“Is he cute?” Amy asked from the other room.
“Yes, in fact, he is,” I said. “His name’s Connor and he’s on the track team too.”
“Ah,” Mom said. “Now it’s starting to make sense.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, I was wondering why you suddenly had this interest in running track when in the past you’d always refused when I’d suggested it.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t realized my other self didn’t particularly enjoy running either. “Well the important thing is that I’m doing it now, right?”
“Right,” Mom said, a smirk on her face. “So, why didn’t Connor come in? Why was he here?”
“That’s what I needed to talk to you about.”
“Okay,” she said, wariness on her face as she eyed the bag in my arms.
“You know those cookies I made the other day?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I gave one to him and he really liked it. I know you didn’t want me using up your food to make more, so I made him a deal that if he supplied the ingredients, I would make him some cookies.”
One of Mom’s eyebrows went up in a question.
“But he said he only wants half of what I make,” I hurried to add. “So all I have to do is the work of baking, which is really easy, and we’ll get to keep half of the cookies.” I paused. “And Mom, he included chocolate chips.”
Now both her eyebrows went up and I hoped it was because she was excited about the treat and not because she was terrified to gain a pound or two. She was already quite thin, so I didn’t think she had to worry about going over her “government-approved weight”.
“Well, I can’t really think of a good reason to say no,” she said. “You just have to be careful not to overdo it, Morgan. You know how close you came to weighing too much last year.”
I did? That was completely unexpected. I wondered what my approved weight limit was, anyway. Suddenly I felt a little worried that I might gain too much weight. But as quickly as the worry came to mind, I pushed it away, refusing to get caught up in that.
“Can I make these tonight?”
“Sure.”
As soon as the dinner dishes had been cleaned up, I set to work making the cookies. Both of my brothers hovered near the kitchen, obviously hoping to get some freshly baked cookies.
“Are they done yet, Morgan?” Brandon asked, a hopeful look on his face.
“Almost,” I said as I pulled a pan out of the oven. “But I have to put half of them aside for Connor before I can give any to you.”
“Ahhhh,” Brandon said, frowning. “That’s not fair.”
I turned to him, hands on my hips. “You’re lucky to get any at all, so quit complaining.” Then I turned back, trying not to laugh at the pout on his face.
When I was sure no one was looking, I used my fingers to scoop a generous amount of dough into my mouth and closed my eyes at the wonderfully familiar flavor.
Once I was done baking all the cookies and they had cooled, I put half of them into a large baggie and set it aside, then filled another baggie, which was smaller, with as many cookies as I could fit. That one I hid with the intention of stashing it somewhere only I could access.
“Okay, who wants a cookie?” I finally called out.
Zac and Brandon raced in first, but Amy wasn’t far behind. Then Mom came in and I could tell that although she tried to act like she wasn’t overly interested, she was just as eager as everyone else to have one of the unusual treats.
I handed out the cookies like they were a priceless gift, which in a way they were. The boys wolfed theirs down, but Amy and Mom took their time, savoring the rare chocolate flavor.
Mom allowed my brothers to each have only one and made me put the rest in the freezer, which was actually a really good idea. I wondered if I could hide my secret stash in there as well so that they would stay fresh. But I was afraid they would be found and eaten by my younger brothers.
My own obsession with food is getting pretty serious, I thought. Then, just to prove to myself that I wasn’t obsessed, I tucked my extra baggie of cookies into a back corner of the freezer behind bags of frozen vegetables. In my other life the vegies would get freezer burn before being used, but here they might actually get pulled out sooner rather than later.
I shook my head as I closed the freezer door, trying not to think about the delicious cookies secreted inside.
The next day at school when I saw Connor I waited until he was alone, then hurried over, thrilled to have an excuse to approach him.
“Hi, Morgan,” he said when he saw me and I smiled at the sound of my name.
“I have something for you,” I said in a near whisper, not wanting those nearby to overhear.
“Is it what I think it is?” he asked, a grin on his face.
I nodded. “Do you want me to give them to you now? I have them in my backpack.”
He shrugged his backpack from his shoulders. “Sure.”
I pulled out the large bag of cookies and handed it to him, then he set them inside his backpack and zipped it closed.
“I’ll think of you with every bite,” he said as he hefted the backpack onto his shoulders. Then he winked at me.
My heart pounded at the wink and his words. It hadn’t occurred to me that baking the cookies would benefit me when I wasn’t around him, but the idea of him thinking of me when he ate them pleased me and I decided right then that I would make him other treats as well.
“I hope you like them,” I said, smiling.
“If they’re anything like the other ones you made, I know I will. You’re a great cook.”
My eyes met his gray ones and I felt my heart flip at the compliment. “Thanks.”
“Hey, I’ve got to get to class. I’ll see you at practice though, right?”
“Yeah.” I watched as he walked away from me, then I went to my own class and sat in an empty seat. After the brief time I’d spent with Connor, I felt like I could face anything.
But then Lori slid into the seat in front of me and immediately turned toward me. “I saw you giving something to Connor, Morgan. What was it?”
