It Started With a Lunchbox

  Tommy nervously walks into his new school's cafeteria. It should be illegal to make kids move in the middle of the school year. He stands just inside the door, unsure where to sit. The secretary had offered that he could have lunch with her if wanted, but that seemed so lame. “Hi, Tommy!” a girl with pigtails suddenly stands beside him, her name’s Lilly if he remembers right.

“Hi, Lilly right?” He shuffles in his spot. 

“Wanna sit with me today? I was the new kid a few months ago and it was brutal, so I thought I could sit with you till you find your crew.” She shrugs. 

“That would be cool. I used to go home for lunch in my old town, but it was too far away and Mom didn’t want to drive across town four times a day.” He follows her through the cafeteria.

“Ah there’s a lot of kids who have that problem, there are only like five kids in our class who go home for lunch so it shouldn’t take you too long to find your group.” She sits in a quiet spot in the cafeteria where they can see the whole room. 

“So where's your group?” He asks pulling his lunchbox out of his bag. 

“Oh my gosh, you have an old-school metal lunchbox! That’s so vintage and so cool!”  Lilly’s eyes widen. 

“Oh yeah, it was my uncle’s.” He shows it off. 

“I love vintage stuff, my grandma runs a little shop and I help her some weekends.” She beams. 

“Sounds like somewhere my mom should go, she loves that stuff.” He eats his sandwich. 

“I’ll bring you grandma’s card.” Lilly smiles and goes to bite in her sandwich. “Oh! You asked who my group is, I don’t have one.” She shrugs, “I’m one of the smartest kids in class, so everyone likes me, but I don’t really have a group to hang out with.” 

“I was the smartest kids in my old class. So maybe I’ll give you a run for your money.” He smirks. 

“I could use the challenge and a better partner.” She huffs. “I hate when kids only wanna work with you because you're smart but don’t wanna do anything.” 

“Oh! That’s the worst! I had that problem all the time.” The two kids chuckle and eat in silence, the sound of the cafeteria becoming a dull hum. 

Tommy and Lilly become inseparable friends, they take turns being the top of the class and when elementary school gives way to middle school, the teasing starts, but no matter how many kids make fun of them for being in love they stay friends. 

“Did you hear everyone today making a big deal about the dance?” Lilly scoffs.

“Yeah, I don’t get it either.” Tommy pauses, does she want to go? Maybe I should ask. “Do you want to go? I know the girls seem to be making a huge deal about it.” 

Lilly sets her lunch down, “Honestly? No, I don’t like loud noises, and dances have loud music.” 

“Right, you don’t even like movie theatres.” He nods. 

As the dance gets closer, thanks to the internet kids make big shows about asking each other to the dance. Tommy can’t figure out why but it bothers Lilly, so with his mom's help, he makes a plan. He slides his lunchbox across the table. 

“You're giving me your lunch?” Lilly raises her eyebrow. 

“No, just open it.” Tommy smiles. 

Lilly opens the box and finds a daffodil, Lilly actually hated lilies, and a note, Movie Night at My Place this Friday? “Oh, Tommy! Thank you, I’d love to!” 

“I’ll even let you pick the movie.” He smiles, “I figured if we both weren’t going to the dance we could still do something fun.” He then steals his lunch box back, “But you still can’t have my lunch box. 

And tradition is born, Tommy and Lilly didn’t go to dances but instead, they took turns hosting movie nights. From middle school to high school, the two stayed close, even though they did find groups of their own, as high school didn’t give them many classes together. 

It wasn’t uncommon for their new friends to assume they were dating or wanted to date. Tommy and Lilly never could give a straight answer as to what was happening between them, they just didn’t talk about it, until Sr. Prom came around. 

“Tommy, did you see the Prom Queen and King voting list?” Lilly stares at her phone.

“No, we aren’t going, so I wasn’t gonna bother looking.” He sets down the lunch tray his mom sent up. 

“Look!” She hands him her phone. “How!?” 

He quickly reads through the list, “We made the cut?” He burst out laughing. “Well jokes on them.” Tommy glances over at Lilly's rather distraught face. “Hold up.” He reaches into his book bag and pulls out his lunchbox. 

“I didn’t know you still used that thing,” Lilly says, still not understanding what's going on. 

“I don’t, but I was gonna sneak this into your locker.” He rubs the back of his neck. 

Lilly opens the box and reads, “Lilly, I know we don’t do dances, but if you wanted to prom and wasn’t going to say anything, will you go to prom with me? PS: Yes, I want my lunchbox back.” She looks at him, “You want to go to prom with me?” 

“Duh, you’re my best girl, I’d spend a day at the mall with you if you really wanted to.” He pauses, “And if you don’t want to go to prom because of the loud noises, Mom says she and I can turn the backyard into our own dance floor.”

“You won’t even go to the mall with your mom…” She looks back at the lunchbox and lifts the Lego daffodil out of the box, “Best girl? My old movie taste is affecting you.” 

“I mean it, Lilly. If we go to prom I want it to be with you on my arm as my honest-to-goodness date. Not my friend, but my girlfriend. So what do you say?” He holds out his hand. 

She blushes, “I am willing to try prom with your house as a backup if the noise is too much” She takes his hand, “I’d love to be your girlfriend.” 

“You mean it!?” Tommy picks her up and spins her around. 

“Yes, I mean it!” She laughs and hugs him tight. 

***

They didn’t last an hour at prom before they made their way to his backyard where they finished their dance. 

The metal lunchbox wasn’t used again for a few years after a relationship stood the test of distance, college, finals, and levels of stress but when Tommy did dig it out again, he intended to let her keep it, if she said yes to the rig she found inside.