One of the intriguing changes Manha High School made was how they approached lunch. Before, they had three different lunch blocks; A, B and C. Each of them would commence at different times throughout the third period of the day. The first third of third period would be when classes belonging to lunch block A would go and get lunch. Then block B in the second third and block C in the final third. The third class period was obviously lengthened to adjust for this. The overall time students spent in their third period class was the same as the other classes.
To Chad, this had been his normal. Not only did Manha High School do this but the school he transferred from also did a block scheduled lunch. He just assumed it was the most time efficient way of getting the students lunch. He also thought it helped regulate the amount of students in the cafeteria.
According to the new schedule, there would only be one period of lunch for the whole school. It would be held in between the second and third period. Chad had no clue how they were going to fit the whole student body into a cafeteria since it only ever held a third of the student body at a time.
Although, he had never been in this school’s cafeteria so he couldn’t say with certainty that the whole student body wouldn’t fit. Even before the schedule changes, Manha High School did something a bit different from his previous school. Students were allowed to eat outside without supervision if they were above a certain GPA threshold. It was quite odd that this threshold was only a 3.75 and was even lowered to a 3.65 after the new schedule changes. Chad didn’t complain though, the threshold must’ve been high enough because he didn’t see many other people eating outside. Being able to eat lunch alone and away from a crowded cafeteria each day was a welcomed change from his previous school.
Similar to when he worked at the library, Chad would always pack his own lunches. Not only did this allow him to avoid the gross cafeteria food, but he wouldn’t have to wait in long lines either. Even before the schedule change, his lunch block was A, so he was used to going directly to lunch from the second period.
Chad opened the door of the school’s back entrance outside. The chill wind of fall reawakened him from the tiring school day. The weather had been slowly turning these past few weeks and winter would soon be crashing down upon them. He had heard nothing of where the privileged students who had get to eat outside would eat during winter.
Will they place us in the cafeteria? That sounds like a bother. I like my lunches just the way they are.
He continued forward onto a paved walkway. The school had some outdoor seating areas where most other kids who passed the GPA threshold would sit. There was currently a small group of five at one of the tables chatting and eating. This of course wasn’t Chad’s style.
Besides the little courtyard area with the seating, students were allowed to eat anywhere outside that was closed in by the school's fences. It seemed a bit like yard time in a prison, but it was much better than eating in the cafeteria.
Manha High School had an integrated football field. What does the term “integrated football field” imply? This field was used for a bunch of different activities. Of course it was a football field, but it also acted as the school’s soccer field along with a four hundred meter track surrounding the perimeter. The soccer teams had other practice fields to use but this one was used for all the school’s home games.
The field was pretty nice. It was made of artificial turf instead of grass and was recently renovated to fit the track that surrounded it. With that renovation came the new stands. Fans always came along with high school sports so Manha High School naturally needed a place where everyone could sit and enjoy the activities. The school used the addition of the track to also revamp their seating area for the crowds.
Manha initially had basic aluminum stands that were spread out around the field. Each stand could only comfortably hold around forty people. The new stands were far more impressive. They took up an entire side of the field and stood about two stories tall. There was even an announcer’s box atop that looked over the entire field.
These new stands were the place Chad always ate lunch. With the large size of them, even if somebody else had the same idea as him, there was plenty of space to spread out.
He always sat at the very top of the stands all the way towards the edge. This gave him a great view of the forest that bordered this school and his neighborhood.
He took out his lunch bag from his backpack and set it on the metal bench beside him. His lunch was inside a small paper bag that was neatly folded shut. This morning he had packed himself a ham sandwich, some chips, an orange and a slice of his mother’s banana bread. He also packed a plastic water bottle for something to drink. He neatly laid out all of the items he packed onto the cold metal bench. He then started with his ham sandwich as he always did.
First Chad would eat his sandwich, then his chips with the orange following suit. He would then finish off his meal with the sweet and savory taste of banana bread. This was what he would always do, it was what he scheduled himself to do.
After finishing his sandwich, he reached for his water bottle to take a predetermined sip. Between each lunch item he had to wash out the taste of the previous food.
Agh, shit.
