The Tuna (and Cockroach) Sandwich
Samuel didn’t know why, exactly, he had a grudge on school lunches. Perhaps it was because of the time he found a hair in his macaroni. Perhaps it was because of the time his best friend swore that he saw the same peanut butter sandwich on the counter four days in a row. Anyway, he had a big grudge on the school lunches.

In second grade and in third grade Samuel had tried to stop the horrible school lunches. He’d led a protest and written numerous letters to the school principal. Nothing had happened. This year he was in fourth grade and ready to take it seriously.

He arrived at his school, Clark R. Smith Elementary School, with one of his pet cockroaches, named Chubby for obvious reasons, in his pocket. All during history, math, and gym Chubby squirmed around in his pocket. Samuel was extremely worried that Chubby would escape. Thankfully, he didn’t.

Finally lunch arrived and after grabbing some watery chicken noodle soup he slipped Chubby underneath the wrapping of a tuna sandwich. Chubby loved to eat so he dug himself into the center of the sandwich.

Samuel sat down at his regular lunch table with a bad feeling in his gut. What if nobody took the sandwich and it stayed there like the four-day-old peanut butter sandwich? Would Chubby die?

Then Samuel heard a second grader scream “Ah! A cockroach!” He grinned. School lunches were going to be getting a lot better.