The Lunch Bunch

[alycewilson]

This is my entry for the Sudden Death round of Week 7.

"He doesn't need us anymore," the Jock said, hunching his overbuilt shoulders and pulling his red hoodie over his face.

The Rebel flicked the Jock a bemused look. "Oh, you finally noticed," he said. He whirled the steel-and-hard-plastic cafeteria chair around, then straddled it. "What was your first clue?"

Sinking further into his chair, the Jock answered. "He said that he only sees guys like us in movies. We don't exist in his school." He looked like an overstuffed muscle man who was slowly deflating.

A breathy voice rose from the next table. "Looks like you both finally realized the world doesn't revolve around you," the Goth intoned. She interrupted herself from making an art sculpture of her lunch long enough to lick her fingers ironically.

The Geek wheeled around in his chair and stared openly at the Goth with a look halfway between fascination and repulsion. His mouth gapped open as he failed to come up with anything cogent to say.

Carefully picking up her sushi with hand-engraved chopsticks, the Prom Queen shook her perky red locks and took a delicate bite. Savoring her meal, she realized the Rebel was glaring at her. "Can I please just eat?" she asked.

Slamming his half-gloved right fist into his left palm, the Rebel tried for drama. "Of course you can, sugar. No one's coming for you, yet. You'll always exist," he said with a sneer.

The Prom Queen shrugged and wiped an errant grain of rice off her pink off-the-shoulder crop-top. "Whatever," she said, as if ending the conversation.

Sinking even lower, the Jock croaked. "They don't even say that anymore!"

"Of course they don't," the Geek put in. "They're not even from the same gener--"

The Rebel stood up and pushed the cafeteria chair down with a crash. "Don't even," he warned the Geek. "We're timeless."

Thoughtfully, the Geek put a hand to his unshaven, peach-fuzz chin. "You do have a point. There have been guys like you since at least the time of this kid's grandparents. The look has changed a bit, but usually, there's some leather in there somewhere."

"Yeah, and nerds have existed since the time of Aristotle," the Rebel answered. "What's your point?"

The Jock was nearly on the floor now, deeply into his feelings. "We don't EXIIIIIIST!!!" he wailed.

With a snorting laugh, the Goth crushed up her corn chips and blew them across the table. "From dust to dust," she exclaimed with glee, then waved her arms snakelike over her head in her rendition of a death dance.

"Says you," the Prom Queen said. "I definitely exist." She fixed her gaze on the Geek as if to prove her point.

The Geek was warming up. He sat up straighter in his chair. "Yes, you do. We all do," he assured her. "But we're just not as relevant anymore."

The human puddle formerly known as the Jock moaned.

Standing up and leaning on the table, the Geek looked down at Puddle Jock and asked him, "What did he say, exactly?"

Sniffing loudly, the Jock wobbled, "His mom asked him about his friend who plays a lot of sports, if he's considered a Jock." The Geek nodded supportively. "And -- he said he doesn't know anyone who uses that term at his school."

A clatter as the Rebel kicked another cafeteria chair halfway across the room. The Geek held up a calming hand. "Let's hear him out," he advised.

The Jock continued: "And -- and when she asked him what he meant by that, he said that there were guys who played sports, but nobody treated them as if they were different. They were just -- guys."

Leaning down, the Geek put a hand on the Jock's heaving shoulders. "That's OK, big guy. I'm sure he didn't mean anything negative by that."

Finishing off her sushi, the Prom Queen said delicately, "I'm sure he wasn't being mean or anything. He's a pretty cool guy."

"You think so?" the Geek said, almost hopefully. "Because if he was in our school, he might be considered -- a geek."

"What, just because he's smart?" the Goth spat. She peered out from under her dyed-black bangs. "Jealousy is so yesterday." She finished fingerpainting with her pudding and hung it on the wall behind her.

The Geek rocked back on his feet. "You do have a point there. But what I was about to say was that nobody picks on him because of it."

Wiping off her chopsticks before putting them back into their traveling case, the Prom Queen said, "Good. Maybe his generation is making some progress, then. I always thought it was ridiculous to make fun of people just for getting good grades."

Regaining his bones, the Jock sat up suddenly. "Hey! I never made fun of geeks! I'm a nice guy."