I didn’t want to make an enemy out of her, but after her reaction the last time I brought cookies, plus the comments she’d made at practice the day before about people gaining weight, made me think twice before telling her anything. “It was nothing.”
Her lips turned up into a fake smile, then quickly went into a straight line. “Okay.”
She turned back around in her seat and I stared at the back of her head. Why would she care what I gave Connor?
Chapter Twenty
That afternoon at track practice I tried to act like nothing unusual had taken place between Connor and me, but when he caught my eye, he winked at me. My face flushed with pleasure. For some reason I looked at Lori and saw her glaring at me. Quickly turning away, I wondered why she made me feel like I had done something wrong.
As practice came to an end I headed toward the locker room. A moment later I heard footsteps catching up to me. I glanced behind me and saw Lori. Cringing, I tried to go faster without being too obvious.
“Morgan, wait up,” she called after me.
I didn’t think I could exactly ignore her, so I slowed down and let her catch up.
“Hey Lori,” I said, as she fell into step beside me. “How’s it going?”
“Good. What about you?”
“Good.”
“So, what’s going on with you and Connor?” she asked as we walked through the door to the girl’s locker room.
Wow, no beating around the bush for her. But something about the way she asked made me wonder if she secretly liked him. “Nothing’s going on. I barely even know him.” I laughed, but it came out sounding forced, which it was.
“Uh, huh,” she said.
Though Lori had been friendly to me at first, I wondered if that had been an act. She certainly didn’t seem friendly now. It was becoming apparent that
she was the type of person who was only friendly when things were going her way.
“That’s not what it looked like to me,” she continued.
“What do you mean?” I asked, picturing Connor winking at me. A grin appeared on my face as I thought about it and I tried to force it away, but Lori had seen it.
A crease formed between her eyebrows. “I’m not blind, you know. I saw him wink at you.”
I was getting tired of this conversation and trying to pretend that Connor didn’t notice me. After all, I hadn’t done anything wrong. “So?”
Her eyebrows shot up, like no one had ever responded to her like that before. I suddenly wondered if I had made a mistake, but I couldn’t bring myself to apologize. In fact, I found myself getting agitated by the look on her face. The look that said she was in charge and everyone knew it.
“Is there a problem, Lori?” My heart pounded as the words left my mouth.
“You’d better watch yourself, new girl.” Then she spun around and walked away.
I watched her go, beginning to regret confronting her. Maybe I should have denied everything. Why am I making things difficult for myself when I’ll be gone in a matter of weeks? But what can she actually do to me? I reasoned. She’s just a teenage girl, a student. She can’t do anything to hurt me.
After changing into my school clothes, I grabbed my backpack and started the walk home. As I walked, I hoped that Connor would pull up next to me and offer me a ride. Every time I heard a car approach my heart skipped a beat in anticipation, but every car drove by without stopping.
Thirty minutes later I reached my house. When I walked in I thought about Lori and remembered Connor telling me that her dad was the head of the local F.A.T squad. I went online and looked it up. I found a recent article and began reading. As I read about the F.A.T squad and what they did, I began to regret even more that I’d been so hostile toward her. I reread the article to make sure I hadn’t misunderstood any of it.
Federally Assisted Thinning or F.A.T squads are responsible for going to the home of those who have been deemed overweight. The leader of these squads may use their discretion to decide if the individual will be taken to a F.A.T center or whether the individual will be allowed to lose the weight in his/her home. In some parts of the country, F.A.T squad leaders, along with the local F.A.T committee, can adjust the government guidelines for acceptable weight limits within plus or minus five percent of the national guidelines. This is to allow for regional differences and needs.
There have been a number of protests regarding the amount of power F.A.T squad leaders have displayed. There have been reported incidences of F.A.T squad leaders showing up at people’s homes unannounced and demanding on-the-spot weigh-ins. This is partly to combat fraudulent weigh-ins where individuals have found ways to disguise their actual weight. Many people support such surprise weigh-ins, but the majority of people polled prefer a more orderly process. These surprise weigh-ins are reportedly rare, though lately more people have claimed to know of such incidences.
“Holy crap,” I shouted, startling Goldie, who was lying on the floor near my feet. Lori’s father could just show up at my house, weigh me or anyone in my family, and decide we weighed too much. Now I wished I had looked up this information yesterday, when I’d first heard of F.A.T squads. I was certain I would have responded differently to Lori. Though I could start acting nice to her, I knew she probably wouldn’t buy it.
Now I understood why she’d been so surprised when I’d talked to her the way I did. She really could hurt me. Or my family.
Chapter Twenty-One
When I walked into class the next day I saw Lori sitting in her usual spot. The chair next to her was empty, so I slid into the seat.
“Hi, Lori,” I said, a smile on my face.
She scowled at me, then began looking through her notebook.
Though I’d never been a suck up before, the previous night I had been unable to fall asleep for worrying that someone else in my family, in addition to Dad, would be taken away to a F.A.T center, and had decided I would do what I could to get on Lori’s good side.
“Hey,” I said, swallowing my pride. “I’m sorry about yesterday.”
Lori looked at me, but didn’t say anything.
