Chapter No. 14 : First day at Slimmer Club
''Anna, where are you? We're late!'' Mom shouted from the lounge.
''Coming Mom, just finishing up the packing,'' I answered loudly back.
I was re-checking all of stuff again because this was very first time I was going away from home. Not for a week or two, I was going for three months.I was little bit scared. I had never left home for this long but I was doing this only for myself. I wanted to lose weight only to maintain my health and wanted to gain a little bit confidence about myself.
She walked to me and helped with my luggage. Her facial expression was showing her concern.
''Anna are you sure you wanna go today?''
''Yeah, mom, I can't take anymore stress living in this town. I want to disappear from here for a while, and I can't risk my health,'' I replied.
''Okay, my darling. I am with you,'' she said and kissed my forehead.
We loaded the luggage in the car's trunk and buckled our belts. Mom ignited the engine, and within a second, we were driving out of our driveway. I grabbed the Slimmer's club leaflet and read their important points and requirement.
1: You can't bring any junk food, which includes, candies, chips, soda, and any other unhealthy stuff.
2: You have to bring workout clothes, which includes; workout leggings, shirts, sports bras, yoga pants, and running shoes
3: You are not allowed to leave slimmer club without permission.
4: You are only allowed to eat which is cooked in Slimmer club's kitchen.
5: You have to follow your trainer's schedule of workout.
Five rules, not hard to follow.
The Slimmer's club was outside California in the woods, which was a 2-hour drive from our home. In the leaflet, there was a building with vast grounds and a clean kitchen. I hoped that it may be same as these pictures.
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''Mom, when will we reach there?'' I asked as I realized we were driving for more than 2 hours.
''Just ten more minutes,'' she replied while her eyes were focused on empty roads. There were trees around the road and a strange silence.
I closed my eyes for a five minutes. Mentally, I was preparing myself for my new things in life. I knew this gonna bring some new change in my life and I was ready for this change. Then something clicked for me.
''Mom, did someone come at our home last day?''
''Emm... No, honey.''
''Oh, okay.''
I had a memory of someone coming at our home, the day I came back from the hospital. I thought it might be dad, but as per mom no one came. I felt disheartened that he didn't come., I was missing dad so much. I wanted him to tell me everything gonna be good just like a normal dad, but, he didn't act like a normal dad. Sometimes, I thought I was not his daughter.
Beside all these, I got mom. She always tried to make me feel good and support me. Mom knew about the bullying and she even complained to the principal so many times. I was lucky to have a mother like her. At least someone loved me and cared about me. I looked at her with a smile.
As we were getting closed to the building, I felt a little nervous. I was afraid of being judged, and meeting new people always make me uncomfortable.
What if the new people don't like me? What if they bullied me like all the kids in school? What if I couldn't lose weight?
''Anna, what happened?'' mom called me from the spot she was standing in.
I was walking at with slow pace and, didn't realize mom was far ahead of me. I looked at her and rushed to the spot she was standing in.
"Listen, Anna, you don't need to be afraid of anything. Just do what you want to do and show the world that you are not here for their use,'' Mom said as she patted my shoulder.
''I will be okay, mom," I replied.
''Hello, I'm Jennifer. How can I help you?'' she asked my mom politely.
''This is Dr. Allison's card, and I'm Suzanne Wilson. I'm here for my daughter, Anna,'' Mom replied, tenderly placing her hand on my shoulder. I gave Jennifer a small smile.
I was trying to read ''Seventeen Magazine'' when I noticed the blonde woman focus on me. Her eyes stared at me for a couple of seconds and I placed the magazine down in front of me–- trying to ignore my now clammy hands. Sensing my feelings, the blonde lady smiled at my mum reassuringly.
''Oh, I know about Anna," she assured my mom, "Dr. Allison is a good friend of mine. We will take care of her."
Handing the receptionist a wodge of green paper, I tried not to gasp when I saw how much my mom was paying. She just laughed at me., "It's no problem."
I was feeling bad about this.
''Okay, Anna! Just take care of yourself and be brave. Don't be shy, and use your instincts in the right way. I want to see a different Anna after few weeks. My caterpillar should have transformed into a butterfly,'' mom advised me and kissed my forehead.
''Okay, mom. Don't worry, I'll be fine,'' I answered her.
''C'mon Anna, you shouldn't be late. I'll show you to your room,'' Jennifer shouted from the back.
I tried to keep up with her fast pace, my red hands lugging my suitcases. Leading me to a big hall, the lady smiled yet again,putting me on edge slightly.
It took me a while to take in my surroundings. There were lot of girls who were the same size as me, all exercising. Their bodies glistened with sweat and their faces glowing with exhaustion.
Before I could ask a question, the lady moved on. Her brisk steps took me up a row of stairs and into a corridor of dormitory doors, not taking long to find mine which was clean and new.
There were two girls sitting in bed. Both of their heads snapped up when they saw me.
Gazing around the room, I found three single beds and three cupboards. The room was quite big, the walls were painted a cream color, and a bathroom was there in the corner. I walked to my bed and sat on it. I tucked my hair behind my ears, as I realized that the two girls were glancing at me.
''Hi, my name is Kylie. I'm new here too,'' a girl with a splattering of freckles said, introducing herself. Her strawberry blonde hair perfectly complemented her freckles and green eyes.
