New beginnings

|2| Running on empty

-Madeline-

The only cool air i could feel was the faint breeze from my ponytail swaying from side to side as I pounded the pavement. My feet hit the ground in a steady rhythm, my heartbeat thudding in my ears. As I reach the mile marker, I slowed to a walk and sat down a nearby bench, staring at the horizon. The sun was just starting to rise painting the sky with soft pinks and orange.

"I definitely hold the world record for watching the most sunrises," I thought to myself, a faint smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.  I tried to catch the sunrise every morning—it was the one moment where i felt truly productive, Like i was ahead of the world.

I finished the last of my run and made my way home. As soon as I walked through the door,  I grabbed myself an apple from the kitchen counter as a reward. But first,  before I can eat it, the scale. I headed upstairs, heart racing with anticipation and stepped onto it. The number blinked back at me, slightly lower than yesterday.

"Good," I whispered to my self, feeling a rush of relief.

I quickly showered, the hot water soothing my tired muscles, and then dressed for school. Baggy jeans, and a somewhat fitted shirt—tight enough to hint at the body I've been working at to perfect, but not so tight that it made me uncomfortable.  I caught my reflection in the mirror and for once I didn't feel immediately disgusted. My thighs even seemed a little smaller after the run, although I knew it wasn't possible, It was a good thought to have.

As I was about to leave I heard a familiar voice echoing from downstairs. Julian, my brother was back from university.

"Julian's home," I muttered to myself. Maybe I could get him to drive me to school.

I went down stairs and after some playful begging, he agreed. As we rode in silence Julian glanced at me, breaking the quiet.
"Looking good , Mads" His tone casual. "You been doing okay?"

"Yeah, i'm fine," I replied, "schools been busy"

"same" he said,mirroring my response without much emotion. "Any family gossips I missed?"

"Nope not much" I answered dryly, i mean it's not like my parents gave me much attention to be filling me in on things.

"Maybe you should spend more time with them, you're clearly not if you couldn't think of anything"

I scoffed, turning to look out the window. "As if that's the problem"

He didn't reply after that, and we pulled up to the school in awkward silence. I hopped out the car and spotted Clara and Chloe immediately. They're waiting for me by the entrance with a concerned look etched on their face.

"Hey what's up?" I asked, frowning.

Chloe exchanged a glance with Clara, "we need to talk," she said quietly.

"Maybe we should save it for lunch," Clara added, her voice tense.

"Okay..," I agreed nervously, feeling the anxiety creep in.

My mind spun as I walked to my first class. That was weird? What's going on? I tried to push the thought out of my head, but it lingered like a cloud over me.

In math class, instead of paying attention, I opened my notes app and started calculating the calories I've eaten the day before. A granola bar—100 calories. A banana— 90. And that stupid mars bar...250. My heart sank, that brought the total to 450. Way more than I wanted. I sighed in frustration, and a few people turned around to stare at me.

"what?" I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

I spent the rest of the class staring at the board, but all I could think about was lunch. What could they possibly want to talk to me about?