TEST ME

Swap

The rest of breakfast is pretty uneventful. Selena runs out of things to say, so excuses herself and leaves. Those that arrived first begin to drift off, having already eaten and therefore having no reason to stay, leaving the latecomers and my little band to spread ourselves out. However, Talia quickly gets bored and excuses herself, leaving me sat alone, so I go back to my cupboard and unlock it; I need to split up my food into meals. 

Wait...what? The food remains the same, but now I spot labels on the two shelves that I hadn't seen before: "Keep" on the top shelf and "Swap" on the bottom. There are similar labels inside my fridge-freezer, as well.

Okay, the game's changed again.

Bearing in mind I haven't actually tasted many of the foods laid out on my shelves, I decide to swap the stuff I might have trouble cooking, whilst trying to maintain I wide variety of foods. Chicken and pork go, along with foods with short eat-by dates, such as some of the fresh veg. It annoys me that I don't recognise some of the foods infront of me, so I swap those out as well. On the bright side, I won't look stupid when I ask someone what it is that I'm eating, or even worse, eat it wrong. I watched a boy try eat a banana with its peel still on at breakfast. I was doing my best to laugh silently, tears streaming down my face, before a girl next to him pointed out he was eating it wrong. He went as red as a tomato, and there is no way I am replicating that scenario. No, thank you.

During my thought meander, I don't notice the subtle breathing behind me and I don't notice him until he speaks:

"What're you doing?" A soft voice asks.

I turn around, to be nose-to-nose with Grego, the red-haired boy. His green eyes watch me suspicously, before jumping to my shelves and taking them in, hungrily, as though the new information empowers him. He notices my expression and relaxes his inspection, and I can tell he is holding back. I vaguely remember mentally noting to avoid this one, and so try to keep the conversation short.

"New labels. Did you see these on your cupboard? Because I'm sure I didn't see them when I was in here earlier." Well, maybe not that short.

"Uh, no. Maybe we were both just sleepy though. I for sure am no early bird." The boy bounces from foot to foot, and I can tell he's anticipating checking his own shelves, so I cut him off.

"I guess you should go check then." And with that, I swish my hair back, and continue sorting through. Now the main bit is over with, I try and plan the rest of my meals for today: fresh salad for lunch, followed by pre-cooked beef and more salad for dinner. It may not be the most adventurous menu, but I'm playing it safe.

Once I click my cabinet shut, my card pings and goes green. This worries me for a second before I look up, and spot Grego leaving with a green card around his neck, and I clock that this must mean I'm ready to swap. 

Worried murmuring draws me back to my group, who are all now adorned with red cards.

"What does this mean?"

"Have we lost already?"

"What did we do?"

Their volume quickly ascends, although I can hear anxious shouts coming from other parts of the house, and I spot a distressed boy running across the garden, his eyes welled up and threatening to spill over.

In their distraught state, they don't hear my voice among theirs, and I have to scream to rise above them.

"GUYS. GUYS! The red just means you haven't sorted your cabinet yet. Chill! Just check your cupboard!"I yell. 

Their twisted mouths all slowly change to 'O's as they realise what I'm saying, so I roll my eyes and turn around. Blocking my path out of the kitchen are a group of about 10 Subjects, all sharing the same expression my friends did. I roll my eyes again and sweep past them, a grin sliding onto my face at Talia's still-confused expression. Selena is standing next to her, waiting to enter the kitchen as the crowd bottlenecks, so I don't bother stopping to explain again. I'm sure Selena will enjoy doing it for me.

I enter my little suite and make use of the bathroom, then switch into a bikini. Feeling self-conscious, I add a loose-fitting white, floaty top and some jean-shorts. 

My card beeps and distracts me. Still glowing green, it displays all the numbers from 1 to 30, with 5, 25 and 26 faded out. I watch on in anticipation as some of the numbers disappear in pairs, before realising that the numbers represent people, that I probably have to swap with. 

The pool is fading fast and I know I need to decide who I want to swap with. I'm ready to press a random number when a new screen pops up, with the number 15 at its center, accompanied by a tick and a cross. I click the cross, thinking that there is no innocent reason he wants to trade with me. 

By the time I return to the previous screen, the numbers have halved and I pounce on the first I see, 1. After a few moments he accepts, and I watch our numbers fade from the screen.

It occurs to me to check on my friends, and I hurriedly look through the list of numbers. I'm well aware that there are an odd number of people here, and I dread to think what happens to the final remaining person. I watch 22 and 8 disappear, Nixa and Gley's numbers. They leave three numbers in their wake; 19, 2, and 6. I burst out of the wardrobe, ready to run for Talia, but the card goes red in my periphery. The number 6 expands to fill the red screen, before glow dulls and the card returns to white.