He's always loved her

“Uh, well, I never thought you’d accept a guy like me,” Jack answered, embarrassed to be having such a personal conversation in front of the others.

“You’re such an idiot,” Anne said, shaking her head.

While the two were having their first lover’s quarrel, Jen was spiraling into despair. She started crying, and muttering to herself, “What are we going to do? What should we do… Will I ever see him again?” Seeing her mother in such a **** state, Emery also teared up, and the two sobbing women drew the attention of the rest of the group.

“Don’t worry so much,” Leticia finally spoke up. She had stayed at the sidelines of the conversation for the most part, soaking it all in, and thinking about her next step. “You two still have enough points to last a week, or more, if you’re thrifty. If Anne and Jack are really going to start fucking, Anne should earn enough points to cover the cost of food for the rest of us, right?”

Anne nodded. “Yeah, as long as the rules work as the voice said they would. Should we try it out, Jack?”

“R-right now? Here?” Jack looked at the mother and daughter who had just barely begun to stop sobbing after Leticia consoled them.

Anne rolled her eyes again. “Obviously we should get a room divider first, and a bed. I think eight twins can fit in this room, although it’ll be pretty tight. Is it alright with everyone if I buy one?”

“No problems here,” Ed answered, sweating with arousal, even though it wasn’t him who was about to get laid.

“Go for it,” Frank added, handling his libido a little better than the older man. At least he wasn’t obviously sweating.

Jack trembled with anxiety. He was still a virgin, even at twenty-two. He was always hoping to get together with his best friend, Anne, but he was also too shy to make the first move. He wanted a real relationship with her, and he wasn’t sure having sex with her right now was the best way to go about it. He tried to think of an argument, and then asked, “Wait, wait, shouldn’t we try a little harder to get out first?”

“Sure,” Anne answered, reviewing her notes, “But I doubt it will get anywhere. If Chief Greco couldn’t even scratch the surface before his knuckles fractured, the room is probably bulletproof. I already checked, and there aren’t any guns in the point store. The best tool I found was a sledgehammer. You want to buy one and then try breaking one of the walls?”

Jen looked up at the thought of breaking out. “Please.”

“I’ll do it,” Frank offered, already moving to one of the walls to purchase the sledgehammer. He wasn’t exactly eager to go home and lose his job, but his personal fears were outweighed by his sense of chivalry when he saw Jen’s **** face.

Everyone held their breath as he made his first swing. A loud smack shook the room when it connected with the wall, but the screen refused to crack. Frank frowned, and tried again, but even after three swings, using all the strength he could muster, the wall refused to give an inch.

“Can I try?” Leticia stepped forward. The muscled woman was a little bigger than Frank, even though the black-skinned man was already above average himself. He handed her the hammer and wished her luck, then moved out of the way.

Her swing was stronger, and the sound it made louder, but still, the screen didn’t crack. She tried again, but the result didn’t change. She tried smacking the ceiling, and then the floor, but again, not a single crack appeared. With a sigh, she rested the hammer against the wall and gave up. “I guess we’re really stuck here.”

Anne readjusted her glasses again. “Most likely.”

There was a silent pause, as her words were taken in by the others. Even Greco had gotten tired of making noise, and rested quietly on his stomach, watching the others as they all came to accept that they weren’t going to get out on their own.

“Will you really pay for our food?” Jen asked, breaking the silence.

“Yeah,” Anne answered. “Of course.”

“Thank you,” Jen said, looking away. “Then we can hold out for nine more days.”

“Eight,” Emery whispered, barely audible. Her mother looked at her, and tears began to form again in both of their eyes. “I… spent two points on these stupid clothes… I’m so sorry, mom.”

Jen hugged her daughter, and the two struggled to keep their sobs as quiet as they could manage.

“Alright,” Anne said, going to the wall once more. “I’m gonna buy a bed now. That’s fine with everyone, right?”

The others nodded, and she made the transaction, spending a single point on a twin-sized bed, frame included. It slid out of the wall slowly. Anne watched the strange phenomenon as it occurred, but she couldn’t make sense of how it worked, nor did she know any way to use it to escape the room.

She followed the bed with a room dividing screen, larger than the one Jen had purchased for changing. She set it up, completely enclosing the bed in one corner of the room, while the others watched. Jack helped her arrange it neatly, and when it was all ready, he stepped back and looked at the blocked off corner.

Anne stepped inside and peeked out. “You coming or what?”