One by One

by Freida McFadden

But she’s not married. So she gets to do whatever she wants without another person criticizing her every move.

Heat causes molecules to disperse, so each breath takes in less oxygen.

“I think you teachers deserve an award for what they put you through. Really—bravo, Claire.”

Belladonna berries look very much like blueberries. They’re shiny black, about half an inch in size, and they’re sweet. The berries are highly toxic. They cause delirium and hallucinations, and they disrupt the body’s ability to regulate its sweating, heart rate, and breathing. Eventually, seizures and cardiovascular failure will occur. Early humans made poisonous arrows using belladonna. In an adult, fifteen to twenty berries are enough to kill you. A child could die from two or three.

Thanks to my mom, I know everything there is to know about poison berries.

Noah has his phone in his hand. My eyes light up when I notice he has a single bar. But then he shakes his head. “No service,” he says.