The great jungle gym standoff
10 o'clock at third street school was that start of recess, the moment the bell rang all the kids came running outside to enjoy their free time.
"Last one to old rusty has to give Miss Finster a sponge bath." Challenged Spinelli.
"Hey that's my job." Exclaimed Randal, how ever no one was listening to him as they ran to the old jungle gym and started having fun climbing the monkey bars and sliding down the slide.
"Man, I love this thing." Said TJ before he slid down the slide on his stomach, how ever when he reached the bottom he landed in front of principal prickly. "Oh uhh… principal prickly, what bring you out onto the playground sir?"
"Your happiness son, tape it off boys.
Prickly said first to TJ then to the two maintance guy that were behind him, who had some yellow tape and wrapped it around old rusty.
"What's going on here?" Asked Dede.
"The school board has finally released some long over funds and you kids are gonna get a brand new jungle gym." Said Princkly making all the kids cheer happily. "Just as soon as we can tear down this old hunk of junk." As soon as those words left his mouth all the cheering stopped.
"You mean, you're gonna tear down old rusty?" Asked Mikey.
"Old rusty, isn't that quint." Said Prickly laughing a bit." That's right kid, the construction workers will be here at 11 to start wrecking, so all you kids stay off this thing and remember if anyone asks, mr Prickly is a great principle and his first priority is now and always has been, you children, now get out of my way you little brats."
"I...I can't believe it." Said TJ after prickley left.
"Recess without old rusty, say it isn't so." Asked Spinelli.
"Why do grown ups always do these things." Asked Mikey as he sat on the slide of old rusty.
"I'll never forget this old thing." Replied TJ.
"Yeah." Said Vince. "Right there was when swinger girl laughed so hard she swallowed her lose tooth."
"And right there was where binky Jones fell of and broke his collar bone and had to have that plate put in his head." Said Gretchen.
"You just can't replace memories like that." Said Spinelli.
"Old rusty was here when my big brother was in school." Said TJ.
"Old rusty was here when my parents were in school." said Dede.
"Heck, old rusty was here when my great uncle Mary was in school." Said Mikey.
"You uncle Mary?" Questioned Vince.
"Don't ask." Said Gretchen.
"Who knows how long old rusty has really been here." Said Spinelli as they all imagined how old rusty was all the way back to the cave man days.
"Old rusty has been here since the beginning of time." Stated Vince.
"Yeah." Said TJ. "But you know the main reason I'll never forget old rusty, because it was right here back on the very first day of kindergarten that the six of us first met."
"Yeah, I was the start of our friendship." Said Dede with a slight smile.
—-
A young TJ and Dede walked up to four kids that where playing on the jungle gym and said hi.
—
"Oh yeah." said Gretchen.
"I forgot about that." Replies Spinelli just as the bell rang, four of the six kids started walking back into the school be fore Vince looked back and saw TJ and Dede still standing where they were.
"You coming Teej, Dee?"
"No." Said TJ.
"I think we'll just play on old rusty for a little while." Said Dede.
"But Dede recess is over, miss grotke will have to send you to the office." Said Gretchen.
"She'll understand, you guys go on, we'll be there in a minute." Replied TJ.
"Suit yourselves." Said Spinelli as the four started to walk off again. When everyone had walked into the school Dede and TJ walked up to old rusty before climbing it, TJ had sat on the slide while Dede sat next to him with her legs hanging off.
"I still can't believe that they want to get rid of old rusty." Said Dede as she looked down.
"We can't just do nothing, we have to be able to stop them somehow."
"But how?"
"If they want to knock down old rusty, they'll have to knock us down with it."
"You sure that'll work?"
"It's worth a try, are you with me Dede?"
"Always." Dede and TJ high fives, knowing that they go through this together, no matter what. And so they waited all the way until 11 o'clock, once the clock struck 11 the construction workers showed up, once they saw Dede and TJ they all stopped walking and looked at them.
"Hey kids, what are you doing up there?" Asked the one that looked to be in charge.
"Playing." Replied TJ.
"Well get down from there, we've got work to do."
"We can't." Said Dede.
"What'd do you mean you can't? Get off that thing, we've got orders to knock it down."
"Sorry." Said TJ not feeling sorry at all.
"Now look kids, either you get of or… or were gonna have to knock it down with you two on it."
