Daze of the Weak

(Monday)

Kagami considered her options, as her finger traced over all the available snacks the school vending machine had on offer. Since weighing herself yesterday, the violet haired girl, for a whole week, vowed to rearrange her eating lifestyle, and ultimately lose some of that weight she accumulated during the holiday season. Under normal circumstances, the range of bars, nibbles and drinks would provide her with a lot of selection, but for a successful diet, this choice had to be severely restricted. Kagami pondered upon her restricted choice...

A hexagonal tube of Smarties suddenly caught her attention. Indeed it was wrong, an obvious mistake to even consider confectionery as part of ones diet... but according to the information shown on the tube, this particular confectionery contained eighty nine calories.

"Only eighty nine calories for a tube of Smarties?" Kagami thought with a surprised smile, "I can enjoy these without the worry of piling on the pounds!"

After inserting the money and making the appropriate decision, Kagami eagerly retrieved the tube of shelled chocolates. Her thumb was a mere flick away from prying the top open... when her eyes then captured the very small print that was shown just above the number eighty nine: 'per half tube'.

Her world turned upside down.

"That is really deceptive!" Kagami thought, shocked as her eyes were still fixated on the recently purchased item, "Had the original number been displayed there, I would have felt less inclined to buy them in the first place! There is no way I can eat these now!"


(Tuesday)

After school was over, Kagami, Tsukasa, Konata and Miyuki were walking through the busy city; it would be a quarter of an hour before the four of them would arrive at the train station. Kagami was the only one who lacked a merry expression on her face; it looked like two giant rocks were placed on each of her shoulders; one rock named hunger, the other named depression.

"Ugh! It's only been a day and a half," she groaned, "but it feels like a whole week has gone by already! I don't know if I can take anymore of this..."

Hearing the sound of Kagami's resigning voice, Tsukasa quickly faced her older sister, clasping her hands around her own. "No! You can't give up yet Oneechan! Remember what you told me at the swimming pool; close your eyes, count to three, and just go for it! You can do it Oneechan! I believe in you!"

Naturally, this little commotion caused Konata and Miyuki to stop behind them.

"This is really adorable!" thought Konata, covering her cat smile with one hand.

Kagami closed her eyes and moved a determined fist closer to her face. Tsukasa's words rung true; she couldn't give up, she will not give up. She was stronger than that, so much stronger. Her eyes lit up, and was rekindled with a second source of energy. "You're right Tsukasa! I can breeze through this week if I just think positively!"

The group of four girls continued walking down the pathway. Along the way, Kagami's eyes took note of the sign placed nearby a book store, which read: 'At least 25% off all books!'

"Fight-o! Fight-o!" chanted Kagami, smiling broadly as she continued her stride.

The group of four girls continued walking down the pathway. Along the way, Kagami's eyes took note of the sign placed nearby a toy store, which read: '20% off everything! Hurry whilst stocks last!'

"Fight-o! Fight-o!" chanted Kagami, feeling stronger, feeling more confident with every step she took.

The group of four girls continued walking down the pathway. Along the way, Kagami's eyes took note of the sign placed nearby her favourite cake restaurant, which read: 'All cakes! 30% off! For one week only!'

"..."

"No! No Oneechan! It's only an illusion! Only an illusion!" Tsukasa panicked, blocking the sign with her back, and flapping her arms around like a distressed bird, "Keep walking! There's nothing to see here! Nothing!"

Kagami dropped her shoulders and remained stationary, her energy depleting at an monumental rate.

"Tsukasa is trying very hard to motivate her sister, isn't she?" Miyuki quietly commented.

Konata nodded in agreement. "Mm. It's kind of moving... in a way," she replied.


(Wednesday)

After finishing their school council meeting, Kagami and Miyuki were walking together through one of the main corridors. "How are you managing with your diet Kagami-san?" Miyuki asked.

"Well, to tell the truth, not very good," Kagami replied, "my body clock is driving me haywire! Every day, around seven in the evening, my stomach always tells me to eat chocolate, or something equally as unhealthy!"

"That's because your body clock is used to the foods you eat," Miyuki informed, "if you continuously force yourself to stop eating these snacks, then your body clock will eventually adapt to your new eating lifestyle."

