Our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up

[start_a_rumpus]

There are drums beating out in the jungle. It's the native people of the island and they've come to reclaim what's theirs. All night and all day they've been playing and yelling and threatening Max and everyone who has taken over this place. Boom, boom, boom. Max can hear them even through the walls of the compound. He slinks down the halls, and

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[polly_okeefe]

It's pretty easy to find Max. His cries lead me directly to the kitchen table. I grimaced. Max seemed a resilient kid, but he was still all alone. Being away from home was hard enough for all of us. For him?

I got on my knees and peered under the table. "Hey," I said softly. I opened my arms in case he wanted a hug. "Hey. You okay?"

[start_a_rumpus]

"I'm fine!" he fires back, curling in on himself. He doesn't want a hug and he doesn't want a girl to see him cry. "This place is stupid and I hate it and I hate everything and everyone."

[polly_okeefe]

I lowered my hands, but I stayed where I was. Nothing was going to make Max uncurl unless he wanted to, but I still felt I had to be there. Sometimes being there is all you can do.

I smiled, a little sadly. "I know the feeling. Sometimes I feel 'fine' just like you, too."

[start_a_rumpus]

"You don't know how I'm feeling," Max argues, trying to back further under the table. "You should just go away. You don't know anything."

[polly_okeefe]

"I'm stuck here, just like you," I said quietly but calmly. How often had I wanted to react the way Max has. "I'm a long way from home. I miss my parents. My brothers and sisters. A lot of us are in the same boat."

[start_a_rumpus]

Max wants her to stop talking like she knows. She's big like Claire is and he needs his mom more than she does. He scoots down and aims a kick at her shin. "It's not the same," he cries, a few tears slipping back out. "It's not fair."

[polly_okeefe]

Fortunately, I'm back far enough to avoid being hit by that kick, but I still notice it. It's obvious that poor Max is in a fury. I slide back a bit to give him room. "I know it's not fair. I hate it too. There's not much I can do but..." I can't solve his problem, but there has to be something that I can do to make him feel a little better. "I do have cookies."

[start_a_rumpus]

"Okay," Max grumbles, not wanting to talk to her, but a little bit interested in some cookies. "Do I have to get out of here to get them?"

[polly_okeefe]

I thought about it for a half a second, but shook my head. "No," I said. I wasn't here to bribe him. I just wanted to make him feel better. "Sometimes being under a table is the best place to be." I reached up and grabbed a plate of cookies I'd set on top of the table. I'd picked up a few from the kitchen. I slid them along the floor to him. "It's just..." I added. "Sometimes someone needs cookies. Right?"