The Geek patted him on the shoulder. "Sure you are," he said.

Gesturing expansively, the Goth said, "But sometimes names themselves are violence."

With a slam of his fist on the table, the Rebel opened his mouth to speak... then thought better of it. "She's right," he said, as if surprised by his own words.

The Goth stood on top of the table, doing an interpretive dance. It went on, and on, and on. Mesmerized, the Geek watched her. The Rebel just shrugged.

Dropping her empty sushi container in the trash, the Prom Queen said, "Catch you all later. I've got to go get my yearbook picture taken."

The Jock wiped his eyes on his sleeve and pulled himself together before following. He paused in the doorway and turned back to face the other three. "Sorry, guys." Then, realizing his words were unclear, he repeated. "No, I'm really sorry. For, like, everything."

His hands falling to his sides, the Rebel said, sotto voce, to the Geek: "I don't know what you just did, but thank you, man."

Puffing up his undersized chest, the Geek responded, "Don't thank me. Thank Generation Z."

~~~

This piece was inspired by a conversation I had with my son, who assured me that no one uses the term "jock" anymore. Upon further discussion, it seems that most of the stereotypical cliques familiar to us Gen X parents no longer exist. In fact, he and his classmates seem entirely capable of viewing each other's strengths and weaknesses in totality, without sticking that person into a category.

I don't know if it's just his school district or if it's something unique to Gen Z, but my son assured me that the only way he and his friends even know those labels is from watching movies and paying attention to pop culture.

I choose to find that hopeful.




I used a Photoshop filter to create this brightly-colored, cartoonish version of one of the schools in my son's school district.

Comments

[swirlsofpurple]

Fascinating and very amusing. As a non-American who didn't have jocks or prom queens at school I often wondered how accurate the media depictions were to real life American High School. It's interesting how much can change over time.

[alycewilson]

Of course, stereotypes are always inaccurate, aren't they? The football players and cheerleaders in our school were among the smarter achievers, as well. But I'm glad that the stereotypes are now going by the wayside.

[xeena]

I'm not american and went to an all girls' high school (it's really weird to me how they separate boys and girls tbh), but even though we didn't have all of these stereotypes (we had no sports teams and there were no homecomings or proms, which tbh, I always wanted because I liked the idea of a dance lol), there was still some of the stereotyping going on! There were the very quiet and/or studious types who got called "nerds" (my best friend got this fun moniker) and if you were either rebellious and/or into fashion and had a boyfriend but weren't one of the rich kids, you got called a "slut" (this lovely gem was bestowed on me lol).

my son assured me that the only way he and his friends even know those labels is from watching movies and paying attention to pop culture.

I choose to find that hopeful. I love this. A person is way more than one interest or personality trait, those labels are so restricting, even the ones that appear to be less insulting, they're still really putting people unfairly into boxes!

[alycewilson]

That's so interesting to find out about what it was like for you. I used to read books about private schools sometimes, and an all-girls school seemed like it would be kinder (but of course, girls can be mean anywhere).

I'm especially proud of my son and his generation for rising above the stereotyping to some extent. I know that bullying does still happen, but it's nice that they're not relying on old tropes as a way to behave.

[static_abyss]

This is great! I was born and raised in NYC but the schools I went to didn't have these concepts either. I knew of them from movies, but no one would think to call anyone by those labels. And in my high school, the school government people were really popular and the football team was not. But we loved the cheerleaders! And the higher your grade, the more positive attention you got. So I really escaped those typical high school experiences.

[alycewilson]

Yes, the cheerleaders at our school were all from the highest classes. They were pretty nice to everyone (although they could be catty with each other). But then again, I probably got to know everyone better than most, because I was both a school newspaper editor and yearbook co-editor. So I could see behind the stereotypes.

[bleodswean]

Another Gen X-er here and yes this pretty much defined school in the 80s. But with four nieces, two in middle school and two in high school, your son's experience isn't what I've been told. Now it's "the plastics" for the richer popular kids, "the misfits" for the nerdier kids, "the outcasts" for those who don't want a thing to do with school or its activities. Admittedly, these four lean heavily into a nerd category - band kids who tend to be pretty silly. Within their groups there seems to be a lot of acceptance of all kinds of people (except maybe The Plastics) that I find refreshing.

