that were chatting, as well as a bunch of kindergarteners in the very back that were talking about chocolate milk.

As much as he tried to drown out the voices of everyone by plugging his ears with his fingers, it was no use. He couldn't not hear them. "I can already tell that today is going to be a long, long, day." He kept thinking to himself, as pessimistic as that sounds. Not much more time passed before he got to school, and he was the last one to leave the bus.

Eyeing up the huge building, Todd noticed something very unusual, very unlike the norm: none of the lights in the classrooms were on. It was very foggy on this particular morning, but it wasn't even cold, despite the sun being out. Usually, every single classroom has its lights on, even when it's not necessary. Todd walked into school promptly.

The moment he stepped inside, there was absolute chaos. Kids from all different grades were holding up picket signs with all sorts of slogans and messages on them, like, "We can't wait more than an hour! Bring back the power!" and "Electricity = A Necessity". Some kids were even clapping and singing songs they made up.

"What the heck is going on here?" Todd asked a rioting little boy. "So basically, to make a long story short, yesterday after school, the power somehow went out and now there's all of these horrible things that aren't working, like pencil sharpeners and projectors!" he answered in a high-pitched voice. "Well, why does that concern you? I mean, come on, shouldn't you be glad that you don't have to go to class because of this?"

The little boy gave a sharp frown. "I am much, much more mature than most men my mentality." He then walked off, obviously offended by other off putting objectives. Surprisingly, at first Todd did not see a single student from his class, it seemed as though they all were elsewhere, when this is exactly the type of thing one of them would do.

Even though it was around 10 minutes before the bell rings, Todd decided to get a move on up the- "Todd! What are you doing down here if you're not protesting?! I hope you've been reading the school rule book! I'm desperately trying to find something in here about protesting!" Dana exclaimed, popping out from seemingly nowhere and frightening Todd a little. "Oh, h-h-hey, Dana... I was just, um... going upstairs to class early? Yeah, I'm pretty sure Mrs. Jewels is already up there."

Dana squinted her eyes slightly. "Are you sure?! This doesn't seem like the kind of thing you would do." she asked suspiciously, to which Todd said yeah, he was sure. "Okay Todd! Just be careful when you go up the stairs: there's a lot of protesters hanging around and they might getcha! (awkward laugh) Enough with the fun!" Dana advised, but Todd didn't believe her, so he just ignored that.

Todd was on the 15th floor when he suddenly became very tired, and wanted to stop walking. That's when he gave himself the biggest slap in the face in history: he realized he could've just taken the elevator this whole time, as it had a spare battery that didn't run on the building's main energy source. So that's what he did, and soon enough, the elevator had arrived. When he opened it up, though, he saw...

A whole group of 3rd graders with picket signs, some of them more serious than others. Nonetheless, Todd wasn't even sure if there was enough room for him to stand, but he somehow was able to find space, right in the corner next to the buttons. He pushed the one for the 30th floor and they were all off!

A couple of minutes into the ride and one of the kids in a long coat and grey hat turned his head up to Todd and whispered to him, "Krusty Krab is unfair..." Todd was more than confused. Worried, even, about how these kids were going to turn out when they grew up. But that was really none of his business.

Most of the children got off the elevator around the 23rd or so floor, until there was only Todd. He put on some rock music to ease his troubles as he ascended. When the song "ILOVEDOGSANDCATSSOOOMUUUCH" by Grace Rosenburg finished up, he was there. Even though that song was one of his favorites, Todd still felt slightly anxious.

Todd entered the room and sat at his usual spot in the back, the only other person who was in there was Joe, as everyone else was busy protesting. Todd would usually be studying at this time, as he usually had a test to study for, but today he didn't. Having nothing better to do, he decided he might as well chit-chat with Joe. So he did.

"How are you feeling today, Joe?" he asked him. "Meh, I don't know what, man. The Valentine's Day dance is so close and I really want to go, but I have no one to go with! I've always wanted to go to one, too. I really thought this was the year I'd finally do it. Even 1st graders have more dates than me!" he responded in disbelief, throwing up his hands. Todd really saw his disappointment and tried his best to cheer him up. For an odd school, this was a normal problem. Oddly normal, in fact.

