collarbones

07 ~ revelations

Katie slammed her tray down onto the table in the noisy cafeteria as she sat down. Anna jumped, startled, before widening her eyes at Katie’s tray.

It was piled with food.

On her plate lay some cheese and salad sandwiches, crisps, fruit bowls, cakes and water. Upon counting everything, Anna realised that there was two of each item. Anna looked back down at her own lunchbox, which held nothing but an apple.

She looked up at Katie. “How come you’ve got so much f-”

“You need to eat Anna,” Katie snapped sternly. Anna’s jaw slackened slightly in shock and Katie raised her eyebrows dubiously in response, her hands on her hips.

“I know, Anna. I know everything,” she began fiercely. “I’m not going to tell you how skinny you are and how you don’t need to worry about your size because I know that it won’t work. You won’t listen to me.”

Anna remained silent, stunned speechless.

“I know that you’re insecure and I thought that last week, when your lunches started getting smaller and smaller, that you were just losing your appetite or something,” she revealed, sighing. “I should have known really. I was stupid not to realise.”

At this, Anna began to protest immediately. “Katie, it’s not your f-”

“I know it isn’t,” she interrupted. “But that’s not the point. The point is, today you’re going to eat something and I don’t care about what it takes to make you eat this.”

Anna scanned the contents once more. The cheese and salad sandwiches would be healthy because they’re in wholemeal bread and the fruit is nutritious, she thought. But the crisps and cake are like a death sentence.

She fidgeted uncomfortably as she continued to mull over the contents of the tray. Katie watched her intently, before sighing impatiently and splitting the contents equally.

“Just eat what you can, okay?” she pleaded, sitting down.

Anna nodded in response. “Okay,” she conceded. “Thanks Kate.”

Katie smiled at her nickname.

“Anything for you, Anna.”

They ate in mostly silence after that, occasionally talking about the latest rumour or the homework that was set earlier on in the day.

By the time they’d finished eating the cafeteria had begun to clear out. Katie and Anna both got up and discarded of the contents of their trays.

Anna silently picked up the crisp packet and cake before handing it to Katie, who sighed to herself inaudibly.

“Sorry,” Anna apologised, ignoring the urge to feel her upper chest for the ridges. “I tried.”

It just wasn’t enough.