Text Message:
Nikki: hey wanna go for a jog?
Ana: midnight jogging. I love it.
Nikki: i'll jog to your house and meet you there.
Ana: cool
I slipped out the basement door and jogged over to Ana's house. I was on cloud nine for finally coming up with an idea before Ana. True, she knew more than I did, but I was the first to think of sneaking out at night.
She joined me on the sidewalk and we did our warm up.
Now, we'd bumped it up to 400 jumping jacks, 50 lunges, 200 squats and 1 minute butterfly stretch.
We started at a fast pace for the first two miles and sprinted the first half of the third, then repeated the process on the last 2 1/2 miles.
"Wanna go to my room and do the this new workout I found on Tumblr?"
"Yeah," I said breathlessly.
"Good," she said giving me a scornful once-over. "You're still looking fat."
No matter how long I'd known Ana, I was still crushed when she called me fat. But at least she was honest.
We went up to her room and did the three workouts. By the time we finished, I was ready to pass out.
Ana got us lemon waters and grabbed my wrist. "I have something to show you," she said, her eyes glittering. She led me through a hall, down a flight of stairs and through a door, leading us into a huge pool room. It had a grecian design with teal walls and coulombs.
"Omg Ana are we swimming?" I squealed. I loved swimming. She responded by stripping down to her bra and underwear and diving in. I followed suit, squealing when I hit the icy water. "Why is it so cold? Can we turn up the temperature?" I shivered.
"No," she scoffed. "Cold water burns 13.3 calories per minute." We swam until for 2 hours. I wanted to get out, but every time I swam toward the exit, Ana would give me a look that would stop my in my tracks. Then we gossiped and painted our nails until 5:00 am.
"I have to go home or my mom will kill me," I sighed. I was exhausted, and after our run, workouts and cold swim, I was burned out. But at least I'd burn more calories.
After the short run home, I had promptly slipped into bed. When I finally woke up at 11:00, I found a note on the counter.
Nikki-
I have to travel to a meeting in Boston for a week. You can stay at you Dad's or just stay here or with a friend. Be safe.
Love, Mom
As guilty as I felt for being happy my mom was gone, it wasn't going to ruin my week of freedom. I promptly texted Ana and Mia.
Group Chat:
Nikki: guys my moms out if town for a week. wanna come over?
Ana: totally! be there in 20
Mia: thats awesome nikki! ana, can you pick me up?
Ana: of course. see y'all there
Exactly 20 minutes later the doorbell rang. I chuckled. Ana was always so punctual.
"Hey guys!" I squealed, throwing open the door.
"Heyyyy!" They purred. We all went up to my room. We chatted, gossiped braided each other's hair, everything for a perfect girls night. Ana texted Sue, Annie, Cat and Deb, who promptly arrived. Soon the issue of food arose.
"Who wants pizza?" Questioned Mia.
"Ew no," Ana scoffed. "Right Nikki?" She asked pointedly and mouthed Stay strong. I smiled gratefully, even though I was ravenous.
"Sure," Annie nervously said, and Sue and Cat chimed in with their agreement while Deb broodingly stared out the window. Soon, Mia was ordering pizza, garlic bread, giant cookies and all the other shit you can get at pizza places.
"Here," said Mia, handing me a plate piled high with bread, mac and cheese, pizza and cookie cake. Ana stormed over and slapped the plate out of my hand.
"Um, what the fuck are you doing?" She snarled. "Do you want to become more obese than you already are? I though we were making progress but it seems like you're just a weak, fat failure!" She turned on her heel and stomped off. I went into the bathroom on the verge of tears.
"I can help you release your inner pain," said a voice. My head snapped. Deb, initiating conversation? This was a first. But I didn't have inner pain. What was she talking about?
"Deb, I don't hav-"
"You're lying."
"Really, I-"
"People in pain always deny"
"Deb, rea-"
"Whatever, you'll be fat for the rest of your life. Why do you even try? You're just an obese failure!" She snapped and left, just like Ana had moments earlier.
"It's okay Nikki," said Cat. "I have something that will help."
"Okay," I said gratefully. She slipped a small box into my hand.
"Open it," she urged. I popped open the lid, revealing to shiny, beautiful razors.
Immediately, I understood. "This will be your new release from now on," she said. We each took a razor and began drawing on our arms, mine clean, hers scarred. The cuts were small and shallow, but they hurt like hell. We left thee bathroom and rejoined the circle.
"What happened to your arms?" Sue whispered to me.
"The cat," I giggled.
