Safety Margin: Mainstream

She dug into the curry with her fingers, lifting strands of spinach and bamboo shoots to her lips. It was delicious sliding down, even though it was cold and had been sitting in the fridge for nearly a week. That was her safety margin: one week at the back of the fridge. One week and he wouldn't care if she ate it because he was going to throw it out soon anyway. So far, her system had worked; she hadn't been beaten for stealing food since she figured out the safety margin. Of course, she had gotten food poisoning once, but she hadn't died of it, so that was all right. Better than all right, actually--he'd gone so far as to take her to a doctor and she'd been able to stare at the city through the taxicab's windows.

Inspiration: I loves me some curry.
Story Potential: Medium.
Notes: Everything's in the bit.