THE SYNOPSIS: GYM CLASS SUCKS
Synopsis for Gym Class Sucks
Written by: Van Colden
Vivienne and her friends are five girls who lead active lives (Vivienne: gymnast, Millie: swimmer, Calista: skier, Annie: hiker, and Chloe: biker), but their sports and activities never align with what Mr. Jenkins does in Phys Ed (PE). And so, Vivienne hates gym class.
The story begins with panels showing Vivienne participating and medalling in a gymnastics competition. Vivenne trains several hours per week to achieve her skills, but that’s not something that her teacher, Mr. Jenkins, sees reflected in PE.
This week in PE, it’s dodgeball day. Two students are chosen to pick teams. Vivenne hates this. She is always picked last and today is no exception. Vivienne also hates dodgeball. She’s small and so having the ball thrown at her by kids who are twice her size, scares her. She’s quick though, and she is good at dodging the ball. She is the last player in her zone, but the game is drawn out because she never tries to catch the ball, she only dodges. Mr. Jenkins whistles down the game and has words with Vivienne about trying to catch the ball rather than only dodging and reminds her that her participation grade might be affected.
After PE, she runs into Calista. Calista is her fiery skier friend. Although she doesn’t compete skiing anymore, she loves to ski. And she has a competitive edge. While Vivienne refills her water bottle at the fountain, a poster catches Calista’s eye. There’s a “Teachers vs. Students Challenge” coming to school and the Student Council is recruiting teams. Vivienne is doubtful and not really interested. Afterall, what if the teachers choose the challenges. She’s terrible at PE, so she could become the laughingstock of the school.
When the five friends meet up at lunch, Calista brings up the Challenge suggesting they should sign up but there is self-doubt in the group. It’s only after Report Card Day, when Vivienne gets a low grade in PE that she agrees to go to the information session out of sheer frustration.
Together they go to the session. A team of boys immediately raise their hands to sign up to face off against the teachers. After a few mean remarks from the boys, Calista reflexively puts her hand up too. She will not be pushed around by the boys, or the teachers. Another group of kids, the nerds, also put in a team. Vivienne is anxious about all of it.
On “Teacher vs. Students Challenge” day, the four teams: the Teachers: “The Grade Expectations,” the Boys: “The Jocks of All Trades,” Vivienne and her friends: “The Queens of Quest,” and the Nerds: “The Underdawgs,” set off against each other to complete five challenges. The first challenge is a playground challenge where one team member must complete a set obstacle course and collect tokens along the way. The second challenge is a geocache, but to unlock the tablet, the teams must pedal a stationary bike to power the tablet to do the geocache. The third challenge is a decoder secret message requiring the code from the geocache. The fourth is a Q-Tip battle where the competitors must cross a beam and with an oversized Q-Tip, try to topple their opponent into a foam pit, so that they can have the right of way and continue to the fifth and last challenge. The final challenge is getting a flag across a lake in a rowboat that can only hold four people. All five team members must get across the lake to complete the challenge.
The challenges are approached with the girls using the skills they have acquired in their different active lifestyles. Despite their efforts, the nerds are in the lead, with the girls trailing, then the teachers, and the boys. On the final sprint to the finish, Vivienne is catching up to Lucy, from The Underdawgs team, but she can’t quite reach her. It’s only when Lucy trips and falls a short distance from the finish, that Vivienne overtakes her, but her conscience brings her to a full stop. The Underdawgs were ahead for nearly the entirety of the challenge, and this is not how she wants to win. She looks over her shoulder, sees Mr. Jenkins gaining on them, so runs back to Lucy, helps her up, and sends her across the finish line first.
A short time after, Mr. Jenkins comes to chat with her and tells her how impressed he is with her performance and that he is going to adjust her grade. They have a brief discussion about how he did not realize how skilled the girls were. They remind him that it’s because they never play their sports in PE, so they never have an opportunity to showcase their skills. The book ends with Mr. Jenkins suggesting having them meet with him to discuss ways he could change so that he doesn’t miss this in the future.