beautiful

the top dog wears pink

song - why try: ariana grande

TW: bulimia

The sound of her alarm blares the second Cady feels as though she had just fallen asleep. She sits up, attempting to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She pulls her small body out of bed, Nala following her. She opens the back door to let Nala go to the bathroom in the backyard. The typical white-picket suburban house backyard. She lets out a sign, getting a glass of water. She stands and watches Nala run around like an idiot. She calls Nala in, heading back upstairs to start getting ready. She heads to the bathroom, washing her face, although it doesn't make herself feel any cleaner. She sits down at her small vanity, staring at her bright blue eyes, bloodshot from lack of sleep. Her face is sunken in, just skin and bone. She applies a small amount of makeup, stuff that she had only just bought yesterday. The time slips by as she cakes stuff on to her face to try and look a little more alive. She finishes and heads to closet.

The clothes stare at her. A large wave of frigid air blows upon her, her shivering becoming worse. Not only is she just skin and bones, she can't contract heat to save her life. Even in the dead heat, she's still cold. She pulls out a striped sweater and ripped black jeans. She pulls the clothes on to her frail body, unsure of how to feel. She slips on a pair of black boots. She stares at herself in the mirror, letting her auburn curls fall down from her ponytail. She doesn't touch them. She leaves them be. She grabs her floral patterned school bag and heads downstairs.

Her mom is already downstairs, filling up a bright yellow hydro flask with water. Her mom smiles at her, handing her the bottle. "Are you sure that you have everything?"

"Yes, mom. I have all my books and stuff. My phone is already in my pocket," Cady sighs, her anxiety slowly taking over.

Her parents don't believe in medications. Cady just has to "learn to deal with it". Although, to her, a xanax sounds fan-fucking-tastic in that moment. She heads outside, getting in the passenger seat of the car. It's a short drive to Northshore. The large school towers in front of her, causing her to audibly gulp. Her mom pulls her into a large embrace, whispering words of encouragement into her ear.

She walks toward the school, looking ahead of her. She doesn't turn her head toward the audible gasps around her.

"What the fuck is that? The walking dead?" Shane Omen calls out, causing the entire crowd to erupt in laughter.

She blinks back her tears, opening the doors. She walks up to the desk seeing a man, who introduces himself as Principal Duvall. He tries to make small talk with her as they walk to his office, only resulting in silence from Cady. She's uncomfortable. Extremely uncomfortable. They reach his office, a small room in the back of the school.

"So, Cady. You're here from Africa?" he smiles.

"Yes, sir," she answers, keeping her eyes down at her thin legs.

He babbles on and on about how great of a place Northshore is and how he's sure that she will fit right in. He hands her a piece of paper. "This is your schedule. The building is not hard to navigate. I'm sure you will understand it after your first day."

She looks at the paper. A list of classes stares at her, all different teachers. All different rooms. All different people. She takes a deep breath as Mr. Duvall escorts her to her homeroom.

She enters the classroom, immediately all eyes on her. She can feel them stabbing into her. She doesn't look up from the floor.

"Cady, I'm Ms. Norbury," she extends her hand, shaking Cady's hand. "Looks like you're in my AP Calculus class, too."

Cady nods. "I really like math."

Ms. Norbury smiles, starting to converse with Mr. Duvall. Cady walks herself to the back corner of the room, not caring who she's sitting near. Whispers fill the air around her. She distracts herself on her phone until the bell rings. It's going to be a really long day.