Each year, the ruthless competition of CHS Hug-A-Warrior fills the hallways of Centaurus High School with shrieks, due to its cold blooded hug-or-be-hugged nature. But recently, energy for the Hug-A-Warrior competition has dwindled due to a new virus hitting the school.
“We don’t have enough beds in the nurse’s office to take care of all of these sick kids”, the school nurse tells the district, “It’s an absolute crisis and we have to do something about it.” Doctors at local hospitals and clinics have coined the name HUG-24 for this new disease. Despite all intentions to halt Hug-A-Warrior and keep kids and their families safe from getting sick, students have not been complying and are intent on finishing Hug-A-Warrior.
When one student was asked about his extreme determination, he explained “I might be risking death bro, but for the sweet sweet victory of winning Hug-A-Warrior, it will all be worth it. It’s better to have died trying than to have never tried at all, you know?.” He also admitted that the over $300 reward was convincing enough to sway him to stay in the competition.
Students who have been affected by HUG2-4 are reporting symptoms of intense fever and nausea, as well as the intense urge to hug other people around them; even complete strangers. “It gets really awkward when you can’t control it, and you just go up to a random person and hug them,” one student who has been deeply affected by HUG-24 reports. “Yesterday I hugged Dan Ryan and he started crying; apparently his dog died and he really needed that.”
According to the school nurse, “HUG-24 spreads directly through hugging other people, rather similar to how rabies spreads through direct contact.”. Student reactions to learning that information was incredibly mixed, ranging from anger to fear.
Some students and faculty think that the abolishment of Hug-A-Warrior would solve the problem, and even have a slogan, “Say No To Hugs” calling themselves the National Organization of Halted Universal Gestures Society (or NOHUGS). However, other students have taken a stand against them creating HUGS (Hug Urgency Global Society)
Members of NOHUGS and HUGS have both taken to making pins, hats, and other merchandise, displaying their logos, depending on their stance on hugging. Although chaos has erupted in the CHS halls and no one agrees with each other on anything, one thing is clear: CHS is more divided than it’s ever been, and we can blame it all on Hug-A-Warrior.
