Foodie| discontinued

i. Lexx

|One: Write a chapter in which a character is discriminated against for their body type.|

            i. Lexx

The sound of ducks quaking blared into my ear vibrating the drum as my phone sat underneath my head. Burying my face into my pillow I internally groaned, mumbling curse words while my hand snaked under searching for the annoying device. Tapping the screen a dozen times, I sighed turning over to lay on my back, staring at the white stars glued to my ceiling. “Good morning Hell,” I mumbled to myself, huffing as I swung my legs over the edge of my bed staring at myself in the mirror across the way. The t-shirt I wore hung on my body, looking twice as big rather than its actual size; the sleeves slightly falling down my shoulders exposing my collar bone. I let my head fall down, my eyes staring at my toes while my hair cascaded down swiftly, making my appearance grudge-like. Peeking my eyes through the small gaps of hair, I softly laughed to myself at the thought of me being the grudge. Oh the people I’d go after, I thought, chuckling again.

“Lexx,” my mother yelled banging her knuckles on my door, “breakfast is ready, hurry up!” I nodded in response, forgetting the door was blocking her vision of me. “Lexx,” my mom repeated herself. Standing up in a stretch, I made my way to the bathroom, “kay” I  yelled, closing the door behind me.

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Standing in front of the rectangle mirror outlining my closet door, I stared at my reflection from head to toe, eyeing my choice of wardrobe. My Real Friends band tee hung loosely with two black tank tops underneath, clinging to my stomach; topped with a hoodie underneath my black leather jacket. Instead of wearing jeans in my size, I wore skinny jeans two sizes bigger, letting the denim material bunch up at the bottom where my socks and boots layered over. I sighed blowing out air, stuffing my hands in my jacket pockets, “Well Lexx,” I said staring into my reflections eyes, “no matter how many layers you wear, you’re still going to be a twig.” Biting my lip, I did another once over in the mirror before grabbing my notebook and stuffing it in my bag, not caring that I smashed lose papers in the process.

“Breakfast, Tom,” I mumbled peaking my head into my brothers room, whom was sitting in his pajamas with his face in front of the television screen. He sat with his legs folded and controller in hand, hypnotized by the video game. “Tom,” I repeated watching him hit pause following his head snapping in my direction. “Breakfast,” I mumbled while he nodded before turning back to play his game. Shrugging my shoulders, I inhaled deeply, before gliding down the stairs to the breakfast table.

Letting my bag slump to the side of the chair by the tables leg, I pulled the chair out and sat with my arms folded, waiting for my plate. “Morning sweets,” my dad said voice muffled by the newspaper hiding his face. “Anything interesting?” I asked, peering over his paper. He shook his head and turned the page. “Hands,” mom said pushing my arms off the table to place my plates in front of me, followed by the others. Toms feet patted along the wooden floor before sliding his chair with screech and placing himself on top. I stared between my parents and brothers plate, eyeing the food being scraped onto their forks, then back at mine. Their plate of food consisted of: eggs, sausage, and hash browns whilst mine over powered theirs, consisting of: eggs, sausage, pancakes, hash browns, toast, and bacon. “Eat up Lexx,” my mom said taking a sip of her coffee, “you have a lot of catching up to do.” Holding my fork in hand, I began stabbing each bit of food and placing it into my mouth, one by one. As I ate, I watched my family inhale their food with grace, relishing each bite until their plates were clean. Looking down at my half eaten plate, I eyed my second one that was still completely covered and sighed. Using my fork, I played with the food in attempt to make it look like I had devoured more than what I already had. Taking another bite of pancakes I looked back up at my mom who was eyeing me with her cup in between her hands, “eat Lexx, you haven’t had enough.” I sighed while internally groaning at her, “I am,” I mumbled stuffing eggs into my mouth, letting them sit in my cheeks like a chipmunk. My dad folded his morning paper and let it fall onto his plate, staring at my mom, “she’s trying you know that.” His dark eyes bored into hers while she stared back at him with pursed lips, “well she needs to try harder.”

My dad glared at her then turned his gaze to me, his eyes softening, “if you can’t eat anymore you don’t have to.” My mom huffed, banging her cup on the table “yes she does.” She pointed down at my plate and then my mouth, “Lex, eat.” Before my dad could protest against her request and further the argument, I smiled and took another bite, “I’m fine, I’m still hungry.” My mom smiled in triumph at me then my dad before taking her dirty dishes to the sink. “If you could be like us and your brother, you wouldn’t have this problem,” she said turning on the sink. Focusing on the food in front of me, I tried to drown out her cries about my body and how I wasn’t created like her amongst others in town. “She can’t help it Mae,” my dad mumbled placing his plate in the sink, gripping my moms’ shoulders. From the corner of my eye I could see my mom tense and the invisible steam radiating out of her ears. She turned around to face my dad, “do you note notice how skinny she is?” Her eyes were cold staring between my dad and me, “she isn’t normal, everybody in town sees it; do you not hear how they talk?” Or how you talk, I thought to myself, losing my appetite.

“It doesn’t matter,” my dad said calmly, “she’s our daughter, it’s not her fault she doesn’t put on weight like everyone else.” My moms’ brows furrowed while she glared at my dad, “so you’re saying it’s mine since I gave birth to her?” My dad sighed shaking his head while running his hands over his face, “no, it’s not but neither is it hers,” he said grabbing his brief case off the counter. “I’ll be in the car Lexx,” he looked at me before walking out the front door. Taking one last bite of my pancakes, I picked up my two plates and placed them in the sink. “Thanks mom,” I mumbled returning to the table to pick up my school bag. “Ignore what your dad said,” she said with her hands on her hip, “he doesn’t know what he’s saying half the time, he also agrees’ you’re too small for our family, let alone town.” I sighed, “I know mom.” Biting my bottom lip in between my teeth, I chewed on the skin in attempt to hold back the tears that were prickling the corner of my eyes. “Here’s your lunch,” she said ignoring the hurt expression upon my face, “I also packed another bag for your break, you need all the food you can get.” I nodded in response, knowing if I opened my mouth I would croak out a sob or choke on my own words. Placing the food in my bag I walked to the front door. Normally I would take my time towards the door, making time between home and school slower than normal. However, instead of being slow as a turtle, I fled towards the door to get away from my mom. “Have a good day at school!” she yelled cheery, returning to wash the dishes. Opening the door I sighed, yeah right.

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Dedicated to OceanVoyage, who is also participating in the Body Positivity writing challenge with her story Cloud Nine. x