barlissa abbott elementary ship novel

barbaras pov

i saw melissa for the first time in 2 weeks , just now. she's walked onto her classroom , and so have i, but i can't help but keep thinking of how she both looked and actors weird at the same time. that's definitely, not normal for her. she's lost a ton of weight, and she was already healthy, too. so i'm not sure what's going on. sure, fad diets are still booming all over everywhere , but why would she do that ? i love melissa. she is the most beautiful woman from philly , in my humble opinion, and i think that god would think so , too. i need to have a talk with her. i care too much for her to get sick. she's just worrying me.
* 3 hours later*
it's lunch time at abbot elementary, and melissa texts me , asking if i can watch her class while she goes to the bathroom. "of course i will" i text back. i text mr johnson there's an emergency and that melissa and i need him to look after our classes, maybe combine them in the gym and tell them one of his .. um 😊 delightful stories 🙏🏻. i go to her classroom and see that once she sees me, she smiles gratefully and throws her sandwich wrapper in the trash so quickly, it's like it's a hot potatoe. i let her go , and mr johnson gets there right on time. it's not like i auspect her of an eating disorder. it could be anything mentally, and i'm sorry she's struggling like that. but i know that something is wrong, and whatever it is, can't wait to be found out after school. and if i don't contfront her she'll either brush it off, not open up, or even worse, not open up and get all grumpy on me. she is cute when she does that, though.
gets mad.
mr johnson nods at me and i wave, saying well be back soon. he may not be a great teacher but he sure is good with helping at random stuff. that's why he's my favorite staff. (don't tell melissa🫶🏿)
anyway. i hurry after her as one should, while all the while thinking abt how in the world i'm gonna bring it up. and making sure i'm not too far behind her.
i get to the ladies bathroom in the teachers lounge , exactly where i expected her to go. "kno" i almost say knock knock, so she didn't even hear it, luckily, but i'm shocked when i hear gagging and vomiting sounds. could that be melissa?i have a flashback to when she threw the sandwich wrapper away like it was apart of the seven deadly sins, remembering how weird i thought it was of her. normally she's calm around food. even insistent on people eating it, especially protein.
i figure - "well people project" in my mind.
i weigh out whether or not to go in and stop her and decide to go in.
she's still purging , i guess it takes a while to get it all out.
i see the stall with her feet under it and knock on the door.
"honey??? it's me. barbara. my love are you okay?? please open the door. are you sick? why have you been acting so weird lately love?? can you pls talk to me?"i try to say this in a gentle , soul try voice so she doesn't feel judged. i hear a slight sniff from melissa , no wonder she hasn't come out yet , she hates people seeing her cry.
"barb , idk how to tell you this. because i don't want you to worry , or hate me o
r take me to the dr or something insane like that. it's only been a little while. please don't tell anyone. keep this a secret between us , okay?" melissa cries lightly , a few soft tears running down her cheek. "okay, melissa, i understand. i dont have bulimia, or whatever you may have , but the thing is, me and my husband now that the christmas season is over, we're thinking of a divorce , and it's made me go into a bout of depression again. mental illness is horrible and id never betray your trust like that, i promise. " by this time, melissa has stepped out of the stall hesitantly. i squeeze her hand and smile at her gently, "you know , earlier i was thinking to myself you're the most beautiful woman in philly ? it's true, i mean just look at you. your curves
are so flawlessly built, and your face and everything abt you is stunning. people would kill to look like you, you don't need to kill yourself too. i will help you all you need if you want to get help , but i will not force you. that is your decision.". i give her a hug that lasts for so long, we almost forget we're on break.