Deep in the woods, midmorning was approaching and birds were heard chirping, as were the sounds of feminine yawns, both young and old. Located in the middle of a large campsite were two large tents housing two girls each; one had Ginger Foutley and her mother Lois Foutley, the other housed none other than Courtney Gripling and her best friend Miranda Killgallen. The latter had crawled out of their tent while looking disheveled while Lois and her daughter came out of their tent and had their red curly hair wrapped up bandanas. The redheads came out with smiles, perfectly comfortable in the woods, while the pampered blond and her army brat best friend came out with a frown and a scowl. They glanced at the females from the Foutley family, expectation gleaming in their eyes.
Following their yawns their tummies also yawned in their own way by grumbling. The platinum blond rubbed her belly first, her dark haired friend following accordingly while the redheads patted them gently.
"Ginger, I'm hungry. My stomach is making me feel as though I'm empty. What are we eating? ," the young rich blond said as she flipped her tussled hair in reflex.
"Yeah, I'm hungry too. My belly feels emptier than last night before we had those marshmallows," the morena army brat grumbled.
"Ginger, I am pretty hungry. My belly is just as empty, go see what we have in the cooler," her mother rasped.
"Sure thing, Mom. I'm pretty hungry too now that you guys mentioned it, my stomach sure could use a refill," Ginger replied lightly, in her usual cadence.
Ginger walked over to where they had placed their blue cooler and gasped in horror when it fell into her line of sight. Their blue cooler was ransacked, the food they had packed had been ravaged, all that was left was the plastic wrappers, torn apart; not even crumbs were left. She got down on her knees and bent over to peer in the cooler only to see melted ice, more torn plastic wrappers, and dirt. Her heart dropped with knowing that they were now without food and far from the city. They had no plans on leaving the campsite soon, but now she was unsure; Ginger slowly lifted up her head, her eyes glimmering with disbelief.
Their stomachs chose that moment to collectively growl to announce more clearly how hungry they were and the sounds were met with tummy petting.
Ginger's eyebrows furrowed in worry, "Uh, guys? I'm just as hungry as any of you, and pretty empty considering everything, but, uhm… there's no more food," she finished softly, her lips pulling down into a frown.
"No food? Ginger, you must be joking ah heh," Courtney started, "There must be food. I'm positively peckish this morning. My perfect tummy is positively empty since it hasn't had anything since last night," sounding oddly optimistic considering her last experience with camping.
"What do you mean there's no more food?" Miranda began menacingly crossing her arms, "It's the first thing in the morning, I'm hungry, my belly is empty and our bodies have needs that must be met, one of them being food."
"Ginger, what are you talking about?" her mother's voice colored with disbelief as she started walking to where her daughter was standing; "We packed enough food for the whole trip. Stop joking around, we're all hungry and our stomachs need some nourishment, those marshmallows weren't meant to hold us off for the weekend."
Ginger squirmed where she stood, her arms behind her back looking guilty; shock keeping her from moving herself from the scene of the crime committed by the wood's regular residents. Her mother stalked closer to where she was, her face stern and serious, until she was able to see for herself exactly what her redheaded offspring was talking about. The redheaded matriarch's face morphed into one of incredulity while her heart filled with dread, not knowing how she was going to feed the three young girls in her care. Never one to back down having been a single mother and used to tough times, she straightened up her back, her belly protruding from the action, and began brain storming up a way to feed them all. Courtney continued to look at the mother and daughter pair expectantly, in such a way that it was assumed they were going to announce their not so hilarious joke any second that she would politely laugh at anyways while Miranda joined her sarcastically, perfectly balancing her out as she did in everything.
"Come now, Ms. Foutley, surely Ginger was just joking. I'm starving over here, my belly is so empty it could be mistaken for the bottom of that poor excuse of a bathroom we had to use yesterday," she said lightly, her face smiling hopefully, prepared to laugh politely at their poor joke.
"Well I'm sorry to say this Courtney, but Ginger was not joking apparently, we've been ransacked by what appears to be raccoons from the looks of it. Don't panic, I'm hungry too, my belly is just as empty as yours, but we'll survive until we catch breakfast or brunch," Lois said strongly, her stance as sturdy as her words with a touch of exasperation.
"Brunch? I'm hungry now," Miranda muttered under her breath, "Ms. Foutley, my stomach is more hollow than the dead tree we tried to hide the cooler in, and you make it sound like we're going to catch our own food for the rest of this trip. I'm hoping that my brain is still clouded with enough sleep that I'm misunderstanding you," she finished respectfully to the older woman who birthed her friend-nemesis.
