Marigold by Heather Manheim (best books for 8th graders .TXT) 📕

slowly got off the bed and gathered a few things so she could go shower. She wanted to go clean the cuts in her hand and get ready for dinner tonight. She wished she could wash away the wound in her soul, too.

~

After her shower, Davis dressed and, after putting her items back in her room, worked her way back to the dining room. She was also keeping her eyes open for Quinn. Davis spotted Quinn in the kitchen, prepping for dinner. “Hi, Quinn. Do you have any kind of first aid kit, bandages? I somehow cut myself,” said Davis, hoping that Quinn would hand over the needed supplies with no questions asked. Luckily, Quinn nodded and walked her down the hallway a bit to a very white and sterile-looking room smelling of antiseptic. “This is the medical room. We have basic supplies in this unlocked cabinet, and then more advanced things Duffy and Hernandez, our medical team, have to be here for.” She opened the first cupboard as she was speaking and reached in to pull out a first aid kit. She handed it to Davis and told her that it would have ample supplies.

“Do you need any help? You’re okay?”

“Yes, fine, thank you. Just a small cut on my palm.” Davis said a quiet word of thanks to herself when Quinn just nodded as she walked out and told her she’d be fixing dinner if she needed anything else.

Davis went about cleaning her hand again in the sink in the room and then pressed some towels on it to dry up the water. Luckily, the bleeding had stopped, and she found some wound cleaner and ointment in the kit and some gauze to wrap around. She tried to do as inconspicuous as job as possible, but she realized that would be impossible. No way anyone would miss this. Trying to think about what she could say about what happened, but she had no idea. Replacing the first aid kit, she decided to stick with not knowing how it happened. Then Davis worked her way back to the kitchen to speak with Quinn.

When she walked in, she saw Quinn cutting food for dinner. Quinn turned and faced her, cheerfully saying, “You okay? Can I get you anything?”

“No, thank you. Do you need any help?”

“I’m almost done. By the way, you’ll meet Hernandez and Duffy tonight. And Namaguchi is back too. Just didn’t want you to be surprised by the new faces.”

“Great, thanks. Should I just go wait in the dining room?”

“Sure, I’ll be in there in a few minutes.”

Davis walked into the room, but there was nobody there yet. She sat down and sipped the water that was already sitting there for her. Feeling tired, she put her hands on the table, elbows out to the side, and then rested her head atop her hands. Her head was still spinning and pounding in intermittent bursts; she also felt random different throbs and aches. After she relaxed a few moments, she felt a hard bump on her extended elbow. She opened her eyes and peeked out under her arm. Buster, the large gray cat, was bumping her arm with his forehead. He would tilt his head, give her elbow a substantial bump, then turn around in a circle, almost prancing on his velvety feet. A slight hump in his back and his tail held high. Then, he came around again for another bump. Davis lifted her head and started petting the cat, who got his purr motor going in low, grumbly satisfaction.

Quinn walked into the dining room with a large salad bowl. Davis stood up as if in embarrassment that she was petting Buster. Quinn just smiled a friendly grin, sat the salad bowl down, and then took a smaller bowl filled with something to the corner. Buster immediately forgot all about Davis and shot over to that corner without hesitation. He stuck his broad head into the bowl and started chowing down vigorously. Quinn quipped to Davis as Buster ran to the dish, “I see you’re making friends with Buster,” she said. “He’s a sweet cat. I saved him when he was a kitten. He was roaming around the solar panels we have.”

“Solar panels. Yes, I think Audrey mentioned those. How do you keep those hidden from troops and such?” asked Davis.

“Well, first, we’re pretty far out from anywhere. We are not near any Pods or government centers, factories, or schools. Second, they are somewhat hidden. Most look like rocks and boulders. Ringo had an ingenious idea with those. But we do have to go out occasionally and dust them off, clean them a bit. That’s where I found Buster, chasing after a lizard or something near the panels. I couldn’t find his mom, so I brought him back here.”

“I see Buster beat feet—or I guess beat paws—to that dish. What does Buster eat, by the way? Or, do I want to know?” said Davis with a nervous smile.

“Well, honestly, I don’t love to think about it, but we are under a bit of a hillside. Mice and moles, little lizards, and things do get in here occasionally.” At this comment, it was Quinn’s turn to look nervous and seem unsure of herself. She brushed the bit of hair that fell over her eye and twisted her lips up and gave a sort of what can you do puff of breath. “On the less gruesome side of things, we also have some freeze-dried eggs, chicken, and fish. We give him a little bit of that when we have our dinner.”

“Oh, that’s interesting…” Davis’s words trailed off as her thoughts wandered; her eyes stared off into space.

Quinn could tell that Davis was slightly uncomfortable. Not sure of herself or what to say. “Well,” said Quinn, “I’m going to get the rest of the plates. The rest of the crew should be here in a few moments. We have a dinner bell.” At this, Quinn looked like she had a genius