Chapter Two - Lockers, Lunchables, and Looking Busy

CHAPTER TWO

Lockers, Lunchables, and Looking Busy

“LUNCH IS WEIRD. That’s about it.”

Let’s talk about lunch, because honestly, it deserves its own chapter. Maybe a whole book.

Lunch is that one part of the school day that doesn’t pretend to be anything else. It’s loud, chaotic, greasy, sometimes boring, but it's yours. It’s where friendships are made, crusts are traded, and occasionally, chicken nuggets reach a spiritual level.

But here’s the thing no one tells you: sometimes you just get unlucky.

There’s this myth that your lunch table defines your high school experience. Like, if you don’t sit with the “cool kids,” you’re doomed. But the truth is, cool is relative, and numbers are what actually matter. Not in a “gang up” way, but in a “you’re stronger with a squad” kind of way. Even a squad of two. Three’s a power move. Four is legendary.

You don’t need a throne of popularity, you just need a place. Somewhere to land. I sat with nerds, athletes, weirdos, future doctors, and kids who were only there for the chicken sandwich. It didn’t matter. If I could talk to you, you were good with me. That’s the trick: if you can find someone to talk to, you’re not alone. And if someone’s sitting by themselves? Be the person who sits with them. You’ll never regret it.

And hey, if you're the one making fun of people for where they sit, or if you’re guarding your table like it’s a private island... be better. School’s hard enough without turning lunch into a battlefield. People aren't contagious. Sit with someone new. You might end up laughing so hard you almost choke.

As for the food itself? Mixed bag.

Some days it’s pizza. Other days, it’s... a science experiment in a tray. I almost always bought lunch, maybe 95% of the time. Packed lunch was rare. But even when the menu was a mystery, I had a go-to. Every student needs one: that one thing you can eat no matter what. Maybe it’s the spicy chicken sandwich. Maybe it’s the salad bar (if you’re built different). Just find your fallback and stick with it. Until it fails. And then? Wing it.

There’s something comforting about lunch. Even when everything else in your day is stressful or confusing, lunch shows up. It may not always be good. It may not always be long enough. But it’s there. And when you look back, you might not remember the grades you got in Algebra, but you will remember who you sat with during lunch.

So yeah. Lunch is weird.
And that’s kind of what makes it great.