Mission So far Accomplished

Turns out, they today is the day we (Cassius, Trebonious, me…) planned to shank out Caesar. I didn’t really want to do it, so I had to convince myself it was for the good of the student body, whether it made headlines or not… Here’s what it sounded like:
Cassius: Yo, Julius, lemme talk to you for a sec.

Julius: Yeah, no prob.

Trebonious: Yeah, we got a proposal for you, and if you can’t accept it, then there’s more where it came from

Julius: Um…

Me: Well – yeah, you know how you were going to run for class prez? Well you’re runnin’ with me, got it? Understand?

Julius: What are you talking about – I thought I’d told you I’d – (interrupted as Cassius draws a pencil, which triggers Titinius, Trebonious, and everyone else.)

Julius: What’s goin’ on right now – ya’ll better tell me what’s – (pencils get closer, backing him into a corner) Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never… wait… aw, snap!
The shanking begins, and goes on for minutes. Then, after what seems like an eternity to me, everyone looks at me. I’m the only one who hasn’t gone yet. Julius is leaning up against the wall, white t-shirt all ripped and marked with pens and pencils and everything.

So I step up… This part’s the hardest for me, even harder than watching it all before. But again, I managed to convince myself that it was for the good of the student body. For the good of the school. For the good of Italy. For the good of all of Rome! Then Julius’ mouth opens…

Julius: You too, Brutus? Dang – fine, I’ll run with you then. Fine. There’s a silent fist pump among the guys and then they storm back into the cafeteria to finish their food. I follow them, taking my eyes off of Caesar for as long as I could. The deed was done, and it was over. But I’d still have to run with him – for the good of Rome!I admit that I’m a bit nervous, because I’ve never run for student office or anything like that before. But someone’s got to do it.
Mission Accomplished… So far

Aha! A plan.

Today I asked Brutus in school if he wanted to run for ‘office.’ with me. He said it might be a good idea, but that he didn’t know if it could actually happen. He said he would think about it, but he said it in that way that just blew me off. Then Cassius came up to me afterwards. He was talking about how Julius was trying to act like he was better than me, and that I could be better than Caesar. Then he started talkin’ all this crap about how I should ‘overtake’ Caesar and run for presidency instead of vice prez.
Personally, I thought this was a pretty weird idea. And I told him that. Then he suggested that we organize a conspiracy against Caesar. He said that if he could put together a bunch of people and get Caesar alone and just shank him and push him around until he either runs with me or just gives up his campaign. Now, I thought this was a pretty crazy plan, but I actually considered that one more than the other because it would almost surely work. And as it turns out, Cassius organized Titinius and a few other of his peeps to join his little conspiracy thing. I guess he really thought that through. Maybe he’s right about this.
And since already gotten so many people to agree, maybe he’s right. But I don’t know, because it seems like everyone’s always right about everything when they has a bunch of people on their side. And although a lot of people call me easy to convince, I decided I would need at least one more person to agree with Cassius’ idea for me to decide it was plausible (or even acceptable).
And that’s exactly what happened. I just got a letter from a bunch of people at the high school that I don’t even know that well. It was signed by at least thirty or forty people, and it contained a letter that showed the people’s emotions towards my running for vice prez. It included quotes like, “do you really think he’s better than you?” and “What are you thinking?! We want you for Prez, man!” I went to bed last night with these letters and petitions on my desk. And on my mind. Now I was pretty sure what I wanted to do with this. I would join the conspiracy – just as long as it didn’t go too far.
Oh well – gotta go, but I’m still pondering the plan……..

The Brute Brutus for Pres?

Hey, this is my first day posting. I guess I should introduce myself. Name’s Marcus Brutus. I’m 14, trying to do well in school. But that’s along with other things, including all these clubs my friends told me to join. I tend to be very trusting of anyone I’m friends with. I have a few bad habits. I can be unsure of myself, but I still get on fine.
This week, my best friend Julius Caesar decided he was going to run for class president, or at least for student Counsel. So did I. Now, usually, best friends don’t become bitter enemies in a split second, but this was, for some reason, a different story. Julius is running for president, and I was actually considering doing the same. But Caesar is a lot more popular than me, and has grown to be a more powerful influence than me since we were best buds in elementary school. Now we hand out every once in a while. Well anyway, I think I want to run for more of a senator position instead.
It would be an embarrassment to me if I ran for class prez. against Julius – he’d blow me out by hundreds of votes (even in our tiny Roman high school)… Yeah, I think I’ll run for vice president. Nobody likes that title, and I don’t think that anyone else important will be running. Plus, there could be more than one, according to our school system. Yeah, I’ll run for vice prez. instead. The vote tally is in a few weeks, so I should start campaigning soon. I can see the signs now – “Brutus for Vice Prez.” – but what would my friends think? I have to learn to ignore their opinions, thought it’s really hard for me.
Hey – I have an idea. Maybe I can pair up with Caesar and we could run for vice president and president together – like in other countries and in real life. Yeah! That’s a good idea! NOW I can see the signs – “Julius and Marcus” for Prez. and Vice Prez. I should run this idea by Julius soon. He might like it – or he would be embarrassed by it. Either way, I should probably run this by Cassius or Trebonius or somebody else first – to see if it’s a good idea. I’ll write back with the results. Peace out!!