A body slammed against a wall of lockers, the sound echoing in the hallway.
"Where do you think you're going?" a voice said, belonging to a girl with curly, black hair. Her piercing, green eyes were as sharp as a white shark's teeth that bit into the soul of the one they were directed to. "Don't you walk away when I'm talking to you."
The padlock of the locker she was pressed against dug into her back, but she was too afraid to move. She gulped, using her peripheral to study the witch standing inches away from her. A hand planted firmly on her hip, said hip jutting out to the side, and standing with tall posture, as stick-straight as her ballerina thin body, while the other arm gripped a glittery, pink binder. She wore a royal blue t-shirt dress with yellow buttons, a yellow belt that hugged her already tiny waist, and yellow peep toe heels. She leaned over the girl like a cobra ready to swallow its prey. The other girl, wincing from the bruise beginning to form on the small of her back, looked as the very opposite. She tugged at the green, oversized shirt that almost managed to hide her trembling stomach, then crossed her arms to try and make herself smaller- both mentally and double physically. Her jean capris were washed out and dangled down to her calves, which competed with her Texas-sized thighs. She stared down at her tennis shoes with a scowl.
"I have nothing to say to you." she mumbled.
"What'd you say?!" the first girl said, getting closer in her face. Her black curls whipped her cheeks, and she flinched back. "Why don't you go to a gym or something? I think you managed to get fatter between last period and now. What'd you eat for lunch: a dumpster truck?"
Her cheeks flushed, and she stared down the hallway, praying for an escape. She gulped hard, feeling her throat grow dry.
"Why don't you just leave me alone?" she said.
"You need someone to give you, ahem, motivation." the first girl said. She lifted the hand clasping her waist and gripped her collar. Shoving her deeper into the locker, their eyes remained on each other for many seconds. After what seemed like an eternity, the first girl grinned, flashing two rows of white teeth, and let go with a sharp snap of her wrist. Her head banged against the locker, and her eyes went blurry from dizziness and tears. She did her best to blink them away, but the first girl still saw it, and her smile widened. "Aw, is the big baby going to cry? Typical. See you tomorrow, Fattela."
The girl walked away, her hips sauntering with each step, as if gloating. A wave of nausea swept through her, and she gripped her stomach, feeling it ripple and intensify the gut-wrenching feeling. She hurried into the bathroom and doubled over the sink. Taking deep, slow breaths, she allowed the tears to fall, streaming down her face and trickling down and hitting her arms and hands. She lifted her head, forcing herself to stare at her blotchy face in the mirror. Her blonde hair clung to her wet face. Her bloodshot eyes overpowered her gray irises.
The bell rang, causing her to jump six feet in the air. Footsteps filled the hallway, and she heard some heading her way. She hurried into the handicap stall, locked it, and sat down on the toilet. She lifted her feet up so no one could see them, but after a few moments they started to tremble from pain. Herds of girls stomped into the bathroom, giggling and chatting incoherently about their lives. She rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes, wishing those girls would go away. After almost ten minutes, the echoes of voices, flushes, and water ceased completely. The only thing that penetrated the silence was a leaky faucet and her heavy breathing. She stared down at her overlapping stomach rolls and gulped. She carefully opened the stall, peeking around to see if any stragglers were left behind. Seeing the coast was clear, she hurried out of the bathroom and down the hall. Constantly looking over her shoulder, she picked up speed. At the entrance to the school, she paused at a large tree to lean against it and catch her breath. Her heart raced, even though she had only speed-walked such a short distance. A honk sounded in front of her, and she looked up quickly at the minivan parked in front of her. A blonde-haired, gray-eyed woman waved from the driver seat. The girl walked over to the car, opened the door, and slumped into the passenger seat.
"How was school today?" the woman said.
"What do you think?" the girl mumbled, facing the window and crossing her arms. "Home school is starting to look more intriguing."
"Ciela..." The woman placed her slender fingers on the girl's shoulder. "Those girls only say that because they're insecure. They're jealous of you."
"What is there to be jealous of?" Ciela said, turning to the woman. "I'm the fat, ugly beast of the school, and I have been since the beginning of my time. You've never had to deal with what I'm going through. You don't understand; you'll never understand!"
Ciela's mother stared at her daughter with stern concern. Ciela cowered back from her mother's eyes.
"Ciela... I wish you could see yourself the way I do. You are more beautiful than you think you are. Don't let those mean girls define who you are; what they have to say is wrong." she said. Her eyes brightened. "Look on the bright side, summer vacation is getting closer and closer! In two months, you'll be junior, an upperclassman!"
