Ana

Chapter Two

*Beep! Beep! Beep!*

My alarm woke me up with it's violent ringing. As I organised my clothes the evening before, I had already pressed the snooze button once and I now had to get ready. I slowly sat up on my bed, watching my stomach roll as I did so. Sometimes I fantasized about taking a knife and cutting off all the fat on my body. I knew this was sick, but I couldn't help it. 

I stepped out of bed and walked out of my room to the bathroom across the hall, bringing the neat pile of folded clothes with me. I took off my pyjamas, avoiding the mirror, and ran my hand under the shower until it had warmed up. Once it was the right temperature, I stepped underneath and washed, being careful not to get my hair wet. My hair was so thick that I could never wash it in the morning as it takes so long to dry. I finished after only a few minutes, and carefully stepped out to dry myself and get dressed. I hated showering. I felt so exposed, and the sight of my body disgusts me.

Once I was dressed I headed back to my room to finish making myself look presentable. Grabbing the hairbrush, I de-tangled my dirty blonde hair that fell just below my shoulder. After quickly running my straighteners through it, I put on some light make-up, mascara and such, and walked over to my mirror. I didn't really like anything about myself, except maybe my eyes, they were big and bright blue. Full of hope. Unlike me.

Walking downstairs, I could smell bacon and eggs frying in the kitchen. Yum! Then I looked down at my stomach, at my thighs. I wasn't hungry any more.

"What do you want for breakfast, honey?" I heard my mum shout from the kitchen.

"Em, nothing. I'll grab something at school. Bye!" I replied and then left before she could say anything else.

What just happened? I always eat breakfast. I love bacon. Whatever it was, I could hear my stomach rumble.

"Oh well, maybe I could do without it anyway." I thought to myself, while walking towards the bus stop.

It only took the bus a few minutes to arrive after I got there. When it stopped, I got one with three other kids from my neighbourhood. I took my usual seat near the middle next to my best friend Rosie. The popular people sat at the back, and the nerdy kids sat at the front, and we didn't fit into either of these categories. Soon enough, I heard snorting noises coming from the back of the bus, with the occasional comment on how I'd 'gotten even bigger'. Believe me, I was used to this and it was no surprise to me it happened again, but it still hurt. I popped in my headphones and stared out of the window, trying to block them out. It was then I first saw her. She was beautiful. Absolutely stunning. Her platinum blonde hair reached the bottom of her back and was gently swept back in the wind. But her body was the main thing that caught my eye. She was bone thin, not a single ounce of fat on her. There was no words that even began to describe how much I yearned to look like her. I wanted to know her secret to how she was that thin. She was perfect.

"Cathy! Come on!"

Rosie snapped me out of my dream world and I came crashing back into reality. I wish she hadn't of.

The school day went by quite quickly. The lessons were full of remarks and insults towards me as usual, but it didn't bother me too much. When the bell went for lunch, I walked down to the cafeteria to meet up with Rosie and Tommy. Tommy was another of my friends. Well, my only other friend. We were the outcasts but we didn't care. We had each other.

We made our way to the line for lunch and as usual I picked up a cheeseburger with fries and a Coke. As I got closer to the till, I saw platinum blonde hair in the corner of my eye. It was her, she was here, the girl from the bus. I put back my burger and fries and picked up a salad. I wasn't sure why, but seeing this perfectly thin girl gave me the urge to be healthier. I guess it was a good thing. No, it was a good thing. No doubt. 

"Really? Is that all you're having? What about the hamburger?" Rosie said, eyeing up my salad.

I was shocked. Was it really that much of a surprise I was eating a salad?

"Okay, first of all, it was a cheeseburger. Secondly, what's the problem?" I said sternly.

Rosie just shook her head and looked down at her pasta dish. I felt bad, but I didn't like her questioning what I ate.

The rest of the day passed quickly, and at the end of last period I made my way over to my bus to go home. Standing at the top of the bus lane was her, the perfect girl. I need to find out her name. I found myself turning away from the bus and beginning to walk home. It was like I wasn't in control any more, but I certainly didn't mind.

By the time I eventually got home, dinner was already set out on the table. I was expecting to see her, and not give into the urge to eat everything that was piled high on my plate. But she never came. Before I knew it, the whole meal was shoved down my throat, and was followed up with a three-spoon portion of ice-cream.

That night I dreamed of her. I looked just like her. I was perfect too.