Cafeteria Craze

Syd sat in the school cafeteria surrounded by his noisy classmates. The room buzzed with students chatting, chewing, and toting trays laden with items from the lunch menu. He sniffed, twisted his nose from side to side and breathed in the odors floating in the air. Salty, sweet, cheesy, sour, fruity flavors all mixed together.

Max sat at the table beside him. Max ate with the same two friends every day. They chowed down on hot dogs topped with sauerkraut and ketchup. They bragged about their home runs, grounders, and outfield catches during their little league game on Saturday.

Syd looked to his left and watched Lily skillfully eat her sushi rolls with soy sauce and wasabi. Ever since a classmate had watched Lily eat with chopsticks and said, “Ewww! You’re eating with sticks. That’s gross,” Lily and her friend Kim sat by themselves. Today they were whispering, giggling, and planning what they would wear to school the next day.

Syd looked over at Zach, sitting alone, and felt a wave of sadness. Zach was new to the school and was having trouble making friends. Was it his braids? His accent? He just didn’t know. Zach took a couple of bites of his peanut butter and jam sandwich, ignored the apple, and gobbled down his chocolate chip cookie. He tilted his head way back to finish the container of chocolate milk.

Syd breathed a long, deep sigh and munched on his vegetarian lunch of lentil pancakes and chickpea curry.

You don’t eat meat? Dude! That’s wild!

You’ve never had a cheeseburger?

Syd, too, had experienced impolite and hurtful remarks from classmates about the meals he brought from home. Sometimes the feeling of being alone was hard to take. He looked around the cafeteria. Something had to be done.

On their way back to class, Syd approached Lily, Zach, and Max. “Listen guys, I have an idea,” he said. “Let me see if I can talk to Mrs. Wellington and I’ll meet you in the principal's office after school.”

“What’s going on?” Lily asked.

“Who’s in trouble?” Max's tone matched his puzzled look.

Zach raised his eyebrows. The look of concern was clear.

After school, the students found their way to the office where they found Principal Reynolds and Mrs. Wellington, the cafeteria lady, waiting.

“Come in, have a seat,” the principal said and sat behind his desk.

Mrs. Wellington looked troubled. She nodded at each of them.

“We’d like to take over the cafeteria,” Syd began.

We would??!!

Zach, Lily, and Max were wide-eyed with surprise. They had no idea. But Syd had their attention, and they wanted to hear him out.

Mrs. Wellington stiffened a bit and sat up straighter in her chair.

“Well, let’s hear it,” the principal encouraged, folding his arms across his chest.

Syd went on to explain what he saw during lunch in the cafeteria, how some students sat alone and how others appeared not to enjoy their meals.

“I believe that we,” he began waving his hand to include his friends, “can plan a lunch that will bring students together and provide tasty meals that everyone will enjoy.”

Mrs. Wellington tilted her head to the side and seemed to be giving the idea serious consideration. “I think you’re onto something here,” Principal Reynolds said. “Let’s give it a try.”

“You can have access to the kitchen. It’s fully stocked. I’m here to help. You’ll be responsible for cleaning up when you’re done,” said Mrs. Wellington. She had a stern look on her face.

As they left the office and exited the building, the boys gave each other high fives. Lily seemed to be deep in thought, already planning a menu. They were excited and eager to get started.

“Max, you’re up first on Monday, come up with something good,” said Syd as they left the school building.

“Don’t worry, I will.” Max gave a thumb’s up and boarded the school bus.

The next week, when they entered the cafeteria, the students instantly pinched their noses and covered their mouths. Some made gagging sounds as if they were going to throw up. The smell was just awful, and no one wanted to inhale the terrible odor.

“What is that smell?” one student asked.

“It smells like stinky feet in here,” another said. Some students tried to hold their breath.

As they passed through the line with their empty trays, the students noticed Mrs. Wellington. They’d never seen her like this. Her forehead was wrinkled, her lips were pursed, and her arms were crossed. She slowly and rhythmically tapped her left foot. Max stood next to her with the biggest grin on his face and pronounced, “Liverwurst and limburger cheese sandwiches for everyone!”