Ciela sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Can we go home, please?"
Ciela's mom nodded, gripped the steering wheel, and pulled the car out of the school parking lot. Once they arrived at their home, Ciela hurried into the house and into her room. She threw her black backpack on her bed and shuffled over to the full-length mirror propped in the corner of her room. She stared at her reflection, at the horrid creature she's seen for many years. Ever since she was a young elementary school student, Ciela had been teased about her appearance- her weight being the most blatant target. As she went through middle school and the first two years of high school, the bullying turned to complete torture. Not a day goes by that voices yell and laugh at her, calling her fat, ugly, and taunting her with the cruel nickname made for her to symbolize what she's bullied for, "Fattela". Ciela uttered a frustrated growl and threw a blanket over the mirror, blocking her image from her eyes. She walked over to her desk and powered up her laptop. She sat down and opened up her internet browser. Her fingers danced over the keyboard, and the click of the mouse was the beat. She stuck her earphones in and pressed the play button, leaning forward excitedly in her chair.
When there's trouble, you know who to call.
Teen Titans!
Ciela bobbed her head to the music, her feet tapping their own dance as the title sequence played on. Her favorite show of all time: Teen Titans. When the world bombarded her with its cruel standards, the epic cartoon was a harbor of peace and escape.
1, 2, 3, 4, GO!
Teen Titans!
As the song counted up, the main characters of the show appeared on screen- Robin, Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg- before the title of the show appeared in large, capitalized, multi-colored letters. A smile peeked on Ciela's face, which only seems to surface whenever she watched this show. The view panned over the area, Jump City, before showing the five teens walking down the street. During an epic battle against a mysterious monster that can materialize into the object it touches, Beast Boy set his eyes on a girl among the startled crowd that looked shockingly familiar: a girl named Terra, who was once a member of the Teen Titans and had a thing with the shape-shifting boy. "Things Change" appeared across the screen as Beast Boy looked around for the girl, but she was gone.
Twenty three minutes later, Ciela watched Terra fade into a crowd of teenagers after Beast Boy's final attempt to reach her and her forgotten memories, but to no avail.
"Beast Boy to Robin. I'm on my way... Over." Beast Boy said into his Teen Titan communicator before he ran down the hallway and into an opening of light.
The screen faded to black, and the ending credits appeared alongside the rocking credit song. Tears came into Ciela's eyes. When the credits finished, the computer automatically took her back to the first episode, anxiously waiting for her to press the play button and live through the memories once more. Despite having seen the series many times, the ending of it always made her an emotional wreck. Watching those teens as they fought together, laughed together, and worked together brought pain to the sixteen-year-old's heart. She kicked herself; she knew better than to long for a scenario that was simply impossible. She thought back on the ending of the episode she just watched and the second season of Teen Titans, when Terra was part of them. She never liked Terra- the indecisive, backstabbing, heartbreaking girl who betrayed the only people who loved her for who she was and joined sides with one of their most formidable enemies, Slade. If she were Terra, Ciela would never have been so stupid and selfish. She would've appreciated the way Beast Boy looked at her; she would've done that if any boy did that.
If only she could have the chance. Ciela leaned back in her chair and stared at her dimming computer screen as it began to display her reflection. Bitter tears streamed down her face as she looked down at her body while she pictured countless others with more luck than her.
If only I could be a part of that world instead of limiting myself to this screen. Ciela thought, sniffling and wiping her eyes. She turned her head, catching a glimpse of herself in the corner of her mirror that hadn't been covered. I would give anything to be a Teen Titan. They would accept me for who I am. They'd look past the flab and fat and see someone... human.
Ciela removed her earplugs and closed her laptop. She looked out her window, seeing the sun had completely disappeared past the horizon. She checked the time: 12:07 AM. She had spent many hours watching her favorite cartoon, which she didn't mind, even though it meant she wouldn't get a good night's rest. She let out a sigh and walked over to her bed, flopping down and burying her head in her pillow. She felt her skin ripple as she made contact with her cushion-y bed.
I wish I was a Teen Titan. Ciela thought. She reached up and held a Teen Titans necklace resting around her neck: a simple, gold circle with a large T in the center. She closed her eyes.
As Ciela slept, a light began to pulsate from her closed laptop. The same light peeked through her fingers from the hand that gripped her necklace. After a few seconds of glowing, the light from the laptop and her necklace disappeared.