The Lunch Dilemma

Megan and Lisa settle into their seats at the lunchroom table and look in their bags to see what their moms packed them for lunch. "Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, wheat crackers, and chocolate chip cookies," says Megan. "What do you have?"

"Cheese sandwich, yogurt, and apple slices," replies Lisa. "Wow! I wish our parents would let us buy lunch. I'm so tired of the same thing all the time."

"Me too," exclaims Megan as she looks around the table at the other students. Most are eating the cafeteria food. Only the younger kids have lunch boxes and are eating food from home. "We are in fourth grade, but we look like first graders because our moms make us carry these lunches from home. I'm asking my mom as soon as I get home if I can buy lunch tomorrow."

"I'm asking my mom too." The two girls eat their sandwiches and split the apple slices and cookies, so each gets some. When the final bell rings for the day, and Megan and Lisa hop on the bus. They talk all the way to Megan's house about how they are going to convince their parents that they should be able to buy their lunches. Finally, they come up with what they believe is the perfect plan. As the bus pulls up to Megan's house, she and Lisa look at each other, and Lisa gives her a thumbs up and wishes her luck. Megan smiles back and heads to the side door.

Inside, her mother is sitting at the kitchen table looking at some recipe books. "Hey, Sweetie. How was your day?"

"Oh, it was okay," Megan replies sadly.

"What's wrong? Was there a problem at school?"

"No, not really. It's just that, well, uh, you see, Lisa and I are. . .Oh, never mind."

"Megan, what is it? You can tell me."

"Mom, Lisa and I are the only fourth graders who bring lunch from home. Everyone else gets to buy their lunches. We feel like little kids. Can I please buy lunch tomorrow? Please!"

"Oh, we have been through this before. How many times do I have to tell you that you can't buy your lunch? You're not old enough, and Lisa's mother agrees with me."

"But," Megan begins before her mother stops her.

"No. That is final. Go play outside for a while before you start your homework."

Megan stomps off to her room and changes clothes. She walks outside and sits in her playhouse. An hour later, her mother calls her to come inside to start her homework. She is still pouting, and her mother tells her to stop and focus on her work. Megan finishes her homework, quietly eats dinner, and gets ready for bed. When her dad asks what is wrong, she doesn't tell him because she knows that he'll side with her mom.

The next day, Lisa meets Megan at the cafeteria doors. She is really excited. "Hey! My mom said we could try it for today and that maybe I could buy lunch once or twice a week. Isn't that cool? Megan, what's wrong? Why do you have your lunch bag? Your mom isn't letting you buy lunch?"

"No. She says I'm not old enough. She makes me so mad."

"I'm sorry. If I had known, I would have just brought lunch from home."

"It's okay. You go ahead and get your food. I'll save you a seat."

"Thanks."

Lisa smiles and rushes to get in line. A girl in front of her turns around, and they begin talking and laughing. The girl points to Megan, and Lisa giggles at something the girl says. Megan watches the two as they stand in line. Finally, Lisa picks up her tray. She gets a piece of pizza, a fruit cup, vegetable soup, and a carton of milk. She pays for her food and heads toward Megan. As she passes the table where the girl from the line is sitting, she hears her name. She turns, and the girl asks her to sit with her and her friends. Lisa smiles and puts her tray down and asks if they have room for Megan.

"The girl with the lunch from home? Shouldn't she be sitting with the first graders," the girl asks as she and her friends laugh.

"Yeah, you're right," Lisa agrees, and she sits down.

Megan is crushed as she sits alone at the table and watches Lisa laughing and talking with the other girls. When the bell rings for everyone to go back to class, Megan slowly walks back to her classroom. She can barely pay attention in class because she is so upset with Lisa and with her mom, and she doesn't want to get on the bus after school. But she heads to the bus when the final bell rings. Lisa gets on a few minutes later with her new friend. The two walk toward the back of the bus. Megan looks at Lisa and scoots over to make room for her. Lisa's new friend rolls her eyes, grabs Lisa's arm, and says something to her. Lisa looks at Megan and then moves to sit with the other girl.

