Title: Yogurt Covered Pretzels - 4/?
Author: Chloe-Bee
Authors notes: I apologize for the formatting problems in the previous chapter. Originally, there were breaks between the scene changes, and for whatever reason fanfiction.net removed them.
*~*~*~*~*
"Guys - guys - CLASS. C'mon. SEATS. Now!"
Mr. Harrison was 34. He looked closer to 24, and had a charming exuberance. He got along with the teenagers, and they listened to him. They respected him. But, it was nearing spring break, and it was getting increasingly difficult for anyone to concentrate on health class and biology.
Jessie, clad in a pink waffle shirt, shakily smoothed back her hair, and pulled the tangly mass into a blue scrunchie. Glancing over at her friend Becca, she rolled her eyes, and mouthed '48 hours'. The older girl stifled a laugh and gave a curt, agreeing nod.
Everyone was ready for break. Beaches and Six Flag Mountain and road trips.
It was almost 4:00 pm on a Wednesday afternoon, and the last day of classes was the upcoming Friday. The excitement was nearly tangible.
Turning her attention back to the large drop screen and projector, Jess felt her stomach clench as the health video began.
The title of the documentary screamed, "Eating Disorders and the 21st Century", and in anxiety Jessie quietly opened her purple zip binder, and flipped to her Bio 101 syllabus.
Sure enough, the classes of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were dedicated to the topic of "The Psychiatry Behind Disordered Eating", and she inwardly grimaced, and forced herself to relax. Rumors about her - about her having a 'problem', were already prevalent, and if she acted uptight, she'd just be confirming everyone's suspicions.
Plucking out a ballpoint and a sheet of loose-leaf, she tried to concentrate on the screen, and to appear natural.
"Anorexia Nervosa - formerly called 'self starvation', is not new, nor is a disorder that simply strikes affluent white and female adolescents. It has roots - documentation - going back over 400 years, and cases have been reported from every content, with victims in nearly every age range. However-"
*Please shut up*, Jessie willed the speaker, and sighed as the thick brogue of the Irish reporter carried on.
"If we were to give a 'face' to the disease - a verbal run down of a high risk target for this eating disorder, we would, in fact, be looking at a Caucasian female from a middle to upper class family. Usually, the disorder is reported among residents of G-7 nations, such as North America. A common age for the disorder to initially strike is at 14 years, and a second peak age is at 18 or 19 years of age, with individuals between the ages of 15 and 25 at greatest risk for developing the disease. Such girls are generally highly perfectionistic, high achieving students, and often - excellent athletes. Many are somewhat rigid or set in their ways, and are resistant to change. The disorder often develops after a stressor such as a major move, death of a loved one, or divorce within the family."
Jessie winced, rubbed her eyes, and let out a soft, pent-up breath.
*~*~*~*~*
"Dad - I'm hooo-ome."
Jessie Sammler tossed her duffle towards the fridge, and flounced over the dishwasher, before opening the machine and grabbing her Fresca water bottle from the inner shelf.
Trotting over to the sink, she fiddled with water purifier before refilling her bottle with fresh liquid.
Turning on her heel, she nearly ran into Grace.
"Uhh - hey."
*That sounded forced!*
"Hey", Grace responded, almost suspiciously.
"Have you seen my Dad?"
"Uh-uh", Grace muttered, before seating herself at the kitchen island, and plopping her frame down onto a steel rimmed stool. Pulling an assortment of Tupperware out of her red Jansport backpack, she proceeded to take a hefty bite out of a mustard and relish bologna sandwich.
Jessie, unknowingly, had continued to stare at her.
"Hmm-wh-is-ifpt?", Grace mumbled, mouth half full with processed meat and wonder bread.
"Oh - umm, nothing", Jessie uttered, mouth watering as she watched the elder girl eat. "If anyone asks, I biked over to the park. I'm meeting up with Katie, k?"
Grace shook her head, "No way. It isn't my duty to act as your messenger. We have a post-it board. Tell 'em yourself."
Jessie sighed, marched over to the white erasable board, and scrounged throughout the nearby pullout cabinet to find the appropriate marker.
In small, looping letters she scrawled, "Went to the park. Will grab supper at Katie's. Love you. J".
Adding a few red hearts, she then left.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Her bike was old. She had used the same one since she was 12 years old, and the pink frame was now quite scratched. Therefore, she often 'forgot' to take along her bike lock. She knew that it wouldn't be a targeted bicycle - no one would want to steal it, but, at the same time, she wondered if she didn't, in a way, want it to get taken. So she'd have an excuse for getting a newer one.
At that thought, Jess laughed, jumped from the black seat, and, with water bottle in hand, ran over the fine, white gravel and pebbles of the elementary schoolyard playground.