"I'm hungry too Miranda but I understand what Mom is saying. Raccoons got into our food and ate it all, so we're either going to have to catch our food by fishing, or find stuff to make a nice stew or soup. I'm equally as empty as you and Courtney since we all had the same amount of marshmallows last night. So if we want to eat at all today we're going to have to get it ourselves. If it makes up for anything I know what plants are herbs and spices and where to find them in these woods," the soft redhead said self-consciously knowing that it was her fault the raccoons got into their food since she forgot to double check if the cooler was closed tightly.
Miranda look at Ginger through slanted eyes, her suspicions roused at the way the redhead was holding herself, like she was guilty, and if the predator in her knew anything about people through body language it was weakness. The platinum blond next to her that was her best friend was devastated to know that the absence of their food was no trick or in any way the Foutley women's feeble attempts at humor, middleclass or otherwise. Her pretty face fell instantly recalling her last experience with the outdoors, being ravage by mosquitoes and the like, but at least then she didn't have to fend for herself and find food, she didn't understand why they wouldn't just leave to go get more food or bring the trip to an abrupt end, it was much more favorable in her opinion. Courtney's redheaded friend then sighed in morose acceptance and went to prepare for their trip to find sustenance decent enough to feed them for what she hoped was the rest of their trip so they did not have to do this every time they woke up. The pampered blond went back into her tent to change, her best friend following suite so they could dress appropriately for what was quickly becoming a terrible and trying day.
Their bellies rumbled with hunger and protest at not being fed, and all they were able to do was rub their bellies to try to fend off their hunger.
"Miranda, I hope we find thing appropriate for our meals soon, I'm famished. My poor tiny tummy just feels so… so… so empty! There's no other word for it right now," she whined to her dark haired companion.
The army brat sighed, a defenseless frown on her face showing her best friend how upset she was with the current state of events, "I know Court, me too. I'm hungry too. My stomach is just as bare and hopefully my summer camp training is enough to help us finish our… mission, quickly and successfully. It'll be easier since Ginger knows what we're looking for to at least make our meals palatable," she finished reassuringly, even though it hurt her on the inside to admit such things to the blond.
Ginger looked over at her mother who was grabbing the fishing pole out from their tent and sighed, "Mom I'm hungry, do you think we'll be able to find our meal soon? I'm pretty empty and I don't know how well we'll be able to function on empty stomachs," she admitted nervously.
The redheaded matriarch looked at her daughter that had the same type of hair as she did, "Well if the fish are biting and you find enough spices and herbs we'll do just fine kid. My belly is bare and I'm hungry too, but hopefully the fish are hungrier," she finished, winking at her daughter hoping to lift some of her normally optimistic spirit, earning the thankful smile she was searching for.
At that moment the pampered blond and her army brat friend came out of their tent ready for the day's trials and headed over to their redheaded peer, frowns on their face silently announcing just how displeased they were with how things were transpiring already considering it was only the first day of their camping trip and they were already out of food.
"You girls are going to look for herbs and spices, and maybe some fruit if you're lucky. Ginger, you know what's poisonous and what's not, so don't let anything happen and don't bring us anything poisonous unless you want to be miserable for the rest of the trip. I'm sure Miranda knows just as much and you'll be done quicker than you know it, so you girls all work together. Don't go too far, I don't want you girls getting lost, so stay close to camp or the lake," Lois instructed carefully, one hand on her hip while the other held the fishing pole, "I'm going to go fish and catch our meal. I'll put the catches in the cooler and just wash it out with some elbow grease when we get home. If that doesn't work then I know Carl and Hoodsey will at least take it and it won't go to waste…," the last part was more to herself.
Ginger forced a smile at the two girls who had insisted on accompanying her on this camping trip, even though most of the insisting came from the blond looking forward to any opportunity to hang out with her and dragged her callous best friend with her. Although right now she was glad she wasn't the only one who knew how to survive the woods and wouldn't have to hold the pampered girl's hand the whole time they were looking for provisions to keep her from putting herself in harm's way.
"Come on now Ginger, you heard your mom, the sooner we go the sooner we can eat," Courtney said brightly, hoping that with both of her favorite people, who just so happened to know what they were doing in the woods, they would be able to finish their task quickly.
As soon as the words left her mouth their stomachs all whined and growled at the mention of eating soon. Courtney was the only one who made a sound of disappointment as they all patted their midsections, patronizing their bellies like sullen children.
"Hopefully we find everything soon, I'm faint with hunger. My poor tiny tummy has nothing in it but air," the platinum blond complained.
