10/17

Episode 1 Chapter 2

Across Dan Daly High School's cavernous lunch hall, seated in one of the patio alcoves, a group of self-proclaimed "theater freaks" also stared in wide-eyed fascination at their friend's mountain of food.

"Laney, slow down. You're going to explode if you eat all that," Steph said with a snort. Laney shook her head but otherwise ignored her friend. She was currently powering through an enormous salad from the salad bar, complete with grilled chicken, ham and boiled eggs, while intermittently fitting in bites of the lasagna and grapes she brought from home and the three bread sticks she purchased. When the stomach cramps Laney had been dealing with all morning eased up enough, she lifted her head to send the stink eye to everyone at the table.

Delaney Dempson could not be described as obese, but she was certainly no size two either. She had been "gifted" earlier than many in her class with a larger than comfortable bra size and hips to match. Generous curves ran in the women of both sides of her family and, at almost seventeen, she fell neatly into her genetic row. While her doctor assured her she was within a perfectly healthy weight range for her size and age, like most teenage girls since the dawn of time, that little roll that appeared when she cinched her jeans equaled mortifying embarrassment. The last thing she needed was her whole table of friends making her feel worse for eating too much. The problem was, their surprise had merit.

Laney had always been a big breakfast person. For as long as she could remember, her mother jokingly steered clear of the hangry morning beast in their home. For several years now, Laney even left a banana or granola bar on her night stand. The act of sitting up, and opening or peeling her snack, gave her a moment to get the blood pumping without even leaving her bed. This morning, though, had escalated her life to a whole new level of weird. This morning a violent hunger cramp wracked her system, stealing her ability to think straight, the moment she opened her eyes. She snatched her banana and bit into it, peel and all, in a mindless rush to put something in her stomach. While she had managed to remove the rest of the peel after that first bite, the small piece of fruit did nothing to curb her hunger. Going straight to the kitchen, she killed off the rest of the new box of cereal from the day before, and started two Eggos in the toaster to eat after she got dressed.

Since her mother was an insufferably cheery morning person and Laney and her grandmother were decidedly not, her family tended to avoid each other in the early a.m. It protected everyone's sanity. That meant Laney was able to make it out the door to her ride without anyone witnessing her gluttony. She rode to school with her friend Ryan every morning.  As she buckled her seat belt, he had given the Eggo sticking out of her mouth a dubious look, but let it go without comment. Nor had she told him it was her third of the morning.

It took fifteen minutes to get them to school, park and have a seat in the cafeteria so Ryan could get his own breakfast. Her stomach growled and fizzled, burning through her breakfast at an incredible rate. Laney felt jittery and warm, as if she had run all the way to school. Instead of reading at the table, as usual, she had loaded up a tray herself and eaten every last piece.

"I don't know how she has room after the breakfast she ate," Ryan said, in awe of his friend's new found eating prowess.

"I'm just super hungry today, okay. It's not a crime," she told them, defensive from all the stares.

"Seriously, guys, back off. Leave the poor girl alone. If she wants to go all Hulk crazy on her food, that's her business," Chloe spoke up, coming to Laney's defense like the best friend she was. "She doesn't need you making her fell like a tub for it, dang"

"Chill already, Chlo," Ryan grumbled, "But, yeah, sorry Laney, we'll quit being dicks." Everyone else nodded and the subject turned away from what was on Laney's plate, with only a few confused glances now and then.