Sunday Serial: 280 x70, 49 Hunger, by Gill James, breakfast tea,

Introduction

This collection is a collection of seventy stories, each 280 words. They were inspired by the first picture seen on my Twitter feed on a given day. 

49. Hunger

What to do? Tom's money wouldn't come until next week. Geraldine needed to up the electricity or she wouldn't be able to cook tonight and it was important to keep the kids warm wasn't it? Her part-time job was supposed to stop this but Jamie had needed new shoes.  There was one thing she could do she knew. She didn’t like t but it would have to do this time.

She'd always donated herself, hadn't she, when times had been better. It's just that it felt like giving up.

"What are we having for tea?" Allie was nearly always hungry. Geraldine knew she wasn't getting enough. She couldn't let the children get ill. Or they'd take them away from her.

"I'm not sure. We've got to go out first."

It took a while to get there - it always was a rigmarole getting them dressed for outdoors. It was  a long walk too but she couldn't afford the bus fare to get them into town.

"Just choose what you want," said the woman who reminded her a bit of her own mother. "Maybe pasta and a sauce? And take a couple of tins to tide you over. And some treats."

"Thank you."

"Thank you.” echoed Jamie.

"I know what," said the woman," I'm just really supposed to do this but would you like these?" She held out two shiny red apples. "I'd never manage them all and they only came in big packs of four."

Later after the children were fed and put to bed Geraldine watched the early evening news. Despite the effects of Brexit," said the presenter, "England remains one of the wealthiest nations in the world."

Really?         

About the author

Gill James is published by The Red Telephone, Butterfly and Chapeltown.  

She edits CafeLit and writes for the online community news magazine: Talking About My Generation.

She teaches Creative Writing and has an MA in Writing for Children and PhD in Creative and Critical Writing.    

http://www.gilljameswriter.com  

https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B001KMQRKE

https://www.facebook.com/gilljameswriter

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