"Mealtime," Savannah hissed in my ear. I nodded absently, still half-asleep. Over time, my eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting of the room (it certainly doesn't help that everything –from the walls to the window panes- are painted black.). I no longer had to squint to see my hand in front of my face, and it's possible for me to distinguish each of the other kids not merely by the shape of their silhouette, but by their face features. It's like having cat eyes, I guess.

Meals were always a pain in the neck for me. There was never enough food to satisfy the needs of 22 growing children. Even if all of us got an equal share, we would still go to bed hungry.

That's why the strong started preying on the weak. The Careers were ruthless, taking more than they should, bullying us weaklings.

"Quit daydreaming Drake!" I scolded, already moving gingerly towards the door. Anytime now it would open, with Devious or Zeus standing in the doorway, bringing with them 22 pieces of bread. They wouldn't bother handing it one by one to each of us; they'd throw it the whole bunch at us. If we don't catch our share, then one of the Careers would take it and we'd have to go hungry till the next mealtime –which is not for hours later.

Right at that moment, the door swung open, revealing a scowling Zeus carrying a small red sack. He just needed a Christmas hat and a bushy white beard and he'd pull off the macho Santa look –except he wasn't here to give us presents. He then overturned the sack, threw the contents at our direction and slammed the door shut.

My ear barely registered the sound of the lock clacking in place, as I was fighting tooth and nail to get my hands on one of those stale breads. The place was total chaos. The Careers were shoving people away, kicking and punching if needed. I heard yelps and whimpers of pain from their victims.

My fingers grazed the smooth, slightly greasy surface of the bread and I quickly grabbed it, a little too hard. No matter, squished bread is better than none. I then retreated back towards the wall, to my –our, now that I'm sharing it with Drake- 'territory'. Drake wasn't there yet, but amidst the mass of bodies still fighting for bread, I stood no chance in locating him.

Once again, I didn't get any bread.

I must've broken the record for number-of-times-kid-in-captivity-fails-to-get-food. Not proud of it.

I just had rotten luck. I always do. Today, for instance, I actually had my hands on one of the bread; I'm not lying. And then, one of those girl Careers from 2 approached me from behind and punched me hard. I knew she was after the bread, but I held on tight to it. 'No way am I gonna give this to you!' I thought.

The girl decided to teach me a lesson for my stubbornness. Her elbow connected with the side of my head, leaving me seeing stars, and then shoved me none too gently (seriously what does she do at home?! Kill full-grown bulls?!). Next thing I knew, my head struck the wall and I blacked out.

Savannah was trying to rouse me by slapping my cheeks gently. I sat bolt upright and immediately regretted doing so as my head throbbed with sharp pains. I groaned, feeling as if I had just played lab rat for one of those ancient torture device where nails are pushed into the head.

"What happened to you?" Savannah asked, eyebrows creased in worry.

"Umm… you know, got shoved I guess, kinda hazy, don't remember," I mumbled, flustered. I wasn't about to tell her I got beaten up by a girl.

"Yeah well, be careful next time," she sighed. "Here, saved you this." She threw half a bread into my lap. It took an enormous amount of willpower not to shove the whole thing into my mouth instantly. My stomach growled at the sight of it. I was ravenous.

"Are you sure?" I asked tentatively, horrified at myself for wishing for her to say 'Go ahead' or 'Eat up'.

She must have somehow read my thoughts or something, as she smiled, amused, and gestured for me to have the bread. "Go ahead, eat up."

I don't know what came over me, maybe happiness or relief, but I found myself flinging my arms around her. She gave a surprised 'Oh!' as I hugged her tight. Her face was beet red when I let go.

"Many thanks, kind lady," I said, while biting off one end of the bread.

Savannah could only nod.

Thank you Lya200 for always reviewing! Much appreciated! ^^