The beginning of a new semester brings new classes and new teachers to students, but possibly the most important new addition to the Blake student’s life is the infamous Google document which contains the most heart-breaking or ecstasy-inducing piece of information: Whether their schedule is filled with the perils of second lunch or the joys of first lunch.

In an Instagram poll on the Spectrum account, 59% of respondents said they preferred having first lunch, but first lunch is not all chicken tenders and cookies. The Black Friday-like crowds which terrify young freshmen can make even grabbing a simple salad a tall task. If you’re a minute or two late to lunch due to an engaging discussion up in the third floor, then be prepared to share a seat with a kind friend.

Overbearing crowds, suspiciously more than half the student body, are not only annoying and loud, but because of them, a patient student can spend up to ten minutes waiting to load up their plate with a plethora of sandwiches, pasta, or tacos.

This is where the dark horse of second lunch comes in. Second lunch always has fewer people than first, which makes grabbing food efficient and seamless. However, second lunch transcends its worth beyond the actual half hour it occupies.

Possibly the most wondrous schedule combination at the Blake School is the trinity of second lunch, TASC, and a block 5 free block. The prospect of having a half-day bolsters the worth of second lunch so much that it disrupts the accepted narrative that first lunch is the benevolent ruler, and second lunch is the tyrannical king.

While generally students prefer to have first lunch over second lunch, consider the bountiful prospects of second lunch when you open up that email from your dean, cheerfully sharing information that rivals in importance to ACT scores and Canvas announcements, and find that your schedule is stained with the dark phrase, “Class First, Lunch Second.”