“I can’t go another step,” Nicole said, panting.
Shanti was relieved that somebody else had said it first. The rains had stopped. They’d reached a wide plain sheltered by tall rock walls. In the distance, the rock yielded to more jungle.
“All right,” Shanti said. “We’ll rest.”
The girls stretched out on the carpet of green and fell asleep.
When Shanti woke again, the island sky had sneaked toward dusk, and she noticed that Tiara was missing. Quickly, she shook the others awake, and they searched the surrounding area, shouting Tiara’s name. An almost ecstatic moan led them to a large bush adorned with a haphazard assortment of red, star-shaped fruit. Tiara was sprawled beside it, her mouth and hands stained with red juice.
“Tiara, did you eat this fruit?” Nicole asked, frightened.
“Uh-huh. Don’t tell my mom. She’ll make me go for a run.”
“How many did you eat?”
“I don’t know. Four or twelve.”
“Which one was it — four or twelve?”
“I don’t know. I’m not good at math. They’re really yummy. They taste kinda like gummi bears, but with dirt on them.”
Shanti whispered to the others, “Those could be poisonous.”
“Tiara, do you feel okay?” Nicole asked.
“I feel … full,” Tiara said, tasting the word, which seemed as delicious as the fruit. “I can’t remember the last time I felt full. It’s awesome.”
“It’s getting dark. We should get going,” Shanti said.
“So tired,” Tiara muttered. Her eyelids fluttered.
“I think we should wait to see if Tiara’s okay,” Nicole whispered.
“It’s her fault she ate that fruit, not mine.”
“Harsh much? I thought you were all about family and togetherness.”
Shanti’s cheeks colored. “No one in my family would do something that stupid.”
“She was hungry! Look, we’ll just watch her for a while. If she’s fine, then we know that fruit is safe to eat. We might have found a food source, okay?”
“It beats cannibalism,” Petra said. “Plus, do you really want to be walking through the jungle at night? At least this place seems open.”
“Remember that big zit I had on my chin this morning? It’s all gone,” Tiara said, rubbing her thumb over her chin. Tiara’s skin was, in fact, perfectly clear and dewy.
“Wow. It looks like you just had a rock dust facial,” Petra said.
“Are those good?” Nicole asked. “I’ve always wanted to try one.”
Shanti examined Tiara’s face and looked more closely at the small fruit. She wished she had her botany book. “I’ll bet these have special properties that cause cell turnover in your skin — I did a science project on free radicals. I’ll bet I could turn this into my own skincare line and be Fortune 500 before I’m twenty-five. I’d call them Shanti Berries™.”
“You can if there are any left.” Petra grabbed a handful and gobbled them down.
“What are you doing?” Nicole asked.
“Tiara ate those hours ago and she’s fine and her skin looks great. If I’m going to die, I’d rather go out with a full stomach and amazing skin.” Petra smacked her lips, tasting. “Oh wow. These really are good!”
“Told you,” Tiara said sleepily.
“Okay. Here goes nothing.” Nicole crossed herself and bit into one, squirting juice. “Mmm. Oh wow.”
Shanti was weak from hunger, but she didn’t like going into situations in which she was not one hundred percent in charge. The fruit was an unknown. What if it were poisonous? She knew what Mrs. Mirabov would say: “Comrade Singh, you must train yourself to be without. Being beauty queen is like being marine, only harder. Marines do not fight in four-inch heels.” Still, the fruit was so inviting, and Tiara seemed fine. In the end, her hunger was stronger. She allowed herself three small pieces of fruit, marveling at their sweetness.
The sun’s light retreated. Sated and tired, the girls stretched out in the soft grass and watched the pale rind of moon grow more pronounced.
It began as a slight tingling in her fingers, and then Shanti was aware that her vision was more acute and that the edges of the jungle were unfolding, showing her more and more, like one of those accordion birthday cards.
“Anybody else feel … strange?” she asked, trying to keep the panic at bay.
Petra sang another old Boyz Will B Boyz tune to herself and mimed dance steps. Nicole giggled. Tiara stared up at the sky. From the corner of her eye, Shanti caught a colorful bird skating above the bushes. It looked at her and trilled one word: fraud.