Adopted By Jennifer Morrison

Chapter 2- Preparation

I settle into the couch, surrounded by Skylar and Abby. I'm still getting over the shock of Jennifer Morrison coming to adopt someone when Episode 4.01- "A Tale of Two Sisters" comes on the screen. "Everybody shut up!!" I scream, turning heads and receiving glares. I'm usually not loud and obnoxious, unless Once Upon a Time is involved. Skylar puts her hair into a messy bun as she laughs, and Abby mumbles, "I swear I will kill anyone who ruins this for me." I make a cat sound at her threat and she smirks.
We sit there watching the episode in awe, eyes glued to the television, not wanting to miss a moment. I fell in love with Anna and Elsa's characters, but got a little teary eyed watching Regina in pain. I never thought that I could grow as connected with these characters as I do now. I feel for them in all of their moments. I was a mess while watching the Season 3 finale (due to Rumbelle's wedding, Captain Swan moments, Snowing naming their baby Neal, and Outlaw Queen being ripped apart by Marian.) Once the episode ended, Ms. Frank a kind leader in her twenties, came in and told us to get ready for bed-we had a big day tomorrow.
The majority of the group groaned and pulled themselves up from the couch. I turned to my friends. "We need to find what we're going to wear tomorrow." Skylar agrees, and Abby replies, "Yes! Thank you Rach! We want to look presentable, in case one of us does get adopted. But you'll look good in anything. You're a stick, Rachel."
To most skinny people, being called a stick would be offensive. But to me, it was just a reminder of all of my hard work to get this far. I smiled and glanced at Skylar, who was looking at the ground, obviously feeling left out after I was complimented. Skylar was gorgeous. She had curves wherever guys found them desirable- basically an hourglass figure. Her dark hair cascaded down her back in perfect curls. It's funny how the most beautiful people feel the worst about themselves. Abby rolled her eyes. "Skylar, you know your beautiful, silly. Anyone would die for your body." Skylar looked like she was back her normal self again as she thanked Abby. What was strange about Abby was that she hated her appearance, but still made the effort to compliment us. When she was a toddler, her parents were drug dealers-there was a full out meth lab in their garage. Something went wrong with all of chemicals to trigger an explosion. Her parents were arrested and sent to jail, hardly scathed, as they escaped the house without bothering to retrieve their daughter. She was left in her bedroom, where fire had spread, helplessly trapped until the fire department heard her cries. By then the damage was irreversible. 40% of her body was burned, and even after countless reconstructive surgeries, she still didn't appear normal. To make matters worse, her slow metabolism had caused her to become overweight, which she loathed, despite Skylar and I trying to boost her up at her low points. She was so confident and kind to everyone, but only human. She had moments just like the rest of us.
We followed all of the girls up the wooden staircase and into our rooms. Once we arrived I shut the door moved to my closet.
"Should we go casual or fancy?" Skylar asked as she held up two different tops.
"I say fancy. She'll adopt someone she thinks has a good personality, but looks will definitely help." Abby replies.
I knew instantly what I was going to wear. I had saved up a good about of money this summer by babysitting some kids down the street I had met on the way to school one morning. Their mother saw me interacting with them and decided I would be fit to take care of them. I was surprised. Typical families in LA wouldn't want an orphan to watch their children. Anyway, my friends and I took a taxi to the mall in the downtown Hollywood area once I was loaded. They didn't have to worry about making money- due to funds they had been given by family members before they were even born. I was not so lucky. We went in to Hollister, a store we obsessed over. It was and still is everywhere. California kids love it, but who wouldn't? The beach and California theme attracted almost everyone. When we walked in, the perfume smell was overpowering, but we were intrigued. I was thrilled to be able to purchase something that wasn't clearance. We looked around and found a corner where sun dresses were hanging. I was in love! We all picked a dress with a similar style- floral and strapless, but got different color schemes. Skylar chose pink, Abby chose green, and I chose blue. We went to the changing rooms-which are essentially little cells with wallpaper decorated with elephants closing you in. I slid on the dress, surprised that was able to fit into an XS. I thought to myself that if I can't control the fact that I was abandoned and that no one would ever love me, I would control my weight. I would be the thinnest girl in that orphanage. With a newfound purpose in mind, I left the dressing room, unaware of what this goal might lead to. We bought some jeans and tops and headed out.
I set my dress aside along with a grey cardigan and sandals, satisfied with my choices. Skylar and Abby had the exact same idea as I did, so we all had our corresponding outfits put together.
I opted to go last in the bathroom we shared, and as soon as it was my turn, I locked myself in. After showering and brushing my teeth, I got into my nightgown. It was time for the moment of truth. I shifted through all of the toiletries under the sink to pull out the scale I hid in there, so that it's existence was unknown to my friends. I set it down and took a deep breath. I stepped on, waiting for my weight to be calculated. The scale finally read '98.6 lbs." I was 5'6 and a half and 98.6 pounds. Clearly underweight. But to me, this was an accomplishment. I was getting closer to being happy. My stomach was hollow and grumbling most of the time, but I figured that my pain was going to be worth it when I was finally skinny. I knew that this wasn't normal, and I knew I needed help. But how could someone famous like Jennifer Morrison love me if I wasn't skinny?