Each sandwich was dripping with globs of mayonnaise, slices of raw onions, and pickles.

“Come on guys, eat up. It’s so tasty,” Max urged his classmates.

“Uhhhh, no thanks.”

“That’s okay.”

“I’ll just have milk please.”

“I’m allergic.”

No one tried Max’s sandwich.

Liverwurst, limburger cheese, onions, and pickles may not be so bad by themselves, but not mashed together in a sandwich, Syd thought. What a disaster. He hoped Lily would do a much better job tomorrow.

The next afternoon the students entered the lunchroom cautiously, not knowing what to expect. Some held their nose — just in case. Lily’s menu featured yellowfin tuna, salmon sashimi, and sushi rice. The platters were beautifully decorated with pickled ginger, edible flowers, and green onions. There was matcha mochi for dessert.

“Is that raw fish?” someone exclaimed loudly.

One by one, the students quietly turned around and made their way out to the playground without having any lunch at all. No one ate a bite. Mrs. Wellington stood behind the counter — her lips pressed tightly together, shaking her head from side to side.

Lily stretched her eyebrows and dropped her jaw.

“What!” she said out loud. Lily was totally surprised and confused.

No one tried the matcha mochi.

Syd smacked his forehead and groaned, “Ohhhh noooo.”

“Don’t worry,” Zach said. “I’ve got this. Tomorrow we’ll have the best school lunch ever.”

“Thanks,” said Syd. “We just can’t have another bad lunch day. I’m counting on you.”

On Wednesday when the students entered the cafeteria, they were thrilled. There were cheers of yeahs and hoorays.

“Now this is lunch!” someone voiced loudly.

Every table was brimming and overflowing with cupcakes, cookies, caramel popcorn balls, lollipops, ice cream sundaes, fizzy sodas, apple pies, donuts, strawberry shortcake, chocolate bars, jellybeans, milkshakes, snow cones, gum drops, marshmallows, and dozens of flavors of bubble gum.

“Where’s the protein, the complex carbohydrates, the whole grains? The vitamins! The minerals!” cried Mrs. Wellington. Her arms were stretched wide as if she was carrying armfuls of fruit, vegetables, meats, and breads.

The students went from table to table tasting their favorite treats. Syd plopped down on a lunch stool and buried his head in his hands.

News traveled fast and word got out. The parents heard all about the limburger cheese and the sashimi. The total dessert menu was the last straw for many of them. The office phone did not stop ringing. Principal Reynolds and the school secretary were not successful in getting to all the calls.

Many parents began arriving at school, and Principal Reynolds assembled everyone for a meeting.

Amid the chaos, Mrs. Wellington and Syd scurried around the lunchroom attempting to clean up before anyone came back for seconds when an announcement blared over the PA system. “Syd Patel, please come to the principal’s office immediately!”

Syd jumped at hearing his name. He turned and headed toward the office, head down, shoulders slumped. Mrs. Wellington followed, confident that this chaos in her usually calm and ordinary lunchroom would soon be resolved.

“Come in,” Principal Reynolds motioned for Syd to enter. “There have been some complaints from parents and students about the lunch menu recently,” he said.

Syd nodded.

He became even more uncomfortable when he noticed that the adjoining conference room was jam packed with parents searching their phones, scribbling on notepads, and humming with conversation.

“Syd, take a look at this, tell me what you think,” one dad called Syd over and shared his screen so Syd could see his notes and bullet points. The parents were already generating a new plan and organizing a schedule. Mrs. Wellington stepped in, talking with parents about the layout of the cafeteria, the equipment in the kitchen, and the contents of the pantries, refrigerator, and freezer.

“Mrs. Wellington,” came a voice from the crowd. It was one of the parents, Mr. Allen.

Recognizing him, Mrs. Wellington responded, “Yes, John, you have a question?”