Kagami nodded, seeing reason to Miyuki's sound logic. "That seems logical enough, though I'm sure this adaptation is sure to take a while."

"These things do take time, but I'm sure you will succeed in the end Kagami-san!" Miyuki comforted with a smile.

"Thanks, I'll definitely do my best!"

They walked a little longer until Kagami decided to resume the conversation.

"But Miyuki, how do you avoid snacking?" she asked, "Don't you ever feel tempted to eat something naughty once in a while?"

"Well... um..."

Miyuki stopped moving. She placed a hand over her right cheek, closed her eyes and smiled a sad smile.

"...my teeth are rather delicate to most of these edibles, so I can ill afford the luxury, even if I wanted them."

Kagami opened her mouth in fear and realisation; the top half of her face darkened considerably, whilst her mouth remained hung agape.

"How insensitive of me!" she thought and panicked, "Here I am complaining and feeling sorry for myself, when Miyuki has been silently suffering for a very long period of time! Her will must be made out of solid iron!"


(Thursday)

Kagami was in her bedroom, lounging on her bed whilst playing a retro-arcade adventure game on her Playstation. Out of the four possible characters to choose from, Kagami opted to play the Valkyrie; a female fighter clad in red armour, and carrying a sword, shield and an unlimited supply of throwing daggers. Kagami was amazed that she didn't think of this idea sooner; computer games were a great distraction for combating ones desire for snacking. She reached the fifth level effortlessly, but after clearing a large room of ghosts, grunts and demons, Kagami and her character found themselves wandering through a complicated maze.

"Red Valkyrie needs food badly," the dungeon-master voice told her.

Kagami frowned but nonetheless kept her focus. There had to be an undiscovered lair somewhere in this level; a lair filled with all sorts of rewards, as well as items to replenish her life.

"Red Valkyrie, your life force is running out," the voice pressured.

Kagami intensified her frown; her character was becoming ravenous. Any morsel of food would prove welcome at this stage.

"Red Valkyrie is about to die!"

By chance rather than skill, Kagami found a new area at long last, just as her life dwindled down to a mere one hundred points. In desperation, she used magic to erase all monsters on the screen. Once they succumbed to the deadly magic, Kagami was delighted to find a plate of food just begging to be devoured. Her mind reached a state of euphoria; images of dinner and dessert circled above her head. A large, roasted chicken leg. A joint of mouth watering ham. A selection of succulent cakes on a large, silver tray. So long as it were tasty and filling, Kagami would happily welcome the food with open arms. Unfortunately, Kagami accidentally pressed a button on her controller, which enabled her to fire a dagger directly at the food, thus making the food completely disappear on contact.

"Red Valkyrie shot the food."

Kagami sighed woefully as she returned to reality. Her hunger increased ten-fold, her euphoria decimated.

"Maybe I should quit playing this game," she thought, clutching her growling stomach with one hand.


(Friday)

During the lunch hour, Kagami, Misao and Ayano were seated around one of the cafeteria tables. In order to maintain this diet of hers, Kagami relieved her lunch of her usual high calorie foods. She looked at her healthy bento, which consisted of rice and sweetcorn, a couple of small spring-rolls, and a few wafer thin slices of turkey. They was zero sign of her favourite sausage octopus anywhere; she really missed the flavour of tasty sausage meat, not to mention the cute little faces her sister used to create with them. She sighed, only a few more days until it was finally over.

"Hiiragi, what's wrong?" asked the girl with yellow eyes, "You look down in the dumps."

Kagami looked up from her food to reply. "Oh nothing. It's just that this diet is taking a toll on my sanity."

"Is that so?" Misao said, who then turned to one side and started to snigger, "Hiiragi misses her beloved octopus!"

"Oh shush!" Kagami replied angrily, an obvious blush all over her face, "Seriously! What did Konata say to her?!"

Kagami closed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Besides... isn't that bento of yours a little on the big size?" she stated gruffly, "If you're not too careful, you will be going on a diet as well!"

Indeed Kagami was correct; Misao's bento was twice the size of her own, and was filled with various meats, vegetables and omelets.

"Hmph!" Misao huffed, puffing out her chest and accepting the challenge,"I need to eat all of this in order to build up my muscle and stamina!"