"Listen, man. I've totally been there. When I was young, at my old school, I would always see girls I had feelings for, but I never thought I was good enough to pursue them. Because of that, I never really resolved those issues and to this day I feel bad about myself sometimes. But it's alright, because I'm starting to have more confidence, as I get more used to the wackiness of this place. I'm sure you will find someone!"

Joe brushed his hair with his hands. "Easy for you to say. You have Maurecia, one of the cutest girls in class, head over heels with you! You're so lucky, and I've heard she's going to ask you to the dance today... but you didn't hear that from me!" He then went downstairs to join the protests, and so he could pretend like he had not blurted out that last sentence. Hopefully Dana wasn't eavesdropping, being the big gossip that she is!

Now Todd actually had a dilemma on his hands. While he always had to deal with Maurecia and her many antics, he's never had to actually tell her "no". At the same time, however, Joe really did have a point. Was Maurecia liking him really that bad? There are so many guys who wish they were in his situation! Sure, she can be aggressive with how she expresses her feelings, but other than that, what was the problem?

He continued to ponder these questions and thoughts and answers while he waited for the bell, but it... never rang! As it turns out, someone had cut the cords necessary for it to do so in protest, leading to that. He supposed he didn't mind. Eventually though, he decided to go find his friends and hopefully Mrs. Jewels as well, since he wanted to get the school day going. He walked all the way down to the 12th floor, where the most ruckus seemed to be happening.

It turned out, this is where all the teachers were because they were all making a lot of noise in the faculty lounge! Won over by his curiousness, he peaked through a small hole in the locked door to see what was going on. He found Mr. Kidswatter and a few preschool teachers laughing their heads off inside.

"Ah, you see, this is the life everyone! No more having to worry about troublesome students, just good, old fashioned relaxation time! We should've thought of cutting out the power ages ago!" Mr. Kidswatter cheered while sipping a cup of coffee and eating a donut. Todd could not believe it! Mr. K had done this on purpose just so he could have some time off?! He had to let the others know! That's when Todd had a brilliant plan, and he went back down to the main floor via the elevator.

He went straight to the main floor and tried searching for anyone he knew through the sea of preschoolers and 2nd graders. He realized he was going to have to dive in if he wanted to see anyone, so he put on his scuba gear and did exactly that! He swam through the literal sea of kids until he had to come up for air.

Somehow, someone had moved the file cabinet from Mrs. Jewels' room all the way down here, and so Todd climbed up it and overlook the hallway like a seal on a buoy through the ocean. That's when he heard a familiar voice calling him from the other side of the room...

"Tooooddddd! Oooovveerr heerrree!" It was Maurecia! She and Myron were on a desk that also somehow ended up down there, overlooking the children. "I'll come over to you guys, stay right there!" Todd shouted, although he doubt they heard him because of all the babbling. Now, the question was, how was he going to do that? Suddenly, a bunch of books rose up from the crowd, acting as stepping stones for Todd, and sure enough, he crossed over.

Maurecia hugged the boy and whimpered, "Oh, Todd! I'm so glad you're here! Today has been a disaster so far! I haven't been able to find Fluffy since this morning!" Myron looked at Todd with a rather cheeky, jack o' lantern-like smile while they embraced, much to Todd's dismay. "I am so sorry, that sounds horrible. You guys wouldn't believe what I just saw! I'll tell you about it after we get out of here. And hopefully find Dana, Mrs. Jewels, and Louis."

The trio now had to make their way back to the elevator, somehow. "It's okay guys, I'm sure that with my brilliant mind, we will be there faster than someone can vote for me! Which you both should totally do, by the way." Myron boasted while Todd and Maurecia began thinking. After three quarters of a minute, Maurecia had it. "I got it! We'll just use the crowd to carry us to safety. You know, like how celebrities do that?"

Before Todd could respond, Myron interrupted with, "Aha! I know what we can do! We can crowd-surf to get to it!" The two sighed, and then they were on their way. Halfway through the journey, Myron came across the deep end of very rowdy children and began to sink under. "Help! Help! Todd! Maurecia! I-I-I'm... drowning! Save me!" he yelled, arms flailing. And so, they got one of his arms and put them on either of their shoulders, and had to carry him across the people carrying them.

When they got to the elevator, they pried open the doors and laid the boy down on the carpet-esque floor. Todd went to push the buttons when the pair realized that Myron was choking! "Quick!" Maurecia shouted, and motioned towards him. The two pushed on Myron's belly until he coughed up a scarf and an empty potato chips bag. "Thank you guys so much! I would vote for you guys if I could! Now let's get this party started!"