“I mean, I’m sorry I was rude to you. I wasn’t, that is, my stomach was hurting which made me a little grumpy.”
“So are you saying Connor didn’t wink at you?” she asked, one eyebrow raised in question.
Clearly, she wasn’t about to let that go. I knew I would have to make something up to make her feel better. To distract myself from the sucking up I was about to do, I squeezed my hand into a fist, which made my nails bite into the tender flesh of my palm. “Honestly, Lori, I don’t know,” I lied. “I think the sun was just in his eyes. I mean, I don’t know why he would be winking at me.”
“Yeah,” she said, looking me up and down. “I don’t know why he would either.” Then she smiled smugly as she turned back to her notes.
Blood rushed to my face at the insult and I pressed my fist into my thigh, trying to keep from swinging it into her face. Instead, I turned away and took a deep breath to calm myself. As I turned back to face the front, in my peripheral vision I saw Lori glancing at me. I couldn’t tell for sure, but it seemed she was smiling, and I was certain it wasn’t a friendly smile.
My heart pounded as I realized how stupid I had been. First I had offended her, then I had tried to kiss up to her, making myself look weak. And it hadn’t even helped. I could tell she despised me for some reason known only to her. Well, I consoled myself, I had done what I could. If she still wanted to hate me, there wasn’t much I could do about it.
I just hoped she wouldn’t cause trouble for me or my family. We were under enough strain as it was, with Dad gone. We’d already had to sell our house and start over. I didn’t know if Mom could take much more.
When the teacher had us stand for the pledge, she asked me to stand in front and lead it. Nervous to have Lori watching me now that I knew her father had the power to destroy my family, I really had to focus to say the right words.
“I pledge to always follow the rules and to take care of my body,” I said, forcing the lie out of my mouth. “I will strive to put the good of all above the desires of one. A healthy me is a healthy world.”
As I sat in my seat, I marveled at the difference a week and a half could make. Less than two weeks before I’d been living my life in a normal world and now here I was, standing in front of a group of strangers, reciting a promise to follow the rules and eat healthy.
I have got to figure out how I’m going to get home, I thought, as the teacher droned on. I decided when I got home I would use Google Earth to see if I could find the hut in the forest. Of course that wouldn’t necessarily help me find the tunnel, but it couldn’t hurt.
When class was over I gathered my books and shoved them into my backpack, then stood.
“Hey, Morgan,” Lori said.
I turned in her direction, wondering what she would say. She hadn’t spoken to me once, or even looked at me, during the whole class. In fact, she had been texting under her desk most of the time.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“See you at track.”
Then she winked at me. My mouth fell open, but I quickly closed it as I watched her sashay away.
What was that all about? I suddenly felt anxious that she was either planning something or just trying to get on my nerves. Which was working, by the way.
As I attended the rest of my classes I tried to pay attention, but my mind kept imagining all the terrible things Lori might do to me or my family. By the time school was over and track practice was about to begin, I was a nervous wreck.
My hands shook as I tied my shoes.
“How’s it going, Morgan?”
My head whipped up, my eyes wide. “Oh, Anne. It’s only you.” My pounding heart slowed to normal.
“What’s wrong?” Anne asked, sitting on the ben
ch next to me. “Who did you think it would be?”
I wasn’t sure if I should say anything. Though Connor was the one who had told me that Lori’s father was head of the F.A.T squad, and though the way he’d said it made me think he didn’t approve, I didn’t know if his sister felt the same way. I decided I shouldn’t say anything about Lori, just in case.
Instead of answering Anne’s question, I laughed. “You just startled me, that’s all.” I stood up. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah.”
She smiled and we walked out to the field together. Having her walk with me made me feel better; especially when I saw Lori watching us. I saw Connor too. He was stretching out near some of his friends. Though I wanted him to notice me, I desperately hoped he would ignore me while Lori was around.
When we reached the rest of the team, I ignored Lori’s stare, sat on the ground, and began stretching. Anne stretched out next to me. When I reached out to touch my toes, I noticed Anne did the same, but she turned her head in my direction and whispered, “What’s Lori’s problem?”
“What do you mean?” I whispered back, deciding to play dumb.
“Don’t look yet, but she keeps looking at you or us, and she looks pissed.”
I sat up straight, preparing to stretch to the front, and glanced in Lori’s direction. Sure enough, she was glaring directly at me. She didn’t seem like she was even trying to hide it, like she didn’t care if everyone noticed the way she was looking at me. A chill climbed up my spine and I quickly reached out in front of me.
“Okay team,” the couch shouted. “Run four laps and then meet back here.”
We all jumped up and began running around the track. Anne ran alongside me.
“Did you see her face?” she asked.
Lori was ahead of us, which I liked since I could keep her in sight.
“Yeah,” I said, not wanting to elaborate.
“Why do you think she looks so mad? Did something happen?”
Though Anne could talk easily while running, I wasn’t used to it and it was a struggle to run and talk at the same time. Not only that, I was hesitant to say anything about Lori that could come back and bite me. “I don’t know,” I panted.
Gone (Parallel Trilogy, Book 1) Page 14