The other black haired girl didn't reply, making Kylie smile awkwardly at me in some sort of apology. "That's Lauren."
"I'm Anna and nice to meet you," I replied, shaking her soft hands with my clammy ones.
They both were chubby like me, but Lauren was not so overweight. She was on curvy side and she looked pretty with her curves. But she seemed like she didn't like me or wanted to talk to me. Sensing there was nothing else to do, I started to unpack all my bags and suitcases and racked the clothes. In twenty minutes, my clothes were racked and stuff was arranged in the cupboard.
Perfect.
''So, we're both cleaning the room. It will make things easier if you actually help,'' Lauren rudely said to me.
I turned around and glanced at her, my eyebrows probably showing some kind of angry expression.
''Em-'' I didn't get to reply because I was cut off.
I lied on the bed, which was covered with white and red silk sheets. I rested my head on the soft pillow and closed my eyes. My mind wandered to the past and a tear slipped down my checks.
I wiped it up and tried to forget about all the stupid things.
I have a big day tomorrow.
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The harsh sound of an air -horn shot me out of bed. I immediately jumped out of bed. it was like a death siren. I was damn sure that we were not in the Purge movie.
''Get up, lazybones!'' Jennifer shouted from outside.
I placed my hand over my heart, controlling my breathing so I could calm down the thudding of my heart.
''What's happening?'' I asked Kylie, my hands rubbing my eyes.
''Nothing, this is how we start our day,'' she said and ran straight to the bathroom. ''You will get used to this.''
Kylie came out of the bathroom, her brown hair tamed down slightly more than it already was. Hurriedly, I went in to wash my face.
''Let's go downstairs for breakfast,'' Kylie said to me and Lauren.
She then moved toward a counter, and a woman standing there gave her a plate-like box. I was looking at that box, my eyes furrowed in thought, when another one was pushed my way. Glancing up at the short-haired lady, I quickly took it from her hands, shuffling after Kylie.
Sliding into a seat next to her, I opened the box. It contained apples, berries, and oatmeal in a small container and a boiled egg. When I saw the breakfast, I knew it wasn't going to fill me up. It was so far away from what I normally ate. No chocolate milkshake, no bacon, no pancakes and no cupcakes. I didn't want to eat it.
''Hey, what's up?'' Kylie asked me while she put a berry in her mouth.
''Nothing, I just don't want to eat this crap,'' I replied, pushing the box away from me.
''If you don't want to eat it, no problem, then move your butt into the garden right now,'' I heard a familiar voice say behind me. Kylie gave me a worried look. Turning around I saw it was Jennifer, a stern expression adorning her normally pretty face. I didn't say it loud, but she was just behind me so she heard.
All the girls were changing into workout clothes. I hurriedly put a purple tank top on along with black capris, and then we move toward the vast grounds.
''So, girls, I'm not here to make you skinny or give you hard time. You're all here for a reason, and that reason is all want a perfectly healthy body and life. This weight issue is becoming your life problem and a hindrance to your life goals." Puffing out her chest she smiled at us. "Just give your best and you will see results."
After this, five people came near, two women and two men, who looked like trainers. All the girls were divided into small groups along with a trainer. Each trainer had a group of fifteen girls. I only knew Kylie there; I spotted her standing with a trainer. I was just about to go there, but Jennifer stopped me.
''Wait, your trainer is coming.''
I stopped near Jennifer. After a minute, a guy with a built body came over. He hugged Jennifer, and kissed her, making me raise my eyebrows.
''Anna, this is your new trainer, John."Jennifer beamed up at him. "And John, she is your responsibility."
He nodded with a smile to her, as if they were couple.
''So, first of all, we will start some warm up exercises. Just follow me,'' John instructed, starting to do exercise.He didn't even give me a chance to react. Before I knew it, he was shouting in a loud voice yelling what I had to do:
''Jog in place.''
''Side bend.''
''Upper-back stretch.''
''Thigh stretch.''
About to pass out, I congratulated myself on following all the warm ups for ten minutes. I tried to follow what he was doing, but I was failing epically.
''Now, we are going to do some exercising,'' he said.
''Didn't we just do that?'' I replied in between gulps of air.
He probably wasn't in the mood to answer me, so I pretended that I didn't say anything. He was running so fast I just had to concentrate on placing one foot in front of other.
After completing all the tasks, I gave him the 'puppy eye' look, so he could melt down and let me go for a break.
''Go, take a break.'' Finally he spoke and it was like my freedom siren, but only for a while.
I tried to walk inside to where the kitchen was., I wanted to drink water. My legs were jelly, and it felt as if I was gonna fall down soon. It was only one day and I was already done.
Going into the kitchen, I started to feel dizzy, and in -between the kitchen and the garden, my vision started to go fuzzy. Leaning against the wall, I blinked twice to try and get the blurriness in my eyes to go away. It didn't work.
Everything was black. Only the deep voice of a person could be heard.
"Hey, are you alright, what happened?'' The soft voice lulled me slightly as he spoke.
I didn't know what was happening. A strong pair of arms was holding me tightly and I was lying on the ground. He held me tight, and I slowly closed my eyes.
All I remembered was feeling safe