It’s the first day of high school. You anxiously await the chime of the bell to end your third morning class, giving you and your friends the green light to empty the classroom and fill your stomach. One problem arises, however: You did not bring lunch from home, and the only companion in your search for a place to purchase lunch in the cavernous halls of West Morris Central is your wallet.

WMC offers four different locations that sell food. The first one is the H-wing station. This serving location offers a variety of entrees and complementary food items in the form of a window in a wall. This station is located in the hallway that connects the E-Wing with the H-Wing, and the H-Wing with the rest of the school. This lunch counter is sandwiched between the Old Gym and the New Gym. Students with classes in the E-Wing, H-Wing, or in the Gym will be able to quickly access this station at the beginning of lunch.

Our second serving station is the Cafeteria. The classic choice of WMC students, this station is an actual cafeteria, meaning that roughly 80% of the room is seating for those who eat here and 20% is the actual serving station. The Café is located in the D-Wing, and is your first left after you enter the wing coming from the center of the school. The benefits of going to the Café include its exceptional variety in entrees compared to the rest of the stations. In addition, like the other stations, the line for the Cafeteria will be long if you are coming from a distant part of the school.

Another lunch serving counter is the C-Wing Station. This station is in the form of a window, like the H-Wing Station. This station is located in the hallway that connects the C-Wing directly to the Old Gym. It is opposite of the boy’s locker room, as well as adjacent tohe C-Wing door of the girl’s locker room. The main benefit of buying at this location is that it is one of the least crowded stations for no particular reason.

The final serving station in our school is the B-Wing Station. This station is also in the form of the window, like the C-Wing and H-Wing stations. The “window” is located as your first right when entering the B-Wing from the Main Hallway (if you have no idea where the B-Wing is because it offers few classes, it is the home of the Nurse’s Office, the Choir Room, the Piano Room, and the Guidance Offices). A positive in buying from this station is that it is convenient to access if your third morning class is in the B-Wing or the half of the A-Wing closer to the main office.

Now that you’ve bought your lunch from whatever station you’re at, where do you sit? The cafeteria is usually ruled by upperclassman, but a lucky few freshmen are usually able to get in if they know some upperclassman or are lucky enough to spot an open table early n in the year. Although very unlikely for freshman to sit in the cafeteria, it is also very possible.

Another popular option, which is a bit more common for freshmen to sit in during lunch in comparison to the cafeteria, is the old gym. Like at the middle school, tables are wheeled out right before lunch starts and it’s a race for the tables. In the old gym, it is still a struggle for freshmen to find a good spot that they can stay in throughout the school year.

Right next to the old gym is the bistro where several tables are set up, to be used by whoever gets there first. Because there are only four chairs set up at each table, it makes it even more difficult to find a comfortable spot.

Outdoor seating during lunch is also available right next to the field house with about 3 tables set up. Also available is the area right next to the breezeway between the A-Wing and the F-Wing, which is usually a quieter place to be during lunch. Of course, these two areas are really only open during warm weather in the fall and spring.

Finally, the most common areas for freshmen to go during lunch are the hallways all throughout the school. There are always some students who sit in every hallway, although the most popular spot in the halls is right next to the old and new gyms. There are several benches set up, and it is a very wide hallway and many people can fit. The majority of freshmen end up sitting in the hallways, but you may end up getting lucky this year.