I open my eyes to the sound of an alarm. My alarm on my phone, to be exact. I grunt, not wanting to get up from my comfy cocoon. I grab my phone from my nightstand and swipe right, turning off the loud piano noise I'm growing to hate. Lifting the covers off my body, I yawn, sitting up and rubbing my face. I finally get the strength to stand up and walk over to my full body mirror. I can see the fresh cuts along my arms and thighs through my tank top and shorts. Probably about a couple days old. I lift up my shirt and expose my stomach, which appears to have gotten a little smaller, but not that much. The fresh cuts zig zag along my pale white skin, spelling the word "FAT" along my stomach. I place my hand on my stomach, feeling the bumps of my cuts, reminding me of the reasons why I've done this to myself. Why I do any of this to myself. I am the person I hate, I am my worst enemy. The constant thought travels through my mind: What if I'm not good enough? And that's my biggest fear. I constantly worry about if I'm good enough to be someone. To become my biggest dream. Everyday I hide behind a mask that shows people the fake me. The me that I want to be. But once I remove that mask, I'm afraid I'll lose everything I've worked so hard to gain.
"Honey, wake up. It's time for school." I jump at the sound of my mother's muffled voice behind my bedroom door. I drop my shirt and run over to my bed, covering my scarred body as the door swings open. She needs to stop doing that, and I need to remember to lock the door.
"Mom! I could have been changing." I yell, startled and frustrated. She gives me a stern look.
"I gave birth to you. Get dressed, the bus will be here in twenty." She commands before closing the door. I take a deep breathe, trying to calm my racing heart. I push myself off my bed and look through my closet. I pick out a black sweater and ripped skinny jeans, along with some white Converse. I quickly get dressed and brush through my long brown hair. My blue eyes sparkle in my reflection from the light coming from the window. I pick up my backpack off the floor and head out the door. I hop my way down the stairs and into the kitchen where my mother, father, and little brother are gathered around the table.
"Finally, you're up. Come eat some oatmeal before the bus comes." My father says as he looks up from his bowl.
"I told you I started getting breakfast at school. I'm just going to go wait at the bus stop." I say before running out the back door.
I finally arrive at the front of my high school. I sit in the last seat on the bus and stare at the building. This, this place is my personal hell. This is the place that brings me the most anxiety. This is the place that taught me to hate myself. The bus hauls to a stop and I wait for everyone else to leave the bus before I stand up and hop off myself. As soon as I step foot on campus, I see my best friend running up to me. The huge smile across her face always brings one to mine. She's the one person I can trust with everything, except for my biggest secret.
"Izz!" Harper yells as she brings me into a hug. Izz is my nickname she made up for me. Its short for Isabella. She pulls away and smiles at me.
"I am so excited for the formal winter dance tomorrow night." She squeals, slightly jumping in place. Her blonde hair glistens in the early morning sunlight, her light green emerald eyes sparkle. Harper is one of the prettiest girls in school, I still have no idea why she's best friends with a whale.
"I don't know if I'm going." I mutter. She look at me with those sad puppy eyes, you know, like in a cartoon and a puppy is sitting in a box outside. And the puppy looks at you with those sad, big eyes and it makes you want to cry. Yeah, it's my weakness.
"B-But you have to go." She says, curling her lip. I stare at her face for a while before I finally give in.
"Fine." I mutter, Harper jumps up and squealed, wrapping her arms around me. Just then we hear the bell ring and Harper retrieves her arms.
"I'll see you in class!" She says with a smile before skipping off to class. She is the peppiest girl I've ever met, but that's what I love about her.
As the bell rings after homeroom, I stand up and pick my books up as my homeroom teacher, Miss Herd, calls my name.MIss Herd is my favorite teacher, I feel like I can discuss anything with her. Well, besides my secret.
"Am I in trouble?" I ask, concerned and nervous. She chuckles.
"No, not at all. I just wanted to discuss something with you. Do you have a minute? I can write you a late pass."
"Um, sure." I answer in a skeptical manner.
"As you know, we're getting a new student tomorrow. I was wondering, if you'd be interested in being her mentor. You know, show her the ropes of the school. Make her feel a little more welcomed."
"Oh...I don't know Miss Herd." I bite my lip.
"Come on, Isabella! This will be good for you. I know you're only friend is Harper. Maybe you could make a new one." She sings the word "one" in excitement. The giant smile on her face tells me she really wants me to say yes.
"Okay okay, fine. I'll do it. But only because you're forcing me to. I hardly doubt we'll become friends, though."
"You never know unless you try." She scribbles something on a piece of paper. "Okay, her name is Lilly and she is moving here from Texas."
I nod my head, confirming I heard what she said. She scribbles on a small yellow piece of paper and hands it to me.
"Here's your late pass, I'll see you fifth period." I give her a fake smile before walking away. I take a deep breath once I'm in the hallway. It's empty now, except for a couple of popular girls by the stairwell. One of the girls in the group was Mia Cooper, the most popular girl in the school. I look at them, noticing that they're giggling and whispering to each other while glancing at me. I feel my cheeks starting to burn and my heart speeding fast. I shut my eyes hard and start speeding off down the other end of the hallway. I hold my books close to me, staring down at the ground. All of a sudden I fall back, landing hard on my butt and my books flying all over the place. I hear the girls laughing from behind me. I open my eyes and see a boy sitting in front of me.
"Oh my...I'm so sorry. I should've been paying attention, are you alright?"
His voice was deep, but soft. His dark brown eyes looked at me with concern. His shaggy brown hair fell perfectly over half of his face, covering one of his eyes.
"Hello?" His voice brings me back from the clouds.
"Huh?" He smiles and chuckles, making my heart race fast and my stomach get butterflies. I hear one of the girls behind me whisper "What a loser."
"Are you alright?" I blink rapidly before processing what he said.
"Oh...yeah, yeah I'm fine." I notice he picked up all my books and stacked them neatly in front of me. He stand up and with a book in one hand, he reaches out his other hand, offering to help me up. I take his hand and he lifts me up to my feet. He picks up my books and hands them to me.
"Sorry again for running into you. I was just really into this book."
"N-No, it's totally okay." I give him a smile.
"I'm Liam, what's your name?" He flips his head, moving the hair out of his face.
"Isabella." I smile again.
"It was nice to meet you, Isabella. I hope to see you around school." He smiles before walking off behind me. I stand frozen, trying to process what had just happened. I hear the girls behind me giggle. I turn around and see them watching Liam walk away, giggling and waving. Then reality hits, he would never go out with a whale like me. He probably likes Mia, I mean, who wouldn't? She's pretty, tall, sexy, and best of all, skinny. I bite my lip, turning around and walking to my next class.
~~~
Just so you guys know, the picture above is a picture of Liam. <3
YOU ARE READING
Imperfect
Teen Fiction[Highest Ranking - #1 in Realistic Fiction] [Highest Ranking - #33 in Eating Disorder] Isabella is like any normal 16 year old girl. She wakes up, goes to school, deals with mean girls, and boys. But she has a secret. Throwing up after meals on the...
