Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever

They took the last piece of playground equipment away at school today. We started off the year with all sorts of things, like monkey bars and swings and stuff, but now the playground is an empty sawdust pit. So recess is basically like a prison yard. I heard the school was having trouble paying the insurance for the playground, so every time there was some kind of accident or injury on a piece of equipment, the easiest thing to do was just remove it. In October, Francis Knott went flying off the swing set and landed on the seesaw, so that took out two big items right there. We lost the monkey bars when a girl named Christine Higgins climbed to the top and then got too scared to come down. The teachers aren't allowed to touch kids, so they had to call Christine's parents to come and get her. Eventually, the only piece of equipment left was the balance beam, and I figured nobody could get hurt on that thing. But believe it or not, some idiot wasn't looking where he was going the other day, so now that's gone too. Without any playground equipment, there's really nothing for us to do. But the teachers won't even let us sit down, because they say we have to stay active. And it's not like you're allowed to bring in toys or video games to keep yourself occupied either. In fact, if you get caught with a toy on the playground, it'll get confiscated. Last week, somebody found a miniature car buried in the sawdust that looked like it had been there for years. The car had three missing wheels, but people were so desperate for entertainment that they lined up to play with it while others kept lookout. Now there's a black market for toys at our school. Christopher Stangle brought in a bunch of Legos from home yesterday, and I hear a single brick will set you back 50 cents. The teachers have banned a bunch of games we used to play too. Last week, a group of boys were playing freeze tag, but one of them got hurt when someone shoved him from behind. So now we're not allowed to touch each other or even run. Today, people were playing air tag and getting around by speed walking, but it wasn't really the same. If you ask me, I think people are getting too carried away with all this safety stuff. I went to Manny's peewee soccer game, and all the kids had to wear bicycle helmets. The only good thing about the playground equipment being gone is that now I actually have a chance to start doing well in school. I'm one of those people who has a hard time focusing when the teacher is talking. And when another class is having recess right outside the window, it's practically impossible to pay attention.