It hurts my heart that the lunch ladies were so cruel to you in what was already a mortifying for a kid situation. I remember the tickets too, I got reduced lunch while some of my friends had free lunch. I remember envying them their hot lunches, too. I usually had a pretty uninspiring packed lunch, I guess the reduced lunch bought me milk or a snack. But we had food at home and I know now I was lucky. I hope they have made this system less stressful for kids nowadays. I remember being sent to a special school once a week for "smart kids" and feeling like all the other kids were rich going by their packed lunches compared to mine and feeling self conscious about it. Kids are so sensitive to this stuff, it's really so poignant. Thanks for sharing your experience it was very honest and moving.