23

Almost overnight, kids start missing school because of colds, flus, ear infections, and stomach bugs.

“Amber has protected us since birth,” Miss Patel explains. “Now that the rations have been decreased, there’s not as much of it in our bodies to boost our immune systems and fight off germs.”

“Are we all going to die?” Anton asks.

Miss Patel smiles. “No, Anton. But we will have to deal with the occasional sniffle from now on.”

The looks on the other kids’ faces seem to say that getting the sniffles is almost as bad as dying.

For the rest of the day, everyone is oddly quiet and serious. Finally, the last bell rings.

“Mira,” Miss Patel calls as we pack up our things. “Can I see you for a moment?” Her tone tells me I’m not in trouble, but I’m still nervous as I approach her desk.

“Yes, Miss Patel?” I ask.

“I thought you’d like to know that we got a letter back from the children’s magazine,” she says, holding out a thin envelope. Her face is glowing with excitement. “Your story has been accepted as a finalist!”

“A finalist?” I repeat in disbelief.

“There are nine others that were chosen,” she explains, “including one by another student from our school. The judges will choose one of the ten as the winner, but even getting this far is such an incredible honor, Mira! Your story was chosen as one of the best.”

As I scan the letter, happiness washes over me like warm sunlight. For a second, all the worries of the past days fade away. The judges liked my story. They really liked it! Even though I wrote it before I’d even tasted Amber, it was still good enough to be noticed!

Suddenly Miss Patel lets out a little groan and leans back in her chair, holding her fingers to her temples.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“Oh, yes,” she says with a soft laugh. “I have a bit of a headache. I get them once in a while, but Amber has always eased the pain. These days, I guess we have to learn to deal with those little aches the way that other people have been doing for ages.”

“My mother gets headaches sometimes,” I tell her. “She has pills sent from overseas. They’re just for pain.”

She smiles. “Thanks, Mira. Maybe I’ll try to find some of those.”

I turn to leave, but then I hesitate. “Miss Patel, do you think the rations will ever go back to normal?” I’ve seen stories on the news about more and more towns cutting them like we have.

She thinks for a moment before answering. “Some people claim this is temporary to get the supply back up and to lessen our overall dependence on Amber. Others say the new rations are here to stay.”

“What do you say?”

“Well, back when the rationing first began, people were told it was temporary. That turned out not to be the case.”

“So the rations are going to stay this way forever?” I ask. How much longer can I keep sneaking doses from my parents’ stash before they notice it’s missing? How will Daniel’s family manage to keep Mikey healthy?

“I think so,” Miss Patel says. “Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless they’re cut even more.”