The Food Fight

Lunchtime at Elmwood Elementary School was usually calm- kids eating sandwiches, trading chips, and arguing about whose mom made better brownies. But on Thursday, something happened that would be known for a long time.

Jayden was walking to his seat with a tray full of spaghetti when he bumped into Tyler. The tray tilted, and a single meatball flew through the air and landed right on Tyler’s shirt.

Tyler froze. He looked down at the meatball, then up at Jayden.

“Oh no,” someone whispered.

Tyler picked up his mashed potatoes, looked at Jayden, and launched them across the table. SPLAT.

Jayden ducked. The potatoes hit Mia instead. She screamed, grabbed her chocolate pudding, and hurled it at Tyler.

Within seconds, the cafeteria exploded into chaos.

Peas flew like hailstones. Chicken nuggets became dodgeballs. Carrot sticks bounced off the walls. Someone flipped over a tray of green beans and shouted, “ATTACK!”

Lunch trays became shields. Juice boxes were squirted like water guns. Someone catapulted an apple using a spoon and a ruler.

The lunch lady fainted.

From the top of the stack of trays, Jayden raised his pizza slice like a sword. “To victory!”

“CHARGE!” shouted Mia from behind the ketchup dispensers.

Tables were turned sideways to make forts. Banana peels slid across the floor like landmines. Someone started using their spaghetti like a lasso.

Principal Lopez burst into the cafeteria. “WHAT is going on in here?!”

Everything froze. A grape rolled across the floor.

Tyler, covered in pudding, stood up. “It was the meatball’s fault.”

Later that day, the entire 5th grade had to scrub the cafeteria clean with toothbrushes- the walls, the floors, and even the ceiling.

Principal Lopez made them all write apology letters and banned meatballs.

Still, the story spread fast. The 4th graders whispered about it in awe. The janitor called it “the worst mess since the Great Yogurt Spill of ’09.”

Jayden smiled. “Totally worth it.”