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Onionline

Calvin's line

Nutrition and the Four Food Groups was a school play at Calvin's school, seemingly designed to teach the children about nutrition. It was featured only in the 11/10 through 11/21 1986 story arc. The exact plot is unknown, except for the following elements:

Characters[]

There were likely other unnamed characters in the play other than this.

Lines[]

Bread: "Glucose is the body's main energy source!"

Onion: "In addition to supplying vital nutrients, many vegetables are a source of dietary fiber."

There are no other mentioned lines, but the other children were probably intended to step forward in turn, and recite what their character did in terms of nutrition.

Preparations[]

Calvin is given the role of Onion in the play, and declares it a role that will have the audience in tears (as a pun on the fact that onions make you cry when you cut them). However, Calvin struggles to learn his line, even with the help of Hobbes. Meanwhile, Calvin's mother is left with the task of creating an onion costume for Calvin to wear in the play, which Calvin describes as "Jabba the Hutt meets Rudolph the Reindeer".

The Day of the Play[]

With just a few minutes before he's to go on stage, Calvin finds himself with a pressing need to go to the bathroom, and heads to do so. However, while he's there, his shirt ends up getting caught in the zipper of his costume, rendering him stuck in the onion suit. He tries to call for help, but no one answers. In a panic, realizing he's supposed to be on stage saying his line, he manages to yell his line perfectly (ironic of the fact that he couldn't remember his line when rehearsing).

Aftermath[]

When they realized Calvin missed his cue, the play was stopped and a janitor was sent to the bathroom to find Calvin. The janitor managed to free Calvin from the onion costume, but the damage had already been done and the play was ruined. Calvin tells this story to his mother, but he takes pride in the fact that he remembered his line.

Trivia[]

  • This is the one and only scene when Calvin mentions a Star Wars character, namely "Jabba the Hutt."
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