Read Online The Breadwinner Trilogy (Book 1): The Breadwinner by Stevie Kopas - Free Book Online Page A

to the living room.  Her father and brother sat on the couch, eyes fixated on the television screen.
    “Will ya’ll please quit watching that already?”  She said casually as she walked to the tiny three point kitchen and grabbed a water from the fridge.  “Somebody crashed their car right across the street but everybody’s probably too busy watching the TV to care.”
    Her father James, noticing the beverage choice quickly snapped, “Look, let the police worry about that kind of stuff and put the water back now.  Drink a soda.”
    “Dad you know I don’t like-“
    “I don’t care, we need the water V, put it back please.”  He cut her off and quickly turned back to the TV set.  Isaac looked at her and pointed at the fridge and winked.  She smiled as she opened the door and pretended to put the water back.  She walked quietly into the living room and stood behind them.
    “If you come into contact with any person who is exhibiting signs of violence or sickness, it is extremely important that you isolate them and contact your local authorities.  Help will be on the way shortly.”  The red haired news anchor announced.
    Veronica narrowed her eyes, “Isn’t violent and sick half the world’s population already?”  She remarked.
    Her father turned to look at her and noticed the water bottle.  “Damnit V.” 
    “What?”  She giggled as she took another sip.  “You can’t stay mad at me pops!”
    He shook his head and sighed, “I know darlin’, but things are lookin’ pretty bad out there.  I just want to have enough supplies on hand for you and your brother in case it gets too dangerous and we can’t leave.”
    “Dad,” Veronica placed a hand on her hip and took another sip.  “You watch too much television.”  She walked over to the small window near the balcony door and pulled the blinds down a bit, trying to get another look at the crashed car.  The driver’s side door was now open, but no driver to be seen.  There were a few more people out that she could see now, and Veronica thought they looked like a bunch of panicked rats running around in the street with nowhere to go.  She flipped the blinds back up and scowled at her brother and father.  “I guess everybody out there watches too much television too.”
    That night Veronica found it very hard to sleep.  She kept getting up and peeking out her window, trying to see what was going on.  Every so often she would hear people yelling, like they were fighting, and she almost got nervous enough to wake her father.  She slept with her headphones in, her music playing and dreamt of monsters in her closet.
    II
    “This shit is ridiculous.”  Isaac mumbled as he threw his smartphone down on the table.  “I haven’t been able to get a text out all day.”  Veronica’s older brother plopped down onto the dining room chair with a grunt and scrunched his nose up at her.
    “Mine’s no different.”  She responded without looking up from her laptop.  Veronica had been trying to get a hold of Dee for over a day but was getting no response.  “Nobody’s been getting online.  And the people that have been on I can’t even get through to.”  She furiously typed messages that would never send due to server errors or the internet consistently timing out.
    Their father walked into the kitchen buckling his belt, eyes glued to the television in the living room as he did so.  “I hate to break it to you kids,” James said as he pulled his shoes on, “but it looks as if the internet might be down for now.”  He motioned to the other room where a news anchor nervously announced that the government was “temporarily suspending cell phone and internet connections in certain parts of the country in order to keep usage low and maintain emergency lines.”
    “I don’t understand dad!  They just want to cut people off?!”  Veronica looked at him with pleading eyes, “What is even going on anyway?  A couple people get a