My Classmates Spent Years Laughing at My ‘Lunch Lady’ Grandma – Until My Graduation Speech Made Them Fall Silent

Giving the last cookie to a boy who always looked hungry. How she’d say, “We never know what someone’s going through, so be gentle.”

“We talked,” Brittany added. “All of us.

After your speech. And… we want to do something.”

I folded my arms.

“Like what?”

“We want to plant a tree-lined walkway on campus,” she said, her voice picking up speed. “Like an alley of trees leading to the cafeteria entrance. A place to sit.

A place that feels peaceful. And we want to name it after her. Lorraine’s Way.”

Something inside me cracked.

Not in a bad way. Just in that way things do when they’ve been tightly held for too long.

“You’d do that?” I asked barely above a whisper.

“Yeah,” Marcus said quickly. “We already made a group chat about it.

We’re going to talk to Principal Adler. Raise money. Get the PTA involved.”

“She fed us,” Brittany said.

Her lips trembled. “Even when we didn’t deserve it.”

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