Now that they were all on their way towards the floors near the top, they decided to relax with some music on their way up. "So here's the plan you guys," Todd announced to the two. "We're going to someone gain access to Mr. Kidswatter's loudspeaker through an air vent on one of the floors, since it runs on a spare battery. Once we have it, we'll 'announce' that all of the students in our class have to come up to her room, so everyone's together. We'll figure ourselves out from there."

They eventually got up to the 27th floor and started looking for an air vent, since there were so many of them in the school. The only things that appeared to be on this floor were the Spinning Pipe Hallway, and a few rooms that didn't really have anything in them, or so it seemed. "A good class president knows everything about secret entrances and booby traps! This should be a piece of eaten bread!" Myron boasted. He went up to a few trophy cases and started trying to push them out of the way, even though they were built into the wall.

Todd and Maurecia also, of course, got to work. They took a look at every wall they could see, hoping to find some sort of magical entryway the school was known for. "So, why did you decide to get here so early? Usually I'm the first one here at school." Todd asked, searching around the hallway. Maurecia started to look a little upset again. "Like I said, I couldn't find Fluffy when I woke up, so I came here hoping that he was just inside my desk or something... but I can't find him!"

She looked like she was about to cry, and why wouldn't she? She's had that pet even when she wasn't into rollerskating like she is now! "There, there..." Todd spoke softly, comforting her and holding her hand. "Don't worry, we'll find him. But first, let's focus on getting everyone else in our class together. Okay?" The girl looked up at him with a shine in her eyes, realizing just how lucky she is to have him. Maurecia then pulled out her fist and was about to punch him when suddenly...

"Guys! GUYS! Come check this out! Quick! Come over here!" Myron shouted bravely from the other end of the long corridor. Todd and Maurecia promptly came over, and what they saw bewildered them beyond repair. "It turns out, this one trophy case actually isn't built into the wall like all the others and can be pushed away! It's not even heavy at all! Maybe that's why it says to not touch it." Myron explained before lifting it over their heads. They had never seen anything like it before in their school.

What was more interesting, though, was an air vent just behind where it was. Bingo! Now all they needed to do was find some way to unscrew it. "Does anyone have a screwdriver?" Todd asked, unsure of what answer he would receive. "It's okay guys, stand back..."Todd and Myron did so, not realizing that Maurecia was still on the verge of punching something. And so, she winded it up, and smashed through the air vent like it was Todd's arm.

"Woaaahhhh!" the two boys exclaimed simultaneously, stunned. "Phew! That was a relief. Come on guys, there's no time to lose!" And so in they went, with Maurecia first, Todd second, and Myron last (but far from least!).

"So, if I remember correctly, if we keep heading the opposite of north, and then head the number of spaces we went that way back, then we'll be at the loudspeaker room faster than you can recite the Preamble to the Constitution!" They started crawling in that direction, but halfway through, Todd had a revelation: "Wait, but if we do that, aren't we just going to head back to where we started?" Maurecia rolled her eyes. "Of course not, I thought you knew how this building works? It runs on weirdness!"

And so, Todd just shrugged it off and did as he was told, believing that what his friends were saying was indeed correct. Halfway through their journey (when they started to go back the other way), Myron started humming generic superhero music he made up off the top of his head, much to the dismay of Todd. Maurecia was trying her best to contain herself, as she had slight claustrophobia and it was starting to act up a bit. She didn't show this, however, because she always wanted to seem tough. Plus, she wanted to impress Todd.

Eventually, they got up to the air duct where they started, with it just barely being visible off in the dark distance. Todd started to laugh out loud. "I told you guys! All we're doing is just going backwards. There's no way it would do anything speci-" Suddenly! A trap door opened from underneath and they all went flying down, down to the ground. Luckily, they landed on a soft mattress that was down below, and they found themselves in the loudspeaker room! Bingo!

"See, we told you it would work!" said Maurecia and Myron simultaneously to Todd. The room's lights were all turned off, so they flicked the switch and got to work. What they didn't realize at first, was that the speaker was too high up for them to reach. So they came up with the ultimate solution. The three put on a large trench coat and went up to it with their combined heights. Poor Todd had to lift both Myron and Maurecia up!

