Fed Up - By Jessica Conant-Park & Susan Conant Page 0,16

than it had been before. She had a greenish tinge, and her damp hair clung to her cheeks. “I heard the ambulance,” she said. “Chloe, get someone to help me, would you? I’m sick. I’m so sick.”

You and everyone else, I wanted to say. What I actually said was, “I’m not too well myself, and neither are—” I broke off. What if Marlee was becoming as horribly ill as Francie had been? “I’ll see if I can get someone,” I promised. With that, I made my way to the front hall, where the outside door stood open. Through it, I could see more official vehicles than I expected: two police cruisers and two big ambulances. As I stood there wondering how to summon help for Marlee—holler loudly? actually venture upstairs?—a handsome young EMT came bounding down, and at the same time, Josh appeared through the wide doorway to the living room.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” I said to the EMT, “but there’s someone in the kitchen who wants help. She’s sick, too. And so are—”

“I’m going to check everyone out,” he assured me, “and then we’re probably going to take all of you to the emergency room.”

“I’m fine,” Josh claimed.

“No, he’s not,” I insisted. “He threw up all over the place.”

“Yeah, I did throw up. I feel okay now, though. I’m fine.”

“Josh, you don’t know that!” I insisted. “But the one who’s feeling really bad is Marlee. And Digger is sick, too.”

“Give me a minute,” the EMT said.

“We’ll be in the kitchen,” I told him. “It’s in there, through the dining room.”

The EMT hurried out through the front door. As Josh and I were on our way to the kitchen, we paused in the dining room to exchange a few words.

“Francie?” I asked.

He shook his head. “They had to do their thing, but . . .”

“I thought so,” I said. “Oh, Josh, I was with her when she died. Maybe that’s why I feel sick. Maybe I don’t have the same thing as everyone else. I can’t even tell.”

“Hey, we’ve got to get these guys to take a look at you. Like he said, get you to the hospital.”

“Marlee’s the one I’m worried about. She looks terrible. Not as bad as Francie was, but I’m scared that she’s—”

Josh held a finger to his lips. “Let the EMTs worry about her.”

“I have to see how she is,” I insisted.

When we entered the kitchen, I was relieved to find Marlee no worse than she’d been before. She was sitting at the table with Robin and Digger.

“Marlee, one of the EMTs will be here in a minute,” I said.

Robin spoke up. “I’m really queasy, too. I don’t feel right.” She was slumped in her seat and was idly fingering her drooping ponytail. “I can’t believe this. Is Francie really . . . ?”

Josh nodded. “Yes. Chloe was with her when she stopped breathing.”

“Oh, my God, Chloe! Are you all right? Come sit down here.” Robin pulled out another chair from the table.

“I’m okay.” I still felt weird, but I was too embarrassed to admit that I couldn’t tell whether I was sick or terrified.

Just as Josh opened his mouth to start arguing with me, the handsome EMT entered the kitchen in the company of a uniformed police officer, a large, muscular man with a neatly trimmed mustache. Before either of the men had a chance to say a word, Josh put a hand on my shoulder. “Chloe, you’re not okay.” Addressing the EMT, he said, “You need to take a look at her.”

I caught the EMT’s eye and gestured to Marlee. “I’ll be okay, but Marlee’s the one who really needs help.”

The police officer’s radio crackled loudly. He stepped to the far end of the kitchen and began muttering incomprehensible words. Interrupting the EMT, who was speaking softly to Marlee, he called out, “Where’d you get the food?”

“Natural High,” I answered. “The Natural High right near here.”

In an effort to be helpful, Josh began to give a detailed description of all the food we’d bought and all the dishes he’d prepared with such enthusiasm. I could hardly listen without crying for him. In the background, I heard heavy footsteps and the sound of the front door opening and closing. For a moment, everyone was quiet, as if we’d tacitly agreed to observe a moment of silence as Francie’s body was carried away. My head was spinning, and everything seemed to be simultaneously happening in slow motion and at warp speed. I couldn’t think