Why drink Coke when you can secretly drink Pepsi?: Ames High student meets student body’s soda demands

Have you ever been thirsty for a quality 24 ounce bottle of pop during 6th period, and felt that the usual selection of Coke and Dr. Pepper products aren’t going to completely satisfy your needs? Instead, you know that an ice-cold Pepsi product would be just the ticket to quench your thirst. Luckily sophomore Phillip J. Freshman (name has been changed for protection) has just the solution. “Since eighth grade I’ve been selling Pepsi products,” Freshman said. “Mostly Mountain Dew, but also Pepsi to students at school.” During the spring of eighth grade, Freshman was fed up with all the non-accessible soda machines at school; they were either broken or locked until after school. Finally Freshman decided to take action and buy his own pop from the grocery store. “I buy the six-pack of 24 ounce bottles. They are the cheapest per bottle, costing around 33 cents per bottle on average,” Freshman said. Not only was he going to privilege himself, but Freshman decided to share his genius idea with the rest of the school. He made his selection with great care. Ames High is a Coca-Cola sponsored school that completely excludes any Pepsi products. At last Freshman had his break and began to sell Mountain Dew and some Pepsi to students. Most of the soda is kept in his garage, but Freshman also has four to six bottles in his backpack available to purchase at all times. To ensure buying from the grocery store when the prices are low, Freshman has inside Hy-Vee workers informing him of when the prices are the lowest. “I sell each bottle for $1,” Freshman said. This is actually a bargain not only because it’s readily available at school, but also because the single bottle price for soda is a whopping $1.29 plus tax. Although very beneficial to the students, this method of selling items is not allowed at Ames High. However, this has not stopped Freshman in the three years he has been selling his products. “I’m not scared of getting in trouble. No one’s ever really confronted me. I once even offered it to “Teacher” (name not used for protection), but unfortunately I don’t carry diet pops. I don’t have a large enough market for diet,” Freshman said. With the school being so large, it seems hard to inform everyone of his Pepsi products. However, Freshman seems confident in his selling techniques. “People know me,” Freshman said, “I have my regulars, or my ‘junkies’ as they have named themselves. I have also considered buying a Mountain Dew sweatshirt, but I haven’t gotten to that stage yet.” At the end of the day, Freshman just wants to satisfy his fellow peers. “I’m not protesting the school in any way, I’m just fulfilling my own niche in a harmless way.”