Chronicles of a Fat Teenager (Complete - Sequel coming soon)

Chronicles of a Fat Teenager - Chapter Seventeen

Beth stood in the driveway of Jessica’s impressive house and looked up at the vast building. The driveway, perfectly manicured flowerbeds and potted evergreen trees lined the path up to the front door and two large cars were parked at the front.

It had only taken ten minutes on the bus to get to the edge of town and Beth only had a short walk from the bus stop to Jessica’s house. Her tummy complained as it had been in knots since Jess had invited her over.

“My parent’s want your perspective” – Jessica’s text still reverberated in her mind.

“What perspective can I bring?” Beth thought to herself as she walked slowly up the path to their front door, “I might be the same age as Jess, but the similarity ends there. She’s probably had her choice of boyfriends growing up and I’ve just got my first. She’s pregnant and unless I really misunderstood sex education classes, I’m certainly not.”

She rang the doorbell, nervously rubbing her hands together and worried who would greet her at the door.

The front door slowly opened and Jess stood there in the hallway, a tired smile on her lips, eyes puffy and red from crying and her hair pulled back into a rough ponytail, with strands of hair sticking to her wet face.

“Come in, B – thanks for coming.” She croaked and Beth walked slowly into the hallway, looking up to the grand wooden staircase on her right hand side and down into the hallway, following the black and white checkered floor tiles. Beth immediately felt out of place in such a beautiful home and the differences between her and Jessica never felt more real to Beth.

“I … I still don’t really know what I’m doing here .. “ she began, “I mean, of course, I really want to be there for you Jess … but I really thought I’d be intruding or something.”

Jess smiled and rubbed Beth’s arm reassuringly, “My folks have seen a big change in me since you and I became friends, Beth. I think they’re keen for you to be part of this because they want to see our friendship continue. I think dad’s listened to us chat in the car and you’ve obviously made a good impression.”

Beth blushed a little, flattered at her parent’s good opinion of her and was now a little more anxious at making sure she lived up to it. She could hear voices coming from behind a large wooden door just off the hallway and assumed this was the lounge.

Jessica led them through the hallway and in through the door. Beth was a little surprised to be taken into another small hallway and then a very large kitchen. The white units and grey marble worktops gleamed and she could smell fish and chips.  She could hear her parents talking and anxiety rose in her throat as she wondered what on earth they would make of this huge girl coming into their home, making the place look untidy.

Jessica’s mother stood on the far side of the kitchen unwrapping chips from the paper and placing them on plates situated on the large island in the middle of the room. She looked up and smiled warmly at Beth, with no glimmer of reaction at Beth’s size. “Hello, my darling. You have great timing Beth, Frank has just come back with these. I hope you like fish, we ordered that for you? Oh, my name is Penny by the way. Sorry, where are my manners?”

Beth smiled her approval at the choice of dinner and said a quiet hello and then she walked further into the kitchen. Beth could see where Jessica got her good looks from. Her mother was slim, with long brown hair, just greying at the temples. She moved with grace and wore white slim jeans and a blue and white striped top. Beth couldn’t help but compare their mothers for a moment. Jessica’s mum obviously wore clothes that came with an impressive price tag, but weren’t flashy or overtly fashionable, they were simple and elegant. Beth’s mum however prided herself in having a wardrobe stacked high with charity shop and bargain section clothes that were ill-fitting and ill advised for a woman of her age.