Hunger- An Empty Stomach Tale

Chapter Four- Another Guest

"Haha I forgot about your Mrs Higgins impression." Hanna laughed.
"Public school was wild." Asher rubbed Hanna's head, which was still resting on his stomach.
"At least we both discovered our love for tummy noises there." Hanna laughed.
"Speaking of which, I think it's my turn." Asher smiled, pushing Hanna's head off of his abdomen.
"Oh, yeah, where are my manners?" Hanna lied down flat and rolled up her shirt, revealing the rest of her sunken-in stomach.
Asher laid his head gently down onto it, pressing the soft skin of Hanna's midsection to his ear. Under the skin, the beast that was her neglected digestive tract let out a long, gutteral noise. Deep gurgles eminated from her intestines as they writhed in hunger, trying to digest air in lieu of the food they'd been deprived of.
"Damn, Hanna, what is going on in there? Did you replace your stomach with a rabid bear, or am I just hearing the thunder from outside?" Asher laughed, the sheer volume of Hanna's hunger noises hurting his ears.
"Haha, you know better than anyone else that my stomach starts making ungodly noises when it's not fed." Hanna stretched slightly, forcing another loud noise out of her insides.
"Sounds like you could use the rest of that chicken sandwich right about now, huh?" Asher joked.
Hanna's stomach spasmed with hunger at the thought of any food, "Don't even mention food to me right now, Asher. I'm starving..."
"I can tell." Asher laughed.

The two friends' conversation was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing.
Asher got up first to investigate, cautiously approaching the door.
The bell rang again.
Asher opened the door, revealing a soaking-wet, skinny college-age girl with loose brown curls wearing soaked jeans and a grey hoodie.
"Hi," She said, shivering slightly, "Um, my car broke down a few miles back and I was wondering if I could, you know, weather out the storm here?"
"Uh... This isn't really our house, we just found it empty and really needed a place to sleep too, so sure I guess." Asher didn't want to turn the girl down when she was in the same position he and Hanna were the previous night.
Hanna walked in and saw the girl, "Oh, hi." She said, not knowing who the stranger was, "You couldn't find anywhere to stay either?"
"Nope, there is literally nothing out here for miles." She said, still shivering.
"Yeah, haha," Hanna said, "Looks like you could use a hot shower. There's a bathroom down the hall and some dry clothes in the closet. They're not ours but as long as we wash them I'm sure the owners will understand given the circumstances."
"Oh, thank you." The girl rushed to the bathroom.

Around ten minutes later, the girl walked back into the living room where Asher and Hanna were having a conversation, wearing some dry jeans and a white t-shirt that she presumably borrowed from the closet.
"Hey, you feel better?" Hanna asked.
"Yeah, thank you guys so much." She said.
"It's nothing." Hanna replied.
"So, what brought you around here?" Asher asked.
"I was driving home from a university thing but I got lost after it got dark, then my car broke down in the middle of the storm." The girl replied.
"Oh, that sucks." Asher said sympathetically, "Our car was working last night, but a tree fell on it and so now it doesn't really do us any good."
"I guess not haha," The girl laughed awkwardly.
"So, what's your name?" Hanna asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry haha my name is Hazel. What're yours?" Hazel said sheepishly.
"I'm Hanna." Hanna replied.
"Asher." Asher said.
"It's really nice to meet you guys." Hazel said.
"Good to meet you too." Asher replied.
Suddenly, a low-pitched noise eminated from Hazel's midsection.
She grabbed her stomach tightly, "Haha sorry," she laughed, embarrassed, it's been... Gosh I think a few days now since I've eaten. You two wouldn't happen to have any food here, would you?"
Hanna's stomach growled loudly in response, answering Hazel's question.
"So I guess your stomach is telling me 'no,' then?" Hazel joked.
"Afraid so, Hazel." Hanna rubbed her stomach gently, "There's no food here."
Asher gestured to Hanna, "Neither of us have eaten since lunch yesterday."
"Damn," Hazel pouted, her stomach letting out a disappointed wimper.
"So why haven't you eaten in so long?" Hanna asked, "You said it's been a couple of days."
"You know, college student, no money." Hazel laughed, "I'm on the volleyball team, and we had a game out of town, which was I was out here to begin with. The trip was a couple days long, though, and food wasn't provided. The restaurants we went to as a team were expensive and I only brought gas money, so I just decided to wait until I got home."
"Wow, that's tough." Hanna said, "That's like what, two days?"
"Well, today is monday," Hazel recounted, "Nothing yesterday because I got lost driving home, nothing Saturday because of the game, nothing Friday because of driving there... Oh, and I didn't have dinner Thursday because I forgot to go shopping. So that makes... Five days."
"Five days with no food?" Asher exclaimed.
"Oh, and lunch was light on Thursday- just a bowl of Ramen, and I didn't eat breakfast either.
"Hazel, are you okay?" Hanna asked, slightly worried.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, definitely." Hazel reassured them, her words being contradicted by her stomach letting out another roar, "I'm used to skipping meals."
"For almost a week?" Hanna doubted.
"Okay, maybe not for a week, but I'm fine." Another painful-sounding noise erupted from Hazel's midsection- it sounded like her stomach was trying to strangle her from the inside,
"My stomach is aching a little bit from the hunger but it's nothing."
Asher and Hanna looked at her doubtfully.