“May I suggest that we keep the sashimi and the other items on Lily’s menu. After all, it was the best of all the choices that were presented.” Tapping his forefinger on his chin, Mr. Allen continued, “I think we can encourage the students to be open to foods from other cultures. Let’s give it a try.”

There were nods of agreement and a chorus of “Good idea!” “Let’s do it!” and “Sounds like a plan.”

“Syd, we’ll need you and your team here early tomorrow, at least an hour before school starts,” another parent interrupted. “Can you make that happen?”

“Yes, yes, I can,” Syd responded, already thinking about sharing the plan with Lily, Zach, and Max. He was relieved to have the parents’ support. He realized that his idea needed some extra help and supervision.

Raising his voice to be heard over the chatter, Principal Reynolds interjected, “Let’s get to work.” He then went around shaking hands, thanking the parents for stepping in.

On Friday, when the students entered the cafeteria, there were gasps and plenty of ooohhs and aaaahhs. Was this the same lunchroom they ate in everyday?

The parents were dressed in clothes from different countries. Lily’s mom was dressed in a lovely flower print kimono. Zach’s dad wore a green boubou gown and a kufi cap to match. Max’s parents had on matching blue plaid outfits. His mom wore an ankle length tartan skirt and his dad wore a kilt and carried bagpipes. Syd caught a glimpse of his mom in the crowd. With part of the fabric draped over one shoulder, she was beautiful and graceful in her multi-colored sari.

The entire room was decorated with streamers, balloons, banners, and flags representing places all over the world. Mexico, Africa, Italy, Japan, India, Israel, and the Caribbean Islands were just some of the interesting places. The entire room seemed to sparkle with all the colorful garments and festive accessories.

“Come on in,” Syd’s voice boomed into the microphone. “This has been prepared especially for you. Enjoy your lunch today.”

The students filed through the lunch line. There were all kinds of foods to choose from. It was an international smorgasbord! There were egg rolls and dipping sauces, tortillas filled with meat, jollof rice, soups, salads, and fruit — mangos, bananas, and kiwi. There was baklava and assorted cookies for dessert. Syd was happy to see his classmates enjoying his mom’s lentil pancakes and chickpea curry.

Noticing a classmate walking directly toward her, Lily stiffened and held her breath.

“Uh, Lily, I’m sorry about what I said before.”

Who’s she talking to? Lily turned to see who might be behind her.

“No, really,” the classmate insisted. “I shouldn’t have said those things and anyway, this is kinda yummy,” she said, munching on sashimi.

Lily hesitated, “I, I’m glad you tried it.”

“I was thinking about trying the rumbledethumps next.”

“Me too.”

Together they headed toward the sound of bagpipes playing softly.

Syd looked around the lunchroom and saw that Mrs. Wellington was finally smiling again. Principal Reynolds was talking with teachers and parents, agreeing that this had been an unusual school lunch week.

“I guess everyone doesn’t like liverwurst,” Max confessed to Syd when lunch was almost over.

“Nope, not everyone,” Syd replied. Including me, he thought.

“Sometimes we can get too fancy,” Lily mentioned.

“Yep,” said Syd. “Perhaps we can try new foods a little at a time.”

“I guess there needs to be balance when preparing a meal,” said Zach. “Not too much sugar.”

“I think you’re right,” Syd agreed. “But most of all, we’ve gotten to know each other better. Sharing is the best way to experience other cultures, and a great way to do that is with food.”

As the parents were cleaning up and preparing to leave, Syd found his mom in the crowd and gave her a big hug.

“Thanks for helping out, Mom,” he said.

“You’re welcome, honey, any time,” she responded.

The following week, Max and his baseball buddies made it a point to sit with Zach, and soon there was so much laughter coming from their corner of the room that they had to be asked to quiet down.

Lily offered to show some girls in her class how to pick up French fries with chopsticks. They were awkward at first, but they had such fun trying to get the fries in their mouth before the potato dropped back on to the plate. They soon gave up, used their fingers, and spent the rest of their time talking about fashion and hairstyles.

Mrs. Wellington could not have been more pleased.