It’s fifth lunch. You just had P.E. Your stomach is growling, you’re hangry and the line is moving slowly.

And now some 6-foot-4 dude and his friends just cut you in line. While they stare you down, your annoyance grows – until you see the lunch lady who wears a different hat every day.

You don’t know her name, but it’s not lunch without her.

You smile at her and go find your friends. 

Whether you get hot lunch or not, the hat lady – Michele Murray – is synonymous with lunch.

“I wear the hats every day to communicate with students,” Murray said. “I want to give them the opportunity to look, make a comment, so maybe I can make a comment back, hopefully in a fun way. That’s why I wear the hats.”

She has over 20 hats coordinated with lunch menus or anything school-related.

“The chicken hat I’ve had with me for 24 years,” she said. “That’s my favorite one, I don’t wear it much anymore because it’s starting to wear out, but the chicken hat’s my favorite,”

But there’s so much more to the kitchen.

Every day the lunch ladies are given a designated menu to follow and make for that day.

“The menu really dictates the day. Some menus are harder than others, like the day we have mashed potatoes and gravy. That takes a little more work. If I had a favorite, it’d probably be the ones that aren’t as messy,” Susan Haddock said.

Their favorite menu is no surprise: Pizza Day.

“Pizza day is an easy day. We always like pizza day,” said Carla Harris.

Everyone involved with the lunch process works together. It’s no solo job.

“It’s kind of a team effort in the morning when it comes to lunch. We have a lot of people prepping for lunch every day in the morning,” Amber Sanchez said.

The daily tasks aren’t just about making food.

“It’s a very physical job,” Haddock said. “There’s a lot of picking things up over your head and all the people here are incredibly nice. They all have lives outside of the kitchen.”

When the kids come in, that’s the highlight of their day.

“The kids coming through are always fun. You hear their little conversations. All the kids here at Derby High School are pretty darn nice,” Haddock said.

They enjoy seeing the kids, but only when their noses aren’t in their phones.

“I would love to see kids involve with each other more,” Murray said. “You know you’re on your phone all the time? When I was in school it was time to chit chat and have a good time. I hope everyone’s having a good time, but take care of each other.”

Working with each other is one of their favorite things.

“We have all kinds of personalities in here,” Haddock said.

Though their job is to make food, they view it as taking care of the kids.

“I love coming to work because there are such great people to work with. Everybody’s friendly. We have nicknames for each other. But of course, my main goal is to be here for students and I don’t say that to be getting brownie points. That’s truly what I love to do,” Murray said.

And the students love Murray and all the other staff just as much.

“Whenever I see her I just have to tell her I love her hats,” freshman Lailah Autrey said. “I never really talk to her, but she’s so sweet when I do talk to her. She’s so cute and her hats always brighten my day,”

The hats definitely seem to be a crowd favorite.

“I genuinely can’t wait to see what hat she has on each day,” freshman Vicente Aiken said.