Need by Joelle Charbonneau

request granted, she’ll be able to tell her friends that she secured two gifts from the site: the tickets and the limo. They’ll be totally jealous they’re stuck with ordinary things while Gina gets to live like a star.
    The NEED clock ticks away and Gina pushes back from her desk and walks over to her dresser to snag her pink polish. Might as well touch up her nail while she’s waiting for the site to respond.
    Damn. It isn’t just one nail that’s chipped. It’s two. If Gina’s parents weren’t so stubborn, she wouldn’t have to live here and drive two towns over to get a decent manicure. She touches up her nails, carefully replaces the cap on the pink polish so she doesn’t spill it, and then notices the monitor. The clock is gone. Her NEED request must have been accepted. Good. Now she can do whatever it asks and no one will ever know . . .
    Wait. She reads the message on the screen three times to make sure it says what she thinks it does. Are they kidding?
    â€œGina. It’s time to go.”
    Ugh. She forgot. Her mother is taking her and her sister to Kenosha so they can spend their Christmas money at the outlet stores. After the whole car thing, it’s a miracle her mother hasn’t canceled.
    â€œI’ll be there in a minute,” Gina yells, then reads the red lettering again.
    â€œYou have thirty seconds, or we’re leaving without you.”
    â€œOkay!” Gina stands up, grabs her purse, and casts one last look at the screen before hurrying toward the door. She’s glad to have an excuse not to have to make a decision yet. Because while Gina is normally up for taking a razor to someone’s reputation, she’s never had to destroy a life. Are concert tickets and a limo worth it? Is it worth it to one-up her friends and maintain her reputation?
    For the first time, Gina wishes she were a better person. A better person would say no.
 
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    NETWORK MEMBERS—689
    NEEDS PENDING—684
    NEEDS FULFILLED—165

Kaylee
    M Y MOTHER IS WAITING for me at the bottom of the stairs. She glances at the laptop I hold to my chest. “Officer Shepens says you called the police station this morning. I told him he had to be mistaken.”
    Her dark hair is pulled back, which makes her face look strained. Tired. More disappointed. I didn’t think that was possible. A small corner inside me, the part that wishes for her approval more than anything, wants to agree with her. To say there is a mistake. That there’s no reason for me to call the police without telling her about it before the cops arrive at the door.
    Down the hall, I can see Officer Shepens standing near the kitchen table. His back is to us, but I’m pretty sure he is trying to take in every word we say. I would be.
    â€œI called and asked to talk to Officer Shepens since he was here yesterday. There’s something I think he needs to know.”
    I walk around my mother and head toward the kitchen. Officer Shepens turns the minute I step through the doorway. Yeah—he was listening all right. Good. Despite the way my cheeks heat, I’m glad he isn’t just phoning it in. NEED is smart. It’ll take someone smarter to shut it down.
    â€œThanks for coming,” I say, setting my laptop on the table.
    He nods, unzips his black jacket, and pulls a small notebook from an inside pocket. “You made it sound pretty important. Do both of you want to take a seat?”
    My mother reaches around me for her cup of coffee and then offers Officer Shepens one. He thanks her for the coffee and pulls out the chair directly opposite from where I have sat down. Without waiting for my mom to sit, I say, “Amanda Highland died a few hours ago. I came across something that makes me believe her death was caused by the same thing that’s responsible for what happened in our yard yesterday morning.”
    â€œOh my God.” I jump as my