Hope

I yanked up my hood, suppressing a shiver and ignoring the confused looks I got from my peers. I was always cold, even during the fall and early spring when most people wore only T-shirts. I usually didn't think much of it, I supposed I was just intolerant to the cold. Like the opposite of my friend Jensen, who was practically immune to the cold.

I walked through the school halls with my head down and I could tell that people were talking about me, even if I couldn't hear them. They would glance over at me and whisper to their friends, obviously thinking I wouldn't notice. I knew what their true opinions of me were, even if they refused to admit it.

I knew that they were just being nice to seem like they were being generous to the poor fat girl. I wasn't always overweight, but it became an issue in high school, or at least that's when I noticed it.

I was pulled from my musings by Jensen, who waved to me from her locker, which was right next to mine. I waved back and wandered over in a tired stupor.

"Good Morning Hope." she said, stifling a yawn.

"Morning," I replied, struggling to keep my eyes open. Jensen was the only person I could talk to without them mentioning my weight at some point or another. I could tell she still noticed, but at the very least she didn't patronize me.

She suddenly started rummaging through her backpack, which was deceptively heavy for its small size. After a few seconds, she pulled a pudding cup from the depths of her bag. She held it out to me and said, "Here, you can have this, I don't like vanilla and my parents bought a whole bunch of them." I smiled and accepted.

I supposed I could have the pudding for lunch instead of the granola bar I was planning on eating. I would have to balance it out later since the pudding cup had almost twice as many calories as the granola bar, but I would rather sacrifice lunch for a day or two than risk losing the only person I could have a normal conversation with.

"Thank you." I forced a smile. It barely reached my eyes.

"So, what's up?" Jensen was cheery as always. I smiled. When we were younger she had been hopelessly shy, but she had really come out of her shell.

"Nothing really," I replied.

"Well, if you're not doing anything, do you want to hang out at my place later? My mom said she wouldn't mind if you come over," she offered.

I paused. I couldn't go to Jensen's, especially when her mother was home. She'd make me eat since I was so 'dreadfully skinny' and she'd never let me get away with any of my usual excuses. "Sorry, my parents want me home tonight, maybe some other time," I lied, avoiding Jensen's gaze. She looked disappointed and slightly concerned but she didn't object.

"Alright then," she sighed, with an air of melancholy.

"See you later," I said, turning around and heading towards my French class.

"Later," she sighed, walking away.

As if on cue, the first bell rang the second I walked through the door. The period passed by slowly as I tiredly stumbled through endless amounts of grammar work. After what seemed like forever, the bell rang again. I left the room without waiting for the teacher to dismiss our class and trudged through the maze of high school halls until I reached my Art class.

Our teacher gave us a new project, which ended up being a free draw assignment. I cracked a smile. We needed to draw anything we wanted and explain its meaning to the class. I started working right away.

I ended up drawing a beautiful woman with ebony hair lying dead on the floor, an apple in hand. Nearby, there was a hooded figure that didn't have any distinguishing features to designate them as male or female. The figure held a half-empty vial of poison in their hands. My rendition of Snow White. It was rather good.

I smiled.

The rest of the day passed without incident. I ate Jensen's pudding for lunch, which only served to make me hungrier. After that, I went to Ancient Civilizations and Functions, trying my best to hide my growling stomach.

When I reached my locker again, Jensen was already there. By this point, I was exhausted. It felt like my shoes were made of lead and my backpack got heavier with every step I took. I managed a neutral expression.

"Hey Jensen," I said weakly. She raised an eyebrow.

"Are you still tired? How much sleep did you get last night?" I was about to answer when a large yawn escaped my lips. "I guess that answers my question," she joked. I couldn't help but smile. I was desperate. I needed some way to distract myself from the hunger. My stomach felt like a barren, bottomless pit, and I felt like I was falling into it.

Once Jensen closed her locker, we went outside to wait for her bus. As soon as she left, I walked home alone.

I was home within twenty minutes and I quickly shed my backpack and shoes, leaving me feeling somewhat lighter. I wandered over to my computer and checked my Artist's Almanac account.

As soon as I logged on, I noticed that somebody had sent me a private message.

'Hey PoisonedApple,' it said, 'this is WatermelonWonder and I just wanted to say that I love your art! My personal favourite so far is 'Eve's Apple'. Not that any of your art isn't absolutely amazing, but if I had to pick a favourite it would be that one. I think it's really cool that you only colour the apples, and your attention to detail is great too! I hope you keep making more!'

I grinned.