Maurecia turned on the speaker, looked at the speech that was already on the podium, and did her best Mr. Kidswatter impression. "Attention, students! This is your principal speaking. So please, um... listen!" she began, pinching her nose. Todd and Myron were trying their best not to laugh, because then they all would bust into a laughing fit and their cover would be blown. "I do realize that Wayside is weirder than usual at the moment due to some technical difficulties, but I still want you all to go to your... classes. Yeah, that's right. So do it!"

And just like that, the sea of kids on the main floor completely blew over and everyone went to where they needed to be. After all, they wouldn't want to get into trouble. It went from one of the loudest places on Earth to a quiet and serene floor in just a couple of seconds. Wow! Todd, Myron and Maurecia did a three-way-high-five; they couldn't believe that it had worked! But what they didn't realize, however...

...was that this message also went out to the faculty lounge. Mr. Kidswatter spat out his coffee straight up into the air, which strangely stuck to the wall. "Who got a hold of my loudspeaker?!" he fumed, not recognizing Maurecia's disguised voice. "There are so many troublemakers at this school, and I'm tired of it. I'm going to figure this out once and for all!" He went out of the lounge and left all the other teachers in utter disbelief. They really weren't in the mood to teach today. Thursdays really are the new Mondays.

Mrs. Jewels, however, didn't mind. She was just finishing off her third cup of tea and was ready to truly start the day. So, she did what any other teacher would do: go through her secret compartment that lead directly to her room! There was another hidden air vent in the lounge that lead directly there, fortunately. She promptly climbed inside of it without any of the other teachers noticing, and she was off.

When she got to her room, she was surprised to see a monkey- whoops, student at his desk. It was Joe! He hadn't left it since when he talked with Todd about the dance earlier. "Joe, what are you doing here?" she asked, slightly stunned. "You know I would never be late for a day of class, Mrs. Jewels." Now she kind of felt bad, she didn't realize that she had kept him waiting here this whole time. But it was all good! Maybe she could offer him a banana?

While that was going on, all the other students were scrambling trying to get to the 30th floor as fast as they could. "Huff... puff... does anyone have any water?!" Joy asked, hyperventilating on the 7th floor's stairs. "I have a water bottle. But I left it at home!" answered John, teasing her as he ran past her using his hands. Most of the students were already on the 14th floor, so they still had a lot of ground to cover, of course. Jenny was already almost to the top, however, due to her motorcycle. This did mean that she had to break her promise to her father that she wasn't going to ride up any more stairs, though. She just didn't feel like using her legs today. Or maybe she could save them for the dance later?

Eventually, everyone made it. All the students were exhausted as all heck, but the important thing was, they all made it and were sitting at their desks. "Sorry about what happened earlier, class. I hope you all forgive me and don't write anything bad on my report card!" Mrs. Jewels apologized profusely. "We forgive you Mrs. Jewels!" yelled the whole class in unison, as they all understood that everyone needs a break sometimes. "So, with that, let's get started with some mathematics!"

At this point in time, they were learning about variables, so that's what they were going to continue with. Mrs. Jewels handed out everyone worksheets to practice. The thing was, was that all of the pages were blank! Todd raised his hand and asked, "Mrs. Jewels, why don't any of the pages have anything on them? I can't do anything with this." Mrs. Jewels went over to his desk. "I thought I told the whole class yesterday to bring their invisible ink pens today for this assignment?" "I wasn't here, Mrs. Jewels. I was sent home early, like usual."

Mrs. Jewels reached into her pocket and gave the boy one. "Here, you can use mine for today, but tomorrow you have to bring your own!" Todd was glad... until he realized one crucial thing. The pen didn't have a light so he could see the writing on the paper, only the ink part. So he did what anyone else would do in this situation and... he just scribbled out all the formulas he knew and put his name. He didn't want Mrs. Jewels to think he's cheating by asking another student for help, so he just hoped that this would be enough. With the many wacky rules at Wayside, who knows, maybe this is what he was supposed to do?

Dana finished only about a minute later, and was more than surprised that she wasn't the first to do so. She really wanted to ask Todd what he got for the 5th question, too! But of course, it was necessary for them to wait until everyone else had finished. Around 15 minutes passed by, and then everyone was done. "Great work class! Now, please pass all the papers backward so I can collect them!" The pink-haired woman suddenly appeared at the back of the classroom and collected them. "I will grade these later and have them back to all of you tomorrow!"