When Megan walks into the house, her mother knows something is wrong. "Megan, what's bothering you?"

"What's bothering me? Everything! You just couldn't let me buy lunch! You just have to treat me like a little kid! You say Lisa's mom agrees with you! Well, guess what! Lisa bought lunch today, and now she won't even talk to me because the cool kids are talking to her now that she doesn't bring her lunch from home like a first grader."

"Young lady, you will not talk to me in that tone of voice! Go to your room right now."

"Fine!" Megan runs to her room and falls on her bed. Tears form in her eyes, and she begins to cry. She refuses to eat dinner and goes to bed without saying goodnight to her mom and dad.

In the living room, Megan's parents talk about what is happening. "I just don't understand it," Megan's dad begins. "She never used to worry about what other people thought. Why is she all of a sudden wanting to buy lunch instead of bringing it from home?"

"She's growing up whether we like it or not. She's at an age where what other people think about her is important. And Lisa didn't help by ignoring her and hanging out with the other girls today, but I suppose that is to be expected. All these girls want is to be accepted by their peers. They want to be in the cool crowd, and somehow, buying lunch makes them part of that crowd. It's ridiculous."

"Well, what are we supposed to do?"

"I wish I had an answer. Maybe I should have considered letting her buy lunch. She is responsible, and Lisa's mother obviously believes that Lisa can do it. I feel awful that I didn't even think about it before I answered."

"We have to figure out a solution. I don't like seeing Megan so upset."

"I know. I just don't know what to do or even where to start."

"Maybe we should let her buy her lunch tomorrow. Of course, that may not be the best answer. We made that decision together, and we just can't let go of it because of some popularity contest."

"I know," Megan's mom says as the phone rings. "I'll get it." She walks to the kitchen and stays in there for a while before she comes back to the living room and sits down on the couch. "That was Lisa's mom. She was wondering why we didn't allow Megan to buy lunch today. She also said that Lisa feels really bad about what happened at school but that she is happy that some of the other girls are talking to her now."

Megan's dad sighs and asks, "What did you tell her?"

"I told her that we are going to have to talk about it. She doesn't think it's that big of a deal, and maybe it isn't. What would it hurt to let Megan buy lunch once or twice a week? Anyway, Lisa is bringing lunch from home tomorrow, so I guess we can wait and see what happens." The two agree to wait it out and see how the other girls treat Lisa when she isn't buying lunch.

The next day at lunch, Megan takes her lunch bag and heads to her normal table. She watches the door, waiting for Lisa to appear. Lisa walks in with her new friends, and they are talking and laughing. She carries her lunch bag to the table while the other girls stand in line for their food. Megan looks at her and smiles, and Lisa smiles back and gestures for her to come over and sit with her. Megan walks over to the table. Just as she is about to sit down, the other girls come up and ask her what she is doing. She tells them that she is going to sit with Lisa, and they laugh.

"Yeah right," says one of the girls. "You can't sit with us. You're a baby who brings your lunch from home."

Megan lowers her head as the tears begin to form in her eyes. She turns to go back to her table when Lisa grabs her arm and stops her. "Stop being so mean to her," Lisa exclaims. "There's nothing wrong with bringing lunch from home. The cafeteria food isn't that good anyway. I'd much rather eat what my mom fixes. If she can't sit with us then I don't want to either."

 "Fine. You two babies can sit together." "Stop it," Lisa's new friend says. "It's okay if they sit with us. By the way, my name is Amanda."

Megan smiles. "My name is Megan." The other girls roll their eyes but don't say anything. Megan sits down next to Lisa and begins to talk to her and Amanda. Soon, all the girls are laughing and talking about school, clothes, and music. When lunch ends and the other girls head back to class, Lisa looks at Megan and apologizes for how she had treated her.

"That's okay. If I were in your position, I probably would have done the same thing. Anyway, my mom said that I can start buying lunch maybe once a week."

"Cool! But I was being honest before; the food really isn't that good!" Lisa and Megan laugh and head back to their classrooms. They spend the rest of the year eating lunch with the other girls, and all of them become close friends.