"Ah... I see," Kagami remembered, "you belong in the track and field club, so eating all that food is a necessity to you."

"Correct!" Misao said proudly, her fang poking out of her beaming smile, "I can eat as much as I like, because I burn it up just as quickly!"

Kagami thought long and hard about this; maybe she should do something like track and field, though she had enough on her plate as it is, what with studying and being the student council president of her class. It would be difficult to juggle track and field on top of her already busy schedule. Discarding this thought for the time being, Kagami then looked in Ayano's direction; Ayano was eating very quietly next to her childhood friend. Kagami took note of the size of the bento she was eating from; it was unquestionably tiny.

"Um... Minegishi," Kagami said suddenly, catching Ayano slightly off guard, "if you don't mind me asking, why is your lunch so small?"

"Eh?" Ayano replied. Ayano shifted her eyes to the right, as she tried to think of a suitable answer, "It's... well..."

An immediate realisation struck into the very soul of one Kagami Hiiragi; the awkwardness in Ayano's eyes told her everything.

"Hold it!" Kagami shouted, raising one hand high in defence.

Kagami's head and twin-tails flopped forward.

"I think I just figured out the answer for myself," she concluded, her voice decreasing to a barely audible whisper.

Ayano puffed out her cheeks and pouted. "Well I'm glad you figured it out, but can you drop that depressing attitude please! Just because I have one doesn't make me better than you!"

"No... no... of course it doesn't..." Kagami trailed off, sounding defeated, "If I lose more weight, maybe my chances of having one will increase..."

Ayano closed her eyes and sighed. "Honestly..."


(Saturday – 7.30pm)

Kagami sat down on the couch of the living room, relaxing since she didn't have to worry about school tomorrow. Her parents were working late, and her sisters were lounging in their respective bedrooms... meaning, she had full control, full reign of the television and the remote. Bliss. She could watch whatever she wanted, without protest from the rest of the family. Flicking through the channels, she finally found something worthwhile; a film with a mixture of action, adventure and romance, and it was just showing the opening credits. Perfect.

When the film paused for the advertisements, Kagami seized the opportunity and hurried into the kitchen. Once there, she opened the cupboard doors and found a box of chocolaty Pocky with her name on it. She returned to the living room, just in time for the film to resume where it left off. After resting her behind, Kagami opened the top of the box, and pulled out a solo pocky; naked biscuit at the end, the rest covered in dark, bitter-sweet chocolate.


(Saturday – 8.06pm)

Konata was midway through an anime she was watching on her computer, when the 'Hare Hare Yukai' theme song was suddenly heard from her cellphone; a rare occurrence for the otaku, for she seldom has her cellphone switched on.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Ko-na-taaaaaa!!"

Konata widened her eyes. "Kagamin?"

"Help me Konata!" her friend wailed, "I did it without thinking! The television made me do it! I unconsciously went for a snack, and it was millimetres away from my mouth!"

"Well... most people tend to snack when they're watching something on telly," Konata replied, reverting to her usual calm manner, "but Kagamin, you really need to sort out this willpower of yours..."


(Sunday)

Judgement day. It was seven o'clock in the morning, and Kagami was the first of the family to rise out of bed. Wearing a dressing gown, she scampered to the bathroom, and looked at the weighing scales. She gulped. She closed her eyes. She slowly set one foot on top of the scales... eventually followed by the other. Kagami expected the worst; would a week of not eating confectionery really make a difference? Would seven days without snacking really make her feel good about herself?

She opened her eyes.

Kagami gasped. According to the scales, she had lost two pounds. No... this had to be a lie, or a dream, Kagami thought to herself. She stepped off and stepped onto the scales again. No... it was not a lie, or a dream, or an alternative universe from another dimension. Two pounds she had lost. Two pounds have disappeared from her original weight total.

Twin waterfalls streamed down her eyes.

"I did it!" Kagami cheered inwardly, extremely overjoyed, "I know it's only a couple of pounds, but it feels so spectacular when you work agonisingly hard for something, and then have the results, the fruits of your hard work, shown in front of your very eyes to see! I am so happy!"


Author: Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed all of my little stories so far. It's a good feeling to finally reach half a century, and I know in due time, I will eventually make the full century as well. See you in the next chapter!

~Rdz