The Blood-Red, White, and Blue- a Horror Story

About a month ago, on a sunny September day, my friend Em and I were walking around our town's annual Patriot Fair, attending lectures in an attempt to get extra-credit in our AP US History class.  I don't know why I wasn't prepared for my period to come.  It had been over a month since my last one, and I should have been wearing a panty liner.  But I was rushed that morning and just wanted to get out of the house, so lo and behold I forgot. 
We were listening to a man dressed as Frederick Douglass talk about his life as a slave when I felt the telltale stickiness in my underwear.  The lecture still had about 15 minutes to go, so I shifted my position in the chair, tightened my stomach, and hoped I wouldn't start bleeding again until the lecture was over.  As soon as it was, I tapped Em and said, "Um, do you have any... girl things with you that I can use?  I'm having a slight issue here."
Thankfully for me, she did.  We went to the bathroom and she handed me what had to be the world's smallest, skinniest tampon with the most slippery applicator.  Now, to be fair, Em is about the skinniest person I have ever seen, but the slippery applicator was really not cool.  I managed to get the tampon about halfway in at a weird, slightly uncomfortable angle that I knew wouldn't stop much blood (not that the tampon was going to work well anyway, based on its size), but it would have to do.  I checked my shorts for bloodstains and, seeing none, wrapped toilet paper around my underwear and left.  I'd done the best I could do.
Unfortunately, I still had about 5 more hours there, which is a long time when you're already cramping and now have a tampon poking you.  But I went through the day and the second I got home I went to the bathroom to change into something more useable.  I'd bled through the toilet paper and more onto my underwear, so I checked my shorts again.
I hope I wasn't walking around with that big rusty stain for too long at the fair.  You don't even want to know how many teachers and kids in my class were there.
Moral of the story?  Be prepared.  Sacrifice 5 minutes of your sleep if you have to, but be prepared.