Lunchroom Alliance

A new kid at school has no one to sit with at lunch and decides to bring together all the other loners in the cafeteria, forming an unlikely friend group that must survive drama, differences, and the hardest test of all -- sticking together.

Jordan had just moved to Maplewood Middle School three weeks into the year, which meant everyone already had their friend groups, inside jokes, and favorite lunch spots. Today was Jordan's first day eating in the cafeteria instead of hiding in the library.

'You can do this,' Jordan muttered, gripping the lunch tray so hard the plastic creaked. 'It's just a room full of people. Eating. How hard can it be?'

The huge room echoed with laughter and chatter. Jordan stood frozen near the door, tray in hand, scanning the sea of tables for a single open seat. Every chair seemed claimed. Every table seemed full.

'Very hard, apparently,' Jordan thought. 'Very, very hard.'