Senior Lunch

Sophia Ong

Krrrr! The groans of chairs pushing back and zippers zipping fill the classroom as the bell signals the end of D-block.

“Hey, Lucky 99 today?”, Zachary Kok (12) suggests his favourite lunch place while flying down the steps as his friends murmur agreement excitedly.

Hungry students usually make their way down to the cafeteria during lunch, some preferring to bring a home-packed lunch to eat in the Student Center. However, most seniors opt to take advantage of their senior privilege and find lunch outside of school grounds.

His friends pile into the backseat of Zachary’s trusty Kancil before zooming off to their lunch destination. Finally issued his driving license, Zachary is excited to be the group’s designated lunch time driver, while his friends are simply happy to take advantage of the free shuttle service. Meanwhile, Rainbow Chan (12) and Julia Munson (12) take a peaceful stroll over to the beloved chicken rice stalls, a mere 5 minutes away from school. After handing over their student IDs at the guardhouse, they take the overhead bridge, chattering loudly over the clamor of the busy road, exchanging thoughts and laughter. They find Jonathon Chinn (12) at the stalls, already scarfing down his second plate of chicken rice, while a third one awaits, drizzled with a little too much chili sauce.

“It’s just so good,” he remarks between bites, “and it’s only RM3.50!”

The Hillside stalls prove a popular lunch stop for hungry seniors, because of its cheap prices and wide variety--Julia often chooses the Nasi Kandar over chicken rice, while Rainbow finds her way at the Wanton Mee stall. Although the hot Penang sun beats down relentlessly, most students still prefer a quick walk out to lunch to stretch legs and bond over a warm bowl of noodles.

However, not all seniors prefer this. Mika Yeap (12) sits down excitedly at his favorite lunch spot in the cafeteria, opening his home packed meal with delight. Tian Ooi (12) steals a bite of pork before he can protest. Some seniors, although finally allowed the privilege of finding lunch elsewhere besides the cafeteria that they have known for years, still prefer to eat a cozy meal by the seaside amongst the lowerclassmen.

“Not tardy yet!” Zachary shouts, barely making it through the main office door to sign in before the bell rings. Sweaty from running all the way down from Upper Field, but with appetites quenched, seniors happily return to class, grateful for the privilege to escape campus for the lunch break.