Buffet

By Jocelyn Kim, Grade 10, PVHS, Fall 2022

Once upon a time, there was a land that was filled with talking food. It was a place with joy and happiness. 

Ring ring ring. The alarm. My worst enemy. I smacked my alarm to make it stop ringing. Today was the worst day. It was my first day at my new high school. My family just moved here because of my dad’s business. 

“Get up Nacho!” yelled my mom. Hi! My name is Nacho, and I’m currently experiencing the worst day of my life. I’m about to go to my new school, filled with new people. But, it won’t be that bad…..right? 

“Hurry up! I don’t want to be late on my first day of school!” I said. My name is Kimchi and I’m super excited to attend my new high school. I heard the high school I’m going to is amazing. I’m even thinking of trying out for the track and field team. I think that high school will be an incredible experience for me. There are so many new people I can meet. It’s just going to be awesome.  

As Nacho and Kimchi are arriving at their new high school, there is still one person that isn’t awake yet….Meatball. Oh no! Meatball is still asleep. What will he do?

Kimchi comes to Onion High first, as she is super excited to go to school. “Bye mom! Bye dad!” says Kimchi as she quickly hops off the car. However once she looks at the school, she realizes this isn’t the school she imagined. “I thought this was going to be Bossam school” Kimchi says, but it’s too late to go back now, her parents already left.

Nacho grunts as he arrives at Onion High. Nacho really doesn’t want to go, but he knows deep inside, he has to. Nacho gets out of the car and is shocked when he sees his school. “I thought this was going to be Salsa School”, says Nacho.

Nacho, Meatball, and even Kimchi were shocked at the school, because it wasn’t the school they were thinking of. Everyone was different from them, they were all onions.

Nacho, Meatball, and Kimchi all quickly walked to their class avoiding contact with any of their peers. Nacho, Meatball, and Kimchi all had science for their first period.  Since they were all new to the school, they didn’t have anyone to talk to. 

As the teachers were getting started with their classes, there was an announcement. “Attention all students and teachers, today we will be having a relay race with each class competing against each other. So send your best runners and good luck!” That announcement got Meatball, Nacho, and Kimchi’s attention. At their school before, they were all part of the school track and field team. 

In their classroom, the teacher asked the class if anyone wanted to participate in the race. All of the onion students raised their hands, including Meatball, Onion, and Kimchi. Before Meatball knew it, all of the onion students were laughing at them. “Hahaha, you think that you’ll be fast enough? No way, we can’t let you participate” said one onion student. 

“That’s enough. Meatball, Kimchi, and Nacho, I would love to have you represent our team. I believe in you” said the teacher. 

“Yeah right” said the onion student. 

At the event, the classes were getting ready to race. Kimchi, Meatball, and Nacho all nervously lined up at their places on the track. “You guys got this,” said Kimchi. “On your marks, get set, go!” said the principal. The first runners started running, and Kimchi saw all of the onion students running past her. When the baton was handed to Meatball, they were last place. Meatball started to run as fast as she could, but it just wasn’t enough. Meatball handed the baton to Nacho, their last runner up, and their last chance to win the race. Just then, when Nacho was running, he heard his teacher say something. “I believe you Nacho! You can do it!” When Nacho heard this, he felt determined and ran as fast as he could. Suddenly, he was passing all of the other onion students, blazing through the track. And then, he crossed the finish line. Nacho got first place! Kimchi and Meatball all ran towards Nacho saying good job! 

All the onions were shocked. They didn’t believe that the new students won! It was quiet for a while, until Meatball, Nacho, and Kimchi’s class started to roar with cheers. “Good job you guys!” “Congrats!!” “You guys did it” As Kimchi, Nacho, and Meatball were walking back to their class, they got praises from their peers. “You guys were amazing!” Just then, they saw someone scared, putting their head down as he was walking down the halls. Meatball, Kimchi, and Nacho all walked up to him. “Hi! What’s your name?” 

“Hh..h…iii, my name is… Dumpling” Dumpling said. 

“Is everything okay?” Kimchi asked.

“No, I just transferred to this school, and I’m scared because everyone is so different from me,” Dumpling said.

“Well, they may be different from you, but we’re all the same person inside. Don’t be afraid and be confident for who you are” said Meatball.

“Thank you for telling me that,” said Dumpling. 

Meatball, Nacho, and Kimchi all walked proudly to their classroom, because even though they were different, they were proud of who they were.    

Personal Statement

From first to fifth grade, I have been writing the same story. It was about three talking foods going on an adventure around the world. This was how “Buffet” was born. In first grade, when I was given the opportunity to write a story that could potentially be performed at my school, I knew that I had to be creative. I spent hours working on this project, and beamed with delight when I turned it in to my teacher. However, it wasn’t picked to be performed. This process kept continuing on, as I tried to perfect my story, and kept on being rejected. So, when I saw the opportunity to write about Diversity Equity and Inclusion, I knew that the story that I’ve been writing since first grade, could work out. “Buffet” isn’t only about Diversity Equity and Inclusion, but it's also about determination. The characters were determined to win the relay race, just as I was determined to see my story be performed at my school.