When I was in high school, I was terrified to sit alone in the cafeteria.
Then my first year in college, I started learning how to sit alone.
By the time I was a senior, I mostly enjoyed sitting alone.
Now, as an adult, I never even think about it.
It took me so long to realize this pretty simple lesson:
In closing: If you see a classmate sitting alone at lunch, it's totally fine to invite him/her to join you. But he or she might just say:
If it happens, you should respect his space. It could be that this kid is just ahead of his time.
I wish 16-year-old me knew that. It would have made life a lot easier.