Bikini Body

Chapter nine:

In school, I have a new nickname: Fatty Abby.

It suited me perfectly. Everyone in school seemed to agree. They were all in on it-- except the teachers, of course-- and that's how I spent half of the day hiding in the bathroom stall. The rest of the day, I was in Mrs. Ramirez's office. She said she heard a thing or two about what the rest of the kids were saying about me and told me that I could stay in her office and do my work there for the time being. I agreed. In a matter of minutes, news about Fatty Abby hiding out in the nurse's office spread. I turned into in exhibit for all the narrow-minded bullies and student body to see. I was just glad that there was no school tomorrow. All of the teachers were supposed to go to a meeting. Three day weekend, here I come.

On Friday, Zarah and I just chilled at home. Then on the following day, Zarah took me to the mall for new clothes. Our shopping trip took the whole day! We walked out of the mall with dozens of bags from different stores with everything I need-- socks, underwear, bras, shirts, you name it. We stuffed everything in Zarah's car and drove around town, looking for something to eat. I was starving. After driving around for a little while, we found this new restaurant called Green Garden. Zarah and I were dying to try it out. There was a long line inside. And it was pretty noisy. We waited for almost an hour for a table to clear. A waiter sat us down into a booth and handed us some menus. We started off by ordering our drinks.

"I'll have a Diet Coke, please," Zarah told the waiter. She looked at me. "What about you, Abby?"

"Just a water, please," I said. "No ice."

"Just a water?" Zarah asked as the waiter left. She looked at me weird just like Lauren did at the party. "Most of the time you order a soft drink."

I shook my head. "Not anymore. I decided to go on a diet."

"A see-food diet?" Zarah jokes.

I laughed sarcastically. "No. A real diet. No sugar or anything unhealthy. My goal is to loose, like, ten pounds."

"Okay, I'm confused. When did you decide to go on a diet?"

"A few days ago."

"Why? Have people been saying stuff about you?" Zarah's eyes narrowed.

"No," I lied. "I just... think it's time to live a healthier... lifestyle. That's all."

"Good for you, sis," Zarah said with a smile. "I'm proud of you. Just don't overdo it, alright? Take it slow. Plus, I can give you tips, if you want."

"Yes! Of course, you're the expert."

"Mmm, not exactly."

The waiter then came back with our drinks. Then he asked us what we wanted to eat. Zarah ordered a pasta salad. I wanted a salad, too. But the burger on the menu looked so good! No, snap out of it, Abby! I told myself. I decided to order a salad. A classic, plain salad. Zarah didn't say anything. After the salad, I was still hungry. It felt like I just ate air.

Friday and Saturday were easily the best days of the week. I was so happy. What happened on Sunday plummet my happiness to zero. Here's what went down: Zarah and I spent the day in a different mall where we watched two movies. We went window-shopping on all the different stores before calling it a day. We drove back home, and to our surprise, a car was parked on the driveway. The lights were on inside the house.

They were off when we left.

"Oh, my God! Do you think robbers are in there?" Zarah squeaked, preparing to call 911.

I didn't think there were any robbers. If there were, the robbers were just wasting their time... we didn't have anything valuable to steal. I told Zarah to calm down. I got out of the car. So did Zarah. Turns out, there wasn't any robbers in the house. Mom was back home! I almost didn't recognize her. She had her hair cut short and it was dyed blonde. She wore the same red dress she had on when she left a week ago. Immediately she ran to Zarah and hugged her.

"Sweetheart!" she cried. "I've missed you so much, my beautiful, beautiful baby!"

Zarah cut the hug short. "I missed you, too, Mom."

Mom's greeting to me wasn't like Zarah's. She just gave me a hug and the attention went back to Zarah. "When did you fly in?" she asked her.

"A few days ago. The agency gave me some time off."

"How wonderful!" Mom kept talking to Zarah, completely ignoring me. I really had to use the bathroom, so I slipped away. But the light was on, which made me really confused. So I went back and asked Mom who was in there.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "My boyfriend! I have to introduce you to my boyfriend. He's the one inside the bathroom, Abby." She yelled, "Tony! Hurry up! I want you to meet my kids!"

The toilet flushed. "Coming, Dani!" replied a husky voice.

Tony came to the living room with a big smile on his face. He's really buff. I swear he was the real-life version of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast-- thick neck, dark hair, huge muscles.... And somehow he's in a relationship with my mother. He was younger than her. My mom is forty six. Mom introduced us to Tony. Of course she started with Zarah.

"This is my oldest daughter, Zarah," she said in a proud voice. The proudness dropped a little when she told him, "And my younger daughter, Abby."

Tony shook hands with Zarah. "Nice to meet you two."

"You, too," my sister said, politely.

He shook my hand next. Tony had an iron grip.

"I hear that you two met last week," I said.

"We did," Tony said as he put an arm around my mother. "Your mother and I had a fine time in Vegas. I was so anxious to meet you girls!"

"Tony is a personal trainer," Mom told us. I could tell she was talking to me. "He's worked for celebrities."

"Exercise is the most important thing you can do for your body," Tony said. He flexed his muscle. "I do push-ups and run six miles everyday. Not to mention eating a healthy diet."

"I'm going on a diet," I said.

Mom looked at me as if I showed her up. "Y-you are?"

"Well, good for you, Abby," Tony beamed. "You've come to the right person to help you with that."

"I offered to help, too," said my sister.

"My goal is to lose twenty pounds as soon as possible," I declared.

Mom's eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped. "Twenty pounds?!"

"It's very possible," Tony told her. He turned to me. "Abby, I'm going to make it my mission to help you lose those pounds. It will be hard, you will sweat... but it'll all be worth it. Are you in?"

I was in. Totally in.

ABBY!! ABBY!! TEAM ABBY OR TEAM ZARAH, GUYS??!!!