Miranda crossed her arms and huffed like her stomach didn't growl like everyone else's, "Let's get this over with. My belly is clear and I'm voracious," her tone taking its typical menacing quality that it normally was when she was displeased.
"Well my stomach's contents are vacated, so that just leaves me plenty hungry like you guys. It won't be so bad, most of the herbs grow sparingly spread out, but enough around this time of year for what we need," Ginger said hoping for a friendly atmosphere while they looked for their herbage.
"The more you girls complain, the hungrier you feel and the longer it takes," Lois stated motherly giving them a reprimanding look that she normally saved for Carl, "But boy am I hungry, my stomach just feels drained," she groused to herself under her breath.
The girls took the older woman's not so subtle hint and grabbed an empty bag heading out to into the thicket, Ginger taking the lead since she knew the woods better than the other girls who tagged along. While Ginger was actively looking for herbs, Miranda was keeping an eye and ear out for something better than fish, like rabbit, which she knew how to take care of thanks to her father's summer boot camp that forced them to survive nature in all her "glory". Courtney of course followed, staying close to both girls without any intention to help find food since she didn't know how and it was beneath her, but rather to help keep them company like a "proper" lady. Along the way of their walking Miranda found foliage that looked like a nice replacement for rope and set up a nice trap while pretending that she may have seen some sort of herb that would be good for dinner; thankfully neither girl noticed or else they may have scared off possible prey… or rather, possible dinner. They continued going forward reaching the end of a field and running into Ginger's mother as she was setting up to fish by the lake.
Their stomachs growled loudly like they were trying to sing a hymn. The girls frowned and all of them rubbed their stomachs trying to silence their bellies.
Lois made a sound of frustration at her traitorous stomach, "I can't wait to cook some of these fish. I'm starving to death, my belly feels like an empty saline bag," the matriarch complained softly.
Courtney made another miserable sound that sounded suspiciously like "mou", she looked at her best friend, "Miranda I'm so ravenous the idea of fish was at first appalling, but is slowly starting to sound really good. My tiny tummy is so void it's like a hobo's resume: empty."
Miranda looked back at her best friend through the corner of her eye and sighed, "I know Courtney, but we'll be eating as well as we can, considering our circumstances. My tummy is bare and I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."
Ginger frowned, ignoring her companions, "Oh man, I'm starving. My stomach feels hollow, like a dead tree stump," she muttered unintelligibly.
The redheaded mother huffed out her frustration and continued about setting up her impromptu fishing trip while her daughter and company got on with looking for herbs for their dinner, she hoped they would at least be able to make it taste good or else she was sure the young Grippling would go hungry this weekend. Courtney tossed her light colored hair over her shoulder, what little was left to hang loose, crossing her arms hoping to project the image of a fine lady who was certainly not hungry. Sadly the young Courtney Grippling was indeed very hungry, and was doing her best not to show it to the two stronger girls who were handling their hunger with deceptive ease. She knew that if they were lost in the woods compared to just camping and they had to actually survive anything that she would be the weakest link and would definitely be the first to… go; at that thought her heart dropped knowing she was expendable if things got any worse. A cold sweat started to break out on the young blonde's back in fear of their horrible camping trip getting any worse.
Their bellies whined and protested some louder than others and were met with little belly rubs to hush their midsections' fussing.
Courtney softly moaned her misery, "Oh Mama if you were here you'd see how empty my tummy is. J'ai faim," the blond bit her lip to try to hide her frown from her friends.
Ginger sighed dejectedly, "Ugh, I'm so hungry, I wish Macie were here, she'd have an idea of what to do… Heck, she might even know which tree to cut to try to taste or even Darren for his humor," she rubbed her tummy a little longer and then crossed her arms, careful of the few herbs she had.
Miranda growled softly to herself, "Ooh I can't wait to catch something to eat. I'm starving enough and my belly feels like it can't get any emptier, but watch Ginger's incompetence surprise me," luckily her voice was low enough that she was not heard by the docile redhead.
Lois grumbled to herself knowing that the girls couldn't hear her and if they did they would ignore her, "Hmph, these fish better be biting or I'm gonna be here all day. I'm so hungry I'd eat one of them raw if it didn't disgust me. I'm so hungry I can hear my stomach fluid splashin' around in there," she over exaggerated, mildly amused by her own sense of humor that came with being a nurse.
