A Bag of Chips a Day

12:29PM.

One minute until the bell would go off. One minute until lunch. One minute until that bag of
Lays Buffalo Wing Chips – not just any bag of buffalo wing chips: it had to be Lays.

Just thinking about it made her antsy.

The bell rang loudly throughout the school as students noisily shuffled into the hallway, ready for the five minutes provided for transitions from one place to another; chattering, laughing, shouting, lockers opening and shutting – the sounds of middle school.

Kelly hugged her books tightly to her chest as she walked in and out of hallway traffic, smiling to acquaintances here and there. Her locker was close, just a few feet in front of her, but the sea of adolescents blocked her way, making what should have been a 10-second walk a 3 minute one. It was like this every day, but it annoyed her on these days in particular.

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Still, soon enough, she made it there: 3-21-7. The locker opened with a creek and she threw her books into the top shelf before reaching into her backpack on the lower one for a couple dollar bills that she stuffed into her jeans’ pocket.

“Kelly!” She turned, hearing Nikki calling her name.

“Hey Nikki,” she said as she shut the locker door; she gave the lock a twist to mix up the combination before joining her friend in their walk down the hall to the cafeteria. “You know what’s on the menu today?”

“I think it’s cheeseburgers,” replied the blonde, who held up a brown paper bag, “But I’m not really sure because I brought today, sorry!”

“Aw man, seriously?” Kelly sighed in Nikki’s direction, “Looks like I’m standing in line alone today then, huh?” She pushed a clump of her messy, brown hair behind her ear, biting her lip.
She never liked standing in the lunch line – no one did. Plus, without a friend there, the line felt like it took an eternity. It’d take that much longer to actually sit down at the table.

“My bad, haha,” she grinned at Kelly, “But!” Nikki nudged her friend lightly with her elbow, winking, “Today’s an even day, right?”

Kelly felt her face get hot; she glanced down at the floor so that Nikki wouldn’t see her face. It was red for sure. “Yeah? What of it?” she said, still not looking at the girl beside her.

“Don’t play dumb,” Nikki stepped forward and leaned in towards her shy friend. “Doesn’t Lewis come to lunch on even day schedules?”

The silence that came in response encouraged her to continue.

“I bet he’s already there, sitting at the same table, in the same seat, with that same old seat in front of him saved with the same stupid bag of—HEY!” Nikki was interrupted when Kelly snatched her bagged lunch out of her hands and ran down the stairs to the cafeteria.

Kelly’s eyes were still plastered to the floor. She dared not look behind her or stop, for she heard Nikki’s heavy, stomping footsteps advancing towards her quickly. Still, the risk was worth taking; hearing Nikki talk about it made it feel ten times more embarrassing.

‘It’ was the bag of chips that Lewis started buying every time he and Kelly had lunch together. ‘It’ started a few weeks ago, after Lewis made the observation that Kelly bought the same bag every day; she told him it was her favorite kind. Every lunch after that, Lewis had the bag pre-bought and, seemingly, strategically placed in the seat in front of his.

Nikki always commented about how weird and stupid it was, but Kelly didn’t feel the same way.

She didn't think the bag of chips was stupid.

“KELLY! GIVE ME BACK MY LUNCH!” Which was why she’d just stolen the lunch of her other best friend and was running into the cafeteria.

Her feet carried her through the giant room to the last table on the right of the room where she stopped. And sure enough, just as Nikki said, there was Lewis.

At the same table.

In the same seat.

With the seat in front of him saved.

By a bag of Lays Buffalo Wing Chips.

He turned, a bit taken aback at first, but he smiled at her a moment later, “Hey Kelly! What’s up?” He blinked at the bagged lunch in her hands, “You brought your lunch today?”

She shook her head, but was too out of breath to respond, and tried instead to point to the mad woman behind her (half warning, half pleading) but it was too late – SMACK. They collided and stumbled to the floor, the contents of Nikki’s lunch spilling across the floor.

“Ouch…” the two girls rubbed their heads as they picked themselves from off the floor.

“Jeez, Kelly, seriously?! That was NOT cool!” Nikki shouted, frowning. She bent back down onto the floor to pick up her lunch. “You’re lucky that everything’s in plastic baggies and stuff,” she said after collecting everything in her arms. She plopped herself beside her usual spot next
to Lewis with a frustrated huff.

Lewis stared at Nikki for a moment, but then looked back up at Kelly with a confused grin on his face. “… So I guess you didn’t bring your lunch today, haha…”

Kelly sent a nervous grin back his way and shrugged, “Er… Yeah…” She quickly pointed to the lunch line and started walking over, “I gotta get in line.”

“Oh, okay…” he said quietly as she headed off towards the front of the room. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted after her, “Oh! I got your chips over here already, so don’t get that!”

She didn’t turn around.

She just lifted her right hand and gave the “okay” sign, hurrying to the end of the lunch line to pay for who knows what.

But all she really wanted was the bag of chips.

She glanced back at the lunch table to see Nikki pointing at an unknowing Lewis, who smiled and waved.

She grinned.

She really loved that bag of chips.