You wake up and come to school — tired, hungry and already ready to leave. You go to the vending machine hoping to get a small treat.

And it’s sold out… Or even worse, the whole machine is broken. 

“So basically, every time we go up to try and get a drink, either one of them is broken or just stops working or refuses to take cash, even though it says ‘cash only,’” sophomore Shelby Jones said. “And I’m like ‘wait what? What is going on here?’”

There are vending machines in two locations – by the auditorium and by the gym (which are drinks only).

“I mean the food vending machines are the only ones that actually work, but the drink vending machines are irritating. We have to go all the way down to the gym to get stuff and half the time they don’t have anything, either,” Jones said. 

The options in the machines are ever-changing. Your favorite snack may be there for a week but gone the next. 

“They had one of my favorite energy drinks for a hot minute. It was the Xyience ones, but then they just completely got rid of them all the sudden,” sophomore Reese Draney said. “And then the food, it all turned into spicy chips and then those stupid cracker things.”

Variety in the machines is lacking, and many people miss some of the old options. 

“I would like to see Skinny Pop come back and better energy drinks, not just Monsters because Monster tastes like battery acid, and it’s gross,” Draney said. “There’s not a lot of options and all the options are the same thing, but not everybody likes the same thing.”

Walking by the machines during class, it’s common to find people standing around the machines. 

Security isn’t a fan of kids leaving during the block, though. 

“I wish we could change our contract with them and be able to shut them down during class periods,” security guard Kelly Baney said. 

One less space to worry about would make it easier on the staff and keep kids on task. 

“Kids need to stay in class and focus on their studies. There are too many options, too many things to get out and do or want to do,” Baney said. “If that wasn’t an option, then there would be one less thing to think ‘I need to get out of class to go do this.’”

However, sometimes a quick trip may be necessary.

“Each kid’s situation is different. If they haven’t eaten in 12 hours and just can’t focus, then I get it and I’m all on board for it,” Baney said.

Not every kid uses the machines as a way to leave class, though.

“I wouldn’t say that I leave during class. I usually go during lunch or before school,” sophomore Brooke Downs said. “I usually miss class for athletics, so I have to be there as much as I can.”

Yet sometimes these time periods aren’t ideal, as tons of people are crowding around hoping to get a simple snack. 

“There are certain times where there will be huge groups of people gathered around the machines and I’m like ‘I’m just going to wait a couple of minutes until they leave,’” Jones said.