"If that's how we have to go, then so be it." Said TJ folding his arms, his response shocked the construction workers who were at a loss on what to do so they just gave up and walked inside the school. Dede and TJ looked at each other and high fives again for their mini victory however it was short lived as the doors soon burst open to reveal miss Finster making them both gulp.
"TJ detweiler and Dede King, I should have know it was you two behind all this. What disgusting perverted thing are you both up to now." (Can't believe that was actually said in the cartoon. ?)
"Playing." Said Dede as she swung her legs back and forth.
"WHAT." Miss Finster shouted as students started to show up behind her. "Don't you know that recess is over. Get down from there this minute."
"Sorry miss Finster, but if we get down those men are just gonna wreck old rusty and we just can't let that happen." Said TJ firmly.
"How dare you talk to me like that you little hooligan. Now get off that thing or I'll take my shoes to ya."
"Never, old rusty is the heart and soul of this school."
"He's almost as old as you are." Teased Dede.
"Why without rusty this place would just be a big building with….with a bunch of books and teachers and stuff."
"I said get down from there Deteriler, King. Before I have to come up there and get you myself." Said miss Finster.
"Then you'll have to get me too." Said a voice from behind miss Finster as Mikey walked forward towards the jungle gym.
"And me." Said Spinelli, joining them.
"And me." Said Gretchen. As soon as Gretchen was on the jungle gym all the other kids joined in.
"You might get one of us, but you can't get us all." Said Spinelli.
"You brats have 10 seconds to get down from there before I have everyone of you expelled." Shouted miss Finster. "1….2…"
"What do we want." Started TJ.
"Our jungle gym." Finished Dede.
"When do we want it."
"Now!" TJ and Dede started to repeat this and soon all the other kids joined in with the chanting as well.
"That's it, do something." Said miss Finster to the construction workers.
"Sorry lady but tearing down a jungle gym with kids on it is against union rules." Said one worker.
"It didn't use to be but we had a meeting." Said a different one, making miss Finster scream in frustration before walking off as the kids cheered at her retreat.
"Their giving up." Said Spinelli.
"We won, we won." Said Vince.
"I hope you're right Vince I really hope you're right." Said TJ. At 12 o'clock the kids were all still by old rusty, however they were all singing kumbaya.
"All these kid's unifying against oppression, it's so beautiful." Said Mikey.
"Yeah yeah, real beautiful." Said Spinelli. "But what's the man up to now? That's what I want to know."
"Me too Spinelli, me too." Said TJ.
—
"This is a disaster, you hear me, a disaster." Said prickly as he turned away from the window to look at all the teachers. "Do you have any idea on how this is going to affect my career, if the papers get wind of this I can kiss the cushy job at spear ague middle school goodbye."
"Excuse me principal prickly sir, but maybe the kids have a point." Said miss grotke. "Maybe we should just give them what they want, I mean it's just a jungle gym."
"Just a jungle gym." Asked miss Finster. "I always knew you were a trouble maker grotke, give into the jungle gym today and they'll want better food tomorrow, soon they'll be demanding longer recess and more free reading time, eventually rock and roll will take over the world, society will crumble and western civilisation will come to an end."
"I see your point miss Finster but we can't start by using force, I think we first need to take the middle course. I'll try to reason with them and if that doesn't work, we'll execute plan P." Said prickly shocking all the teachers.
"Plan P, but principal prickly don't you think that's a bit extreme." Asked miss grotke.
"Extreme times call for extreme measures miss grotke."
"Excellent." Said miss Finster rubbing her hands together.
—
"Faculty approaching." Said Spinelli as she interrupted everyone's singing.
"Hello children, lovely day, isn't it?" Asked prickly."in fact it's such a nice day, why waste it on this ruckity old peice of junk metal. If you'd all just step down for a minute we can exchange it for a high end state of the art plastic one. I hear it even has a realistic feel plastic pirates wheel."
"Nevert, old rusty is ours and we'll never give him up." Said TJ as he stood up, making the kids cheer for what he was saying.
"Well sorry you feel this way but if you'll let me explain things you'll see the light of reason. This 'old rusty' as you call it is school property and as the keeper of the school property I feel a sense of ownership over it, so in the name of third street school it is my responsibility to say to you, get off my jungle gym."
