Chloe Coose B1 December 9, 2013 Prompt #3 How Labor Day Came To Be Monday sulked into the classroom, threw

his books down on the ground, and slunked down into his chair. He caught a glimpse of the scowl that Tuesday, the girl who sat next to him, had upon his arrival. Mondays heart leapt as he got a quick glance at that beautiful face of hers, but then she turned her back on him. He knew it was all because of his stupid twin brother, Friday. He was the care-free, happy, energetic, cool party person; so naturally, he was the most popular person in the class, maybe even in the whole school. All the girls were head over heels about him, including the girl of Mondays dreams, Tuesday. Monday didnt understand why everyone loved his brother, but hated him. Yeah, okay, Monday fell asleep in class sometimes, and his smile didnt exactly light up a room, but as far as he was concerned there was no reason that they should all shun him. RING! The tardy bell interrupted his thoughts, and in came his brother, late as usual. Whats up party people? Friday skipped into the classroom and plopped into his seat. Immediately all the girls in the class rushed over to where he was sitting, with his feet propped up on the desk. Finally, youre here, Tuesday exclaimed, It feels like Ive been waiting forever for you to come! At this remark, Monday moaned from the other side of the room. Yeah, well Im here now, Friday said, now chewing on the end of his pencil. Yes, but youre here late, said Mrs. Semana, handing him a well-deserved detention slip. Whatevs, Friday said coolly, I hope you dont mind if I bring some friends.

Chloe Coose B1 December 9, 2013 Prompt #3 If your friends dont get back in their assigned seats theyre going to have no choice but to come to detention, Mrs. Semana retorted. Everyone rushed back to their tables and got busy. The rest of the day dragged by until it was finally time to go home, but before everyone hopped on the buses. Mrs. Semana gave a special announcement. Some of you may have forgotten, but today is the day that I must issue your fourth quarter progress reports, she began, some of you are doing exceptionally well, while I am extremely disappointed in others, she said with a glance at Friday. She passed them out in alphabetical order. Monday wasnt surprised when he opened his, for it revealed straight As. Tuesdays progress report also was exceptional. He heard a groan from Wednesday though, the very athletic girl at his table. I was just so busy with sports that I didnt have time for school, she said stomping her foot on the ground. Her report card showed all Cs and one D. Thursday, a girl in Mondays class who sat next to Friday and got extremely anxious and excited about the littlest of things was jumping up and down because she had an A in P.E. Monday looked over at his twin brother, Friday. For once his face was expressionless. Was it disappointment, or astonishment? Monday couldnt tell, but he was soon to find out. When the twins got home, their parents, Saturday and Sunday (Better known as Mom and Dad) greeted them at the door. Immediately Mom bombarded them with questions.

Chloe Coose B1 December 9, 2013 Prompt #3 Hey, how was school? I read up on the website that progress reports were issued today, am I right? Howd you do? Oh my goodness, Friday, is that another detention slip? Child, what am I going to do with you? Monday handed his progress report over to his mother. She opened the envelope and smiled proudly. Wonderful, just wonderful, she muttered as she scanned over the report. Absolutely amazing, said Dad. If only you could do the same thing in soccer. Okay, Friday, how about you now? He reluctantly handed over his slip of paper. Saturday tore open the envelope, and within seconds and her smile soon turned to a frown. Well, said Dad, At least he can kick a field goal. Monday, Mom said while shooting her husband a look, why dont you go into the kitchen and get started on your homework? Your father and I need to have a private talk with your brother. Monday left the room, leaving behind the Friday, who was bright red with embarrassment. Later that evening Friday approached Monday in a sheepish manner. Monday, look, I need to talk to you about something, he began. Mom and Dad said that if I dont get my grades up by the end of the year, Im going to be grounded for the entire summer. Do you know what that means? No parties, no friends, no nothing! All summer! I need your help.

Chloe Coose B1 December 9, 2013 Prompt #3 Why, what do you need me to do this time? Monday groaned, not looking up from his homework. Monday, honestly, this is serious. I obviously havent been paying attention in class and I need you to catch me up, maybe even do a little of my homework for me, or something. Fine, Monday said, now interested in his brothers desperation. But whats in it for me? So, Friday started, everyone hates you, right? Gee, Monday interrupted, way to put it nicely. Well, said Friday now getting slightly annoyed, At the end of the grading period, if you can help me get my grades up, then I will plan a special day for everyone to honor all of the hard work youve done to help your amazing brother. On that day you will actually be popular, I promise. And how do you plan to make that happen? Monday questioned. Well, if you can get my grades up, I can use my popularity to persuade everyone to celebrate a day for you. Dont worry, Ive got some tricks up my sleeve. The first thing is to pick the right day though, and I have that part all planned out. The first Monday in September is the day that kids normally return to school, right? Well, what more could a kid our age want than one extra day of summer? And dont you think they would practically worship the person who could give it to them? I guess, Monday said.

