In the lunch lines, you have to wait forever for your food. And it doesn’t even constitute as food.
I have always hated waiting in line, so if I spot one of my friends in front of me, I run towards them as if I have something of the upmost importance to tell them. I really am a sneaky little devil.
The school hardly ever serves edible food. Most of the time, the “food” is a grayish-yellow clumpy thing that is supposed to be apple crisp. What is that?
Today-thank god-its chicken nuggets. Something slightly appetizing…at least until I felt a crunch and pulled a thin chicken bone out of my mouth. Gross.
Taylor and John were unusually quiet at the table. Usually, they were the life of the party. But they just sat there, staring at the walls.
“What happened, exactly, between your parents?” Morris asked, obviously failing at subtlety.
“Well, we started noticing something was wrong, even before our dad did. Our mom was staying at work later and later. She missed dinner almost every night. Last night, dad took her a snack, figuring she would be hungry. He walked in and saw them…together.” Said Taylor in a monotonous voice.
“And on that happy note, has anyone seen Hunter?” Lili asked loudly.
“I think he said he was skipping today to go see some new band. “I said, smirking in amusement. They were a match made in heaven…or whatever they believed in.
“Oh. I was hoping he would want to go with me…I’ve already bought the tickets.” She sounded so dejected; I had to pull her out of this funk.
“That new slayer movie is coming out soon, remember he said he wanted to go and see it?” I said, throwing her a life preserver.
We were eating our lunches and talking, when a group of people trouped in, armed with…posters? They plastered them all over the walls, covering the murals that were painted to lift our spirits. The posters could only mean one thing…the Halloween dance. Morris pointed at them and said, “So, who wants to go to the dance as my date?” He looked around at us, his eyebrows heading towards his hairline.
“Not it!” We all yelled, settling into one of our traditions. We did this every year, he would ask us out, we would say no, and then we would throw food at each other.
As they settled in to talk about the dance and gossip, I read my book. I was drawn into their conversation, leaving my book behind.
“So who do you think you are going to ask?” Morris asked us.
“I’m probably not going. What with the cost of a dress and a ticket, I’d be indebted, forever, to my mom.” I said. I loved shopping, but I couldn’t afford to do it frequently…
“What do you think you’ll wear?” I asked. Since it was a Halloween dance, the color schemes were endless. Taylor started up a debate on two of the dresses she had seen at a shop. Elizabeth pointed out that we wouldn’t know what they looked like on her, unless we saw them.
“Girls, let’s go shopping.” Taylor said, grabbing her bag. Morris and John suddenly became very interested in their food. I guess even the most remote mention of the dreaded shopping trip made them cautious.
“Won’t we get in trouble for cutting school?” I asked, searching for a reason to stay. I wanted to go, but I wouldn’t be able to get anything.
“It’s the first day of school; no one will notice we left. And plus, do you really think your mom would care?” Taylor asked, eyeing me. I sighed. She was right. My mom wasn’t that strict about school, as long as I got good grades, she would keep quiet