She hadn't been here since the last day of the 5th grade - nearly five years. Boy, time really flew. Could so much time have progressed so quickly?
Jessie's eyes darted up and over the wood beams of the swing set, and she dropped her svelte body into the rubberized curve of one of the swing sets, before she started to move. Up and up and up, and then, with back tilted and hair dangling (unbound of any elastics or barrettes), she fell back towards the ground. She twisted her body in the seat, and let her eyes scan the sky. The rush of air assaulted her, and despite the fact that it was nearly April, she all at once felt chilled. Buttoning up her jean jacket, she carried on.
She checked her watch - 6:04 - and prepared to descend towards the ground once again. The feeling was - freeing. The sky was quickly loosing its afternoon blueness, and the indigo of a twilight time was infusing her surroundings. The streetlights had since turned on, and when at last Jessie could barely see the ground - for it had gotten too dark - she stopped her pumping and ejected herself from her swing seat - mid-swing. Swarming through the air, she landed with a soft thud against the scruffy rock ground - palms outwards. The small white stones scuffed up her hands, and a burning heat merged with a grimy-ness from her fall, as well as a stinging pain as small droplets of blood began to muck up the sensitive flesh.
"Ouch!" Remedying the situation by wiping the sticky redness on the knees of her jeans, she jogged back to her bike, and leisurely rode to the nearby convenience store. Once inside the 7-11, she pulled out her spare change, bought a fruit slurpee and frog gummies, and happily made her way back home.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She chucked the last gummy up into the air as she entered through the back door, and proceeded to try and catch it with her mouth - open. Eli, however, scrambled for it, as he had eyed her bag of treats as she had first come inside. Knocking it out of the air and away from his sister, he scrambled for the green candy on the ground, pilfered it, and gobbled it up - teeth flashing as he grinned a broad grin.
"You need to learn to share, Jess!"
"Ugh! I hate you. Those were my gummies!"
Eli laughed, and added in a goofy voice, "Oooh - but you know froggie woggy gummies are my favorite."
Jess burst out giggling, "You are such a weird-o!"
"Hey princess, where have you been?"
Jessie turned towards the voice of her father - face a mask of confusion.
"Uh - I was at the park. I left you-"
Rick Sammler looked somewhat angry as his daughter began to speak. "E? Could you excuse us, please?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
tbc? - send me a review!! Pretty please!?
Author: Chloe-Bee
Authors notes: I apologize for the formatting problems in the previous chapter. Originally, there were breaks between the scene changes, and for whatever reason fanfiction.net removed them.
*~*~*~*~*
"Guys - guys - CLASS. C'mon. SEATS. Now!"
Mr. Harrison was 34. He looked closer to 24, and had a charming exuberance. He got along with the teenagers, and they listened to him. They respected him. But, it was nearing spring break, and it was getting increasingly difficult for anyone to concentrate on health class and biology.
Jessie, clad in a pink waffle shirt, shakily smoothed back her hair, and pulled the tangly mass into a blue scrunchie. Glancing over at her friend Becca, she rolled her eyes, and mouthed '48 hours'. The older girl stifled a laugh and gave a curt, agreeing nod.
Everyone was ready for break. Beaches and Six Flag Mountain and road trips.
It was almost 4:00 pm on a Wednesday afternoon, and the last day of classes was the upcoming Friday. The excitement was nearly tangible.
Turning her attention back to the large drop screen and projector, Jess felt her stomach clench as the health video began.
The title of the documentary screamed, "Eating Disorders and the 21st Century", and in anxiety Jessie quietly opened her purple zip binder, and flipped to her Bio 101 syllabus.
Sure enough, the classes of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were dedicated to the topic of "The Psychiatry Behind Disordered Eating", and she inwardly grimaced, and forced herself to relax. Rumors about her - about her having a 'problem', were already prevalent, and if she acted uptight, she'd just be confirming everyone's suspicions.
Plucking out a ballpoint and a sheet of loose-leaf, she tried to concentrate on the screen, and to appear natural.
"Anorexia Nervosa - formerly called 'self starvation', is not new, nor is a disorder that simply strikes affluent white and female adolescents. It has roots - documentation - going back over 400 years, and cases have been reported from every content, with victims in nearly every age range. However-"
*Please shut up*, Jessie willed the speaker, and sighed as the thick brogue of the Irish reporter carried on.
"If we were to give a 'face' to the disease - a verbal run down of a high risk target for this eating disorder, we would, in fact, be looking at a Caucasian female from a middle to upper class family. Usually, the disorder is reported among residents of G-7 nations, such as North America. A common age for the disorder to initially strike is at 14 years, and a second peak age is at 18 or 19 years of age, with individuals between the ages of 15 and 25 at greatest risk for developing the disease. Such girls are generally highly perfectionistic, high achieving students, and often - excellent athletes. Many are somewhat rigid or set in their ways, and are resistant to change. The disorder often develops after a stressor such as a major move, death of a loved one, or divorce within the family."
