Lauren Hammond - Famished

“Oh yeah,” I snapped. “What about it?”

“You know how you said you had a terrible feeling about it?”

“Yeah, so?”

“You were right. It’s going to be bad.”

“How do you know?”

“These walls are thin. I heard some things.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “Like what?”

He grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me back into the wall. “Like that there is going to be chaos tomorrow when the families find out what they have planned.”

“I don’t believe you.” Colin Martin was not the type of guy who gave out free warnings. As long as I’d known him, he always had ulterior motives.

He pressed his body into mine. “You don’t? You’re a terrible liar. You’re the one who thought something was off about this whole meeting in the first place.”

“And I still do. I just don’t believe you have any knowledge of it. I think you concocted this whole story in that little mind of yours to try and get me in here, alone.”

“Oh, feisty and smart. This is a win-win situation.”

I shoved into him as he wrapped his strong arms around my waist. “Colin, I’m going back to my room.” I pushed on him harder. Still, he didn’t budge.

“I am serious about the meeting though. I did overhear a conversation. And you are also right about the second part.”

“What do you mean? What conversation?”

He craned his neck, his face inches away from mine. “Something about gatherers.” He brushed his soft fingertips against my cheek. “And I also wanted to get you alone.”

He took me by surprise when his full, wet lips fluttered over mine. I fought it at first, then as he wrappedhis arms around me tighter, I relaxed, losing myself in thekiss. He was a good kisser, almost too good. I could seewhy he drove all the girls around here mad.

Then the thought of us getting caught planted itself in my brain. I inched away from him, walking to the doorway. “Where are you going?” he asked, puzzled.

“To my room,” I said, hanging half-way out the door. “Thanks for the information but, the last thing I want to do is get caught having a tryst with you, Colin Martin. I know what kind of guy you are. And I’m not interested in becoming one of your band of merry followers.”

“Georgina, it’s not even like that.”

“Whatever, Colin. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I walked out of the room and left him standing alone in the dark.

In my room, I collapsed on my cot, smiling up at my ceiling. That kiss made my stomach swirl. It wasn’t my first. God, I had done my fair share of kissing. I recalled one kiss in particular that involved spin the bottle and a lot of slobbering. Ugh. But out of all the kisses I had experienced in my life, the kiss with Colin was by far the best.

I was so confused. What did he want from me? Could he see through me? I didn’t like the way he teased me. I liked when people were upfront and honest about everything. Then again, whenever I was around him I tried to act like I wasn’t interested. Even though I totally was. And it wasn’t just because he was attractive. There was a sweet side of him. A side that rarely came out. But when it did it made me swoon.

One day, I was walking down the corridor, carrying a whole stack of textbooks for Mrs. Edwards, our teacher. There was a crack in the concrete and I accidentally tripped. The stack of books toppled over and Colin rushed toward me, lifting me off the ground. “Whoa, you okay?”he asked. There was no sarcastic tone to his voice. He wasn’t smiling seductively. He seemed generally concerned.

Thankfully, he gave me a tidbit on the meeting and a wave of relief washed over me. The meeting had something to do with the gatherers. But why did he say it was going to be bad, then?

Frankie walked into the room, noticing the glazed over look on my face. “What’s with you, sis?” she asked.

I continued staring at the ceiling. “Nothing.”

She fell backwards on to her bed. “Are you sure?”

If I didn’t give her an answer I knew she would probe me until I said something.

“I’m just thinking about tomorrow.” That was the most believable lie I could come up with.

In my heart of hearts, I really wanted to tell her what just happened with Colin. That’s what sisters were supposed to do. They were supposed to be able to gossip about boys. But I knew if I mentioned one word of what just happened, my parents would find a way to keep me away from boys, period.

“Are you nervous?” Frankie asked, her eyes finding the ceiling.

“Not really. What is there to be nervous about?”

“Because we don’t know what’s going to happen. My stomach has been in knots all day.”

“Relax Frankie, tomorrow isn’t even here yet. And besides,

anything that goes down will not involve you.”With that said, I rolled over and glanced at the wall. My eyes shifted, locating all of the rocks that were imbedded in the dirt.

There were two things I had to recognize about today. Number one, that something was going to happen at tomorrow’s meeting. And number two, that maybe that kiss between Colin and I actually meant more to me than I was prepared to admit.

All seventy members of the colony poured into the small, compact meeting room. This room was only made to fit about twenty comfortably. Not seventy. I shoved my way to the front of the room, feeling like I was a crowded pea in a pod.

Someone backhanded me across the face. Another person stomped on my toe. Still, I pushed forward. I wanted to be in the front of the room for this. My attention switched to my father who was pacing nervously across the front of the room. He was worried. And when my father was worried, that wasn’t a good sign.

My mother stood against the wall with Frankie, her arms outstretched. “Georgie! Over here!” she shouted. But her shout was faint. The chatter in the room was so loud I could barely hear myself think.

I turned sideways, squeezing myself between people in the first row. “Sorry,” I said as I kicked someone in the shin by accident.

“It’s okay Georgie,” Colin commented. “I like it when you get physical.”

I continued sliding down the row. “Colin, I don’t have the time or strength to deal with you right now!”

When I was inches away from her, my mother grabbed me, pulling me toward her. She kissed my forehead gently, examining my face. “What was that about?”

“What was what about?”

She squinted. “What were you talking about with the Martin boy?”

I peered over my shoulder and caught Colin grinning at me. I faced my mother. “Nothing. He was just asking me a question.”

My mother threw her hands over my shoulders as I put my back to her. “Oh, what about?”

Why was she suddenly so interested in what I was speaking to Colin about? She knew I talked to him on a daily basis. “Nothing important.”

As Mr. Baker stepped forward, the chatter in the room died down to silence. The meeting was starting. “Alright everyone! Thank you for coming!” he shouted, his loud voice ricocheting off the walls. The small bulge in his stomach jiggled as he fidgeted with his fingers. He was nervous too. What the hell was going on here?

He removed a white handkerchief from his back pocket, wiping away the beads of sweat that drizzled down his forehead. Hushed chatter broke out through the room as Mr. Baker cleared his throat. Again silence.

Then, he gazed around the room, a stern look on his face, commanding the attention of the whole room.“Family members, we ask that you remain silent until this meeting is over!”My father stepped forward, standing next to Mr. Baker. All of the worry I noticed in him earlier was gone. “The council has taken a vote and we’ve decided to conduct a lottery!”