Part 3The Hunger Year

But once you’ve tasted meat, plain rice is soul-crushing. My seatmate, Mia, was kind. She was a vegetarian and hated meat. Every time they served steak or pork, she gave it to me and ate the potatoes.

She said she didn't trust "mystery meat." Perfect! I’d eat anything. Even if the pig was older than my grandfather, as long as it filled me up, I was in.

But then Mia left to study in Switzerland. My meat supply vanished. Before she left, she handed me her meal card. "I don't want to deal with the refund. Just use the balance for me."

I thanked her profusely. When I swiped the card, I saw a balance of one thousand dollars. For the first time in my life, I was too sad to eat.

Besides my parents and relatives, the world was full of people who treated me well. So well I didn't know how to repay them.

Then, Mrs. Gable’s "tremor" got worse. The beef-and-potato stew was precisely zero beef and all potato.

I exploded. "Where is the meat?!" She hammered the tray with her ladle. "Girls don't eat meat. It’s a waste. Save it for the boys!" "Next!"

I didn't understand. Since when did girls hate meat? I stood my ground at the front of the line. Annoyed, she finally slopped a spoonful of gravy and three tiny scraps of meat onto my plate.

"Fine! Take it! You’re like a starving ghost. Have you never seen meat in your life?"

I sat down and took a bite. It was all ginger. At that moment, a dark rage took hold of me.