I'm Not A Girl, I Swear [Discontinued]

XII

Nick was still shaken about the whole anorexia conversation. It was a serious thing. He couldn't have it, could he?

Figuring it was nothing, he decided to take an online quiz. They were always inaccurate, he knew, but this one was from a medical website. He just needed to do it for his peace of mind.

1. Do you have an intense fear of gaining weight?
- Yes
- No

He clicked yes. He had to or else he couldn't escape.

2. Are you doing these things often...
- Excessive exercise because you want to lose wait.
- Fear of eating in public
- Trouble sleeping
- Social withdrawal

He clicked all of them except trouble sleeping. Eating in public left him defenseless, and the others were rather self explanatory.

3. Do you face these often....
- Frequently being cold
- Dry skin
- Abdominal pain
- Irregular heart rhythms
- Low blood pressure
- Dehydration

He was definitely cold a lot, and his skin was dry and calloused from climbing. His heart was regularly irregular. He did seem to be thirsty a lot...

4. Do you refuse to eat and denial of hunger?
- Yes
- No

Yeah.

5. Does your mood switch from sad to happy and happy to sad often or lack of emotion?
- Yes
- No

Yeah, he always felt numb. He'd only started to feel happy at Dalton.

6. Do you have fear of eating in public or in group?
- Yes
- No

Already answered that...

7. Are you wearing baggy clothes to hide body shape?
- Yes
- No

More of loose, but yeah.

8. Are you making yourself vomit after eating a meal?
- Yes
- No

Nick was appalled at that one. No!

9. Do you feel you have low self-esteem?
- Yes
- No

Yes.

10. Do you feel you need to change your eating behavior?
- Yes
- No

Well... He thought he eating behavior was fine. He just might need to change something else.

He answered a lot more questions until he finally hit the answer to the last one. His score popped up and he closed his computer immediately.

"No," he said aloud. "No, absolutely not."

He was alone in his dorm, in denial. This wasn't happening to him. He was fine.

He was absolutely fine.

His phone buzzed, distracting him.

Jeffrey Sterling, Sebastian Smythe, and 6 others

JS Anyone watched
it?

SS You're obsessed.

JS Maybe.

BA I did. It was really
good. The whole concept
is awful, though. I can't
even imagine how
someone could get to
that dark a place.

SS People yell at them
their whole life that
they aren't skinny enough.
Just a thought.

JS That, and all the things
you see in the media...
The normal person is
the before picture,
which I guess tells us
that we're not skinny
enough or good-looking
enough.