✅ My Sister's Problem

135. A New Routine

I didn't learn much at school. I hadn't expected to. The first day of the new year was always a time for getting used to our class schedule, and having the teachers shuffled around. Some of our classes were divided up by ability, and there were always people who needed to go into a different group since the year before, so it was like we were all starting over. Today was an admin day; adapting to a new routine, and catching up with acquaintances we hadn't seen over the summer break.

By the time we got to lunch, I was already exhausted from the introductions, paperwork, and trying to work out where I was supposed to be every hour. I'd brought a packed lunch, knowing that there was bound to be some confusion. Especially with the first years; some of the middle schools around here had different plans for school lunch. I could still vaguely remember showing my ID and being given a lunch determined by the dietary requirements and preferences Mum and Dad had filled in at the start of the year; we hadn't been trusted to make our own choices at that age. For some of the new students, this would be their first day choosing their own lunch, and I thought there would be many who'd never had to pay for themselves before, or to restrict their choices based on what they could afford.

And as I had expected, there were some who couldn't even manage to stand in line waiting for their lunch. When I entered the cafeteria, I quickly noticed the two lines running in opposite directions around the room, and the confused tangle when they met in front of the counter. It was always the same with the first years, and somehow few of them ever seemed to think of looking at the older kids who'd been here in previous years to work out which line they should be joining.

I shook my head and took an empty table on the far side of the room. None of my friends were here yet; but there were probably some being held up by the newbies and their confusion. I could get my lunch out of my bag and start to eat while I waited for them to emerge. I looked around for any of my friends, and then looked over at the doors so I could wave to Hugo when he arrived. But would he be here? I wasn't sure; it was possible the basketball team already had practice. In any case, I was still sitting alone when I saw a vaguely familiar face looking nervous. It took me a second to place her; I'd only seen her two or three times, and never spoken to her for any length of time. But when I saw the trouble she was having, I knew that I had to offer to help.

It wasn't just that she was small; although I worried she might get trampled in the rush for dinner in any case. It was more the look of confusion, her obvious nerves, and the way she was shaking under the weight of an overloaded book bag that made me wonder how she could get through the doors. She'd have to wait for everybody else to stop shoving before she could buy herself lunch, I thought.

"Hey!" I called out, and gave a little wave in her direction. "Niall, is it? Need a little help?"

"I... uhh..." she stammered, and then walked unsteadily towards my table. I imagined I could hear the table creaking when she put one of her bags down and slid onto the seat opposite me. "You're Linda's sister? Sarah?"

"Sally," I corrected her with a smile. "Nice to meet you. Do you need to buy lunch? Because you'll never make it through the crowd with all that luggage. Best leave your bags here while you get food, I'll watch them for you. Unless there's any of your friends who can help out."

"I... uhh... I don't think any of them are here yet. Mum sent me here because it's got better discipline and order stats than all the other schools in the area, but all the kids in my neighbourhood go to Barrowford High, and all the people I've met so far are..." She gestured towards the chaos at the other side of the room. "Or I guess they are. I don't know. Why's it so crazy? I think I'd best bring a box lunch tomorrow, I don't think I could find my way through that crowd."

"It's not normally like that," I said. "I think the first years are all getting confused about which way to go, and people are tripping over them. And new cafeteria staff as well, so they're not quite up to speed. But yeah, I bring my own lunch the first two or three days after the break, it's so much easier. Want to share some of mine? I can imagine you wouldn't want to fight your way through the confusion there."