In the cafeteria at Wayside School today, the room was bursting with life.
Confined within smooth pale green walls, I saw hungry, hyper and especially the young children munching on their lunch.
Silly Willy, a tall sixth grader was strolling down the aisle with a plastic blue tray. A mountain of used blue trays stood so tall that Willy vanished when he walked behind them . Hundreds of dirty, soiled brown-muck colored tables occupied space in the cafeteria, with rough hot-pink chairs at each table.
I heard children’s jaws clenching potato chips and such. Little groups of children clamped at tables whispered happily while gobbling up their lunches. Juice-boxes getting sucked up so tightly, you would think they are made of rubber. The sound of forks and spoons clanging against bowls and plates echoed the room. The scent of Miss Mush’s Ham Bam sandwiches floated like clouds in the already smelly atmosphere. The sugary smell of orange, apple, and just about any flavor you can think of hits the nostrils.
This is a typical lunch day at Wayside School.