Dr. Inho was right when she said it took time. The progress was almost frustratingly slow at times. Holly felt at times as if the days were moving forward, but she was trapped. It seemed as if she would never get better, even though she was trying so hard.
Some days were definitely better than others, and on those days, Holly could almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.
But other days, Holly felt like the tunnel had collapsed around her, and she was stuck under a rockslide, waiting for someone who would never come, to dig her out.
But if someone had shown her snapshots from the next year of her life, she might've seen that someone did show up to dig her out.
Snapshot #11
Holly studies a single, circular white pill resting on her palm. There is a curious look on her face. She holds a glass of water in her other hand.
Snapshot #12
Holly stares at a toothbrush in her hand. It looks clean in the photo. A trash can sits by her foot.
Snapshot #13
Early morning. Sunlight streams in through the cracks in the blinds, shining a bight streak on a sentence Holly is writing in a broken-in notebook: I saw Rohan for the 476th time in my dreams. It has been 476 days since that day. But for the first time, I told him to get out of my face.
Snapshot #14
The airport. A happy Sadie is captured with her blonde hair flying behind her as she runs to embrace Holly.
Snapshot #15
A shot taken from a crack in the door of the courtroom, blurry, as if someone was trying not to get caught. Rohan can be seen. In front of him is a pile of papers, one of which he is signing.
Snapshot #16
Oliver and Holly are at the kitschy sandwich shop again. They are both eating the same kind of sandwich.
Snapshot #17
Holly stands in front of the mirror. We see her reflection. She's putting in a pair of contacts, but they're colored. Blue.
Snapchat #18
Dr. Inho and Holly both sit at the beach, facing the ocean. Dr. Inho's clipboard is nowhere to be seen. Holly is pointing at something on the beach — it looks like the faint outline of Tiki Torches.
Snapshot #19
Holly has a Word document open on her laptop screen. The only words on the page are: Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. She starts to type.
Snapshot #20
Summer. The beach. Holly and friends are sitting around a beach table, an umbrella perched over them for shade. Zara is pointing at Holly. She is wearing the teal bikini, a shy smile on her face.
Holly herself showed up.
She needed some help to get there. She had gotten lost somewhere along the way. Followed the wrong billboard, taken the wrong exit.
But somewhere along all the wrong turns, she found herself, stuck under the concrete, under all the guilt and shame and and self-hate.
Holly reached in. And then she pulled, hard.
YOU ARE READING
The Bikini Syndrome | WATTYS2019
Teen Fiction✩ #17 in body positivity ✩ Holly needs a job. And some cash. That's how she ends up at Cafe by the Sea, hired by the assistant manager, Oliver, who's cute, annoying, and totally unattainable. She's not really looking to fall in love though - it's...
