Fat

It was better and worse than I expected. I managed to get to sleep at about 2am and woke up at 6:30, feeling incredibly tired. My stomach was jumpy, I still felt dizzy and I so wanted to just go back to bed and never leave. Of course, Mother had other ideas. I had been awake for an hour, curled into a ball under the covers in the middle of my bed , when she bustled into my room, calling to me to wake up for my first day of school. I crawled out from under the covers and the first thing I saw was Mother smiling cheerily at me, as if it were a treat to get to go to school. She told me that there was a plate of bacon and eggs sitting on the kitchen table and that I should hurry up and get them down before the bus came at 8:00. She watched me eat, so I couldn’t just throw out my breakfast like I wanted to. I didn’t realise how long I took to eat, either. I didn’t have time to get rid of it. I had to rush to get my school uniform on and practically ran for the bus stop. I made it just in time.

I felt like I was about to puke when I stepped off the bus. Not just from nervousness, but from the feeling of having food in my stomach. I started getting used to feeling empty, even though it makes me feel faint. Those bacon and eggs were going to ruin everything. I rushed for the bathroom. I didn’t make it. He was waiting. The King of Year 10, the one almost everyone loves and the one who makes my life a living hell.

“Where’re you off to, Chunks?”

I didn’t answer; I just tried to push past Dustin and his gang. Stupid move.

“Answer me, Tubby,” he said, as he pushed me back.

I tried to reply, but I couldn’t get the words out. One of the other guys pushed me forwards again.

“Cat got your tongue, or did you eat it?”

They were all laughing. They pushed me again, and again, in all different directions, until someone caught me and kept me still.

“Leave the poor kid alone. He’s never done anything to you. F*ck off and find someone else to torture,” the person holding me said to them.

Dustin’s eyes widened, and for once had nothing else to say. He waved to the others with his hand and they left. The boy holding me turned me around. I struggled to hold in a gasp.

It was the gorgeous boy from a couple of years above me, who I spend an embarrassingly long amount of time watching at school and wishing I knew him. He was stunning up close. He was tall, much taller than me, and with his broad, muscled shoulders and arms (I could tell, even under his school shirt), and floppy brown hair, and tanned skin, he must be a model. Seriously. It took me a while to remember how to shut my mouth so that I didn’t look utterly insane. How is somebody this perfect without Photoshop?

The boy smiled. “You really shouldn’t let them push you around. Fight back, it’ll make you feel better and teach them a lesson. You don’t deserve to be treated like that.”

And, after I nodded (because I didn’t trust myself to speak), he walked away. I did NOT stare at his butt.

That was one of the two good things that happened today. The other, was that I may have finally, after all these years, made a friend.

I didn’t make it to the bathroom to remove all that fat from my stomach before the bell rang. That was a bad thing. It meant that I had to carry it around with me for at least another two hours before break.

My first class of the new school year was English. I sat down the front, as usual. I pulled out my notebook and my pens and set about writing the date at the top of the first page. Most people were already seated and ready for the class to begin.

The teacher bustled in, introduced herself as Miss Davis, and began an explanation of what the year would entail. I was listening intently. I adore English. If I could only come to school for one class per day, English is the one that I would choose to come to.

Anyway, as Miss Davis was explaining, another teacher came into the room. She motioned behind her and a boy walked in. I actually gasped out loud. It was the boy from the shopping centre. The one I ran into and threw all my stationary at. My gasp caught his attention, and his eyes zoomed in on me. I went bright red, and he smiled a small smile at me.

The other teacher left after having a few words with Miss Davis, waving to the boy and earning a mouthed ‘thank you’ in return. Miss Davis turned to him.

“Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself?”

The boy swallowed hard, but nodded.

“Uh, I’m…er… my name is Turlough Jakob Dooley. I prefer to go by the name Jake. You er might be able to tell from the accent that I’m er originally from Ireland. I just moved here a month and a half ago and so far, I love it here in Australia. So, er, yeah. That’s all I can think of right now.”

“Ah, lovely, thank you Turlough,” Miss Davis said.

“Jake,” he corrected.

“Jake,” she agreed. “Why don’t you have a seat? Anywhere is fine.”

Turlough Jake nodded and moved forwards. He didn’t even hesitate to sit beside me. My blush darkened, I know it did.

“Now you know my name, too, Caleb,” he said, smiling.

I couldn’t speak. He remembered my name? Oh, gosh.

Jake followed me around all day. I have no idea why. He kept trying to talk to me. All I could do was blush and stutter. All the girls were all over him, he could’ve had a million friends by now. Why did he choose me? He didn’t leave me alone. Not even to go into the bathroom. I couldn’t throw up my breakfast. It’s still sitting in my stomach. Sticking to the sides and making me fatter…

I wonder why Jake wants to be friends with me. Maybe he just wants to be friends so that he can look more attractive to girls if they ever meet us when we’re hanging out. That’s got to be it. Although he doesn’t need me to help him with his attractiveness, he’s already one of the hottest guys I’ve ever laid eyes on. Apart from one other person. That boy who saved me from Dustin today. I wish he would have at least told me his name…

Mother is calling me, telling me to go to bed. I told her about Turlough Jake. Not about the boy who saved me though.

I should sleep. Maybe this school year won’t be so bad after all. Now, if only I can find out who that boy was…