Just as she was about to give out the next assignment, the bell rang. It was time for recess! Before she could dismiss everyone, all the students had already burst through the door in an instant. She was surprised they still had all that energy, considering how quickly they had to come up the stairs. But then again, they all are kids, so of course they would be able to have the stamina to achieve that.

Jenny and Maurecia were having another one of their famous Wheels Extreme staircase races, with them both sporting their wheels. Maurecia was in the lead by one whole floor, as Jenny's motorcycle had been having some problems. It was almost like an obstacle course, since there were so many kids also walking down the stairs. Maurecia skidded from side to side, trying her best not to bump into anyone. Especially since they were all going down the stairs! One false move and everyone was going to go tumbling down them and get very injured!

John was trying his best to catch up with everybody else, as him having to walk down the stairs upside down was practically a nightmare, but as long as he took his time, he could do it! Eventually, everyone got to where they needed to be: the gigantic playground of Wayside. Everyone did what they usually did, whether it be playing a sport, asking Louis to see which ball you could get, or just chilling out by the monkey bars. Todd and John, however, didn't really feel like playing, so they decided to just talk for a bit.

"So Todd, are you going to go to the dance tomorrow? Everyone in class has been gossiping about Maurecia and you secretly going together. Is that true?!" asked John, really hoping for a satisfying response. "Well, you see, the thing about that... is..." Todd desperately answered, stammering. Suddenly, Myron came up to the pair. "Hey guys, what are you doing? Whatever it is, do you guys think I could join?! Please?! I'm so bored!" he whimpered, doing a pseudo-potty-dance.

"Sure Myron. But we really aren't doing anything special, so I think you'd still be bored." Todd responded, but that was not at all what he wanted to hear. "Well then let's find something to do! I couldn't even get a ball from Louis..." That's when John had an idea. "I know! How about we all go out and look for a ball! I mean, come on, how hard could it be to find?! Worst case scenario, we just don't find one and we can move on with our day."

And so that's what they decided to do. Anything to get Todd out of having to answer a bunch of those lovey-dovey questions. They asked the 2nd graders playing 4-Square if they had any extras. They questioned the other kids that were hanging around on the monkey bars. They even pleaded Louis to give them one, even though he didn't have a single one!

"Well, I guess that was useless." Myron said in despair as the trio walked up the stairs back to where they needed to be. "It's alright. I'm sure that once you become that class president, you can make sure that you always get a ball when it's time for recess." Todd reassured. John and Myron went up the rest of the stairs together, talking about whatever, really.

Todd was on the 7th floor when Jenny and Maurecia passed by him. They weren't using their vehicles because that would be difficult to do up the stairs. They already tried that once a couple of years ago and it did not end up well! Luckily for them, they made sure to wear protective gear in case that were to happen. He could hear them whispering about his name and giggling, which wasn't a rare occurrence. Sometimes this would even make him flattered, strangely enough!

At the same time, though, this only made his suspicions grow even further. Was Maurecia going to ask him to the dance? Was Jenny somehow involved in this? Todd pondered all this as he made his way up to the classroom, his legs ready to give out. In a couple of minutes, everyone had returned to the classroom and gotten into their respective seats. "Alright class, I hope you all had fun at recess. Now, let's get back to work. But first! I thought I'd let someone special come in to give a special announcement!"

Just at that moment, Ms. Mush rushed into the classroom with a gigantic pot in her hands. "Oy oy oy! Hello class!" she exclaimed with a hearty welcome. "Good morning Ms. Mush!" said the whole class in unison, eager to see what she was going to do. "I just came here to say some special announcements regarding the dance! Mr. Kidswatter would've done it, but the loudspeaker is having some issues. So! Tomorrow is the dance, and it is of course going to be themed around love, but also..."

All the kids patted their desks to effectively make a drum roll. "...the Mamaland!" Some of the kids who didn't know Ms. Mush all that well (the ones who brought their own lunch) looked at her in confusion. "What's that?" asked Joy, bewildered and hungry. "Well, you see kids, my ancestors were from an ancient country that had a very cool culture of cooking very exotic but healthy foods, just as I do now!"

