InvaSUn

1

"Excuse me." I gestured towards one of the lunch ladies behind the counter. She raised her gaze to meet my eyes with a dull expression on her face, showing obvious annoyance. It was clear she didn't want to be bothered after dealing with the other university students in the lunch hall. It felt like a good time to make this conversation quick. "Could you pass me a pack of ketchup, please?"

The lunch lady grabbed a handful of small ketchup packets and tossed them onto the counter sluggishly. Before she could return to her station, I called out to her once more. "One more thing," I raised my hand. "Do you mind signing this petition? It's a request for new History textbooks in the library. The ones we have are pretty old and worn out, which makes it harder for us to study—"

"Scram, kid. I have a job to do." She waved me off. I frowned and brought my clipboard away.

"It'll only take a second—"

"Move lady! You're holding up the line!" A rude student behind me nudged me with his tray. "Some of us have to eat and get back to class."

The only reason why I was asking for signatures for this petition was for my friend. The school ended up sending her a textbook that was used, after paying a bunch of money for it. They refused to give her money back, and the dean said if we got enough signatures, he'd order new textbooks for our entire class and give them free of charge. Only a few students who actually cared about their grades were on board with the idea. However, the others could care less.

I was hoping getting signatures from the staff would help, but obviously not. It seemed they couldn't be bothered either. I sighed and grabbed the ketchup packets off the counter before sauntering back over to my table, disappointed.

Our University was very prestigious, as they had top students who ended up getting exceptional jobs once they graduated. I was one of those students, majoring in Historiography. I pretty much worked my way up and earned scholarships just to study here.

Because of my academic success so far, I've gained well backing from the dean and some of my professors. But I've also received some hate from my peers. I've always been one to give speeches at rallies or had the privilege of going to large fundraisers that my University set up to represent the school. I was very well known for my academic record, but because of it, other students would think I was too good for them.

They thought I was showing arrogance for choosing to keep my friend group small, or for being able to achieve all the things I was able to. Their negative thoughts of me are what's making it harder for me to get signatures.

It didn't matter though, there's always more than one way to skin a cat.

"Riley!" My classmate and close friend, Natalie Hemmings called out to me and rushed over to my table. She was a tall girl with blonde hair and green eyes, with an odd fashion sense, always wearing the brightest and most colorful mix-matched patterns of clothes. "I managed to get 20 people to sign today!"

She shoved the clipboard in my face. "So far we have 120 people who've signed. Now we just need 30 more signatures!"

"That's great Nat!" I took a large bite of my hot dog after spreading a line of ketchup on it. "I've been trying to get some of the staff to help.."

"How's that going?"

"The lunch lady basically told me to leave her alone." I shrugged. "But that's fine, there are many professors and other lunch ladies and custodians that work here."

"You keep going for faculty members when you should aim for students, Riles."

"The other students don't like me. That's the reason I ask the staff for help." I frowned at her and shoved the rest of the hot dog into my mouth. "We're almost halfway done with the semester and we still don't have enough for new books."

"That can change!"

"No, it won't. Let me stick to what I've been doing since it's been helping us get most of those signatures, Nat."

"Alright fine, do whatever." She shrugged and took a seat next to me. "Just don't get mad at me when your plan doesn't work anymore. We can't keep relying on our teachers all the time."

~

"Excuse me!" I waved my hand at a custodian who was looking through one of the storage closets. He raised his head and pressed his lips together, completely confused that I was talking to him.

I realized he was someone I hadn't seen around the school before at all. He must've been a new employee. He was an Asian man with short and slightly disheveled hair, entirely focused on his work.

I raised my clipboard and gestured to it. "Would you mind signing this petition for us to get new textbooks?"

The man stared at the clipboard for a short while, and reluctantly grabbed my pen and signed, without saying a word. When he finished, he shoved the pen back to me.

Then he went back to searching in the closet. I glanced down at the signature with a smile, but it was short-lived as I read exactly what he wrote. 'Get lost' it said.

I huffed and tapped the guy on his shoulder in frustration. He shrugged my hand off and picked up a mop and bucket before strolling past me as if he didn't just violate our petition sheet. "Rude!" I shouted after him and he continued walking down the hall, fully ignoring me.

I couldn't believe him. I didn't even know the guy, but the entire way he carried himself reeked of disrespect. I usually got along with most staff members, but I guess this guy would be another story.

I decided to brush off what happened and head to my next class. I was running late anyway.

By the time I had already entered my classroom, it was packed. I quietly walked inside to find a seat and opened my notebook to get prepared for today's notes.