The Lunchroom

    Before the first period bell rings, the lunchroom is quiet except for the noises coming from the kitchen, where the lunch ladies are preparing to serve free breakfast to a crowd of hungry, loud teenagers.  The white tables are all lined up next to one another and they remain white for the time being.  Meanwhile, the blue floor is clean, having been swept and mopped the day before, but it waits to be coated with dropped foods and spilled drinks by the hundreds of students that occupy the lunchroom each period of the school day.  At the front of the lunchroom, a laptop is set up with an ID scanner connected to it.  The first bell rings and the students line up to swipe their student ID cards to get into the lunchroom with a dean attentively supervising lunchroom activity.  Between every first and late bell after first period, the lunchroom staffs rush to clean as much left over garbage, food and drinks off the table.  By fifth period, the cafeteria is serving lunch and it is packed with students from all grades.  Some people stand on line to get lunch from the kitchen, though I never understand why people would eat the school food in the first place.  People exit from the kitchen with a meal consisting of a mysterious unidentified meat, salad, an apple, and a cup of juice, water, or carton of milk on a tray.  At least one of each food or drink from the kitchen eventually ends up on the floor or on the tables leaving more work for the lunchroom staffs and the janitors to clean up.  By tenth period, the lunchroom is empty again with the noises coming from the lingering students going to class in the basement classrooms.  The lunchroom has a distinctive, unpleasant smell that can be sniffed out from the first floor of the staircases leading to the cafeteria.  There are trails of garbage on the floor leading to the garbage cans as if everything fell off someone’s tray before the person could get to the garbage can.  There are several small puddles of juice, water, or milk on the floor.  Lunchroom staffs come out to wipe down each table, while the janitors fold the tables and push them aside so they can sweep and mop the floor.  The lunchroom is gradually returned to its previously clean condition, though everyone knows it won't stay that way for long.