Fat Girl ✔️

Sydney begins

"I'm over it. So over it," Sydney muttered under her breath as we sat in the auditorium. "You know what? I couldn't care less what Bella was up to with Shawn. I don't need either of them."

We sat near the back of the almost- dark room, waiting for the guest speaker to arrive. The assembly was only supposed to last 30 minutes, but whoever was coming to speak was running late.

"You sure you're okay?" I asked, turning to Sydney in the dark. "You want to talk about it?"

Sydney shook her head. "Nothing to talk about."

I turned back in my seat, resting my elbow on the armrest. Below us, at a row near the front, Blake and Julian sat next to each other engaged in conversation. weird how one day they were clawing at each other's throats and the next they were all buddy buddy. 

I watched as Blake whispered something in Julian's ear, and he laughed. Blake was hiding something. I knew it. There was more to this whole Julian situation. Something that had to do with the fight, something he wouldn't tell me about. But what?

"I mean, aren't you mad? Just a little bit?" Sydney asked, turning to me. It seemed she actually did want to talk about it. I turned my gaze away from Blake and Julian.

"Not really. Just confused."

Sydney sighed, gazing down at the row where Bella sat with Shawn and her friends. We both just wanted closure. That was the least Bella could give us.

...And I knew exactly how to get it.

"I know exactly what will cheer you up," I said, grabbing Sydney's hand. She looked back at me with a less than excited look. "Let's go to my house after this. We've got to get ready for tonight."

"What's tonight?"

"Blake's party."

After Blake had invited me to his Halloween party, mostly out of guilt for punching me in the face, I had hesitated to go. The thought of a high school party didn't exactly seem appealing. Adding in the fact that I'd never actually been to a real party before, my stomach turned at the thought of getting dressed up to go to Blake's.

But as I looked back down at Blake and Julian, I realized I could kill two birds with one stone. Get closure from Bella, and find out what the hell the big secret was about Blake and Julian.

Oh, and cheer Sydney up too.

***

"What are you even doing?"

I rummaged through my closet, pulling put more dresses. Halloween was hard to dress for. Did you go full scary mode, and dress up in your Chuckie costume from the seventh grade? Or did you go on the more scandalous side, like a cat or bunny? My only other option was to show up in jeans and a t-shirt and try to act cool.

Sydney lay on my bed, scrolling through her phone. But surprisingly it wasn't her that had spoken. It was my little sister Jackie, standing at my door with her hands on her hips. I rolled my eyes.

"Going to a party, Jackie. Now go away."

"You get invited to parties? Since when?"

I responded by throwing a jacket at the doorway. Jackie dodged it easily, slipping into my room like a snake and taking a seat on my beanbag chair.

"Sarah and I are bored. Can we come with?"

"NO. Absolutely not." I already had so many things to juggle tonight. Taking care of Sydney, Bella and Blake would already be a handful. Adding the fact that Ingrid and her groupies would most likely be on my ass all night, it wasn't exactly going to be relaxing. Babysitting Jackie and her friend, making sure they didn't drink or get roofied, was going to be even worse. Jackie continued in a soft voice, coaxing me into agreeing.

"I've got the perfect idea for what you guys can wear. And  I'll do your makeup."

I sighed. If there was one thing I could not do, it was makeup. And lucky me, my fourteen year old sister was a master at the winged eyeliner and contour. Sydney and I did need her if we wanted to look good at the party.

I set down my armful of dresses.

"Fine. But there are rules. No drinking. No talking to anyone there. Seriously. No boys. Don't touch anything. Keep your phone on. And no boys."

Jackie smiled, and I could already tell she was completely disregarding my rules already. "Deal."

It was going to be a long night.

***

"You sure this will work?"

Jackie, her friend Sarah, Sydney, and I all stared down at our DIY wreck.

We'd found old white T-shirts in the back of my closet. With a few rips and some red paint, we'd turned them into pretty decent zombie shirts. Now, looking down on them, they just looked... eh.

"Totally. Just wear some black leggings. Trust me, Eleanor. Nobody wants a try-hard costume at their party. You'll fit right in with these."

"Fine. Get out so we can change." I slammed the door shut behind them. Turning to Sydney, I gave her a smile. "You ready?"

Sydney groaned. "I'm not sure if I want to do this, Ellie."

"What? Why not?"

"...I can't stop thinking about seeing Bella like that. With all my old friends, dating my ex-boyfriend... She even dresses the way I used to. It's like she took over the ghost of who I used to be. And it got me thinking about what I my life was like. Before. I know that it was toxic and stupid, but seeing all of it come back like that, I just... I don't know."

I sat down next to her on the bed. "I get it. You don't have any of that stuff anymore. But you got a great boyfriend out of all of it, didn't you? And a really awesome friend who loves you a lot?"

She laughed. "Yeah."

"Let's just go to the party. You can either sit here and wallow in the fact that Bella has what you used to have, or you can get up and choose to have fun. Which will it be?"

Sydney shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Then she stood up. She smiled, and I knew our night was going to be one to remember.