Fed Up by Jessica Conant-Park, Susan Conant Read Free Book Online Page A

Francie, can you hear me?” I uselessly dabbed the towel on her face.
    Francie made a small, throaty noise and groaned softly. Almost inaudibly, she said, “Oh, shit.” Her eyes were barely open, and her skin had a gray tinge.
    I heard footsteps and then Josh’s voice. “Chloe, is there another bathroom up here? I’m not feeling so great.”
    “Josh! You need to call nine-one-one! Get an ambulance! Now!” Panic had set in. My own voice sounded distant and unfamiliar. “Get an ambulance!” I screamed.
    Looking up, I saw Josh grab one of the yellow towels. Then he retreated to the hallway, where I could hear him being violently sick.
    “Oh, God,” I whispered to myself. Then, in spite of the nauseating stench, I took a deep breath and bellowed, “Robin! Leo! Help! Call an ambulance! Help! Help me! ”
    Footsteps heralded the arrival of Robin and Leo, and I heard Robin say, “God, it smells awful here,” and then, “Josh, what are you doing?”
    I was still kneeling on the floor next to Francie. Rising a little, I again pleaded for help. “Call an ambulance! Francie is . . . For God’s sake, call an ambulance!”
    Instead of responding to the emergency, Leo stepped into the bathroom. “Francie?” he asked. “Francie, get up! You don’t want people to see you like . . . We’d better get you to bed. The smell in here is . . . what a mess!” He held his hand to his nose and mouth.
    Robin poked her head in and quickly withdrew.
    “Chloe,” Leo said, “can’t you open the window? And help get Francie—”
    When I’d first seen Francie, I’d also failed to grasp the reality of her situation. Still, I was furious at Leo. “Never mind the damned window!” I snapped. “Call an ambulance! Now!” I reached and almost punched Leo on the leg. “Go! Call nine-one-one!”
    “Chloe, shut up!” Robin called out. “Cut the hysterics!”
    “This is an emergency!” I insisted. “Call an ambulance!”
    Robin, apparently addressing Leo, said, “Well, now we know why Francie thought the food tasted bad. She was obviously coming down with a stomach bug. That norovirus thing. Is that what you call it? And she was starting to feel sick.”
    “Josh?” I called out. “Josh, are you okay? Can you get to a phone? Please! Please call for help!”
    Josh cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m all right now, I think.”
    I looked down at Francie, whose eyes were now shut. “Francie? Francie?” I rolled her onto her back and shook her. At first she appeared to be unconscious, but when I leaned my ear against her chest, I didn’t hear the ragged breathing anymore. “Francie?” I was yelling now, repeatedly saying her name in the vain hope of rousing her. There was no response from her. Nothing. Nothing at all.

FIVE

    I practically had to leap over Josh to get out of the bathroom. Then I flew down the stairs, my heart racing and my vision nearly blurred. All I can remember is being hell-bent on getting to the phone that I remembered having seen on the wall near the stove.
    When I burst into the kitchen, I almost slammed into Digger, who grabbed me by both arms. “An ambulance is coming,” he said. “What the hell is wrong? Is Josh okay? He ran out of here so fast.”
    “He’s sick, too, Digger. I’m really scared,” I said. My eyes began to water as I leaned into his chest. “I think Francie is dead.” I was almost whispering. “I have to sit down.” I was starting to feel queasy myself. Maybe Leo had been right about opening a window. The sickening odor seemed to cling to me. Or maybe fear was wrapping my stomach in knots. Digger led me to a chair just as Josh entered the kitchen. He now looked more grim than ill, and I thought that I knew why: if Francie were still alive, Josh wouldn’t have left her alone.
    I found myself sitting next to Marlee, whose presence I hadn’t even noticed. She was rubbing her forehead with one hand. Her face was pale and damp. “My stomach is really hurting,” she said.