First-Time Buyer

The first day of seventh grade: three towns coming together as one to form the King Philip community. Stepping off that bus my heart was beating a million times a minute. I thought to myself, "What if I get lost? or what if I don't make any friends?" Remembering my locker combination was a daunting task to me. That three number combination felt like trying to remember the first fifteen perfect squares. A few bells ring, and finally it was lunch time. Now usually every kid was happy and excited to go eat some food and meet new people; this wasn't the case with me. I was scared; I had never bought my lunch before. My mom would always make my lunch for me in elementary school. The cafeteria was this large, white rectangular room with large glass windows on the right side. Blue rectangular and circle tables flooded the floor of the cafeteria. Then, there it was, the lunch line. Winding its way out through the door like a snake, and here I was about to face this monstrous snake. The people I walked by were all dressed up in their first day outfits: button-downs, polos, dresses, and skirts seemed to be the main fashion fad of that day. As I get closer and closer to the door that would lead me to what seemed to be my worst nightmare my heart began to beat again. I even thought of pretending to go to the bathroom to avoid it, but it was too late. I reached the archway of the door, and it was too late to turn back now. As I walked in the lunch trays were to my left in stacks, the registers were in the middle, and the food was all the way in the back. The room’s aroma was amazing; the fresh smell of chicken, pasta, and fruit filled the air. The lunch ladies weren’t like the lunch ladies that were featured in the movies. The lunch ladies were kind and always smiling. Once I saw them smiling I began to be at ease. I picked out my lunch: a chicken burger, french fries, milk, and an apple, and then I made my way to the registers. I had never really purchased anything on my own before so I was timid about the process. I carefully examined the kids in front of me and around me as they preceded me in buying their lunches. I put my tray on the shelf, pulled out my wallet and got the two dollars needed to buy my lunch. As I did this, George Washington stared me in the eyes and then were gone and into the register. I walked out feeling like I had just climbed Mount Everest. The cafeteria was a sea of heads, but I found my friends and enjoyed my lunch, the first school lunch I had ever bought. The bell rang and it was back off to class, but I felt like I was on top of the world.