Young Writers Society

Evaline watched Jerica shoot the balloon in one perfect shot, and she stood still, expectedly staring at Jerica.

"Well?" she said, glancing between her and the dropped present on the floor. "Aren't you going to fetch it?"

Jerica had been planning to go get it. But now she'd stand here and die before she went after it. "Gods, do I really have to do everything around here?"

Evaline shot Jerica an unamused look, staring at her as she slowly stood up herself.

"Fine," she said, ripping her glare away and walking towards the present. "I'll take the present."

"Have fun," Jerica said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She barely resisted the urge of telling Eve to go fetch. There was no point in getting into a pissing contest between them, and Jerica definitely wasn't going to be the one to go after it now.

Evaline rolled her eyes, taking her sweet time to walk up to the present, knowing the wait would make Jerica suffer.

Jerica watched her, getting annoyed in almost no time flat. How was it even possible to move that slowly?

When Evaline finally reached the present, she bent down and slowly and gingerly opened the top lid, revealing...

Jerica tightened her grasp on the bow, getting progressively less and less patient with each nanosecond that passed. Maybe she should have gone after it herself. At this rate, they'd starve before Eve managed to pick the stupid thing up. She sighed impatiently.

A basket of food and water.

Evaline stared at the present, unable to move for a second as she let it sink in that they finally were sent useful items. Hunger and thirst gnawed in her stomach, and she picked up a jar of water, gulping it down immediately, not caring if Jerica saw or if she'd finally bring herself over here.

Jerica watched Eve for a long moment as she just uselessly stared at the box, like a useless person. But then she picked up some water and, rudely, started chugging it. Jerica sprang to her feet and sprinted towards her.

40 words

Evaline had to bit back the smirk as she noticed Jerica from the corner of her eye sprinting towards them. She finished the drink and set the jar down, picking up a sandwich she was eyeing and holding it with both her hands.

"Let's limit ourselves to one food item and far for now," she said when Jerica was in auditory range. "We need to ration is out in case we stay here longer."

"Yes, mother," Jerica answered sarcastically, slowing her pace ever so slightly as she approached, when she saw that Eve wasn't planning to guzzle down all the water after all. She pulled out another jar of water and took a long drink, then reached for an apple.

47 words

Evaline ignored Jerica's snarky comment, taking a bit of the sandwich but forcing herself to eat slower so that she could fool her stomach into thinking she didn't need as much food. Her mind raced to fill in the blanks for the future, figuring rations and calorie counts to remain healthy. She spoke again after swallowing, looking at Jerica sternly.

"You have more muscle mass than I do, so you should get more of the portions," she said. "I don't know if or when we'll get more food, but it'd be best for all of us if we minimize the amount of weight lost from lack of nutrients and energy."

Jerica hesitated, a mouthful of apple in. She chewed quickly, but contemplatively, as she tried to think through the implications of what Eve said. She was right. And Jerica wasn't sure what to do with that information. She put a hand over her abdomen, feeling the hard muscles and realizing that she didn't really have much weight that she could lose. "I'm fucked, huh?"

Evaline stared at her, only talking after her mouth was cleared of food. "I believe we were doomed the second we woke up from this odd world."