Bon Bons to Yoga Pants

Chapter 3- Operation Meet Bradley

How was the day?

Bradley's message popped up on my Facebook screen the moment I logged in. My heart spasmed with joy. After such a long day, his profile picture was exactly what I needed to see. I dropped my heavy backpack, tossed my notebook on top of my desk, and fell into the chair.

Busy, I replied, my keyboard clacking as my fingers danced across the keys. Light from the computer screen illuminated my face in the dark basement. My sister made me try on my bridesmaid dress for the first time. *barf*

While waiting for his response, I reached for the microwave burrito I'd warmed up for dinner, since I'd sacrificed my usual dinner at the pub to the gods of dieting. I stared at the warm tortilla with a twinge of guilt. McKenzie's voice in the back of my head reminded me that these burritos had at least 700 calories.

Which explained why they were oh-so-addicting.

Wasn't a normal adult female allowed three thousand calories or something like that? Besides, I hadn't eaten since lunch and my stomach growled in ravenous hunger.

"Last hurrah," I promised myself, and tore into the cheesy beans with a destructive first bite. Bradley's typing indicator popped up while I chewed through three massive mouthfuls.

Is the dress as pink as she threatened? he asked.

Pinker. Think Pepto-Bismol meets Barbie.

Sisters, calories, and diets aside, Bradley had been my best friend for the last two months. When Ben and Jerry just didn't comfort me, his online attention and subtle emoticons saved the day. My favorite part? Crushing on him from afar without the horror of meeting him in person and making a fool of myself.

The clock on my computer said 10:30, and I still had homework. The temptation to close our conversation and finish my homework so I could sleep flickered through me, but I sent it away with a scoff. Bradley brightened my day. I'd stay up until three in the morning talking to him if he wanted. We'd certainly done it before.

Well, I hope to see you in it at her wedding, he said. Sounds pretty epic.

My eyes widened and I dropped the half-eaten burrito onto my lap. Bradley had never broached the topic of meeting in person. Our Facebook friendship had magic because I built it on dreams that involved nothing with reality. I blinked three times, completely derailed. Meet Bradley in person?

Unsure of how to play it cool, I simply responded with: ?

The typing indicator seemed to last forever before his reply came.

My friend is moving out there, and he needs someone to help him drive, so I volunteered. He's moving into a place about an hour from your town. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for us to finally meet up.

My heart pounded.

Yeah, of course! I wrote at first, then backspaced. No exclamation point. I needed to play this very cool. Yeah, of course. I'll need a date for the wedding anyway.

I hit return before I'd even thought of how my response it sounded. As soon as the words appeared in the chat screen, I screamed.

"No!"

Too late. I'd put the words into cyberspace forever. "Oh no!" I moaned. "He's totally going to think I asked him out."

Ages passed before his response came.

That sounds awesome. Consider it a date. Listen, I need to go study. I'll chat with you later.

He left.

I stared at the computer screen in mute shock. Had I scared him away? Was it really going to be awesome?

Really?

I glanced down to see the burrito sitting in my lap, cheese spewing out like refried lava. My eyes trailed to my less-than-muscular thighs, my chubby fingers, and finally to my ample stomach. He didn't know what I looked like! He didn't know that I wore hoodies and flip-flops because I hated my body.

My eyes fell on my notebook. A corner of Mirabelle's pamphlet stuck out from the bottom page. With great reluctance I tugged it loose.

Join us Wednesday nights at 6:00 pm.

Changing your life starts now!

I glanced back to the computer screen, down to the half-spilled burrito in my lap, and finally up to the picture of Dad I'd taped to my computer screen. He had a round, full face just like me. He'd been overweight and unhappy.

Just like me.

Mira's voice floated back through my mind.

It's about being healthy. It's about being strong and in control. It's about being happy again . . .

I drew in a deep, resolute breath.

"All right," I said to Dad, tossing the burrito into my garbage can. "It's on. I have six months to lose weight. Operation Meet Bradley begins tonight."      

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