Children In Need
Mary self-consciously wears her fake designer gear down town. She squirms inside knowing some smart mouth will sneer. Her mother buys her clothes second hand with money she can’t afford to spend. She knows she will never fit in. She’s poor. She’s not one of them. Sometimes she wishes she could end it all.
George fights hard to hide from his friends the rumble of hunger pangs that growl like the black dog of addiction that pervades his home; wine, his breakfast cereal of a morn.
Baby Sam lies on a makeshift bed on the floor. The luxury of a cot is not for him. He’s cold. He cries. His mother’s tears mix with his. It’s not what she wants for her son.
Joe knows not to ask for things anymore. He’s angry at the world. He takes what he can.
Jane feels ashamed most days. Her daddy works hard in a hospital. His wages don’t cover the bills. Thursday is especially bad. It’s the day her mother sends her to the Food Bank. Carrying the food home, sometimes she sees her friend from school. But it is never mentioned the next day.
Gemma Hill 2017
Gemma Hill Writeyou Writeme 