It’s like this. I’m walking out from second period, knowing that my lunch is waiting for me on the table next to the office. I’m salivating. I look around for a bag with “Samuel Liu” written prominently on it, and I look again, and then cry out in anguish.

High school is filled with cliques and social groups. Glancing around the campus during lunch, these divisions are incredibly apparent and visible. So, what would happen if someone interrupted the social norm and tried to join a completely different group for lunch? For a few days, I had the pleasure of doing just that.

With millions of dollars in prizes available and the nostalgia of a familiar childhood game, students have been flocking to McDonald’s during lunch to participate in the franchise’s “Monopoly” game.

Root beer floats, a picnic-style lunch and the opportunity to spend time with their Link Leaders attracted more than 300 freshmen to the upper field for the first annual Link Crew lunch on Oct. 12.

After three and a half weeks of running a successful food catering business, seniors Brian Vo and Jesse Yung were faced with disappointing news: Their business was in violation of a school contract with the cafeteria and they would have to stop immediately.

Buying lunch has always been a hassle: waiting in line, hurrying to beat the crowd and arriving after all the good food is gone. As a result, many students pack their own lunch, or, for upperclassmen, choose to go off campus. But for reasons such as not being allowed to go off campus or simply having no time to prepare a lunch, buying food is a part of many students’ daily routine.

During lunch on Sept. 3, several long lines full of hungry, boisterous students wound their way through the noisy quad. Each line led to several large, colorful bins filled with water bottles and tables covered in red plastic, where about 100 PTSO volunteers served free barbeque to eager students and staff.

Returning from February break, students were surprised by new lunch offerings called "cart creations." Starting this past Monday, themed cuisine carts for each week replaced the old, traditional lunch lines, with the results that a newer, more personalized lunch menu is now being offered.

When the lunch bell rings, upperclassmen rush to their cars and drive off campus to restaurants like Chipotle, Togo’s and McDonald’s, while underclassmen line up to buy pizza or pasta from the cafeteria. On December 19, however, students are scheduled to eat lunch on-campus and be catered food from both Chevy’s and Red Robin.

The event will be hosted by the leadership class in order to raise money for the school. Fifteen percent of the money paid will go to the school. The food was previously ordered; each student who wanted some had to fill out a form and turn it in to the office. The menu includes burgers with fries, quesadillas, flautas and tacos.