At my high school, you weren't technically allowed to leave the cafeteria. But I always end up sneaking out after I was done eating lunch to go up to the library and use the computers in there. Sneaking out was hard, sometimes I'd just be able to do it while the teacher guarding the door to the hallway was distracted, but sometimes I'd have to sneak out the doors to the outside. Then getting back inside was a problem - most of the doors except for the one in front of the main office was locked and going back in through that door would mean getting in trouble. Sometimes I'd luck out and there would be a side door somewhere unlocked. It was really a lot of effort for something we should have had access to anyway, what is the point of a library if you can't go use it?
There was no hierarchy at our school's lunch tables though. Unless my friends were in the same lunch period, I just ate alone and I preferred it that way. It was nice to have a whole table to myself. People left me alone and I could spread my stuff out. So yeah, I don't really get when the plot is trying to find a table to fit in at, unless the school is short on tables.
The answering machine war part of the episode was so funny. I figured it was going to turn out that they actually liked talking to each other on the answering machines.