With that the older woman moved around until she found a big enough boulder by the freshwater lake to sit her large bottom on comfortably without getting it dirtier than it was bound to out in the wilderness, she let out an 'oof' as she sat down thankful that it was covered in moss. Along the edge of the lake she was set to fish at her daughter and company found a patch of mint, or at a closer look the mean spirited Miranda had spotted it and pointed it out to Ginger who proceeded to gather some leaves excitedly since that job appeared to be beneath both her and Courtney. Ginger stood up from her crouched position with a handful of mint that she was sure would come in handy later, if not for the food then for then for some sort of homemade healing ointment that Macie showed her how to make a few times to take the itch out of bug bites; it was sure to be useful since Courtney attracted them more than flowers did bees… with that she bent down and grabbed another handful sliding it into the bag strapped to her side. Miranda looked down at the redhead with a barely concealed sneer from her position, holding herself highly while keeping a sharp ear out for her trap eagerly waiting for a rabbit she was sure to come, her trap had not failed her in all her years of summer boot camp; she was more than grateful she was normally classified as mean since it meant her behavior would be overlooked. After the docile redhead was satisfied they had enough mint the girls moved on walking through tall grass spotting a nice patch of cattails they could use as a side dish and with enough of them, as clean plates.
Their tummies grumbled again, this time louder and longer awakening their desperate fears of starving and reminding them further just how long it had been since they ate. They all rubbed their tummies in a condescending motion all the while knowing they were only patronizing themselves.
Lois closed her eyes for moment taking a deep breath to keep from blowing her top, "I'll catch something soon, it is still early and fish bite when it's early," she said to herself with a growl underlying her words, "God I am so frickin' starving! The longer it gets the more my stomach feels like an empty bedpan," she sneered at the lake that hid their food.
Courtney's lip trembled as she tried to be strong whispering under her breath, "Mon estomacestaussi videque je pourrais mangerun loup… goodness I'm so hungry…" the young blond let out a small whimper.
The young redhead chewed on her bottom lip hoping to sway her hunger even just a little bit before sighing softly, "I'm beyond starving, if I didn't know it wasn't right, I would have started chewing on the mint leaves without sharing already… my belly can't keep being this empty without something bad happening, I'm sure," her thoughts churning trying to reassure herself that her mother was a nurse and would not let anything bad happen to them.
Miranda glared at her trap through the corner of her almond shaped eyes growling and grinding her teeth in her impatience, "I can barely hold out any longer," she said knowing as the words slipped through her lips she was lying, "I am famished and if I don't get food soon someone is going to get hurt," she finished menacingly to no one in particular, the air around her crackling with the familiar density that belonged to a stalking predator.
The dark haired girl growled a little lower and shifted her hips showing her impatience, startling and alerting her blond friend to her ever growing frustration who knew how to read the signs in her malicious counterpart. However even though being her best friend, they were in an area where she did not know much and would keep quiet letting her friend do what she must to help them survive, somehow knowing that she had been in this situation many times before with her "summer camp" activities; the young Grippling was at that moment extremely grateful that her Miranda and Ginger did not know each other well to keep the proverbial boat from shaking. Ginger who was oblivious to what was going on with the company around her, continued moving forward collecting herbage to lift her spirits and giving her a task to take her mind off her stomach delighted that she was doing something to help. Miranda quickly looked over at the younger Foutley to make sure she was not paying attention to where her real attention was even though she could tell that Courtney could; while part of her was angry at being caught the other half of her was happy to know that Courtney really was her best friend and knew almost everything about her, even if she was a bit shallow. Miranda shifted again in agitation, once again glad it fit in with her normal personality, as she keenly peered at her trap through the leaves for any movement only to become furious that there was no sign of life… yet.
At that moment their midsections decided to announce their anger at having their one main need be neglected. The stomachs were once again consoled with tummy rubs rather than the food they so desired.
The young army brat turned huntress seethed, "If I have to wait one more hour to eat and heads will roll. I'm hungry now, and I will eat and filly my empty stomach soon."
The young Gripping looked at her best friend hopelessly, "I'm hungry too Miranda, I hope your plan works, whatever it is. My stomach is the emptiest it's ever been… it's like being poor, but like, for my tummy," she whispered confiding to the mean spirited girl who had a special spot for her.
Ginger groaned willing away tears lost in her own world for a few moments, "I'm so hungry I'd start eating toes, but I have faith Mom will catch something soon. It's all about belief. I think therefore I am. I will eat and fill my hollow tummy…"
The older Foutley woman looked up at the bright sky with a large frown having only caught a few small sunfish, "The big fish better start biting soon, this will barely feed me once it's cooked and cleaned properly… I'm so hungry and so empty, the girls at work would have a field day if they knew with how much I snack. I mean if push comes to shove we can just spear them and cook them around the fire…" the redheaded woman started pondering softly to herself.
