Beneath the wheel

As it did every school day of my junior year, 11:12 AM had come once more to mark the end of my academic morning, and the beginning of my lunch period. After paying my one dollar for a small cherry vita-pup slush drink and a strawberry fruit roll-up, I would take my place at the usual lunch table. The next forty-five minutes were always used as an escape from the labor and frustration of the academic …

…