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Preface

Preface

The eighth grade winter formal at the junior high always was fun for the students in years past. But for some reason, this year some of the students were acting a little more excited than usual. All but one girl.

This girl was bigger than your average fourteen year old. But she was trying to be pretty with her hair and makeup done. It wasn't like she went home after school every day and ate. Her weight gain during the previous year was due to her mother passing away of breast cancer. The stress and heartbreak was taking a toll on her emotionally and physically.

A group of five headed out the doors of the gym, secretive smiles on their faces. Another boy was heading toward the girl. When she looked at him, he smiled, pushing his black hair out of his green eyes.

"Hey," he said, smiling, sitting down next to her.

She just stared at him and started playing with a strand of her light blond hair. "Why are you talking to me?" she asked.

He shrugged, still smiling. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to go get a drink or something with me and we could go outside to talk."

"Why?" she asked, still looking at him.

He could see it in her light blue eyes that she had a major crush on him. He'd known for some time now and found it absolutely hilarious that a girl like her would think that he would ever glance her way. But tonight was special.

Sure, they'd been best friends in elementary school. But everything changed...

"Because I want to get to know you again. I haven't talked to you since sixth grade," he said, and grabbed her hand.

He led her outside into the cold. She was so confused as to why he was actually talking to her but she wasn't going to ask questions. He hadn't talked to her since they'd drifted apart when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Since then, everything changed.

He turned and smiled at her as he leaned her up against the wall.

"Oops, I forgot to go get us drinks," he said, grinning. There was something different about his smile she noticed.

"I'll come with you," she said, stepping forward as he started back.

"No, it's okay. I've got..."

"Really, I can..."

"Now!" he shouted, running away from her.

She didn't realize what was happening until she felt the cold water splash down on her. She gasped at how cold it was. The outside temperature wasn't helping any either. It was slightly colder than it normally was for northern California.

"Oh, my God!" a girl squealed.

"That was amazing!" another screamed, laughing.

"I got it all on camera! Just wait until we upload it to the web!" a boy shouted.

When she looked up, there were two boys laughing on top of the roof of the school building. She could feel the tears start running down her face. She didn't want to know what she looked like.

"That's what you get for looking the way you do," one of the girls said, walking up to her, laughing. "You think you will ever be pretty? Well, think again. You'll always be ugly."

She couldn't hold in her sobs as she ran away from the school and she could still hear them laughing at her. How he could be so mean to her, she had no clue. They used to be friends and that's what made it all worse.

Her house was only a little ways away so she walked. Crying, she didn't think that anything would go good in her life ever again.