Ginger continued gathering all the herbs she could around the lake so they would be able to find their way back to camp while Miranda kept conspicuously keeping her attention trained on her trap. Barely twenty minutes had gone by before there was a snap, a twang, and pitiful squeak sounds that came from the direction of Miranda's trap, and without a moment's hesitation the dark haired army brat was gone. The dark haired girl zig-zagged across the terrain and was upon her prey within a minute or two leaving her fair company behind in bewilderment; the poor brown rabbit was shaking and helpless, his foot caught in the makeshift rope hanging him upside down about five feet in the air, he continued to squirm in hopes of being able to be freed, alas that was not to his fate. Miranda wrapped her makeshift rope around him a few more times so he wouldn't be able to move, squirm, or hurt her in any way while she cleaned and sharpened a fallen branch enough to spear him; and when she finished Miranda end him quickly with a grim but determined face, her lips pressed together in cold collected precision while her eyes gleamed with morbid pleasure and knowledge that this kill meant that there was meat to eat soon. She heard two gasps near her left side; the army brat glanced at them to gauge their reactions slightly self-conscious to have been caught killing another living thing, but at the same time not caring as she was pleased with her hunt.
The mere thought of rabbit stew made her stomach growl, which was only echoed by her surrounding company. They all rubbed their bellies in soft circular motions.
"Oh god, I'm so hungry, I don't think I can afford to be scandalized at what I just witnessed, Miranda. My stomach is just so empty! If anything I'm rather excited to know that we'll be having a meal that tastes more like chicken and doesn't swim in its own… business," the young blond prattled, slightly nervous at what she had just seen, but too hungry to really think about it in more detail other than the fact that it would feed her.
"Geez Miranda, that was... almost cruel, but it was quick so I guess that's okay," the redhead murmured demurely clearly uncomfortable with what she had seen, "I mean I know we're all hungry and our stomachs are pretty empty… but … I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's weird to see it even though I know I'm going to be happy to eat it. Thanks," she finished looking away from the huntress who was often cruel to her.
"Yeah well… I'm just starving and I know how to cook rabbit. Fish is good if you're on a diet, but rabbit is more filling and can be made into stew. My belly is so bare it's just the thought of rabbit stew that keeps me from eating the rabbit as it is now," the dark haired girl responded, her eyes taking on a crazed look as she turned to gaze at the dead rabbit.
"Geeze Louise I'm hungry! If it were just me I would just eat one of these Sunnies raw, like the Japanese do to fill my hollow stomach," Lois grumbled to herself, her ignorance and hunger coloring her words.
Miranda grabbed her prey by the ears to carry it and started walking to where their camp was, her fair companions following her, carefully watching the dead animal swinging in the huntress's arms bleeding out onto the earth with morbid fascination. As soon as they were in the clearing Ginger stalled before going and getting a pot of water from the lake to avoid watching Miranda skin the brown rabbit; it was sweet looking but she knew rabbit tasted good, she had it a few times, but it was strange to see what it looked like before it turned into meat in the pot and it made her very uncomfortable. Courtney had found a very sharp razor that she was using to shave her legs and gave it to Miranda to skin the rabbit, cringing at the gruesome sight and knowledge that her razor was ruined, but was mollified that she was able to contribute to their meal in any way and slightly pleased that it was her that had stayed with their huntress as it further fortified their friendship.
Miranda continued with her task, only glancing at the redheaded Foutley women when they returned from the lake and put the pot over an open fire, not comfortable with talking while she was cleaning her kill, and proceeded to cut the flesh into bite sized pieces while removing the innards as discreetly as she could while the redheads threw herbs into the pot, knowing that she was being watched and it was very uncute and very scary to see something be killed and then turned into a meal without any preparation; she was very grateful that Courtney was being helpful if a bit quiet. Their eyes all gleamed with a crazed kind of hunger even though they were appalled at the sight of the dead mammal, they were eager for the juicy meat it was going to turn into in their stew; no one was even marginally upset that Miranda was covered in the rabbit's blood as she tossed the pieces of meat into the boiling pot.
Their stomachs growled appreciatively as their rabbit stew cooked slowly enticing them with its warm scent and steam. They rubbed their midsections softly as Lois served them all a nice portion to fill their empty bellies. Tears of happiness flowed as they ate Miranda's delicious, once cute, hunt.
The End
Translations
J'ai faim – I'm hungry
Mon estomacestaussi videque je pourrais mangerun loup – My stomach is so empty that I could eat a wolf