Undateable

Twenty-Two

Kaia's POV - Sixty-Seven more days

Aunt Meredith walks around the corner and into the kitchen. I take a few more steps down the stairs, careful not to make any sound. I don't think I can tolerate another moment where Aunt Meredith lecturing me about my looks and my body fat. I lost two kilos because of her and I think I'm dying. I miss my fat. My fat was who I am. I need it back.

I just don't get how one person can dedicate one hour of exercising each day. It's so much effort and it's painful. I feel like I'm dying every time I exercise. Not just that, Aunt Meredith is a scary fitness instructor. She yells at me for slowing down and yells at me if I eat a chocolate donut and yells at me for eating anything that's not salad. Last night, she tried to make me eat vegetables. Aunt Meredith was chasing me around the house to eat my vegetables. Because I started to exercise, I became more fit and managed to out run her. That's what she gets for torturing me an hour a day.

I hear Aunt Meredith speak and I freeze. I take in my surroundings, ensuring no one sees me. Uncle John saw me yesterday sneaking around the house and pretty much gave my location away by saying hello. Aunt Meredith caught me two seconds later. She's like a hound hunting for rabbits.

"Mary, do you know where your daughter went? I honestly think she's got the mentality of a three-year-old," Aunt Meredith asks in the kitchen.

"Why are you looking for her?"

"I'm helping her lose weight. Your daughter is untamed; I don't understand how you managed to make her look like a ferrel squirrel," Aunt Meredith complains. All signs of happiness I had remaining in my body just died. My own aunt says I'm a lunatic. At least squirrels are cute. So, jokes on you...

Back to the mission. I try to stay clear of the kitchen as I head towards the exit. I plan to see Vi today because our history presentation is due tomorrow. We finished but practice is our only thing left to do. I'm not a fan of public speaking but I'm better at it than Vi, so she claims.

"I wonder where she got that from," mum laughs.

I stop in my track. Who is mum comparing me with? "What do you mean?" Aunt Meredith asks.

"From what I remember, you were just like her when you were her age. Always walking around in old, ripped jeans, loose shirts and hair as dark as the evil in Mr Jones heart. Except, Kaia never wears ripped jeans," mum laughs. Mum's comparing me to Aunt Meredith. I gag. Wait a minute, did mum just say my hair is as dark as the evil in Mr Jones heart? My hair is brown... a dark brown... a really dark brown.

I remember mum telling me about Mr Jones. He was their neighbour when mum was fourteen. Apparently, he was an old, anti-social nightmare. Always screaming at the kids who walked by his house, frequently complain to grandma about her and spying on all the neighbours.

"Oh don't remind me of those days. I regret every single day of it," Aunt Meredith sighs.

"It's surprising how much you've changed since then," mum says.

"Of course I did, those days were miserable. I've been bullied so much then because I didn't care about beauty. Why do you think I'm trying to get Kaia to change? You told me about all the bullying she suffered in Australia, I want her to become stronger and live differently here," Aunt Meredith says.

I don't know why, but my heart begins to hurt. I don't know whether it is because I'm just like Aunt Meredith when she was younger, or that she is doing all this torture because she cares about me. I never knew about Aunt Meredith's past. I always assumed she was a pretty, ditsy girl.

"Meredith, you don't need to do that for Kaia. She's happy as she is. She never let those bullies get to her, she's strong." Exactly! I don't need Aunt Meredith to try to change me. I like how I am, I don't want to turn out like her. Just thinking that I am like how she was younger, makes me worry that I might follow her same path. I don't want to dedicate my life trying to marry some rich guy.