I’m not sure how I ended up being the one to walk P back down to the cafeteria almost an hour after his lunch wave ended. Somehow, he had forgotten to sign up for lunch and was too nervous to let anyone know. Now, he was hungry.

“You could have told a grownup!” I told P. “Someone would have helped you.”

He replied shyly, “One time I went in the cafeteria to get a snack and I got in trouble.” I understood.

We talked about what he might get. He told me he noticed the broccoli. “I like broccoli,” he said. I told him that I had broccoli for lunch too.

We kept walking. “Do you want to talk to the ladies in the cafeteria, or do you want me to?” I asked.

“Can you do it please?” he asked, looking up at me.

“Of course.” I told him.

In the cafeteria, we got P a heaping pile of broccoli and I talked him into some chicken noodle soup. He grabbed a bag of pretzels and then I asked him where he’d like to eat. “Want to come back to my room? Then you can join your class in music.”

P nodded as we headed towards my room. “I’ll eat my lunch, too.”

It made my day to help this sweet fifth grader get his lunch and to eat our broccoli together.