Band Kids Lunch

Band kids have special privileges in the fact that they get to eat lunch in the locker room that acted as storage for the orchestra instruments, girls tennis team, and the girls marching band changing room with the occasional boy walking in at the end of school. I am in fact one of those privileged few who did not have to deal with the noisy cafeteria. When I walked past the cafeteria on my way to class I would catch some of the noxious lunch fumes wafting out of the immature teenager infested room. No, the only reason I ever had to go into that terrible room was to get food. I never packed lunch because that would require me to get up at 4:45 in the morning to make my bus. I just could not find the will power to roll out of bed before 5.

Getting lunch form the cafeteria was the cool thing to do in my school. Why, I really do not know but I could have cared less what anyone thought about my lunch, it was just easier for me. Well kind of easier, I just had to make sure I put my money in an envelope and then put that envelop in the cash box located in the guidance office or the cafeteria before 3rd period otherwise I was going to starve. My principle in an attempt to make buying lunch faster made depositing lunch money automated so all I had to do when I went to the register is swipe my school id that I was required to wear throughout my high school career along with maroon polls and khakis. I did not understand the reason for the detention getting id; it wasn’t like they wouldn’t know I went to this school without the id to identify me as a Stroudsburg kid. The polo said it all.

I would always hear some kid asking the pathetic question “can you buy me lunch?” I always felt bad for the kid but I did not want to buy them food because I knew that I would never see my money again. After getting what they call a “healthy” lunch from the cafeteria I would then whip out my year round band pass, which I forged, for the lunch lady that would but glanced at it and motion me on my way. Lunch in the locker room without supervision and my best friends, was fun. The orchestra director dubbed our little group the losers club. I can understand why she named us that when you have Jake and Jordan playing on their calculators the entire lunch period. Occasionally they would tear their fingers away and join in the festivities. Oh did we have fun. We played games like spit, ratscrew, dirty twister, and rumycube. These games always ended up with people cursing and cards flying especially if you played with Jordan who was no very good and hated to loose. The Losers club always managed to have me rolling on the dirty cold floor dying of laughter.

I remember this one day when Gretchen decided to tie Jordan’s shoe to Devin’s backpack. She can really tie knots. Neither of them noticed this until she was done and for some reason Devin decided to get up and run around the locker room with Jordan hoping along after him trying not to fall on his face. Jordan did manage to keep up for a couple of laps but in an act of survival he decided to leap upon Devin and try to wrap his legs about Devin. This did made Devin stop but Jordan ended up on the floor.