"Don't expect the food to be good or anything," Madelynn said, snorting.
"Who said I did?" I replied, chuckling.
"Everyone on their first day wonders how bad the food could be; well, the answer is worse than you might think. You'll see," she replied, shaking her head.
It can't be that bad, right?
Lunch was pasta with meatballs that looked like they had been in the freezer since the Jurassic era. I hoped that it was the herbs that made it green and not the spoiled nature of them. Whatever the case, I couldn't just not eat.
As soon as I took a bite out of it, I felt every negative emotion out there seize me at once; it was as if I had opened Pandora's box itself, minus the hope part. I genuinely hadn't eaten something so horrible in years. The nastiest thing I've ever eaten was a spider that I somehow mistook for a raisin; it tasted extremely bitter and nearly made me puke my guts out.
"Oh, oh wow..." I said, pausing in place.
"So, how bad was it?" Madelynn asked, trying her best not to burst out laughing.
"It's like feeling every negative emotion out there at once. I've experienced bad before, but this is probably rock bottom... This is the equivalent of having the stomach flu," I said, trying not to throw up.
"Now get ready for this, you have to eat it, or they'll think you're anorexic and force you to eat. And if you throw up after eating for any reason, they'll most likely consider you to be bulimic," she said, shaking her head with one of her eyes twitching repeatedly.
"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.
"What?" she asked in confusion.
"Your eye, it's twitching."
"Oh, that... It's called uh tardive dyskathesia or something. My meds cause it, it sucks, but it's better than hallucinating, I guess..."
"Ah... Well, I'll try my best not to throw up, but it's a little hard not to," I said right before gagging.
"Distract your mind; it'll help you," she said, thumb wrestling with her thumbs. I have no idea how that was supposed to work.
Just twenty more bites left...
YOU ARE READING
The October Amaryllis
Science FictionClive Andrews is a typical 16-year-old boy who never had anything out of the ordinary happen until May 16th, 2020, when he was struck by several feet of ball lightning and nearly killed. After being discharged from the hospital, he realizes that he...