Chloe Coose B1 December 9, 2013 Prompt #3 My thoughts exactly. So, once I work my magic on the school board and get us that Monday off, I will hold you completely responsible for the extra day of summer. Then, I will throw a big party (which you know is my specialty) and tell everyone that it is a day to honor my amazing brother and the hard labor that he has done for me all year. In fact, well call it Labor Day. Then you might just be the second most popular person in the school, at least for a day. Plus, I might be able to hook you up with Tuesday, he added with a wink. Howd you know I had a crush on her? Monday exclaimed. Bro, I can read you like a book, he answered. But anyways, how does our little deal sound? It sounds like a big stretch to me, Monday said. Are you seriously doubting me? Friday asked, puzzled. Have I ever once failed in getting out of going to school? I guess you have a point there, Monday sighed sticking out his hand, Fine, its a deal. GREAT! yelled Friday and shook his twins hand enthusiastically. By the way, he whispered, Theres really no need to tell Mom and Dad about this, okay? Whatever, said Monday as he fell back to his homework. Secretly though, Monday was ecstatic on the inside. He couldnt wait to be popular, even if it was just for a day. Monday and Friday worked together on school work for the rest of that week. The deal seemed to be going great so far, and by the end of the month Friday was up to a B average. The twins parents seemed delighted, also. Mom was always encouraging his sons to do well in school, and finally both of them were. Not only that, but Friday was not getting as many

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detentions either, which Mom found to be marvelous. Everything was great, until one piece of game-changing news. At the end of the school day the twins had returned to their homeroom class. Mrs. Semana was writing the important dates on the board, and Monday spotted the dreaded words TEST TOMORROW! He pointed it out to his brother, who gave a small gasp. Monday had completely forgotten. The unit test on everything they had learned that quarter was tomorrow! If Labor Day was going to happen, Monday had to be able to prepare his brother, and he knew that it was going to take some effort. Immediately when they got home, the twins studied all night. Subject by subject they plowed through their binders, searching for any information that hadnt yet been permanently etched into their brain. At last they had done all that they could do to prepare. It was up to Friday now. The next morning Monday and Friday were the first into the classroom. When everyone was present, Mrs. Semana began to pass out the test. Monday could feel his palms sweating, not out of nervousness for his own performance, but for his brothers. Finally the monster lay on his desk. A fifty question packet, a mixed batch of multiple choice, short answer and matching questions. As he attacked the test, he felt reassured. He knew that Friday knew this stuff, almost as well as Monday knew it himself. He was confident that Labor Day was to go on. About an hour later, the bell rang. Mrs. Semana yelled over the noise from the hallway, Ill have these graded by the time you return to homeroom! Have a good day!

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The rest of the day dragged by for the twins. The test hung over their heads and clouded prevented them from thinking about anything else. Class by class they lamented over their grade until it at last it was the end of the day, and time to go back to homeroom. As the class filed in Mrs. Semana handed back tests. When she had them all passed out, she walked to the front of the room and got the classs attention. Class, I would like to say that I am very pleased with the results. While some of you did exceptional as usual, I was even happier to see the growth of some students, she said with a glance at Friday. Monday looked at Friday again, and his face was expressionless, but this time Monday was sure it was a look of astonishment, happy astonishment. Monday peeked at his paper and saw a big red A written on top of his test. Monday realized that it had probably been a long time since his brother had seen that. Overjoyed not only that his brother had brought his grade up, but also that he could look forward to Labor Day, Monday felt a sense of happiness for the first time in a while. He was so excited that he would finally get a chance to fit in and be accepted, even if it was just for one day. Hopefully Labor Day would be something that people looked forward to. Hopefully kids would really enjoy having that extra day of summer. Hopefully it would be one of the rare times that Monday was actually appreciated. In the end, Monday did get his day, Labor Day. In fact, so many schools in different places caught on, that now it is considered a national holiday and is recognized across the country. It is one of the few times that Monday is popular, in that it is a day of relaxation for

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students, rather than a busy start of the week. Also, after they worked together, the two brothers got along a lot better. However, there was something that still stood in between them Tuesday.

Explanation of Characters Personalities/Names:

Monday: Monday is grumpy, mopey, and tired all the time, just like most people are at the beginning of the week. Nobody likes him, because nobody likes Mondays. I tried to think of a time now where people do like Monday, and the holiday that I thought of was a holiday that students and teachers have off, which is Labor Day. I tried to tie that into the narrative to add interest.

Friday: Friday is Mondays twin brother, and is the complete opposite of him, kind of like Fridays are the complete opposite of Mondays. While on Mondays you are tired and grumpy, on Fridays you are energetic and happy, and sometimes you may have a party on Friday. Also, towards the end of the week, kids tend to slack off in school, and are so excited for the weekend that they get ahead of themselves. Thats why Friday is the slacker who loves to party. However, Friday is a very popular day of the week, everyone looks forward to it, and so thats why Friday is popular in the story. One more thing is that everyone looks forward to Friday, and when its finally the end of the week it seems like youve had to wait forever for it to come. Thats why in the beginning of the story, Tuesday says, Finally, youre here, it feels like Ive been waiting forever for you to come!

Chloe Coose B1 December 9, 2013 Prompt #3 Tuesday: Tuesday sits next to Monday in class, just like Tuesday follows Monday in the week. Mondays crush on Tuesday was added to the story to add interest.

Wednesday: It may be my personal schedule, but I have three different sports/extra-curricular activities on Wednesday, and so Im super busy and I dont really have time for homework. Thats where the character Wednesday comes into the story, when she is complaining about her bad grades because she claims she doesnt have enough time for school with all of her sports.

Thursday: By Thursday, most people are already excited for the weekend and are anticipating and waiting anxiously for Friday. This explains why Thursdays character is the over-excited classmate.

Saturday: Saturday is the mother in the narrative. This is because on Saturdays I spend more time with my mom than I do on a normal weekday. Also, the character Saturday in the story is stressed about sons grades and she makes sure that they complete their homework. Personally, I complete all of my weekend homework on Saturday, and sometimes it can get stressful, and so that explains the personality of the character.

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Sunday: On Sundays most Americans watch football at least I know my dad does. Thats why the character Sunday is the twins dad and he appears to care more about the sons athletic ability than he does about their academic achievement.

Mrs. Semana: Semana in Spanish means week

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