The Fitness Program

• Jack Dyer, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2017

It was a grim day in the town of Stationeryville. Rain was coming from every part imaginable, hail was coming down like snow on a cold winter day; nobody could be found outside. One pencil, Bob the Pencil, was sitting on his couch, playing his Xbox One. His best friend, Joe the Texta, did not approve of this. He was one of the most active pieces of stationery known to mankind - he did 250 laps around the footy field every morning, he did 500 push-ups daily and he even taught an aerobics class for the local seniors! Joe wanted to transform Bob from a couch potato to a fitness fanatic - and he knew exactly how to do just that.
The beaming rays of the sun soon shone through Bob's worn-out window. The abhorrent rain and hail had cleared up in no time and everyone was now outside, playing games and being extremely active - except for Bob. He was still having lots of enjoyment playing his Xbox One, when abruptly, he heard an aggravated knock on his old wooden door. He thought that it was probably the friendly mailman with the monthly bills. The knock kept irritatingly repeating until Bob opened the door. Joe was there!
"Good morning, Bob!" Joe cheerfully exclaimed. "Can I please come in?"
"Sure!" Bob kindly replied. They went inside and sat down. Bob went to the kitchen to make a nice warm cup of coffee for Joe.
"Bob, I don't drink coffee. The caffeine doesn't help my fitness routine." Joe helpfully noted. Bob still made the coffee, but he drank it instead.
"So, Joe, how are you going?" Bob positively asked.
"I'm pretty good, thanks, but I need to tell you something." Joe nicely responded, hoping that Bob would ask what that something was.
"You can tell me later. I gotta go beat a level on my Xbox One that I've been stuck on for days!" Bob said.
Joe sighed with an extremely high level of disappointment. His plan had failed - what was he going to do now? He grabbed Bob by the lead and dragged him outside.
"JOE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?!" Bob anxiously screamed at Joe.
"I'm trying to get you out of your couch potato phase - I need to teach you some sport!" Joe frustratingly yelled back.
First up, they tried football. Whenever Bob tried to kick the ball, his sharp lead would keep poking holes in it until it speedily deflated.
Next up was push-ups. Bob's arms were so chubby that he could barely lift himself off the ground - Joe had to pick him up and drag him from one sport to the next. Many sports had been tried and they all had failed. However, there was one left... Running! Joe told Bob what to do and Bob had gotten the hang of it in no time! They were both extremely joyous. It was a great day.