She continued. "After discussing heavily with the Dance Committee, I convinced them to make the dance themed around it! So everyone, make sure to where your best Mamaland outfits and to do your best Mamaland dances!" Everyone in the class cheered, it was definitely going to be an interesting dance, for sure! They just weren't so sure about what Mamaland culture was even like. "How very interesting," Mrs. Jewels commented. "Thank you for sharing with us, Ms. Mush! Maybe we should study the Mamaland's culture today in class to prepare for that, huh? I didn't really have any other lesson plans for today anyway."

Ms. Mush responded, "Yes, of course! It is always good to learn about other cultures like that! Anyways, I need to start preparing lunch with Sammy. I'll see you all then!" And with that, she was out the door. "What is the Mamaland even like?" Terrence asked, wondering if such a location even existed. "Don't worry Terrence, we're all going to find out soon enough." Mrs. Jewels answered.

She needed time to do a little bit of research about the topic herself, so she gave everyone some more worksheets concerning variables while she figured out her new plans for the following day. While all the students were busily working, Todd couldn't stop thinking about how hungry he was. With all the nervousness about the dance and other stuff piling up, his stomach was bothering him more than usual, making it hard to concentrate. He had to get through it, though.

He was on the fifth question: "5. Use the equation y=5x+3 to answer the following. (a) What is the slope of the equation?" "Well, this is easy enough," thought Todd to himself. He already knew the answer was just plain 5. On to the next question! "(b) Graph the equation to the best of your knowledge." And so that's what Todd did, using 5 as his slope and 3 as his y-intercept. Simple enough. The final question, however... "(c) How long did it take you to do that question, rounded to the nearest tenth of a second?"

Well, he should've seen something like that coming! It wouldn't be Wayside without a wacky question! As much as Todd didn't want to have to do it, he had no other option: he had to guess-timate how long it took him. He didn't remember anything like this being taught in class! Or maybe it was taught when he was going home early on the kindergarten bus... to the next question. "(d) Ask a person of your choice what time they got, and subtract it from yours." Todd tried to whisper over to Leslie, but then, all of a sudden...

"Todd! You already know that you're not supposed to talk during a test!" Mrs. Jewels yelled, as she thought that Todd was trying to cheat, even though he wasn't the type of person to do that. She promptly wrote his name on the chalkboard under the word DISCIPLINE. Todd knew that he needed to be smart if he was going to not go home early. So, he decided to just make up what he thought Leslie would say. Afterwards, Todd was finished, and he had a little bit of relaxation time, although it was hard to do so when his stomach kept on pestering him, and when he was worried about going home early again.

A couple of minutes later, Maurecia had finished her test after asking Myron for his answer for the last question. She turned around and started to swoon silently over Todd, who was trying his best to ignore her. But, of course, she was sort of making it difficult to do that, so Todd just put his head down on his desk. "Todd! Are you trying to copy answers off of other people's papers?! You know much better than this." Now Todd's name had a check mark under the gigantic DISCIPLINE. "But Mrs. Jewels, I was just trying to-" Todd started, but she didn't want to hear a single bit of it.

Eventually, it was time for lunch, and everyone couldn't be happier, because that meant they were getting closer and closer to being able to study about the Mamaland (Ms. Mush had gone to every single classroom to tell about the theme of the dance). Ms. Mush was too busy decorating the gym to tend to the cafeteria meals, so everyone had to find their food elsewhere. No one really minded. The 2nd grade kids who usually got their food from her had no choice but to just share with those who had packed their own meals and provide rations. Sausages were split in 5 different ways. Mashed potatoes were separated by three-eighths at a time. And of course, chocolate chip cookies were broken into the tiniest of crumbs in an attempt to salvage them.

It was really tempting for some of the older kids to just sneak off and try to go to a nearby establishment, such as Joey's Pizza Palace. But no one could seem to be able to get past Louis, no matter how much they tried to distract him. Some of the 1st graders even tried flattering him, and others tried bribing him with chocolate chip cookies! But he was way to smart for them. He was the playground supervisor, after all!

Some of the students of Mrs. Jewels class had all gathered at a table to discuss what they should do. Dana suggested that they should just wait, as Ms. Mush had to be done going to classrooms eventually. Joy just complained about how she was so jealous of those who had brought their own lunch. And of course, Myron suggested that everyone should vote for him. Luckily for them, there were plenty of kids who were willing to share what they had brought with them: the three Erics, Bebe Gunn, Leslie and Rondi all had lunches from home. The only problem was this meant that the food had to be split about 20 different ways.

