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Desirée, Ess, and Annie.
The girls don't blink, and neither do I. I break the silence by stepping towards Desirée. Her hair is thick and wavy, and I love her casual jeans style. Her teeth are perfect and straight, and she's wearing contacts. She's everything I want to be. I say just that.
Desirée laughs shortly. "Honey, I am a representation of the perfection you want."
The person I wish I could be. Is this her? She's so beautiful that I pause. Remember the questions your prepared. I can't remember anything. "How did you become so . . . stunning?"
Desirée's smile is mechanical. "We stopped eating. We sprained an ankle running on the treadmill the other day and now we take painkillers every few hours, as well as pills to regulate your blood sugar level caused by your diabetes. The pills cause weight gain, and because we want to be thin, we barely eat three pieces of fruit a day."
My heart instantly feels heavy at Desirée's confession. Diabetes runs in the family but I've never showed any signs of it. The only people I know that have it are my aunt and her daughter.
And am I so desperate to be . . . thin? The girl before me doesn't waver, but I do. Looking closely at her, I don't see the pouch of the stomach I'm fighting to get rid of. I see her invisible braces and the nose job she's done to slim her nose. Everything I'm hoping to fix when I have money for surgery.
Desirée's slim frame is held confidently but her eyes scream unhappiness. Now that I look closely again, her bones poke out of her back like wings. I can see her ribs through her camisole.
Before I can say anything, she speaks. "Do you want to be me, in three year's time?" And before I can answer, she disappears.
