(With Notes From a University Student on a Budget)
By R. Jam
8-Pack Sushi 7.50
(You were a little worried for the first day of classes, but then you noticed how many restaurants there were on campus, and your meal plan works for all of them. Now, take your pick! The sushi place will become a staple, you think, of your lunchtime. It almost makes the uncertainty of being away from home for the first time in your life worth it.)
Ramen noodles and scrambled egg 3.99 (est.)
(It’s a stereotype, but it became popular for a reason. It makes you feel like a real university student at any rate. For extra flavour, scramble an egg to throw in with the noodles – but if you’re doing the egg in the microwave in the way your mom used to do, keep an eye on it. Your roommate will hate you if you keep exploding eggs.)
Chicken fried rice 15.99 (est.)
(You can’t eat unhealthy stuff all the time, yeah? So, try to recreate your favourite meal from home, but don’t over- or under- cook the chicken, and careful not to cut yourself while chopping vegetables, and keep an eye on the rice – whoops, there it goes. Order takeout while waiting outside for the fire trucks and under no circumstances admit that it was you.)
Tim Horton’s donut 3.99
(With Halloween coming up soon, all the speciality items have been released, meaning you can get your favourite once-a-year donut flavour – but, weirdly, it doesn’t taste the same. Maybe the Tims back home makes them fresher or something. Still, try to finish it. You need the sugar boost for your lecture in an hour and you’d hate to waste the money).
Tomato soup 0.99
(Someone gave a cold to your roommate’s boyfriend, who gave it to your roommate, who gave it to you. Skip class and hide under your blankets until you stop sneezing, then make the first thing you can find at 2AM when you can’t sleep from the chest pain. Don’t bother with the eggs, your roommate banned them. You want to ban her boyfriend but whatever.)
Cup of coffee (1 2 3 undefined number) 2.97
(Best experienced in this way; drink one cup to see what everyone is talking about; drink another to pull an all-nighter; drink another as a treat for finishing – but probably not passing – your midterm; then you’ve lost count, and now if you don’t have one a day, you get a headache.)
Poutine 10.97
(The sushi place is closed for construction. Try somewhere new for lunch, but you don’t taste any difference from what you’ve had before, only now it burns your mouth and you can’t swallow properly for a few days.)
Chocolate Bar 1.99
(Whatever flavour you prefer, but make sure to buy it at a convenience store, and get a scratch ticket on your way out. Maybe you’ll win it big and you can pay your tuition off, or maybe drop out and travel the world. Hope and inevitably disappointment at being duped makes the chocolate bittersweet no matter the flavour.)
Leftovers Free
(You come from a small town that has five restaurants, four of those locally owned, so when your parents come to visit, they can’t wait to try something big and new. The food is underwhelming, and it tastes like homesickness. The leftovers will feed you for three more meals, at least.)
Ham-and-cheese sandwich 5.99
(Campus food has started to get boring, so try a hand at making your own lunches! You used to do this every day in high school and for extra nostalgia, trying to eat it outside when the sun is shining but the leaves are all dead. Fall is over and so is that part of your life.)
Cake slices 6.97
(You failed your midterm. Buy a slice of cake to comfort yourself and don’t tell your parents.)
Croissants and butter Free
(Your roommate made croissants as an apology for the boyfriend thing, and it turns out that the midterm was just really really hard, since they failed it too. Lather it in butter and share it over the counter while laughing at the font your professor uses on their PowerPoint slides.)
Chocolate cupcakes (6) 6.97 (est.)
(It’s your birthday and usually, your best friend would bake something for you – but their hours away and you’ve never been the most social person, a change in scenery doesn’t help that, so you have to bake it yourself. Add cocoa-powder icing, patterned wrappers, and pride for extra flavour, and celebrate that you didn’t set the fire alarms off this time.)
8-Pack Sushi 7.50
(The sushi place is open again, the repairs they did look nice. Pick up an 8-pack to fuel your study for your finals, but don’t pull an all-nighter again – that’s what got you last time and took away your taste buds.)
Chicken fried rice (take two) 15.99 (est.)
(Check the chicken regularly; chop the vegetables but keep Band-Aids nearby; don’t take your eyes off the rice. See, you’ve almost got it now, and the leftovers will feed you and your roommate-friend for days. They still won’t lift the ban on microwave eggs, though.)
Peppermint tea 2.97
(Christmas time doesn’t quite feel like Christmas time last year, or maybe you bought a different brand of tea from usual. Add honey or sugar to taste; and a bright, twinkling phone call with your friends that lasts until midnight, to remind you that even if things change, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. You just have to get used to the new flavour.)