But it was more than alright- D. J. and John organized a long table with many fancy cutlery and plates and put the right amounts of food on each and every one of them with the help of Dana's math skills. There was some stuff that was left over, and so those comestibles were put on only the finest of fine china, the most glossiest plates they could put their hands on. "These are for later, if anyone would like seconds afterward. No le touchy-voo!" D. J. announced to everyone at the table, as he knew people would get their mitts on them immediately afterwards.

For beverages, the students just used their empty water bottles and filled them at every water fountain they could find. When Kathy realized that they were all going to be drinking water, she complained. "Yuck! Come on, we have to have something better than this! We're basically the best of the best when it comes to this school, and yet we get served water?! Boring!" No one wanted to hear anything about it, though, so everyone basically just ignored her and continued preparing themselves so they could eat.

Eventually, everyone was ready, with their napkins on their laps and their drinks all poured. Todd and Maurecia were on the opposite ends of the long table, so of course Todd didn't mind, but Maurecia sort of did. They were both busy discussing the dance with their buddies. All of the people beside Todd just kept on teasing him about how much Maurecia has a crush on him, and how if they went to the dance together then they might end up as boyfriend and girlfriend. "Yeah, just think about it, Todd," Stephen said and started half sarcastically. "You and Maurecia hugging and kissing and all that, oohoohoohoo!" Needless to say, Todd tried his best to ignore him and eat his provided meal.

"I mean, come on man, it's not even that bad," Terrence advised and teased. "At least you have someone who likes you. If I were you, I wouldn't mind it at all!" Todd took a bite out of his mashed potatoes and responded with, "Yeah, but what if I don't really want to go to the dance? What if that is not really my thing? Then what should I do?" A lot of the other boys laughed at him. "Well then I guess you're stuck! I would suggest you let Maurecia know how you're feeling so then she doesn't get the wrong idea." Dameon told him. "That's what I'm kinda worried about, because I don't want to hurt her feelings. I know how emotional she can get sometimes, especially with how she likes to punch people like me. I just don't want anyone to be upset with me, I'm not used to it."

On the other side of the table was Maurecia and her friends, chatting about the same topic. "So, how are you going to ask Todd out tomorrow, Sister Mo?" Jenny asked her curiously while she attempted to get some carrots out from in between her teeth. "Are you going to give him a bunch of cute flowers when you don't have any?" Rondi asked the blue-haired girl, smiling all lovey-dovey like. Maurecia shrugged. "I think I can ask him out, I mean, come on, he's just a guy. A really cute one. I just need to figure out how. I don't think he would like flowers. Or maybe...? I don't know." She never really thought about how difficult this could be in terms of how to do it.

Soon enough, lunch time was over and everyone had to scramble to get back to their classes, even though they really didn't need to because of most of the teachers' absence. Force of habit? Mrs. Jewel's students definitely took their time getting up the stairs, as the elevator was being used by a bunch of 2nd graders at the time. Mac and Nancy discussed possible theories on why they were all gone until the 23rd floor. Myron kept talking about how delicious the food was for something that they all put together themselves, even though Dana preferred to talk about the rule system of the school. But the whole time, Todd and Maurecia were conflicted about the dance and tried to avoid looking at each other, even though they did a couple times.

When the class returned, they were half surprised to find Mrs. Jewels dressed in a fancy Mamaland-like getup. "Welcome all! We're all going to learn about the wonderful Mamaland! Ho ho ho," she announced, welcoming the class and looking at a history book. "I mean, oy oy oy!" Some of the students couldn't help but giggle as they walked to their desks. This was silly even by Wayside standards!

"I want all of you to grab one of these ancient textbooks from up here and turn to a random page. Go ahead, yo yo yo!" And so the class did: they each picked up a copy of The Mamaland: The Forgotten Civilization - 2015 Special Edition and brought it back to their desks. The books were very shiny and still had stickers on them that said "50% off!" as if they had been purchased very recently. "Oh, and don't forget to write your name on the inside cover. You wouldn't want it to get lost!" Todd was astonished to find that his book already was filled with names from students from other schools. So he tried his best to fit his name in.

