You Are My Only Sunshine

Chapter 15: Intertwined Hands and Half of a Secret

Dedicated to Fanta for being possibly the best fan ever:)

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Chapter 15

Intertwined Hands and Half of a Secret

“Hey Quinn, are you doing anything after school today?” Ali asked me after the bell rang.

                I turned to her and Cora as we all stood up, hauling our bags with us.

                It was Thursday and all my thoughts seemed to do is wander to tomorrow. I didn’t want to deal with Alyssa this weekend, or deal with her at the fair. Alyssa is sure to do something that will totally betray me in front of all my friends. I could only hope that she wouldn’t talk about my mom. I don’t think she will… there isn’t much to say on that subject anymore. And I think it might be a bit too mean for her, if there even is ‘too mean’ in her vocabulary. I could only hope that she won’t cross the line.

                Ever since we were kids Alyssa and I didn’t exactly get along.

                First of all, there was the weight difference. I’ve always been incredibly skinny… the stick-thin kind of skinny where my bones protruded out quite far. Luckily, I gained some curves freshmen year.

                When fourth grade came, Alyssa’s parents made it evident that they wanted Alyssa to shed a few pounds. They constantly made comments telling her to not eat another piece of cake, or to take vegetables instead of mashed potatoes.

                One Thanksgiving, after a load of crap from her parents when she went for dessert, I found her huddled on the staircase, sneaking bites of a cake. She glared at me, slightly embarrassed I guess, and started making fun of me. She decided to call me a chicken because I was so boney. Of course, hurt, I decided to retaliate. I ended up calling her a ‘fat walrus’. I guess she didn’t like that very much because she’d stood up and pushed me. I stumbled down the stairs a few times before tripping, my butt slamming on the hard wood and thumping down each step until I hit the floor at the bottom. She ran down the stairs past me and the next thing I knew she’d brought her parents and mine over to the staircase, crying about what I’d said. My parents forced me to apologize and I did, although it definitely wasn’t sincere. I had felt bad for what I said but I somehow figured that she deserved it anyway.

                After that they left early, thank God.

                That night I’d told my parents about how Alyssa had called me a chicken and had made fun of me. They gave me ice cream and told me that it was better to be skinny because then I could eat a full tub of that ice cream without getting bigger. I then proceeded to eat the full tub of ice cream in spite of Alyssa.

                After that night Alyssa and I had always hated each other. A huge rivalry started and with any chance we had, we would somehow make fun of one or the other. Now she’s lost lots of weight… with lots of work. She’s a vegetarian and works out practically every day or something. I guess I wish I was healthier, but I don’t see the point because there isn’t any real motivation there. Alyssa had motivation. She wanted a new body, and she got it. Now her motivation is to keep it up. But I don’t have motivation like that.

                After my mom died Alyssa stopped being a bitch to me for a full year. It was a lot to handle… even for her. To wake up one day and find out that someone so close to you is gone forever is like a slap in the face. Bam! Reality. At the funeral, Alyssa, with tears streaming down her face, actually hugged me.