I gave it back to Constantine.I could barely read the cover, I doubted I’d be able to read whatever was inside.
“Is that all that’s in there?” Eisley asked.
“For now, but a Father said if we’re good and memorize some of the books, he’ll let me bring more stuff down.”
“When can we go up there?” I asked.
The door flew open and the Mother from before returned with a milk gallon filled with water and a paper plate with peanut butter sandwiches. She placed them on the floor and pulled out three apples from her large dress pockets.
“The Minister has blessed you; I see.” She eyed the books in our hands. “Congratulations.”
Over the next few weeks, the three of us poured over the books. Eisley was fascinated by the plant books and spent as much of her time reading and memorizing all the fancy names for things. I took in Constantine’s words and began focusing on the other book.
If we wanted to get out, we needed to show the Minister we were good. The next time I saw him, I would recite as much of his manual as I could. I didn’t understand most of it, but I knew how to memorize.
One day, as I sat facing a corner, working on a page, Constantine returned from one of his upstairs trips.The door was shut instantly behind him, and he hurried to Eisley, who lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
We were being punished again. Eisley had asked for more toilet paper, and one of the Fathers accused us of being wasteful. We hadn’t been fed in three days.
“I have something,” Constantine whispered. “They let me go outside.”
I whirled around.“You went outside?”
Constantine nodded. “It’s raining, and the Minister wanted to do a sermon in the rain.”
His clothes were drenched, I realized.
“How long were you gone?”Time meant little to us here. And while I hadn’t been outside in a long time, I knew that a simple rain couldn’t have done that much damage.
Constantine’s eyes darkened. “A while. It was thundering when they took me inside. The Fathers and the Minister are still out there.”
“You said you have something?” Eisley interrupted. She sat up and eyed him with hope.
I hated how she looked at him every time he came back as if he had a magical key to get us out. Never once was his backpack filled with more than hopes and dreams that could never come true.Constantine dug into his pockets and pulled out fistfuls of yellow flowers. I squinted. I remembered those. They used to pop up in my yard at home.
“Dandelions,” Eisley gasped.
“We can eat them.” Constantine handed one fist to her and a second to me.
“Go slow,” Eisley reminded me.It was another two days before they brought us anything. Thankfully, Constantine had stuffed his pockets with the yellow flowers. While it wasn’t filling, I think it made us feel better.
I continued to sound out the long words and try to understand the manual, all while Constantine and Eisley huddled on the bed, so close they were touching, and read the plant books.Suddenly, I felt… angry.Why didn’t she ever come and read with me?Why didn’t Eisley ever ask me if I could get us out of here?
Sure, Constantine left and brought things back more often than I did, but I was doing what I’d been told, learning the book. Once I knew it all, I could convince them to set us free.Every day, I grew more and more upset over how close she and Constantine were, until finally, one day while Eisley was in the bathroom throwing up water from having drank too much in an attempt to feel full, he approached me.
“Why are you mad?” he asked me.
“You and Eisley are friends, and she doesn’t like me,” I confessed.
“She likes you.” Constantine shook his head. “We’re all friends.”
“No, she doesn’t.” I stood and waved the floppy book in his face. “I’ve been reading and—”
Constantine put his hands on my shoulders, and I stopped talking. His blue eyes poured deep into mine.“I know. Don’t tell her.”
“But she’s going to have to—”
“She won’t have to. I’m not going to let that happen. Eisley loves us both. We can share her.”