Todd turned to page 305 and began to read. The 14th chapter talked about how the Mamaland was affected by the Industrial Revolution, with more machines being used to further the production of beets over there as time went on. "Alright, so, Joe, what does your page talk about? Oy oy yoy!" Mrs. Jewels asked, raising her voice. "Um... let's see," he started, and looked again at his book to read it. "I'm on page 15, which discusses the features of the native people of the Mamaland. It says that they were quite peaceful people that liked to make all sorts of unconventional dishes to see what ingredients worked together and which ones didn't. It's apparently a tradition of theirs. Huh, that explains a lot."

"See, oy oy oy? What an interesting culture they have! We should do stuff like this more often, there is just so much we can learn from the customs of others!" Mrs. Jewels exclaimed, trying her best not to break character. Suddenly, Rondi piped up with, "My page talks about their wedding traditions! It says that the bride's friends take her away and put her some place, and then the groom has to go and look for her! Only after this happens they officially get married. Well, that's definitely something." "How splendid! Oy oy oy!"

The whole time this was going on, though, both Todd and Maurecia had a hard time paying attention. They just could not stop thinking about all the pressure that surrounded them when it came to the dance. They could both hear Mrs. Jewels' kind voice, but they could not listen to anything that she said. It was almost as if she was speaking in some kind of other language! Not only that, but they both wanted to see if they were looking at each other. Maurecia really wanted to turn her head and see Todd's expression, and Todd wanted to see how she was feeling. But they didn't do it, since they knew they would just immediately turn their heads back awkwardly if they saw each other.

Mrs. Jewels continued to read her copy of the book and write stuff on the chalkboard. She made a timeline from when the Mamaland natives settled there thousands of years ago until they officially declared their independence. It was surprisingly touching and full of many emotions! Dana had to take out a box of tissues to blow her nose with, she was so inspired by how fast they could create such a diverse civilization! Of course, Myron just could not help but think that it was all just boring and nothing else. He was just thinking about how he could win the next election. Maybe by proving once and for all that he was capable of turning the lights of the class on and off?

The class continued for a while, and then afterwards it was time for recess again. This time, Todd felt in the mood for some four square to get his mind off of things. Hey, there were still good things to enjoy about the day, right? It was very sunny. The Mamaland stuff is far better than the boring math or other reading that they would do. And the lunch today did not make him throw up! There were three courts for four square, and they were all equally full, so there was a line behind each one. Todd went into the one that had Myron on the first square, Joe on the second, and Dana on the third. The kids in line, on the other hand, were all from different classes and grade levels. There was even a 1st-grader playing with them, that's how much variety there was in the skill levels!

The line to this one was not as long as the others, but Todd slightly wished that he had chosen one of the others since they had less skilled players and as a result, it went more quicker. But he didn't want to get out of line. This wasn't your ordinary game of four square, either- this was Wayside. "I'm going to get you, Myron!" shouted Dana, holding the ball in her hands. Myron immediately started to run backwards with his arms out, expecting the worst to happen. Dana took a couple of steps back, and then got a running start to smack the ball towards the ground. The ball went flying up into the air and all over the place, with Myron watching it very closely with his eyes!

He was desperately trying to catch the ball, since if he didn't, then he would have to start all over, but he couldn't. The ball went so far from where he was going that it seemed impossible to catch, and so he went to the back of the line, with a 4th-grader now in the game. "Those stupid Cherry Bombs! How is anyone supposed to play this game when those are all over the place?! Maybe we should put a limit on how many of those you can do per game! It's no fair!" Myron pouted as he stood behind Todd and all the others.

Joe got the ball and did a sideways pass to Dana. Dana did the same back to him, who then passed it to Terrence, who was now there in place of Myron. Terrence tried to be clever and use another Cherry Bomb on the first grader, but it did not work. They used one on him and got him out, and this just kept going on and on, with Joe in the first square keeping everyone in check. Then it was Todd's turn, and he was determined to get the first grader to the back of the line. So he did what any other rational person would do in the same situation: he decided to use a double reverse Cherry Bomb.

But he was not expecting what would happen next...

Thanks for reading! I'm sorry for not updating in a while, I've been busy with other matters for a little bit. The next chapter is most likely going to be the last, and I'll try my best to get it done soon. Thanks for your continued patience!