Stay Alive

The Birthday Disaster

Possible trigger??- I'm not sure but Alyssa gets concerned about her weight so that might bother some readers.

Alyssa got along great with her new friends. One day, Hannah asked Alyssa if she had an Instagram. Alyssa told her friends what her username was and Sam said, "Woah! You have 25K followers? How?"

"Oh yeah. Well, have you heard of the band, Twenty Øne Piløts?" Alyssa asked.

Her friends nodded. Alyssa said, "Tyler, the singer, is my older brother."

"No way! That's cool!" Christy smiled.

Another day, Tyler took Alyssa and her friends out to dinner and they went bowling. Sam won both games.

On a Monday, Sam asked Alyssa, "What are you doing Saturday?"

Alyssa shrugged. She didn't have any plans. "My birthday is Saturday and I'm having a family party at my house. Hopefully Christy and Hannah can come. You can come too!" Sam invited.

Sam gave her address to Alyssa and Alyssa asked Tyler if she could go. Of course, he said yes.

Saturday -before the party- Jenna took Alyssa out to get a gift for Sam. Alyssa decided she should get her a giftcard for Starbucks. Sam had mentioned that it was one of her favorite places to go to. They bought the gift then headed over to Sam's. Alyssa had never been there and she hadn't met Sam's parents yet, so she was a little nervous.

Sam lived in a 1 story house a few blocks away from school. There was a small rose garden in the front yard and a long brick path lead to the door. "Should I walk you up?" Jenna offered.

"I'll be okay. Thanks for the ride," Alyssa said.

She walked up the path and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, the door opened. Sam was on the other side. "Alyssa, you made it!" She exclaimed.

Sam showed Alyssa the house and lead her down the hall. "My parents are getting the pizza, so it's just you, me, Hannah, and Christy for a bit," Sam said.

Alyssa asked, "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I'm an only child. But I have some cousins who are coming today. One of them is in our grade," Sam said.

Christy was sitting on Sam's bed. Hannah was leaning against the wall by the closet. Her phone was plugged into an outlet. "Hey guys!" Alyssa smiled as she sat next to Christy.

They talked for a few minutes before Sam looked out the window and saw a car pull into the driveway. "My Aunt Lillian and her family are here!" Sam said as she left the bedroom to greet them.

Alyssa waited with Hannah and Christy. She hoped she wouldn't be too awkward around Sam's family. Especially her cousins. Didn't Sam say she had a cousin in their grade? I definitely don't want to screw up then! Alyssa decided. Alyssa looked up when she heard footsteps.

Sam returned and stood at the door. Following her was a girl. Alyssa's jaw dropped when she saw the girl. The girl was someone she hadn't seen since the start of the tour. Sam said, "This is my cousin, Miranda."

Miranda's gaze fell on Alyssa. She acted like she had never seen her. Sam didn't see Alyssa's face and kept talking, "These are my friends from school. Hannah, Christy, and Alyssa."

Miranda greeted Christy and Hannah. Then, she sat with Sam on the floor, ignoring Alyssa. The girls talked and laughed about different things. But Alyssa could see Miranda glaring at her every now and then. Soon, Sam's parents retunes with food and the rest of the family arrived.

They went into the kitchen and Alyssa hoped Miranda's mom and dad wouldn't recognize her. Luckily, they didn't. Alyssa hung behind the group and got her pizza. She followed her friends into the living room and sat with them. Sam's other cousins were running around. One of the younger boys kicked over Alyssa's can of Pepsi. "Aw, I'm sorry!" The boy apologized.

Alyssa smiled, "It's alright. I can get another one."

Sam offered to clean the spill as Alyssa got another soda. But as she got up, she heard Miranda follow. Noone was in the kitchen. Everyone was either in the living room or in the backyard. "Can I help you?" Alyssa asked, irritated.

Miranda laughed. She said, "Me? I don't need help. But I have some advice for you. Maybe it's good that your drink was spilled. After all, soda does make you fat. Maybe you'll actually lose weight if you don't have any."

"Excuse me? I'm not fat and it's one soda. Sam, Hannah, and Christy are drinking soda. Why don't you tell them to stop?" Alyssa stared at Miranda.

"Because they aren't fat like you," Miranda simply said before returning to the living room.

Alyssa stood alone in the kitchen and processed what she had been told. She had always felt that other girls were skinnier then herself, but it never bothered her much...until now. I need to weigh myself Alyssa thought. She knew that some families kept a scale in the bathroom. She returned to the living room and asked, "Uh, Sam? Can I use the restroom?"

Sam nodded, "Of course. Down the hall and the first door on the right."

Alyssa thanked Sam and followed her directions. She closed the bathroom and looked under the sinks. There was a white scale in the back. Alyssa pulled it out from under and took off her shoes. She stood on it and the scale said she was 130 pounds.

She googled what the average weight of a 15 year old girl was. Every website she checked said that the average weight for a girl her age was 115 pounds. Am I really 15 pounds fatter then most girls? The horrifying thought settled in Alyssa's brain.

She left the bathroom and sat next to Christy, being careful to not look at Miranda. "Hey, are you okay? You were in there for a while. Do you feel sick?" Christy asked in concern.

Shaking her head, Alyssa said, "I'm fine. It was just a little stomach ache. I feel better now."

After eating, the younger kids continued to play and the adults sat around and talked. Sam took her friends in the backyard and they sat on a bench for a bit. Soon, Sam's mom called them in so Sam could open her gifts.

Sam loved her gifts. She mostly got gift cards and money. But she also got a few shirts and a pair of jeans. Sam's father brought in the cake and everyone sang. I better not take a slice or have any ice cream. Alyssa thought.

Alyssa didn't take any cake or ice cream. She sat quietly with her friends and tried her best to ignore Miranda. Relief washed over Alyssa when Jenna came to pick her up. When they got in the car, Jenna asked, "How was the party?"

Alyssa said, "It was good. Sam liked her gifts and we hung out. It was great."

She looked out the window and wondered, What am I going to do about my weight...?

A/N Hi everyone! Ok so to clear things up, I checked like 3 or 4 websites and they all said that the average weight for a girl Alyssa's age was either 114 or 115 pounds. The AVERAGE. And Alyssa isn't overweight or "fat." But she doesn't realize that yet. Also, thank you all for 2K + reads. I'm glad you're all enjoying the story!