Hunger Read Online Free PDF Page B

to run away this morning. She was going to look for her mommy.”
    The list went on and as it did, some of the kids ran over to hug Mary, to get a kiss, to get an appreciation of their hairdo,to earn an approving “good job” for the way they had brushed their teeth.
    Mary nodded. The list was about like this every day.
    A guy named Francis came in, pushed rudely past Mary. Then he realized whom he had just shouldered aside, turned back to her with a scowl, and said, “Okay, I’m here.”
    “First time?” Mary asked.
    “What, am I supposed to be sorry? I’m not a babysitter.”
    This scene, too, had been repeated every day since peace had come to Perdido Beach. “Okay, here’s the thing, kid,” Mary said. “I know you don’t want to be here, and I don’t care. No one wants to be here, but the littles have to be taken care of. So lose the attitude.”
    “Why don’t you just take care of these kids? At least you’re a girl.”
    “I’m not,” John pointed out.
    Mary said, “See that easel? There are three lists on there, one list for each of the daily helpers. Pick a list. That’s what you do. Whatever is on the list. And you smile while you’re doing it.”
    Francis marched over and checked the list.
    John said, “I’ll bet you a cookie he doesn’t pick diaper duty.”
    “No bet,” Mary said. “Besides, there are no cookies.”
    “I miss cookies,” John said wistfully.
    “Hey,” Francis yelled. “All these lists suck.”
    “Yes,” Mary agreed. “Yes, they do.”
    “This all sucks.”
    “Please stop saying ‘sucks.’ I don’t want to have three-year-olds repeating it all day.”
    “Man, when my birthday comes, I’m stepping out,” Francis sulked.
    “Fine. I’ll be sure not to schedule you after that. Now, pick a work list and do it. I don’t want to have to waste Sam’s time calling him over here to motivate you.”
    Francis stomped back to the easel.
    “Stepping out,” Mary said to John, and made a face. “How many people have hit the magic fifteen so far? Only two have poofed. People talk about it. But they don’t actually do it.”
    The FAYZ had eliminated everyone over the age of fourteen. No one knew why. At least, Mary didn’t, although she had overheard Sam and Astrid whispering in a way that made her think they might know more than they admitted.
    A fourteen-year-old who reached his fifteenth birthday would also disappear. Poof. If he let himself. If he decided to “step out.”
    What happened during what kids called Stepping Out was now known to just about everyone. The way subjective time would slow to a crawl. The appearance of the person you loved and trusted most to beckon you across, to urge you to leave the FAYZ. And the way this person transformed into a monster if you resisted.
    You had a choice: stay in the FAYZ, or…But no one knew just what the “or” was. Maybe it was escape back into the old world. Maybe it was a trip to some whole new place.
    Maybe it was death.
    Mary noticed John looking intensely at her. “What?” she said.
    “You wouldn’t ever…”
    Mary smiled and ruffled his curly red hair. “Never. I would never leave you. Missing Mom and Dad?”
    John nodded. “I keep thinking about how many times I made them mad.”
    “John…”
    “I know. I know that doesn’t matter. But it’s like…” He couldn’t find the words, so he made the motion of a knife stabbing his heart.
    Someone was tugging at Mary’s shirt from behind. She looked around and with a sinking heart saw a little boy named…named…she couldn’t remember his name. But the second little boy behind him she remembered was Sean. She knew why they were there. They had both recently had their fifth birthdays. The age limit for the day care was four. At age five you had to move out—hopefully to a house with some responsible older kids.
    “Hi, kids. What’s up?” Mary asked as she brought her face down to their level.
    “Um…,” the first one said. And then he