
Oh, look. Another person can’t decide what to eat, and here I am waiting in line. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Why is Saybrook so crowded right now? It’s a Thursday night, and the line to get into this chamber of hot food is unusually long. Okay, I might as well stare at the floor until I hobble up to the plates. Wait, wait, wait. Why would I look at the floor if I have my handy little phone on my person? Oh, fantastic! Here comes someone I know. My friend’s friend’s suitemate from last year. What are the odds! Should I say hi right now or should I wait until we lock eyes across the room, both unmoving, waiting, watching? Wow, this line is finally moving. There’s no way anything on the menu warrants this Black Friday energy. Now, what is the hold-up, people? Oh. Oh. Now there’s something that wasn’t there before. I smell carnitas and beans and flour tortillas. This is an absolute game-changer. But there’s something else at play. Could it be? Quesadillas? I am reaching for a plate and, oh, okay, I’m going to grab another one because the first one was soaking wet. Okay, okay. Everything’s fine. I’m just gonna get my quesadillas and get out. Hi, Green Beans. I see you there. How are you doing? I’d like to put you on my plate. Where are the tongs? Maybe I’ll use my hands. There they are! No! Okay, the green beans fully missed my plate and are now on that weird metallic slab that goes along the side of the food. Is there a word for that? I feel like there’s a word, but you know what, it’ll come to me. Hmm. Anyway. Something feels off. The dining hall has a line out the door right now, and I know for a fact that Saybrook is almost never crowded. That’d only happen in a dream. Dreaming. That’s it! I have to be dreaming. And if that’s the case, then I’m gonna dream up that it’s Chicken Tender Thursday.
As I Wait in Line for Food was originally published in The Yale Herald on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.