Lunchtime!

If only the line wasn't too damn long. God! The line ended inside the hallway! How hungry was everyone?

My stomach grumbled like an angry lion. If the line doesn't move faster, I'm going to eat someone soon!

God, the food smelled so yummy!

Finally, I approached the food counter where the lunch lady gazed at me. “What will it be, miss?”

“The usual,” I said.

She placed a salad bowl and one apple juice carton on my tray. “Enjoy.”

Yeah, I better enjoy it. I'm starving like a hungry wolf!

From the counter, I scanned the cafeteria and spotted my friends at the corner table. Good spot to avoid the weirdos trying to take our phone numbers. We cheerleaders know where to handle our businesses.

“How are you doing, Jessica?” Tiffany asked when I sat down. “Sorry, what happened to Mark. Are the cops still looking for him?”

I stirred my fork in my salad. “I guess. I have heard no reports yet.”

“Don’t worry,” said Malaya. “Mark is a strong guy. I’m sure he will turn up soon.”

“You should have gone to our party.” Holly bit her peanut butter sandwich. “That forest is dangerous.”

“What exactly happened there?” Tiffany asked.

“Some kind of animal attacked us,” I answered.

“An animal?” Holly asked.

“Yeah, but it is weird. It looked like a wolf, but it was walking on two feet.”

“Like a werewolf?” Holly asked.

Tiffany widened her eyes at her. “A what?”

“A werewolf. Have you ever seen the movie, The Wolfman in New York?”

I shook my head.

“It is about a journalist who gets bitten by a wolf,” Holly explained. “After he returns to New York, he transforms into a wolf monster and attacks people. It is a good movie.”

“What does that have to do with the animal who attacked me?” I asked.

Holly nibbled her carrot like a bunny. “Well, the way you had described the animal, it reminded me of that movie. You should watch it.”

“Werewolves don’t exist, Holly,” said Tiffany. “A man probably attacked her.”

She could be right, but I swore the creature looked totally real. If it was a man in a costume, I would have seen a zipper or rubber skin beneath the fur coat. And how could his yellow eyes glow in the shadows? Maybe they were headlights or something. Not to mention the bite ripping through my skin hurt extremely badly. Did he put knives in his mouth too?

Geez, I could never forget that.

“So in the movie, the journalist got turned because the wolf totally bit him?” I asked.

Holly sipped her milk. “Yes. It is the most cliche thing in horror movie history. Once you get bitten, you are totally screwed.”

God, my stomach rumbled like boiling eggs. If the wolf creature bit me, does that mean I will become one too? Come on, it was only a stupid movie. I must be over-exaggerating myself.

“Geez, Holly,” said Tiffany. “Don’t scare Jessica. She has been through enough.”

Yeah, like totally true!

“At least I don’t wet my pants when I watch horror flicks,” said Holly.

Oh, that burst out of my laughter.

I giggled while I slipped my lettuce into my mouth. Maybe I should tell Holly to try on diapers when she-

Oh god! What did I eat?

I spat out the lettuce in front of Tiffany.

She barely jumped off her seat while her eyes were on my green spit. "Jessica, that is gross!”

"Sorry! That was raw." I tried another piece of salad, but it has a molding plastic taste too. So I spat that sucker to the floor.

“Why are you spitting?” Malaya asked. “Is there something wrong with your salad?”

I wiped a napkin on my tongue, rubbing off the toxic taste. “It’s awful! Like poisonous mold!"

Holly took a piece from my salad and nibbled on it. “It tastes fine to me.”

My eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

Holly nodded.

Maybe my taste buds were totally malfunctioning. I ate salad for years because I was a vegan. Eating meat from tortured animals had never sat well in my stomach.

Yeah, it was weird when I chased a barbeque lunch truck across the street, following its piquant scent. Sometimes a smell could make people go crazy, right?

Staring closely at my salad, I took another bite and chewed slowly. It struck me like a guy slapping his girlfriend to spit out her food. I gagged and coughed the lettuce out.

“Are you okay, Jessica?” Tiffany asked.

Maybe my apple juice could wash down my mouth. I took one sip and stopped when my eyes grew wide.

Whatever I drank, it wasn't apple juice. It tasted like dirt covered in piss. I spat it out to the floor and rubbed the nasty juice off my lips. “Are you kidding me?”

“Maybe that juice expired,” Holly suggested.

I stared at the date on the carton. “It says November third. It doesn’t expire till next month.”

“How about you go back to the lunch lady and try to get something different,” Tiffany suggested.

I nodded and headed back to the food counter with my tray. That lady was about to get sued.“Excuse me.”

“What do you want?” She asked

I held out my tray. “Can you get me a different bowl of salad? I think the salad is spoiled.”

Her eyes glared at me. “Are you insulting my food? The salads are fresh as a whistle.”

“But my salad tasted awful. Can you please give me a different salad bowl?”

The lunch lady shrugged and handed me a fruit salad bowl. “Try this.”

To check if it was safe, I stabbed a plastic fork into an orange and chewed on it.

Yuck! Its sour, moldy taste tortured my tongue. I swallowed it, hoping the taste was only bad.

God, I was wrong!

My entire stomach boiled until I vomited on the floor like a freaking fire hose.

“Dear god, girl!” the lunch lady shouted. “Are you okay?”

I wiped my mouth and glared at the lunch lady. “Are you totally kidding me? That bowl is gross!”

“How about you try something else besides salad and fruit,” the lunch lady suggested. “I got streak, chicken, and burgers.”

Really? She expected a vegan like me to taste meat when I totally hate meat?

Uuuuuuuuuh! My stomach still growled, begging me to eat something quick. Did I have a choice?

“Fine!” I grabbed one fried chicken leg and bit it slowly.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm!

The crunchy, soft tender taste instantly exploded inside my mouth. It turned my cheeks red and my insides warmed up. “Wow!”

Never had I ever tasted chicken before, but my first time eating one sent me into an orgasm.

Oooooooooh! So yummy and delicious!

I almost cried after I finished the chicken. I licked the bone and tossed it into the trash.

Mmmmmmmmh. I couldn’t even stop licking my lips.

“Damn, girl!” The lunch lady exclaimed. “I didn’t know there are drugs in my chicken.”

I smiled and raised my tray up. “Can I have more, please?”

After the lunch lady piled more chicken on my tray, I ate like a bat out of hell.