Kate's Demons- Chapter One

Staring just to the safe side of the mirror, Kate blanched at just the thought of turning her eyes those few degrees to see her reflection. Her mother and the shop assistant smiled overly pleased grins at the crimson dress that clung too tight around Kate’s small frame, emphasising her hunched shoulders and xylophone ribs. “See, honey? Doesn’t that look lovely! You’ll be the belle of the ball!” Kate screwed her eyes closed until she was safely past her reflection. “It’s a prom, mother.” She carried on in the relative privacy of her own head. “If you were around more you’d have known that.” The shop assistant hurried forwards to help her escape the fall of material before Kate keeled over from exhaustion, hurrying to make sure Kate’s mother didn’t pull out on this dress; she’d changed her mind more times than enough. “Just lift your arm a little… thanks.” The assistant’s hands shook as she unhooked the satin bodice from Kate’s frame, sweat just dampening her brow. Kate’s mother turned on her heel and clicked her way into the shop to admire the designer accessories, saying something about a cute bag as she went. “Yes, mother. Oww!” the young shop assistant started to apologise and nearly began crying. “Oh hey, hey… it’s okay, I’m fine, really.” the shop assistant nodded as she helped Kate step out of her prom dress. “Really, I’m fine. Are you okay? Every time we come here you seem a bit… out of it.” Kate laid her skeletal hand on her shoulder, thinking about the pattern of her trips to the dress store, when she came, who she’d come with… that was the problem. “Oh, not you as well! Why is everyone so terrified of my mother? I know she can be sharp but…” she didn’t know what else she could say because she didn’t think she knew her mother well enough to pass judgement on her. The shop assistant gave a quiet laugh before standing from her crouch, already pulling a compact from her pocket to heal the damage made to her face by her tears. “Yeah, I know. You see, I was a pupil at her college and well…. I quit because I didn’t feel I was up to it; your mother has never been nice to me since. She might not say it aloud but…” Kate nodded and felt immediate sympathy for the girl patting down the dress; her mother was forever going on at Kate for not liking fashion- give her jeans and a tee any day- and for enjoying being academic. She wasn’t attending her mother’s London college course because she wasn’t going to inherit the family trade and she wasn’t going to wear makeup every day of her life. “She’s not really around much but when she is she’s forever trying to change my opinion for hers. Like that dress, it’s so tight! I hate how I look in the mirror because all I see…” Kate’s voice escaped her as she thought of her reflection, so huge and ugly. Blood rushed to her head so abruptly Kate forced herself to sit down on a chair before she collapsed. Eurgh, her reflection; it repulsed her more than any blood or guts. Give her a tarantula, great; give her the shiny screen of a mobile phone and she’d throw it down faster than anything. “Are you feeling unwell, miss? You’re very pale.” The shop assistant looked completely back to normal stated some obscure voice in Kate’s head, as though it were an important fact. “Oh, me? I’m fine; I go like this frequently.” The assistant frowned but said nothing; Kate knew why. It was because she was so huge and ugly, so downright repulsive; she constantly tried to lose weight but it never went away; she was still tipping the balance at nearly seven stone, and being of average height that was way too heavy… all her friends were so petite and ate anything they wanted; Kate struggled to hold down half a sandwich when it came to it. “well, here you go miss, one dress. I’m sure you’ll look lovely at your prom.” Kate didn’t miss the fact that even the shop assistant knew it was a prom.