Wasting Away

Chapter One; 138 pounds

The mirror.

I hate the mirror.

My mirror, the one that covers an entire wall of my room.

It's a constant reminder of what I look like. I nearly gag every time I glance that way.

I'm standing in front of it right now. In nothing but my bra and black lace underwear.

God, I'm disgusting.

I pinch the fat on my stomach. A frown evident on my face. I then grasp my inner thighs. My frown deepens, moving to my arms next.

How did I get like this?

I tare my eyes from the mirror and walk over to my bathroom.

The scale.

I hate that too.

It's almost like an addiction. I don't really want to know what my weight is. I know I won't be happy with it. But I must. I must know.

138.

Good god, I'm a cow.

"Tully, breakfast!" My mother shouts from the kitchen. 

Yeah right, there is no way I'm eating.

"I'm not hungry!" I shout back.

I head back over to my room and rummaged through my closet.

After pulling on a baggy hooded sweat shirt and jeans I make my way downstairs.

Before I can make it through the door, my mother pulls my arm back shoving a protein bar in my face.

"Eat this, you have to have something."

260 calories at least. Absolutely not.

I take the bar out of her hand and shut the door behind me.

The bus stop is close to my house, just down the street. As I walk, I unwrap the bar; picking off pieces and throwing it to the birds.

One of them sniffs a piece for a moment before ignoring it and walking away.

You and me both.

It's been a week. An entire week since I've eating anything.

_____________

One Week Earlier

"Girls! Let's hurry up, it's time to play some volleyball!" Our physical education teacher hollered through the locker room.

Rolling my eyes I lifted the sweat shirt from my body and replaced it with a large band T-shirt that was easier to move around in.

I caught a glance at a friend of mine before she slipped a T-shirt over her head.

Her belly was slim and tone. Her legs smaller than they were a few weeks ago.

"Have you lost weight?" I asked her before thinking.

She smiled at me brightly, "Yeah nearly ten pounds."

My eye brows shot up, "How did you manage to do that?"

Her face pulled up into a smirk and she leaned toward me, as if it were a secret.

"I haven't eaten a single crumb of food for two weeks."

My eyes were wide with shock as she pulled away and shut her locker.

"Ashley, that's unhealthy. You could die."

She dismissed me with her hand, "Oh whatever, I drink a ton of water and take nutrition pills. I feel great."

I was still in awe as she walked out of the locker room.

When I got home that night I found myself looking in the mirror more often.

I know I'm nothing extraordinary. But I've never thought of myself as ugly.

But each time I looked into the mirror, doubt began to creep into my mind.

I have eaten a single crumb of food for two weeks.

The words seemed to ring in my head like a broken record player.

"Tully, would you like something for dinner?"

My mother was standing at my door, a large basket of laundry in the hands.

I glanced at the mirror again, "No."

________________

Present

The warmth of my breath caused and cloud to form every time I exhaled as I waited for the bus stop. 

"This stop goes to Parkway High School right?"

 No shit.

"Yup." I replied without looking up.  

I finally heard the rumble of the bus coming from the right as it did every day like some sick routine that reminded me of how I was wasting my life in school everyday.

I took my sweet time up the steps and over to an open seat.

Plopping myself down I immediatly turned toward the window.

The seat bounced a little as another person sat down beside me. Thinking it was my friend Ashley I turned to ask her about the mid-term in forth period.

I paused when I came face to face with long dark brown hair that did not belong to my blonde haired friend, "Your not Ashley." I stated.

He turned to me, a smirk pulling up on the right side of his mouth.

"No, last time I checked my name was Kade." He stuck out his hand, "I'm new."

I ignored his hand and turned back to the window, "Kade is an odd name."

"That is usually when you tell me your name." He said, ignoring my comment.

"Tully." I said indifferently.

He scoffed, "And you say my name is weird."

I shrugged and continued looking out the window.

We stayed silent for the rest of the ride to school, going our separate ways once we finally arrived.

When I rolled into first period, I took my usual seat next the Ashley.

"Why weren't you on the bus this morning?" I asked turning toward her.

She shrugged, "My mom gave me a ride this morning, since she didn't have to go to work at the hospital today."

Ashley and I have been friends since 7th grade. She had come from a private school and it was her first time in a public school. She has always been able to make me laugh until I can't breath. I love her to death.

"Alright class let's begin..."

The teachers voice slowly drifted away as I pulled up my hood and leaned down low in my chair, zoning out for the remainder of class.

I hate history.

______________

what did you think?