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I shooktoI looked at hiure out ifalone for these last couple months But he seemed mostly normal, if not a bit too thin, even for so I’ to find some food I’o back to my house now and leave you alone"

"Ha! So you can coht and eat my heart? I don’t think so"

I s with The only reason I hadn’t taken that gun away from him and immobilized him with a quick jab to the throat was because I didn’t want hi out anypeople ere nearly half oing to do? Shoot ht I don’t think so Not today, anyway" I turned to go

"Wait!" he said, a desperate tone in his voice

"What?" I said, half turning

"Did you say you have noodles?"

"Yeah So?"

"I have sauce"

My eyes widened Sauce on noodles sounded like a ten-course ht now

"You lie," I accused I wasn’t sure what his ga Who would have spaghetti sauce left in ti anyone had was the crap no one wanted to eat

"No It’s back in the other rooree to share your noodles"

I thought about it for a second Noodles and sauce It would al any more starch seemed not so important anymore Plus, I could just eat the sauce plain if I didn’t feel like having the noodles

"Fine I’ll trade No need to show me, I trust you" The kid didn’t look like he could hurt a fly, and I had no doubt that I could protect un I tried not to think about the man responsible for my confidence because it would only one

"No, not a trade We combine"

"Sure, whatever Where?"

This was the sticky part If ere going to eat together, one of us would have to abandon our house - which s They had too s of people in the streets to fool for long I feared leavingthese days Even now, for this, I had taken a chance

"Backyards At the fence You cook the noodles and bring the the sauce We’ll divide it in half"

"I should getthis tas about twelve, just the age that had saved hi on how you looked at it Anyone not in thedead Those furthest away froone first, the old people and the babies

"No Even split, fifty-fifty I need the calories"

"Fine Whatever What tied Dinner for breakfast But it was still early enough that I felt relatively safe going out of er recognizing foods as appropriate for certain tiry, and I ate as at hand

"See you then" I left his house without looking back, not really worried that he was going to shoot me in the back He knew I had pasta now, so I was a valuable friend to have At least until it was gone

I cooked the pasta using the gas stove insurvivor , even though it was pretty gross It was a precious resource I couldn’t afford to dulasses - one forbehind , I snuck outseen I still wasn’t co the truth about his sauce, and it was getting closer to the ti up I had to be back inside before anyone caot to the fence and whispered, "Are you here?"

"Yes," caatoni that I had cooked, bringing it level with the top of the fence "Here’s the pasta Put the sauce in"

I heard so hit the side of the bowl

A few seconds later he said, "There I’ blob of sauce sat on the top ofnoodles I soodness I didn’t care one bit that it was cold

"Do you have a bowl?" I asked

A plastic cereal boith a built-in straw on it appeared at the top of the fence I poured half of the pasta inside it and passed it back over, wondering if he’d slurp the sauce up when he was done with that straw My dad would have written that off as a ger to be avoided Straere a bad idea if you were trying not to die of food poisoning and had no way of washing them out well

"I have water for you too, if you want it It’s kind of starchy since I cooked the noodles in it"

"I’ll take it," he said in a quiet voice

I passed the small plastic cup of water over to him and felt, for the briefest of moments, a tremble in his hands as he took it from me

"See ya," he said

"Wait!" I said, not even sure why I wanted hi our houses was risky If anyone caught a whiff of our et back inside"