PODs Read Free Page A

PODs. Despite the warm room, goosebumps covered my skin and my teeth chattered. The back of my throat burned as my stomach bile rose.
    I grabbed my backpack off the floor behind the couch and pulled out one of my books, even though doing homework wasn’t necessary. Either I was going to the PODs or I was going to die. Whichever it was, chemistry homework should have been the farthest thing from my mind, but I needed something, anything to distract me. I flopped back onto the couch and pulled a neon yellow highlighter across a passage in my notes, the tip squeaking against the page. My frayed nerves snapped.
    “Can we please turn him off?” I yelled, slamming my book closed. “He’s been blathering on all night long. He just says the same thing over and over and over. Please, shut it off.”
    My mom looked at me. I thought she was going to yell at me for being disrespectful by shouting. Instead she smiled sadly and nodded. “I’d rather read than listen to him, anyway.”
    “Thanks, Mom.”
    “And I’ve got papers to grade,” my dad said. I guess he hadn’t thought about the absurdity of grading papers any more than I had about doing homework.
    Two hours, thirty-seven minutes.
    My phone rang.



Chapter 3:
The Call
    M y mother bolted off the couch. My dad, who was coming back from the kitchen, stood with his hand poised over the flip top on a Coke can. I looked up from my chemistry homework, my pen dangling from my fingers. The three of us just stared at my cell phone. It rang twice. On the third ring I grabbed it.
    “Hello?” My voice shook. My rational side told me not to get my hopes up. It was probably Bridget. But the side of me that still had hope said maybe, just maybe, it was them. We had a spot.
    “Evangelina Mae Evans?”
    “Y—yes. I’m Evangelina.” I saw my mom grab Dad’s arm. My dad dropped his Coke can. It hit the floor with a thud, fizz spraying out of the partially opened top. He absently patted my mom’s hand. They both stared at me while the pale-brown foam sprayed across the living room.
    “Your social security number was selected.”
    I was surprised at how calm I was. Maybe the brusque manner of the man on the phone helped me keep my cool. Maybe it was shock.
    “Do you have a pen and paper?”
    “yes.”
    “Write this down. You’ll report to Glendale High School in Glendale, Texas on Wednesday, the twenty-seventh, at eight AM sharp. You’ll leave for your quarantine period at that time. Bring your birth certificate, your social security card, and your belongings. Each occupant is allowed two suitcases—no more. Do you have any questions?”
    “Yes,” I said. “My family? They—”
    “The social security number selected was yours. If anyone else in your family was chosen they will receive a phone call.”
    “Just me?”
    “Yes. Any other questions?”
    “No.” My voice cracked and a lump formed in my throat.
    “Goodbye.” I heard the receiver click and the line go dead. I stood motionless, the phone still at my ear.
    It wasn’t until I heard my mother’s quiet sobs that I put the phone down and looked at her and my father.
    “You were picked?” my dad whispered.
    “Yeah, but—”
    “But nothing, Eva. You were picked!”
    “But I can’t… I can’t…” I started to cry as the reality of what was happening hit me. I’d have to leave my parents. How could I be happy I had been chosen when they hadn’t been?
    I can’t leave them to die .
    “It’s okay, Eva,” my mom murmured, hugging me. She smoothed my hair while I cried against her shoulder. “We know you’d take us if you could; we know. But you have to understand, as parents we’re overjoyed that our child was chosen. We’ll be happy knowing you’ll have a chance at a full life. Don’t cry, Evangelina. This is wonderful news.”
    No, no, no, this isn’t good news at all. How can I leave them knowing …

    Friday
    I only had two weeks to get ready before I left for quarantine. My mom insisted