Jessie winced, rubbed her eyes, and let out a soft, pent-up breath.
*~*~*~*~*
"Dad - I'm hooo-ome."
Jessie Sammler tossed her duffle towards the fridge, and flounced over the dishwasher, before opening the machine and grabbing her Fresca water bottle from the inner shelf.
Trotting over to the sink, she fiddled with water purifier before refilling her bottle with fresh liquid.
Turning on her heel, she nearly ran into Grace.
"Uhh - hey."
*That sounded forced!*
"Hey", Grace responded, almost suspiciously.
"Have you seen my Dad?"
"Uh-uh", Grace muttered, before seating herself at the kitchen island, and plopping her frame down onto a steel rimmed stool. Pulling an assortment of Tupperware out of her red Jansport backpack, she proceeded to take a hefty bite out of a mustard and relish bologna sandwich.
Jessie, unknowingly, had continued to stare at her.
"Hmm-wh-is-ifpt?", Grace mumbled, mouth half full with processed meat and wonder bread.
"Oh - umm, nothing", Jessie uttered, mouth watering as she watched the elder girl eat. "If anyone asks, I biked over to the park. I'm meeting up with Katie, k?"
Grace shook her head, "No way. It isn't my duty to act as your messenger. We have a post-it board. Tell 'em yourself."
Jessie sighed, marched over to the white erasable board, and scrounged throughout the nearby pullout cabinet to find the appropriate marker.
In small, looping letters she scrawled, "Went to the park. Will grab supper at Katie's. Love you. J".
Adding a few red hearts, she then left.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Her bike was old. She had used the same one since she was 12 years old, and the pink frame was now quite scratched. Therefore, she often 'forgot' to take along her bike lock. She knew that it wouldn't be a targeted bicycle - no one would want to steal it, but, at the same time, she wondered if she didn't, in a way, want it to get taken. So she'd have an excuse for getting a newer one.
At that thought, Jess laughed, jumped from the black seat, and, with water bottle in hand, ran over the fine, white gravel and pebbles of the elementary schoolyard playground.
She hadn't been here since the last day of the 5th grade - nearly five years. Boy, time really flew. Could so much time have progressed so quickly?
Jessie's eyes darted up and over the wood beams of the swing set, and she dropped her svelte body into the rubberized curve of one of the swing sets, before she started to move. Up and up and up, and then, with back tilted and hair dangling (unbound of any elastics or barrettes), she fell back towards the ground. She twisted her body in the seat, and let her eyes scan the sky. The rush of air assaulted her, and despite the fact that it was nearly April, she all at once felt chilled. Buttoning up her jean jacket, she carried on.
She checked her watch - 6:04 - and prepared to descend towards the ground once again. The feeling was - freeing. The sky was quickly loosing its afternoon blueness, and the indigo of a twilight time was infusing her surroundings. The streetlights had since turned on, and when at last Jessie could barely see the ground - for it had gotten too dark - she stopped her pumping and ejected herself from her swing seat - mid-swing. Swarming through the air, she landed with a soft thud against the scruffy rock ground - palms outwards. The small white stones scuffed up her hands, and a burning heat merged with a grimy-ness from her fall, as well as a stinging pain as small droplets of blood began to muck up the sensitive flesh.
"Ouch!" Remedying the situation by wiping the sticky redness on the knees of her jeans, she jogged back to her bike, and leisurely rode to the nearby convenience store. Once inside the 7-11, she pulled out her spare change, bought a fruit slurpee and frog gummies, and happily made her way back home.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She chucked the last gummy up into the air as she entered through the back door, and proceeded to try and catch it with her mouth - open. Eli, however, scrambled for it, as he had eyed her bag of treats as she had first come inside. Knocking it out of the air and away from his sister, he scrambled for the green candy on the ground, pilfered it, and gobbled it up - teeth flashing as he grinned a broad grin.
"You need to learn to share, Jess!"
"Ugh! I hate you. Those were my gummies!"
Eli laughed, and added in a goofy voice, "Oooh - but you know froggie woggy gummies are my favorite."
Jess burst out giggling, "You are such a weird-o!"
"Hey princess, where have you been?"
Jessie turned towards the voice of her father - face a mask of confusion.
"Uh - I was at the park. I left you-"
Rick Sammler looked somewhat angry as his daughter began to speak. "E? Could you excuse us, please?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
tbc? - send me a review!! Pretty please!?
