Life Designed (Life Plan Series Book 1) by Eliza Taye (mini ebook reader TXT) 📕

They walked several streets to the grocery store in silence. The neighborhood changed into a bustling area with several small shops and businesses down the row.

April stopped in front of a small shop with a sign above it which read: Garamound’s Grocery in big thick letters. “There are several grocery stores in the area, but this one is my favorite. I know the owner personally. His name is Harold Garamound. If you show him you’re an honest person and willing to pay up when you can, he’ll let you get food on credit when you’re low.”

April leaned in closer to whisper in his ear, “But don’t go spreading that around. He doesn’t like people to know. He offers it to them only after seeing whether or not they’re worthy, but he’ll offer you the same courtesy if I vouch for you.”

With a smile and nod toward the door to the store, April walked inside.

Garrett followed her and started scanning the shelves. The grocery store differed from the ones he was used to in the Decided sector. Instead of aisles of fresh produce, he saw several rows of canned goods. The choices were limited compared to the variety he remembered in Decided stores.

Gulping, he perused the aisles searching for foods he liked. Checking the bread aisle, he looked for soven but didn’t find any. In fact, the entire bread aisle was only half full and consisted of a single type of bread.

“Find anything you like?” wondered April, watching him closely.

“Um, I’m just looking right now.” Garrett flashed her a quick smile and returned to perusing amongst the food and canned produce.

Someone else entered the store and April once again moved close to whisper to Garrett. “How much money did you earn today?”

Garrett’s heart began to pound at her nearness. It felt like several long minutes before the man who’d entered the store passed out of earshot. Trying to steady his pounding heart, Garrett replied, “Fifty trecins, but I had to spend ten of them to ride a transporter home.”

April nodded thoughtfully. “So you have 40 trecins left. In that case, I’d suggest you buy items that will last the longest. You’ll have to bring your own lunch to work. Otherwise, you’ll be forced to pay the exorbitant prices for food in the cafés or restaurants in the Decided sector. That is if you’re permitted enough time to eat lunch at one of those places.”

April began walking down the aisles, plucking items off the shelf, and placing them into his arms while explaining, “Bread is good because it’ll go far, but will spoil if you don’t eat it fast enough. If you have enough room, leave it in the fridge to keep it cold. Cheese, butter, and some canned vegetables will work too.”

By the time April was done adding food to his arms, Garrett was baffled by her wealth of knowledge on how to keep him feed with the least number of items. Although, he realized she probably knew only because she’d had to do it for herself and her mother before.

“Garrett,” April eyed him expectantly.

Garrett snapped out of his musings. “Yes?”

“That’s about all you can afford for today. You should hold back at least five trecins for an emergency.” April lowered her voice as she spoke.

Garrett looked down into his arms at the food there. For 35 trecins, he couldn’t buy much, but it should last him for a few days. “All right.”

When the two of them got to the register, Garrett eyed a sandwich on display to his left. His stomach growled as if to remind him that he hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast yesterday. Reaching for the sandwich, Garrett realized the price of it was three trecins, but for an additional two trecins, he could make it a meal with a drink and chips. It would be all the money he had left, but the gnawing in his stomach wouldn’t allow him to think of anything else.

“You should get them. You’ll be paid tomorrow, and you shouldn’t have any additional expenses today. Just try to save some trecins when you can,” advised April, her eyes a little sad.

Garrett glanced over at her ashamed that she had to see him like that, but another growl of his stomach had him reaching for the sandwich, chips, and drink. Placing it all on the counter, Garrett paid for it and left the store without a trecin to his name.

Out on the street, there was a table with chairs where fresh food purchased at the store could be eaten. Garrett sank into the chair and tore open the sandwich, taking a huge bite and swallowing it down with satisfaction. “Oh my, this is so good.”

“Yeah, I bet it is.” With concern, April asked, “When was the last time you ate?”

Garrett swallowed more of the food before responding, “Yesterday, right before the Declaration Ceremony.”

April nodded in understanding. “That’s a long while. You’ll have to be more careful. If you hadn’t been well-nourished before today and they’d given you a hard labor job, you could have passed out from lack of energy.”

Garrett almost choked at the realization that the two jobs he’d been assigned that day weren’t considered hard labor. It meant there were jobs worse than those. “Yeah, I’ll be more careful from now on.”

“Good.” April sat with him in silence as he finished his food.

Garrett gobbled up his sandwich and chips, lost in the ecstasy of consuming his first meal in well over a day.

Chapter 25

Opal sat outside the apartment complex, her nervousness increasing as she waited longer and longer for Garrett to appear. Still, she didn’t want to enter the building and start asking around for him, either. Tapping her forefinger against her kneecap in impatience, Opal scanned up and down the street searching for Garrett.

Frustrated and not knowing