Skinny Love

Introduction

I smell of pizza fills the air, my mouth waters and I start fidgeting with my sleeve. I promised myself I wouldn’t binge this time, pizza isn’t worth it. Nothing is worth it. I turn to my friend Ashley who’s eyes are glued to the box of pizza, she’s just as anxious as I am. We both haven't eaten since we started the competition, both of us are determined to win. We both have the deadly desire to be skinny.

Ashley snaps out of her trance, focusing on the glass of water this time. She takes a sip then looks at me and whispers, “Don’t do it Brittney.” Her brother, Jason, walks into the room with a plate. “Are you girls gonna eat?”  Ashley rolls her eyes and glares at her brother, “We’re not gonna eat that sh*t.” I smile and stand up from the lavish leather couch, pulling Ashley along with me.

We walk up the huge spiral staircase, being careful not to slip on the slick marble stairs. Ashley’s house was smaller than mine, but it was still a mansion. She was the richest girl in school until I came along, everyone loved her. Now i’m in the spotlight, the one everyone wants to look like. I swing open the door to Ashley’s room and jump on her king sized Tempur-Pedic bed, melting into the soft mattress. Ashley giggles and joins me.

“Did you bring your journal?” I nod my head and pull a black leather notebook, flipping through the pages to find todays date. Ashley does the same, smiling as she turns the page. I read what's written down for today, “Breakfast for Monday; Water. Lunch for Monday; Nothing. Dinner for Monday; Nothing!” Ashley smiles and gives me a high five, then starts reading her list for today. “Breakfast; Orange juice. Which was 120 calories. Lunch; Nothing. Dinner; Nothing.”

She tosses her notebook onto the bed and walks over to the closet. I’m not sure if that would even be considered a closet, it’s more like a room where she keeps her clothes. She walks into the enormous room and skips back out holding a silver scale. “Time for the moment of truth!” I roll my eye’s and giggle, “You really think your going to beat me?”

She pulls of her satin dress and flings it at my face, “Oops!” I stick out my toung and gracefully stick up my middle finger. She bends down and presses the ‘hydrate; button, which only measures your water weight. She takes a deep breath then steps on the scale, crossing her fingers behind her back.

“Three-point-four. You are over hydrated.” The robotic voice makes me shiver, does anyone else find that creepy? “What! Over hydrated! Whatever, you can’t ever be over hydrated!” Her frustration makes me giggle,  I know I can beat her. She reaches down and presses the ‘Muscle Mass’ button, flexing her upper arm. I snicker and bite my lip, she can’t be serious. She really thinks she has muscle!

“Twenty percent. Below average.” My eye’s widen in horror, oh my god! That may as well be zero muscle! No wonder she’s so thin! I smile spreads across her perfectly tanned face, and she flips her bottle blonde hair over her shoulder. “Yep, that’s my comeback!” This time she presses the ‘Regular’ button, this is the moment i’ve been waiting for! Ashley closes her eye’s and breathes deeply, I can tell she’s scared.

“80.6 pounds. Underweight.” My eye’s drop to the ground, she gained. “It’s okay Ash, you only gained three pounds.” She collapses to her knees and sobs into her hand, I walk over to comfort her. I bite my lip to hide the smile that's threatening to break through, I shouldn’t be happy. She’s ruining her life and I should be doing something, but i’m not. I’m glad she gained, it means that i’ve won.

I get ready to step on the scale, skipping all the other stupid buttons. I pull of my blouse and remove my skirt, feeling unusually thin. I like this feeling, I like being light and free. I step on the scale and hold my breath. “75.2” I tried to hold back, but the giggles and the smiles come bursting out.  “You cheater! We promised we wouldn’t purge! Or use laxatives! I know you did, the laxatives are in your bag right now!” Tears run down her mascara streaked face, her eye’s are wild and frantic.

“Why the hell would I cheat!” I shout back. “I didn’t purge! You're just a fat ass! Don’t take out your dumb problems on me! It’s not my fault you're a pig” I glare down at the ground, I shouldn’t have said that. She stands up from the ground and points to the door, “Get out of my fucking room!” I glare at her, “Whatever bitch, go kill yourself!” I stop over to the door, slamming it behind me.

I rub my eye and realize that there are tears streaming down my face, why the hell am I crying! I don’t care about her, she’s a dumbass and I truly hope she kills herself. I shake that thought away, I don’t want her to kill herself.  I’m almost halfway down the stairs when I hear the door open, “You forgot your purse!” She holds my bag over the balcony and drops it, “What the hell! My phones it there!” She ignores me and slams her door.

I run down the stairs to pick up the bag, but my vision starts blurring. I immediately sit down and cradle my head in my hands. I sit for a minute then try to stand up, but my legs immediately give in. I grab the stair railing and pull myself up. I take a step up the stairs, then I start getting dizzy. The stairs in front of me start to spin, making me collapse to the ground.

Then everything goes black.