This World We Live In (The Last Survivors, Book 3) by Susan Beth Pfeffer

suppose they left any steak," I said. "I'm getting tired of shad."
    "How do you think I feel?" Jon asked. "It's al we ate last week."
    I'd been so taken aback by Syl's existence, I hadn't thought about what she'd be eating. The shad's made a huge difference. Instead of sharing a can of this and a can of that and a can of something else, we've had a can of this and a can of that and some fish. But the shad can't last forever, and then we'l be back to a can of this and a can of that and a can of something else. Only with one more mouth to feed.
    Al of which was a lot more on my mind than Romeo and Juliet when Matt and Syl got back.
    "The mayor wasn't there," Matt said. "Mr.
    Danworth said he'd tel him to come next Monday, so we'l go back then."
    "What about food?" I asked. "Wil they give us an extra bag?"
    "Not this week," Matt said. "Maybe next week if there's enough. It doesn't matter. Syl and I can share my food."
    "No," Mom said. "Syl's a member of this family, so we'l al share."
    "That's fine, Mom," Matt said. "But I don't want you eating less so the rest of us can have more."
    "Share and share alike," I said, picturing what that would be like once the fish supply runs out. Oh, wel .
    I'm used to being hungry.
    66
    "We could go back to the river tomorrow," Jon said. "Matt and Syl and me, and catch some more fish."
    "We should," Matt said. "I don't know how much longer the shad wil be running, but we should get as much as we can. Syl and I wil go. Jon can stay home with you and Miranda."
    "I never get to go anyplace," I grumbled.
    "Jon, you go with Matt," Mom said. "Syl wil stay home with Miranda and me so we can get to know each other better."
    "Mom," Matt said, and he sounded exactly like me. I guess whining is a family trait.
    "I think that's a good idea," Syl said. "Besides, you'l catch more fish if you aren't distracted."
    Jon snickered. Matt looked like he couldn't decide who to kil first.
    "We'l leave first thing tomorrow morning," he said.
    "And get back Wednesday night."
    "No," Mom said. "Stay until Friday. Jon's algebra's a lost cause, and the longer you're there, the more fish you'l bring home."
    "Mom," Matt said, "could you and I talk about this privately?"
    "There's nothing to discuss," Mom said. "You and Jon do the hunter-gatherer thing. Syl and Miranda can roam around the neighborhood looking for boxes of rice pilaf. I'l stay home and worry about al of you. That's the appropriate division of labor."
    Syl burst out laughing, but when none of us joined her, she stopped.
    "Come on, Matt," Jon said. "We'd better catch lots of fish before we start chopping firewood again."
    67
    For a moment I felt sorry for Matt. In an ordinary world he wouldn't have to leave his wife of four days to go fishing with his kid brother. Then again, in an ordinary world he wouldn't have exchanged vows with a strange girl the day after meeting her. At least I assume not.
    "Tomorrow morning," Matt said. "And back Friday.
    After that Syl and I wil never be separated again. Is that understood?"
    "Nobody's suggesting otherwise," Mom said. This time Syl knew better than to laugh.
    So tomorrow Matt and Jon wil be leaving again.
    Who knows. Maybe when they get back, Jon'l have a wife of his own.
    May 16
    Syl and I went house hunting right after breakfast. I guess she was glad to be away from Mom. I know I was.
    "Matt tel s me you keep a diary," Syl said as we biked down the road.
    "Yeah," I said. "It's only for me, though. No one else reads it."
    "I know," Syl said. "It's just funny to think of someone writing about me."
    "Didn't you ever keep a diary?" I asked.
    "For school once," she said. "But I made up stuff."
    "Why?" I asked. "Were things going on you didn't want people to know about?"
    "Nothing was going on," Syl said. "Nothing ever went on. But I felt if I put my thoughts down on paper, they wouldn't belong to me anymore."
    I'd never thought of it that way, and I didn't think I wanted to. Mom, Matt, and Jon have always respected