Paper Thin

• 29: Upstairs, Downstairs •

Melody

When I got inside, the smell of food cooking and baking practically slapped me in the face. Margot was barking orders to four people bustling around the dining room, setting it up to make it look nice. There were decorations, a small centrepiece, many plates and utensils.

"Where have you been? Go get ready!" Margot snapped when she saw me. "Show me your dress so I can approve it, when you're done" I frowned. I thought this was just her book club, not dinner with The Royal Family.

I glanced at the clock. It was only half past three. I didn't want to imagine what would have happened if I had come home late. With a sigh, I headed upstairs, and took a quick shower. I pulled on a tight black dress, and straightened my wavy, brown hair. I put my makeup on but made sure it looked natural because I knew that Margot hated when it was too dark. I pulled on nude pumps and headed downstairs as quickly as possible.

"Where are you going? A funeral?" Margot questioned from the dining room. "Go back upstairs and change," she snapped. She then shifted her scowl to one of the workers. "That does not go there, Paul!!"

I trudged back upstairs and leafed through clothes in my closet. I pulled out a pink dress that had lace across the front. I dragged that on and switched to silver flats. Quickly, I chased downstairs again and stood in front of Margot.

"You look too pale to wear that. And don't come back down here in flats."

Back up the stairs.

A loose white and gold dress, with strappy gold heels.

Down the stairs.

"Too beachy."

Back up the stairs.

Little red dress with black heels.

Back down the stairs.

"You look like the devil's mistress."

Back up the stairs.

A silver dress with nude heels.

Back down the stairs.

"You look fat."

Then I marched up the stairs, into my room and slammed the door shut. Why couldn't I do anything to please her? Why was I never good enough? I flopped down onto my bed and took a deep breath. I stared at the picture of my mom. Why wasn't I anything like her?

I sighed and swallowed the tears that threatened to spill over. I went through my closet and flipped through the clothes once again. Finally, I settled on a tight, crème, one-shoulder dress with a thick, matching choker. I put on a pair of designer gold heels, a couple gold bracelets and a gold pair of earrings. I brushed through my now pin-straight hair and added some gold to my makeup.

Then I stepped down the stairs once again.

"Finally! Something decent."

Decent. After all of that, the best she could come up with was 'decent'? This was going to be a long night.

***

I sat at the dinner table, next to the she-devil's sisters, also known as Grace and Amelia. There were here for lunch recently, but with the amount of plastic surgery they invested in, I often didn't recognize them. The usual giveaway was that their outfits were often varying styles or colours of what Margot was wearing. They were like aged and wine-filled cheerleaders.

There were five other women who were also at the table. They sat to the other side of Mia and who was beside me, but I didn't really care to interact with them. They were snooty and guffawing about a stupid joke that Margot made. My father didn't make an appearance tonight, though I did see him slide by us in the background and head straight to his office.

The first course brought out was a really small salad, but it was filled with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, nuts, and cranberries, all tossed in a balsamic dressing. I avoided the nuts and cranberries but could handle the rest. Our second was Alfredo pasta. The most carb-filled meal. I began slowly eating, still smiling and avoiding eye contact with Mia and Margot. About halfway through the pasta, I began to give up on it. There was another meal coming my way.

"Okay, but the amount of scandal that she's brought onto her family is outrageous!" Amelia said. Everyone else agreed adding in their own bits of information.

"She stole their chauffer and went to New York for a week!" Grace added. I hated the gossip amongst these ladies. They were worse than high school students. I glanced around as I absorbed the pointless information accidentally looking at Margot in the process.

She glared at me then at my plate, making me shake my head slightly. She wanted me to eat what was on my plate to be polite. But then would call me fat when I was finished. Margot's look became harsher, and I picked up my fork before she caused a scene. Robotically, the next bites went into my mouth.

And more after that.

Then the next course came. Chicken, potatoes and steamed vegetables.

I could see my hands shaking though I forced myself to fit in to this group of snobby women who had nothing better to do than eat, gossip, drink, and then exercise the negativity away. They were all slim and trim, though they stuffed their faces with demure bite after bite.

I could feel my diaphragm quivering, rocking my lungs and forcing oxygen to struggle to get in and out. But I had to hold it together. I had to be okay in this moment or Margot and Mia would never let it go. I watched them sip wine and cackle at inside jokes, other people's misfortune. While they seemed to be having the time of their lives, I felt miserable.

It would have been much easier if I'd listened to Mia and not gone out for lunch. I wouldn't look this way, if I avoided meals more. I wouldn't feel this way if I didn't look this way.

Fat. It echoed in my mind like screams into an empty cave.

I put a spoonful of vanilla ice cream into my mouth. I didn't even taste the flavours at this point. This was binging. The number of calories I'd eaten in one day, was what I tried to eat in the span of four. This was too much. I wanted to get every single remnant of food out of me and away from me.

When I waved goodbye to all of Margot's minions, I already knew what I was planning on doing. It was the only way I could survive the night.

_________________

Author's Note: Soooo um I hate Margot... LOL what do you think about her? Let me know what you think of the chapter in the comments and what you think will happen next! ;)

Here's Melody's outfit: