Stay Alive

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The week following Sam's party, Alyssa arrived at school without eating breakfast and never ate lunch. She wasn't hungry at all. When the bell rang signaling the start of lunch on Friday, she sat at the usual table. Christy brought her lunch from her house. She sat across from Alyssa. "Are you going to eat?" Christy asked.

Alyssa shook her head, "I didn't bring my lunch."

"Are you going to get in the lunch line then?"

"I didn't bring any money."

"You have to eat! You haven't eaten lunch all week!"

"I don't want too. I'm not hungry."

Sam and Hannah joined them with their food. The school's pizza was actually better then most schools. But even Hannah's slice didn't look good to Alyssa. Sam slide into the booth next to her and wondered, "Do you have food?"

Christy answered before Alyssa could. Christy told Sam that Alyssa wasn't eating. Alyssa rolled her eyes. She was fine! I can't let them know that I haven't eaten much since Sam's party. She thought.

Saturday night, Alyssa had told Tyler that she ate a lot for lunch at the party so she could skip dinner without worry. Sunday morning, Alyssa had only 1 piece of toast. She ate a small sandwich for lunch and completely skipped dinner, saying she had a stomach ache and went to bed. Throughout the school week, Alyssa ate only small amoumts of food for dinner. Josh, Jenna, and Tyler didn't suspect a thing. But Alyssa knew it wouldn't be long before they knew something was going on. What would Alyssa do then?

"You can have my pizza crust," Sam said while she tore off the crust.

Alyssa sighed, "I'm not going to eat it."

Hannah spoke up, "Something's bothering you...isn't there?"

How did she know? Alyssa wanted to know. Should she tell her friends? Would they treat her differently? Would they leave her, like Miranda and Jasmine had done? They hadn't known each other very long.  Her friends waited patiently for her explaination. I can't say anything about Miranda in front of Sam.

Alyssa told them about her life before she lived with Tyler, about the abuse, and about the cutting. She explained how she met Tyler and Josh. She said that she was doing great on the tour. However, Alyssa never mentioned Miranda. "It's hard to explain. I can't really control it. Somedays, I wake up feeling bad about myself and feel bad all day," Alyssa said.

Sam and Christy glanced at each other. They looked over at Hannah. She seemed to be thinking about something. Hannah sighed and sat up. "Hey, I understand. If you ever want to talk about it, I'll listen," She said.

Alyssa hated it when people would say they understood, but they really didn't. Hannah, however, seemed like she actually got it. Hannah asked, "So, were you bullied at your old school?"

Don't tell them about Miranda and Jasmine. Don't tell them. The thought rushed through Alyssa's head. "Kind of, but I haven't seen those girls since I left," She said.

Hannah leaned forward in the booth and looked at Alyssa. There was a worried expression on her face. "So...for some people, they don't eat because they lose their appetite. Some people who don't eat much are worried about their weight. Are you worried about your weight?" She asked slowly.

"...both...I guess..." Alyssa muttered.

"Hey, you're not fat. And weight shouldn't matter to anyone. Everyone is beautiful in their own way. It shouldn't matter how 'fat' or how 'skinny' you are," Christy said.

Sam added, "Right. You do realize your weight is based on your height right?"

Alyssa didn't know that. She asked her friends to explain and they told her what they knew. Hannah remained the quietest of the group. Talking about it made Alyssa feel better. Sam gave her some suggestions on how to lose weight in a healthy way. Less junk food, more exercise, not skipping almost every meal. "You don't need to lose weight anyway," Sam said.

When the bell rang, ending lunch, Alyssa headed to her drawing class. Something pulled on her arm. It was Hannah. She said in a serious tone, "If you need anything, please text or call me. I'll do what I can to help...I lost my older brother 2 years ago and he went through what you're going through."

Before Alyssa could say anything, Hannah walked away. She understands more them I thought she did. She thought.

A/N Hey guys! I have nothing really to say here. Haha. So what do you guys like about the story?