ACCEPTANCE — trigger
chapter one
"Listen to me, Korei!" Her grandmother shouted at her, holding an envelope in her hand. The news of being accepted into Yuuei High should have been good news, it should have made Gran happy...but it didn't. "You stupid bat-zonna! Who, in their right mind, would think it's okay to apply to a different high school than the one picked for you?"
"G-gran, I just wanted to—!" There was a loud smack! that sounded through the house. Korei's cheek stung, her head turned to look off at the blank wall in the living room. Gran didn't want to hear it, not caring about what Korei wanted to do. There was no point in her applying to Yuuei when she could have gone to a perfectly normal high school.
"Go to bed!" Gran demanded, her hand flying out to point in the direction of Korei's room. The green-haired girl flinched away from her grandmother, thinking she was going to be smacked again. There was no hesitation in her rushing to her bedroom. It didn't matter to her that it was only four in the afternoon, or that she hadn't eaten dinner yet. This wasn't typical behavior for her grandmother, but it wasn't something that never happened. In fact, Korei was troubled enough to have been sent to her room without food at least five times within the past month. It's not terrible and Korei knew other people were suffering far worse, but sometimes, when she was all alone in her bedroom with nothing to do but think, she felt like she had it pretty rough.
As the girl shut her door, she placed a chubby hand against her reddening cheek. Was there a way she could have avoided this? Had she done something wrong by applying for Yuuei's general education course? She thought her grandmother would have been proud of her. After the actions that took place a little over a year ago, Korei thought that Gran would want her to try and be less of a coward, which is why she applied to Yuuei.
Korei shouldn't have applied. She didn't belong at the famous hero school. Her quirk was stupid and she didn't even know how to use it right! She was going to a hero school to be a normal student. Did she think that would boost her confidence? Her sense of security? No, going to a hero school would just be a constant reminder that she's a loser, a boring old general education student. Maybe she should just listen to her grandmother and go to a regular high school.
Her futon was rolled up, leaning against the wall beside her closet door. She didn't have the energy to put it up that morning because her mind was in a different place. Figuring there was no point in going against her grandmother's words, she grabbed the futon and set it up.
A cellphone wasn't something Korei used often. She had one but she rarely looked at it, finding no joy in the dial tones and endless expanse of the internet. It's pretty obvious to tell that she wasn't a popular girl, and she didn't have any friends. There was this one girl who she thought was her friend, but she moved away a few weeks ago. High school was starting soon, Korei needed to make something of herself.
Korei sniffled, feeling her hurt bubble up inside of her. It's not like she was completely upset but she couldn't believe that her grandmother was mad at her for applying to Yuuei. Sure, she wasn't a hero but Yuuei was a really great school! And she got accepted into it! That must mean that she's something special, right?
Once her futon was laid out, she grabbed her blankets out of the closet and then sat them on top of the make-shift bed. She wouldn't start Yuuei until next month, but she was excited about it. Even if her grandmother didn't want her to go, there was no way she was turning that opportunity down.
Just the thought of her future high school made her feel giddy. Would she finally make a name for herself? Would she make some real friends? Growing up as a heavy girl wasn't fun, but Korei learned to just laugh the insults off. That didn't mean that she wasn't hurt from it. Nearly every night the poor girl would cry herself to sleep wishing, praying, for a better body. She never loved herself...not once in her fifteen, nearly sixteen, years of living. The idea of loving her mishappen body was so foreign to her. She never even dreamed about loving herself the way she was. Korei couldn't picture someone else finding her attractive either, so she figured she'd just die alone in the end.
"Duvshanit, I'm leaving your dinner by the door. Don't forget about it, it'll cause ants." Gran's voice was a lot softer than before, muffled by the door. Korei looked over at the door after spreading out her last blanket. Her stomach rumbled but she contemplated not eating. She was starting high school, after all, maybe she should start trying to lose weight? Nothing ever really worked, even when she was exercising regularly. Shaking those thoughts out of her head, she sternly told herself to stop acting like she didn't deserve to eat because she was heavy.
"If you really want to lose weight, Korei, you just have to try harder. Starving isn't going to help," she murmured, walking to collect the food from the other side. If starving did anything then she would have noticed by now. Remember, this wasn't the first time she was sent to her room without food...this was, however, only the second time that Gran brought her some food to eat. She was going to appreciate it while it lasted.
Little did Korei know, her whole life was about to change. For the better, though it would feel like the worst for a little while.
fluoxetine
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