Saturday morning, Archie came to pick up Finn, who was wearing another jumper from his collection. "Are you mad, Finn? It's a pool party and it's hot out. Why're you wearing that thing?" Archie asked. Finn sighed. Archie didn't know about his scars. "I've got... Marks. On me arms." He said. "What sort of marks?" Archie asked. Finn raised his left sleeve, exposing the lines. Archie looked at them. "Shit," He exclaimed, quietly as he stared at them for a second. They both knew they had no time to deal with talking about this right now. "Well, if you don't make a big deal of it, maybe no one else will." Archie told Finn. "That means no jumper. It'll draw attention to your arms once it's off, yeah?" Archie told Finn. Finn took it off, exposing his black undershirt. "That's more like it!" Archie said, and they drove off to Chloe's.
They walked in at the same time, and after their hellos, Archie jumped into the pool with big splash. Chop, Izzy and Chloe cheered in response as Finn awkwardly stepped in from the ladder. The water was warm. Inflatable pool toys were everywhere. Chloe was holding onto a pool noodle as Rae laid down on a yellow foam pool mat. "What's the deal, is something wrong?" Chloe asked after a minute. "What?" Archie asked. "Well, why're you two wearing shirts?" She asked. Everyone got quiet, waiting for a response from the boys. Time slowed down for Finn and he exchanged a nervous glance with Archie. Neither of them had any idea how to get out of the awkward situation. Just then, Rae playfully splashed Chloe. "Just let them be, who cares if they're wearing shirts?" She said, easing the tension. Chop shrugged and went back to splashing Izzy. Finn let out a relieved breath.
...
It was an hour into the party and everything was going great. Chloe had taken booze from her parents, who didn't seem to mind that everyone was drinking. In order to loosen up, Finn was drinking too. Everything was pretty 'laxed until Chloe piped up again, after catching sight of Finn's arms. "Oh my god, Finn! What's happened to your arms?" She asked, grabbing at his wrist and pulling it to her face. Finn's heart began beating fast. "I, erm.." He began, unable to make up a lie. "An accident. In France. Right, Finn?" Rae asked, rescuing him for the second time so far. "Y-yeah. No big deal though." Finn said. "But what kind of accident-" Chloe began, only to be cut off by Chop. "He'll live, Chlo, let him be!" He called out, sending a massive wave of water in her direction. Caught off guard, the water knocked her down and everyone laughed. She resurfaced and splashed him back, laughing. Everyone was back to normal, no one suspected anything.
Finn looked at Rae, admiring her body. Her one piece bathing suit was a bright mint colour. Finn must've been admiring her for a while, because she caught him. Instead of telling him to piss off, she smiled at him. He smiled back, and looked over at Archie, who had Izzy on top of his shoulders. Everything was going fine. For once, Finn didn't feel awful about his flabby flesh and allowed himself to have a good time.
...
The day after the pool party, Finn woke up with a massive hangover. It was Sunday, and he was thinking about the hospital. He dreamt he was back there, sharing a room with Danny Two Hats, the scrawniest kid in the ward. Danny was odd, but cool, nonetheless. It was as if he took place of Finn's Archie for a while. Finn rolled over, facing his reflection in the mirror. He looked like utter shit. Bloodshot eyes, baggy lids, and of course, his big fat mountain of a stomach. He was disgusted with himself. He wished he could have a new body. His current one wasn't treating him nicely. It always made him look a fool, with big wings under his arms and cellulite-infested thighs. Yes, cellulite. It was so embarrassing. His body was always subject to jokes from the lads in town. He wished he was back in hospital with Danny. Danny didn't care what Finn looked like.
Sundays at the hospital were uneventful, but they were Finn's favourite day of the week. Since they weren't doing much, he and Danny would go off to the park and feed the ducks the toast from their breakfast. There were always a gang of ducks waiting for them, like clockwork. It was as if they had a special bond, the ducks and them. Sometimes Tix would join them with the ducks, but not usually. She made Danny nervous. He fancied her, and she fancied no one. She didn't even liked to be touched, and she'd hardly look anyone in the eye, not even in group therapy where it's required to look at the speaker. He was really going to miss seeing Danny and Tix. Finn forced himself to stop thinking about hospital since it made him so sad. He got up and got ready for the day. Sundays were no longer fun. They just reminded him of how his life was different now.
