Messed Up

Chapter 8: The Frozen Boy

POV: Max

When we reached the large cafeteria, (which we had to locate using my mom's map and, in the end, following a large group of people that we realized was heading in that direction.) we got in the lunch line to get whatever they will give us. I had about a dollar in change in my pocket but I was sure I would be lucky if that would be able to buy me anything. At this point, Julian was being pretty quiet and not really in a talkative mood. I was sure he was still okay with me as he had followed me all the way here to the lunch room and got in line with me. If I had to guess, his mind was either on the diaper he was being made to wear just because he had an accident that wasn't his fault. If it isn't the first one, then his mind has to be on Bert and how much of a pain in the neck he is going to be to us unless we find a way get help from an adult to stop him. I knew my mom would be more than willing to help protect me from Bert. The thing was, I was no longer in Elementary school and I wasn't sure if I really wanted to be the guy known to have his mommy come down to the Middle school in the first week, to fight his battles for him. It would be like having your parent hug you out front of the school, or the school bus in the morning, as it picks you up. Maybe I could just get Mom to pack me 2 lunches, 1 for Bert to steal, and 1 for myself.

The lunch line was long, it didn't help we were some of the last ones there. I wondered how much of the lunch hour would be spent in the line. I was really hoping to have some time to enjoy some of it on what little playground equipment the school did have outside, for the only recess they gave us in the school day. Maybe Julian will want to play outside with me and I might be able to drag him out of his shell more. Something about him made me feel like I could tell him anything, even my secret and he wouldn't tell anyone. I don't know why this is the case, as I just met the boy this morning on the bus and still know very little about him. I guess I could describe him as a shy kid, not very talkative but his eyes say so much when they look deep into yours, like he is trying to pierce your soul with them. While he may be small for an eleven-year-old, it seems to only add to his charm and cuteness. There was that word again, even with all we went through and will still most likely have to make it through yet, I couldn't help smiling at this boy when this thought filled my young mind.

When we finally got to where the lunch people were serving lunch, I handed the first lady my claim ticket and when it looked like Julian was frozen for some reason, I took his claim ticket from him and handed it as well to the lady. The lady then told a man behind her to grab 2 brown bags. She then handed our tickets back to us and told us to present them to the cashier at the end. As for the man, he was gone less than a minute before he was back with exactly 2 brown little lunch bags. The lady took the bags from the man and then handed one each to me and Julian, who did take it as the bag was handed to him.

I was sad when I opened it to only find a sandwich that looked like it had a thin layer of peanut butter on it and a small apple. I guess I must have groaned as the lunch lady chose that moment to give me a small lecture.

"Be lucky you got that much at all. When I was your age and didn't have a lunch of our own, the school didn't give us anything for free! We had to starve at lunch! Be grateful you little snot! Now move on, you're holding up the line!"

"Boy!" I thought to myself, she is one crabby lady and I could see how her yelling had affected Julian as I reached for his hand so we can move down the line.

Julian, grabbed onto my arm before I could take his hand though and for the moment, I decided to give him a minute or so to recover from the shock of the women yelling at me. When we got down to the milk, I wanted to know how much it cost, as I wasn't sure. They had a few different prices on it, which was confusing. All I knew was that I wanted something to drink other then water at lunch and everything else was out of my price range, even the bottle water!