Angela Wang 
The clock shows 12:15. Five minutes until lunch.
No one is listening to the teacher anymore.
Backpacks are zipped and notebooks are closed. Students are leaning their bodies towards the door, ready to leave as soon as the bell rings. The teacher is still talking.
The bell releases everyone at one. Chairs scrape and sneakers squeak. All the students pour into the hallway and merge with many more.
In the hallway, it’s a mess. Students from upstairs rush down. A sixth grader bumps into a senior who refuses to hurry. The air smells like food, hunger, and desperation.
In the cafeteria, the first few in line waits while they look around. Behind them, the students who just came in craned their necks to see whats on the menu today.
However, five minutes before the bell, the cafeteria was almost empty. But as soon as the bell rings, the floodgates open. All students rush into the cafeteria at once, flooding it instantly.
Small voices become a roar and the peaceful five minutes vanish. Between the bell and the first bite, the school is free of lessons and grades, just the hunger of students.
Everyday, 12:15, it’s a gentle war at school.
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