Great job, A!

[alycewilson]

Interesting! So they've created broader categories, then.

My son is the first to admit that he and his friends may be atypical, in that they fit into more than one category. Plus, a number of them are Scouts who have been taught to be kind and friendly since they were quite young! I can see the results, and it makes me happy.

But I genuinely do see more acceptance in his school, and kids from different groups cheering each other on. For example, the kids who were there to see the football team play were also cheering for the band and singing along, in a non-ironic way, when they played some of their favorites. It was good to see!

[roina_arwen]

An homage to The Breakfast Club - very nifty. We definitely had those labels back in the 80’s, I’m glad they’ve lost their luster over the decades.

[reidharriscooper]

I enjoyed this. I may have been called Bender at one point in my life. I also may have met Aly Sheedy at one point. I've also met Anthony Michael Hall though.. so what does any of it mean?

I'm just happy to know your son and his friends are part of a small group realizing labels should die. People be people.

[alycewilson]

Very cool connections! I'm not surprised about the Bender nickname.

Was Ally Sheedy interesting to talk to?

[reidharriscooper]

I have legitmatelly in all my years meeting "celebrities" only had three poor interactions. Aly Sheedy was not one of them. I almost feel in some LJ Idol at one point I've actually written about thre 3 poor ones though. They would fall into tropes of highschool for sure.

[murielle]

And all the time I was thinking The Breakfast Club.

Very well done, A. Came through loud and clear and with a lot of style. :-)

[alycewilson]

You got it right! That's exactly what I was channeling for this, in part because during our conversation, I brought up "The Breakfast Club" as examples of the stereotypical groups. But like I said, KFP insisted they don't really exist in his school, at least not as clearcut as in the movies.

[adoptedwriter]

I love this story and also the perspective KFP and his pals have! Working in a junior high cafeteria I notice how the athlete kids (boys) tend to sit together and the tech kids sit together, the Cheerleader/ fashionistas sit together and the otherwise socially awkward are a group, and the goth and diverse lifestyle kids are in a group at lunch tables and outside too. I have not heard any kid use specific terms for their cliques, just "my friends". We crack down as much as possible on in-school and on bus bullying and ostricizing. It's harder to control what happens socially off-campus.

[alycewilson]

I know that our school district has also actively cracked down on bullying, which I believe has made a difference. They've also got guidance counselors who make themselves available to talk through issues with kids, as needed. I know the elementary school guidance counselor was particularly good.

While I don't doubt that like-minded kids still group together, it's encouraging to hear that there's not as much automatic animus between them. Or at least, not that my son has witnessed.

[fausts_dream]

The 21st Century was hard on the Breakfast Club.

I think to some extent it depends on the school. I substituted at North Shore High School which is the Texas big school state champion frequently... They don't call them jocks anymore but jock culture is very much alive there.

Other schools are more as you describe especially on the other end of the district which is about 90% Hispanic.

One thing I like about modern high schools is kids can be their authentic selves all the LGBT kids at my high school were heavily closeted and there were some suicides. Subbing at the same school 35 years later there were same sex couples holding hands.

[alycewilson]

Oh, I'm not surprised it depends on the school district. I know that my son's school district has taken very big steps to prevent bullying and promote conflict resolution, which probably helps a lot. But you're right; kids are more comfortable being their authentic selves this day, even with support from teachers, which wasn't always guaranteed.

[flipflop_diva]

This was fun, and really thought-provoking. It makes me want to ask my nephew and my niece what it's like in their high school and middle school, respectively. Ellie just started kindergarten so we have a ways to go there! But I like the idea of all the typical stereotypes going by the wayside in place of something a lot more supportive of everyone.

[muchtooarrogant]

"Carefully picking up her sushi with hand-engraved chopsticks, " LOL Loved this.

Reminds me a bit of Neal Gaiman's gods, without belief they cease to exist. It's hard to believe that such long-lasting labels are going away, but it would certainly be very cool if true.

Dan

[halfshellvenus]

The human puddle formerly known as the Jock moaned.
I got a kick out of this.

No labels! No jocks, no rebels, no geeks? I can't fathom that reality. But like you, I think that's probably a good sign for society as a whole.