The Darwin Project

Chapter Two

This is one of the more longer chapters in my story but I think it really sets the backround and introudces a lot about the characters. Thanks for reading! Please review if you have time, I REALLY appreciate it! I’ll post more soon so don’t forget to follow J

-Miranda

Chapter Two:

“Jess! Mom says it is time to get up!” a small voice demands. I groan and roll over in my bed.

“Gracie, five more minutes,” I protest, tucking my head under my pillow to block out both the noise and the sunlight.

“No! Mom said now, you gotta get up!” Gracie snaps angrily. With her sweet face, big green eyes, and wavy blonde hair, people think she’s an angel. Obviously, they haven’t seen her at six-thirty in the morning. I pretend to snore, partially to gain me more time in my bed, partially for the fun of messing with Gracie. She smacks my arm and stomps out of the room, calling for mom. I rub my stinging skin and sit up, chuckling a little. She’s quite the drama queen for a fifth grader. Having siblings means that you don’t have the luxury of privacy. I used to have my own room, but when Gracie was born, my mom added a bed to my room to make space. When Ben was born, he was plopped right in with Gracie because we couldn’t afford another bed. There wasn’t another spare room in the house anyways. When Ty turned seventeen, mom offered to let Ben stay in his room for the duration that Ty was away from home, but that just made Ben cry. Ben really looks up to Ty; he’s always trying to copy whatever Ty does. I think he missed Ty more than any of us, and sleeping by himself was scary for him, so he stayed in my room with Gracie and me. Most days, I don’t mind sharing a room with my younger siblings. I have no other option, so it’s hard to imagine living in a room by myself. Honestly, I don’t think I’d like being alone all the time. But sometimes, it’s a real pain. Like this morning, when Gracie had gone through our closet, our clean clothes strewn our on the floor as she tried to find her school uniform. Or the fingerprints on our peeling walls or the glass of our mirror. Or Ben leaving his toys out on the floor in the exact spot that I decide to put my foot down getting out of bed. I cry out in pain as my foot lands on a tiny toy train. I pick the tank engine up off the ground, tossing it into the meager pile of toys in the corner of our room, and hobble to the kitchen.

My mom is already up, making oatmeal on the stovetop. My stomach growls, and I realize just how hungry I am and how long I have been craving a hot breakfast. We only eat hot breakfast on special occasions, if we get breakfast at all. Usually, mom tries to give what we have to Gracie and Benjamin first, and then gives Ty and me food if there’s anything left over. We can handle the hunger pains better than they can.

NWA rations each family a number of points for food and resources every month based on the age and gender of family members, parents’ jobs, average household income, and children’s grades and aptitude tests. Each family then pays money to purchase these points and redeem them in local stores. Technically, NWA is supposed to give my family a price cut since we only have one parent to support us. However, NWA counts Ty as a provider for our family since he’s legal now and living at home, even though he doesn’t earn very much money. We can’t afford to purchase all of the points NWA rations us most months, and so NWA puts our the food and resource points that we don't purchase up for bid in an auction for the rich. It makes me sick to think about it for too long.

“Morning, mom,” I say with a yawn.

“Good morning, Jessalyn,” she says, the weariness in her voice evident. Usually she sleeps through the morning because she doesn’t get home from the night shift at the hospital until 6 am.

“Oatmeal today,” I observe.

 “Oh don’t try that on me today, you know why,” she replies with a weak smile, scooping a small spoonful of our precious sugar supply into the boiling mixture, “It’s not every day your eldest daughter turns 17.”