Distracted by the nice view from above, he mishandled the plastic bottle and it fell to his feet. He then reached down to pick it up and somehow fumbled it again. This time he knocked it down between the cracks of the bleachers and it fell all the way down below.
Am I really that clumsy?
Chad got down on a knee and peaked down the crack in the bleachers. He could see his water bottle, still intact. It didn’t seem to explode on impact with the ground.
“What a bother.”
To finish his lunch, Chad would have to walk all the way back down the stands to retrieve his beverage. He would then have to walk all the way back up to resume his lunch. It was a ton of work just for water, but having a beverage while eating his lunch was a requirement. At least for school lunches.
After retrieving the bottle from below the stands, he began his climb up the bleachers again.
Chad looked up to the spot he was just previously sitting at. There was a girl with bright pink hair sitting where he had sat. His lunch had also been moved down four rows. This random girl seemed to have moved his stuff and then took his spot.
The hell? What’d I do to you?
Chad walked up the stands, pausing at his perturbed lunch and continuing to the girl.
She was quite small. A bit taller than Kobani but much smaller (although Kobani had such a large sweater on so he couldn’t get a good judgment of her size). Her pink bangs lead to her bright blue eyes that suited their young face. She looked like a middle schooler. Could she be a middle schooler? Chad had already been fooled by appearances today, for all he knew this could be a senior as well.
“Is there something you require from me?”
The girl’s voice was very high pitched. The more he observed her, the more he believed that she could actually be a middle schooler or even a mature looking elementary schooler. Her mouth was small and her hands very petite and fragile looking.
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Her pink hair was tied in pigtails, but was still long enough to reach past her shoulders. Her shirt was pink, her shoes were pink and even her lunchbox was pink. At least her skirt was white, giving Chad’s eyes a break from her monochromatic look.
“Did you move my stuff?” Chad asked.
“If you mean the pitiful lunch that cluttered my spot, then yes.”
Your spot?
Chad realized he had made a mistake in his analysis of the new schedule. He had thought that the changes made to lunch would not affect him, but he was critically wrong. The girl sitting in his spot was probably from a different lunch block than he was. Now that everyone had lunch at the same time, if two people sat in the same spot during two different blocks, then conflict would naturally arise between the two. This was a problem.
“Well, moving stuff that isn’t yours is kind of inconsiderate.”
He needed to find a way of convincing this girl to move without stooping to her level of proclaiming that this spot belonged to him, even though it did.
“Why should I care about being inconsiderate? Your stuff was in my spot and I moved it. I’ve sat here every day this semester. I’m not going to let some rando claim what’s mine.”
It’s my spot you little brat.
“I was in the middle of eating my lunch and you just moved it. Why didn’t you pick another spot in the stands? This thing can hold like a thousand people.”
“Ugh,” The girl rolled her eyes and crossed her legs over each other, “It seems like you really want to sit in my spot. I can’t blame you I guess, who wouldn’t want to sit in the same place as me. I’ll make you a deal,” The girl smiled, “I’ll let you sit here if you beg me for it.”
Huh?
“I want you to get on your knees and grovel before me. Lick my shoes while you're at it, then maybe I’ll even allow you the honor of sitting with me while eating lunch.”
“What?”
The girl flipped her hair back.
“I can see why you’re confused, it’s not often I’m this merciful to someone. You really should’ve done this from the start. I can’t blame someone for their ignorance though. But now that you know, get to groveling. Beg for forgiveness and then I’ll think about letting you have my spot.”
You little shit.
“Chivral!”
Chad turned to the somewhat familiar voice coming from below.
“Chivral! I told you this morning we’re having lunch with dad. Did you really forget again?”
Rose Visca, the student council president was making her way up the stands towards them. Chivral was apparently the brat's name.
Rose was wearing the same attire she had worn at the pep rally. A black skirt with a white dress shirt and black tie. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail and her glasses were pressed against her eyes.
“Chivral, dad’s going to be mad if we’re late.”
Dad?
Chad looked at her and then back to Chivral.
You’re telling me this little demon brat is sisters with the student council president?
Rose turned to him.
“Oh hey Chad. Sorry if my sister was bothering you.”
