Fat Chance

The Beginning

I was almost 11 when I noticed myself starting to gain extra weight. It all began with a normal doctors visit. My annual checkup. My Mom took me. We were both carefree and unknowing that today would be the day to change both our lives forever.

Sitting in the waiting room, my mom, ironically, was reading a magazine article on childhood obesity. The disgusted way she looked at the pictured child is something I'll never forget. "Fat people, children especially, always make me want to get run over by a train", my mom said. I instinctively giggled, not knowing that she had just insulted me.

A few minutes later, Dr. Richards came out to greet me and took us back to his office. "First things first!" he exclaimed. Measuring and weighing each patient was mandatory for every doctor. But, I had been the same height and weight for the last 2.5 years, so my mom and the doctor often joked about the procedure.

I first stepped onto the measuring contraption. As usual, Dr. Richards reached over and adjusted the dials and levers. "5'3, same as the last 2.5 years!" exclaimed the doctor. My mom and him laughed hysterically while I stepped onto the electronic scale.

I had always liked the feeling of stepping onto scales, the way your stocking clad feet felt against the cool metal. But all the joy was sucked out of me as I read the numbers flashing across the small screen.

179.

My heart beat quickly in my chest as I heard Dr.Richards footsteps nearing. Still laughing, he looked down at the scale, and immediately quieted. It was like a light switch had been flicked off. The doctor just flat out stared at the piece of metal beneath my feet.

Noticing his weird behavior, Mom came to see what had happened. She leaned down and looked at the numbers. We all just sat quietly staring at the scale, horrified.

The doctor was the first to speak.

"Well, it looks like Quinn here is just losing her baby fat a little slower than normal. But don't you worry! You'll be a thin young lady in no time!"

My mom and Dr. Richards looked at
each other and forced a smile onto their faces. But I wasn't an idiot. I knew that a 10 year shouldn't be weighing nearly 200 lbs.

At the end of the check up, the doctor handed me a sucker, smiling too bright and talking too sweet. After we left, my mom took us to the Dairy Queen to share a banana split, like we often did.

But this time was different. Mom was smiling too wide and too fake, and was also letting me have most of the ice cream, even though she usually split it down the exact middle so it would be fair.

She was trying to be extra nice so that I wouldn't worry. She didn't want me to envision the ugly creature that I would become. But it didn't matter, because the image was already ingraved in my mind and already scaring the hell out of me.