'Hunger' by Cheryl Pappas

Roger has 22 apples.
He gives 5 to his baby sister, Rory.
Rory says No Fair and hits him with a stick.
How many apples does Roger have now?

The new movie theater in town, with plush velvet seats, charges $28 a ticket.
Dave and Michelle have $14.38 in their account, because Dave lost his job.
If they didn’t pay more than the minimum balance of $37 for five years, how much would they have to pay their credit card, including interest, to take little Ricky and Mike to see the new Disney film?

Sherry is an only child born in a small town in New Hampshire (there were farms, meadows, and an uncle who touched her).
She has lived in 12 cities since high school.
How many new cities will she unpack boxes in before she arrives at home in herself? Bonus if you can figure out how many rehab clinics.

Donald Trump is president.

Suzy brings 20 balloons to the birthday party of her former lover.
Her former lover kisses her in the corner of the closed-off bedroom and pops 1 balloon in between their bodies.
How many times does the scene play out in her head for the next two months while she is doing dishes, folding the laundry, checking her messages?

There are 567 daffodils in the field.
1 bulldozer is parked on a new dirt road nearby.
How many daffodils are left after two weeks?

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'Hunger' was previously published in Atlas & Alice Magazine on September 2, 2019.