Project Fat Suit

Eleven: Blockhead #1 and Blockhead #3

Chapter 11: Blockhead #1 and Blockhead #3

“Morning,” Holly greeted me cheerfully as I approached my locker.

“Are you going to do this every day?” was my response.

“Every day until I get a cheerful smile and chirpy ‘morning’ back,” she informed me, “because that’s when I know something’s fishy going on.”

I stared at her in shock for a moment. That was the closest thing to an insult that I have ever heard leave Holly’s mouth. It was a very weak mean-spirited thing, but still. Maybe Uranus was rubbing off on her.

But Holly seemed to realize what she just said and quickly blurted out, “I’m sorry! That was mean. It’s not that you’re depressing, but –” Holly trailed off and ended with a long, “yeah . . .”

Never mind.

“You seem upset,” Holly commented when I didn’t reply to her but instead went to opening my locker and started to unpack my bag.

I groaned in response.

“Is it about the comment I said earlier? If it is, I didn’t mean to offend you in anyway. It’s just that I didn’t get my strudel this morning and my stomach has been secretly growling all morning. I think you can hear it even now, but anyways, that’s beside the point. I would beg for your forgiveness. Do you want to? Cuz’ I actually will-”

“Holly!” I had to shout over her long rambling, which had become progressively louder and now attracting glances from students passing by. “It’s not your fault,” I assured her when she had stopped.

Holly was still standing there giving me a look of guilt.

I sighed and decided to tell her. “My relatives are coming over for our annual, family reunion this weekend and my father decided to tell me only three days before they start arriving.”

“Isn’t family a good thing?” Holly asked, giving me a confused look.

“Not when one of your cousins has no idea you wear a suit,” I muttered quietly so no greedy ears could hear.

“Oh, so you’re basically under house-arrest?”

“Well, that’s not really the bad part. This particular relative has a pretty tight relationship with social networking and has no respect for me.”

“You could always hang out at my place,” Holly suggested. “Though, Trent is usually there.”

I gave her a grimace. “I’ll pass.”

“We’re not that bad, are we?”

“Please, you guys are like that annoying couple that won’t hang up on each other unless someone else does it.”

“Are you serious?” Holly asked panicked. “I thought couples were supposed to do that! Well, at least that’s what one of my friends told me.”

“There’s your problem.”

“You mean I could have hung up on him that whole time?!” Holly asked, appalled. “I spent fifteen minutes straight repeating that stupid ‘No, you hang up first,’ over the phone?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her. “You thought that it was some law for couples?” I asked between laughs.

“You got stuck in a vent!” Holly countered teasingly, blushing slightly from my statement.

“No, no I didn’t,” I objected. “This,” I motioned to my torso, “got stuck—not me.”

“Whatever, it still reminds of me Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”