"Your jungle gym." Said Dede as she stood up next to
TJ. "How can you own a jungle gym?"
"How can you own how it feels to have the monkey bars between a kids fingers, when he's hanging in mid air." Asked TJ. "How can you put a price on the cool clean metal on a guys butt when he's sliding full blast down a 's like…...magic. And let me tell you something principal prickly, magic is not school property."
"Heck no, we won't go." Dede started to chant and the other kids soon joined in with her.
"Ok, that's it. Miss Finster execute plan P." Said prickly making all the kids gasp."that's right, I'm calling your parents."
"Our parents." Said Gretchen.
"How low can they get." Asked Vince.
"Oh those feinds." Said Mikey. By the time the parents had arrived out onto the playground they were shocked to see all their kids by or on the jungle gym singing 'we shall not be moved'.
"Look at what you rotten no good children are up to now." Said prickly as he looked back at the parents. "They've instigated a riot."
"Hey, isn't that the same jungle gym we use to play on?" Asked one of the parents. "Man that thing is old."
"Exactly, that's why we have to tare it down and put up a new one."
"Tare it down." Said another parent.
"You can't tare old rusty down." Said the first parent.
"Yeah, this is we're Laura Jameson laughed so hard she swallowed her loss tooth." Said one of the moms.
"And where Randy fell off and broke his arm, hey you still have that plate in you head." Asked the second dad to the first.
"Sure do." He said knocking on his head.
"Don't you people understand what's happening here." Asked prickly. "Your kids are standing in the way of progress and as parents it's your job to stop them. Now get over there and do what you have to do."
"Don't worry principal prickly, we know exactly what we have to do." Said the mother as she walked to the jungle gym, however instead of stopping the kids she climbed onto the jungle gym and stood behind TJ and Dede and started to sing with the kids. This made all the other parents and most teachers to join the kids on the jungle gym to sing as well.
"But you people can't do this." Said prickly.
"Actually sir, they can." Replied miss Finster.
"WHAT."
"Well that women there is mrs hanersee, the president of the PTA, and that's jack riley the superintendent's brother in law and that's….."
"Alright fine, they wanna keep this rotten old pile of rust, let them. Keep it ya hear me, keep it." Shouted prickly before he walked indoors with miss Finster behind him as everyone cheered.
"Emmm….TJ I've been doing some figuring and according to my calculations." Said Gretchen.
"Huh?" Asked TJ having not heated her clearly.
"With this much weight on it, the structural limits of old rusty."
"What?" Still unable to hear her. "I can't hear you Gretchen."
"There are too many…" Gretchen never got to finish her sentence as by then the jungle gym was starting to collapse.
"Look out she's gonna cave." Said Spinelli.
"Everyone, you need to get off of old rusty." Shouted Dede and as soon as she shouted it everyone one jumped off just in time, as the jungle gym fully collapsed after Dede jumped off, who was the last to leave.
"After all that, and now it's gone." Said TJ.
"Maybe yes, maybe no." Said one of the construction workers as he picked up a piece of old rusty. "Hey lue, doesn't the mega 2000 use the same ¾ inch 260 pipe as this?"
"Yeah and it's got one of these 4.5 feet luka shafts to."
"You thinking what I'm thinking."
"Folks, leave it to us."
—
"I christen you, new rusty." Said TJ before all the kids went to play on the newly put together jungle gym, well all the kids except for Dede as when she was gonna join the other kids she was stopped by a beeping sound.
"Really." Said Dede looking down at her bracket.
"Hey Dede, you coming or what." Said Spinelli from on top of new rusty.
"Yeah, I just gotta go to the bathroom first, so I'll see ya in a bit," said Dede as she ran off into the school.
"Ok well hurry back." Shouted Spinelli after her.
—
When Dede entered the girls bathroom she made sure it was clear before pressing a button on her bracket only for a hollowgram of a fish standing upright in a blue military uniform to show.
"Atomic Candy reporting for duty." Said Dede as she saluted.
"Your nemesis, Maximus I.Q appears to be stealing gold from all across the galaxy, I need you to stay on high alert." Said admiral dagill.
"Why is he stealing the gold sir?"
"It's a mystery candy, nobody knows."
"Alright well I'm on the case sir." Dede said before ending the call and having her ship beam her up.
—
(The rest goes just like how it does in atomic Betty episode, atomic Rodger)