Mrs. Papkey, stood at the front of her third grade class, and asked if anyone could share their lunch with Melinda. All twenty pairs of eyes, looked at Melinda, who stood twisting her hair and looking as if she wished she hadn't told the teacher she'd forgotten her lunch. No one spoke, and pretended to be very busy setting out their own lunches from the shiny lunchboxes or paperbags they brought from home. Randy and Bill concentrated on passing out the small cartons of milk to everyone. Mrs. Papkey cleared her thoat, "Surely, someone brought a little something extra!" Judy felt sorry for Melinda. She knew how awkward it felt to have people stare at you and sometimes even say mean things. Like that stupid Cindy Gomble, who was always saying, "Hmmmm what day is it? Oh, I know it has to be either Monday. Wednesday, or Friday because Judy's wearing her brown dress" or changing the days to Tuesday and Thursday and Judy's green dress. Then laughing like a horse. "Ok, we get it, I only have the two dresses!" Judy often wanted to say and slap Cindy good. But she never did. Just like she didn't react when they made fun of the way she talked. The boys navigated around her handing out the milk until every desk had the small house-shaped carton but hers. Her mom just didn't have the money this week. She pulled a thick sandwich from her paperbag. Two pieces of her mom's homemade bread, with butter and jelly inbetween. She peered into the empty sack , carefully folded it, and set it inside her desk to be taken home and used again the next day. She could hear the teacher telling Melinda that she was sorry, everyone seemed to have brought only enough for themselves today. Judy glanced over the other desks, with students hungarily bolting down sandwiches, chips, cookies, and fruit, and drinking down that nice cold milk. She frowned. How many times had her mother told her, that though she didn't have as much as some others, at least she had something ? She had a sandwich of the best homemade bread in the world. Melinda didn't even have that... Slowly she stood up and said, "Mrs. P-papkey, Melinda can have h-half my sandwish." Mrs. Papkey stared at the small girl. When the kids eat lunch in the classroom everyday, you get a good idea of the haves and have nots. She knew that that was the girl's entire lunch. "And what will you eat?" She asked. "The other half. It'll be p-plenty," She continued not understanding the look on the teacher's face. "It's a BIG sandwish." Cindy Gomble was giggling with her friends, "sandwish... it p-probrobly has b-bud-der on it." Judy pretended not to hear, but instead held out half her lunch to Melinda, who smiled and said thanks. "Oh come now!" Mrs. Papkey's 'don't-disappoint-me' tone was strong. "No one else can give a bit?" Suddenly, it seemed everyone but that snotty Cindy had something they could share, and the teacher divided the bounty between the girls, then excused herself to the restroom. Judy wasn't sure, but she thought she saw tears in the teacher's eyes. Paulie Peterson handed Judy his milk. "I can't STAND the stuff!" He said when she first refused it. "Oh, Judy! This is great! What kind of bread is it?" Melinda asked between bites. "My M-Mom's homemade." "If you can bring another one of these tomorrow, I'll bring extra chips and cookies. And I'll get my mom to fill my thermous up with koolaid!" Melinda gushed. Judy blushed. "That'd be great!" "Don't you mean g-g-great ?" Cindy sneered. What happened next, would live for ever in Judy's mind as a day not to be forgotten, not only did she have the biggest, best lunch of her life (Mom was right, shared food did taste better) but she saw Melinda slide out of her desk and yell, "SHUTUP, Cindy," as she delivered a class A smack across her face! Mrs.Papkey came back and asked Cindy, why she crying, but true to the playground rules, Cindy didn't tell. Judy always felt that Mr's Papkey knew, but had decided not to act. For the rest of the third grade class , Melinda and Judy both enjoyed half a sandwich at lunchtime.
