Skinny

Chapter 11

Just as Dr. Grant said, a couple hours later someone came to our room to take us to the cafeteria. I started getting nervous as we neared it, the smell of food quickly entering my nostrils. I didn’t want to eat, and I so badly wanted to scream that out. I knew that would be a bad idea, though, considering if I did I’d probably be force-fed.

            “Hey, I can see nervousness written all over your face. Calm down, alright? You just need to trust me.” Alex whispered to me, linking her arm with mine.

            I bit my lip and nodded at what she said as we entered the room. Teens were seated everywhere. It looked like a school cafeteria with some tables full, and others with just a couple kids at them. I followed Alex to the dinner line and we stood there and waited.

            “Now, they don’t give you a lot of food, but they give you enough. There are choices, so take some that you wouldn’t mind putting in your mouth. And make sure to get a dark drink.” She said.

            “Why the dark drink?” I asked.

            “You’ll see.”

            I didn’t question any further as the line started moving. Alex handed me a tray and I held it out in front of me. As we neared the inside of the kitchen, my eyes scanned the foods. “You have to take one thing of fruit, a side dish, and then a main dish.” Alex explained to me and I nodded.

            For the fruit I decided on strawberries. As I walked along the line, two side dishes laid ahead of me. There were mashed potatoes and corn. I decided on the mashed potatoes, then walked further. I then came up to three choices of the main course. There was pizza, steak, and fish. Deciding on pizza, I took one piece of cheese, then grabbed a cup full of Rootbeer. I followed Alex out of the kitchen and we headed towards a table. When we sat down, I scanned my eyes around the table, taking in everyone that was sitting there. There were four girls and two guys, all-seeming to be real skinny. I guessed that these were the people Alex was talking about.

            “Everyone, this is Kylie. Kylie, this is Amanda, Janie, Gabe, Thomas, Brandi, and Christina.” Alex said, pointing to each of the kids as she introduced them.

            “Hey.” I said quietly and gave a small wave.

            Several echoes of ‘hi’ and ‘hey’ came from their lips as they began eating. “So, is Alex your new tutor?” Gabe asked me.

            I raised my eyebrows in confusion. “Tutor?” I asked.

            That earned me a laugh. “You know, is she helping you with the eating thing?” He asked.

            “Oh! Yeah, she is.” I said and nodded.

            Before anyone could say anything else, a lady walked over to the table. “You two need to start eating.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

            “Sorry, Mrs. Fields, I was just introducing Kylie to everyone.” Alex spoke up.

            Mrs. Fields gave us both a smile before walking off. Once she was out of sight, Alex began whispering. “Alright, now drink half of your drink. They don’t care about finishing drinks here.” She said.

            I did as she said and drank half of the Rootbeer, a little confused on why I was doing so. I had no problem with drinking anything, it was mainly the food. Once I was done, I set the drink down and nodded towards Alex. “Alright, now start with the pizza. Take normal bites but chew a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. After you’re done, keep the food in your mouth but pretend you swallowed it, then go to take a drink but spit your food into the cup.” Alex explained to me.