Fat in a Thin Body

Chapter Two

The red car went leisurely behind the other cars. Even though I had said it was okay, we all knew it wasn't. But no one wanted to scrape the surface of that thought again.

Aubrey took two minutes to get a parking spot. It seemed that fortune was with me today, and we got a secluded spot near a ring of sequoia trees. No one would be able to see us here unless they personally hunted us out.

We all looked at eachother as the engine came to a halt. Not one of us would step up to the plate and get out of the car. Still, no one wanted to talk about the scene that just occured.

I couldn't take it anymore, the silence was burning me up. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come to school." If I had stayed home, I wouldn't have heard anything. If not solving it, at least I could avoid it for another day.

“Well, let’s go!” With a great deal of gusto, I pushed the bag onto my shoulder, went outside, and closed the car door with more force then I intended. As I was about to say sorry, I saw Aubrey opening her mouth, but then closing it once more by a dirty look from Lexie. She sighed, oblivious to my staring upon this hushed exchange.

We stood there awkwardly for a moment, before we headed out to the platform. It was a red metal slate that was supposed to be used to clean windows. However with an incident occuring twenty years ago, the system was disassembled and dismantled. Now it is just a staple of the school.

No torturous thoughts crossed my head about the prank, and I instead went through my schedule, which I had memorized, once more in my mind. A not-so-discreet cough diverted my attention. I looked up in fear at the red platform that was raised five feet from the ground. When I looked at it, I was the same 300 pound, non-certain girl again. "Why am I so scared of it?"

I calmed myself down by doing several breathing exercises. The inner turmoil would not cease however, it was spreading. Deep inside, I knew something was wrong with the platform. But I still stepped toward it.

Aubrey took the first unsure step towards the platform. She grabbed onto the edge, and pulled herself up. With a great heave, she was up, gasping for air and attempting to stand up. I remembered the pangs of envy I used to have when I saw her thin waist brushing the cold metal, and how I promised myself that I would be the same soon. Lexie used a ledge to climb up, her hands making little steps to the top. I used to feel jealous that she could so easily do that.

I was about to go up there - a marvelous victory as I always had to have help from them, but it was then that I noticed it.

On the bottom of the platform I could see several holes. With almost 540 days of staring at the bottom of this precise platform, I clearly remembered that there were screws in it.

As I was about to voice my concern, two sets of arms reached out and grabbed me to pull me up. I panicked "No!" left my lips.

"What's wrong?" Lexie tilted her head sideways to see me.

"The platform. There's no screws on the bottom. You shouldn't have lifted me up!"

It took a moment for them for it to truely sink in and for them to ponder over it. "Oh my gosh, so sorry! We didn't know! What do we do now!"

"There's nothing we can do, Lexie. Just, maybe I can go back down. It will be easier for me anyways, you guys are sitting-"

"No, we are not going to do that. Aubrey, any ideas?"

Looking thoughtful for a moment, she said, "They must have accounted for her weight back then. There is no way that they know now. Perhaps it's safe?"

"True, true. However I think that I - and you, Nevaeh of course - would feel safer if it was properly secured." I nodded to show my approval in her words.