Her voice was firm and confident, opposite to how she had talked to him at the library Saturday.
“Oh no she wasn’t-”
She was being a complete bother, what am I lying fo?.
“S-so,” Chad continued, switching his train of thought, “This girl is your sister?”
“Yea, Chivral here is a freshman. She’s still learning how to be a high schooler. It seems like she needs to work on how to respect her peers.” she gave a stern look towards her sister.
Since she had shown up, Chivral had kept her loud mouth shut. Her overlord persona seemed to have switched off as soon as her sister was in the fray.
“A new school is a big adjustment,” Chad said, “So is Chivral also a part of the student council?”
He needed to know if there was a possibility that he would be asked to lick someone’s shoes again. He prayed the answer to his question was no.
“No she isn’t.”
Yes. One less potential headache.
“But I will be!”
Chivral stood up. She was two rows above Chad and Rose so she looked down at both of them.
“Once my sister graduates I’ll be the student council president. It’s only natural for someone like me to take on that position.”
Rose rolled her eyes and looked back at Chad.
“I’m glad I’ll be out of this school by the time she takes over. You won’t be though, you’ll be a senior. Good luck with dealing with her.”
She chuckled at the thought.
“Alright Chivral, time to go. We’re already late.”
She took hold of one of her frail sister's arms with the force of a tiger and began leading her down the stands.
“Don’t sit in my spot you brute!” Chivral shouted back towards Chad.
“Chivral! You can’t talk to people like that.”
Rose turned around. She gave a smile along with a wave.
“Remember Chad, we have a meeting after school today. Three o’ five sharp, immediately after fourth period. Classroom 204 C. Don’t be late!”
She took a few more steps down with Chivral beside her. She then turned around again.
“And Chad.”
“Yea?”
Her eyes intensified and her voice flipped from friendly to intimidating.
“You better not skip.”
“Yes ma’am!”
Chad was caught off guard by the sudden switch in tone from her. His response was way out of character for him.
Where’d that come from?
With one final wave goodbye, they left him at the top of the bleachers. He moved his lunch back to his spot and continued. The day was proving more and more hectic by the hour.
Due to this interruption, he didn’t finish his lunch by the time the bell rang. He put the unfinished lunch back into his bag and left for his third class of the day.
Could this day become any worse?
***
Chad’s final two classes went incredibly well compared to the first half of his day. Besides the time adjustments, they were completely normal. No odd discrepancies or distractions. No incredibly sadistic girl’s yelling at him. He just sat in his classes as if it were any other school day. This had lifted his spirits after the rough first half of the day.
The final bell rang, signifying the end of the school day. Students grabbed their things and went home. This is what he wanted to be doing. This is what he should be doing. But no, he wasn’t preparing for his walk home. Chad sat in his fourth period desk, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.
The meeting. The meeting he had to go to because he joined the student council. Rose had assured him last Saturday that these only lasted about a half hour to an hour and there wasn’t much work outside of these meetings. Still, the workload wasn’t what stressed him out. It was the fact that this wasn’t part of his usual routine. His nice and structured life was falling apart right in front of him and he feared that this would be the final straw. He feared that this would be the final blow to do him in.
Chad got up and left the classroom of his fourth period. He walked through the hallways. All the other students were in groups chatting and laughing with each other.
Of course they can be happy. They get to leave.
He walked in the opposite direction of most of the foot traffic. They all headed towards the exit while he drudged along towards the stairwell.
After climbing to the second floor as if on death row, he was looking at different room numbers.
“201, 202A, 202B, 203, 204A, 204B…”
Chad sighed. There it was. He had arrived at the end, his end. His routine, his schedule would come to a dramatic end.
Maybe it didn’t have to. Maybe this didn’t need to be the end. He could just keep on walking. He could just leave and go back home like he usually would
No.
Chad thought about how serious Rose sounded when she told him not to skip. That plus the fact his mother would kill him, he couldn’t get out of this.
With another sigh he checked the time on his phone.
Seven past three. It’s my first day. She can forgive me for being a little late. I can just say I got lost or something.
Mustering all of his courage, Chad grasped the handle to the door of classroom 204C and opened it.