Dear Rochelle,

You are not going to believe what happened today! Today, when I was walking home from school with Jenna I fainted. I don't know why, I just…. fell over. I woke up right away and couldn't find Jenna anywhere, but a bunch of people had come over and I heard someone calling the Infirmary. I told them over and over again that I was alright, and finally I ran home.

When I got home my Imma was in the middle of reading a story to Karmi, my six-year-old brother. Aton, who is two, was sleeping. She asked me why I was home so early, so I told her that Jenna was sick and couldn't play today.

I hate lying to her. I hate it so much. Maybe that's what Mr. Bronson meant about me being a bad girl. Maybe they know that I'm lying?

I don't know. I'm so confused and my head hurts. I think I want to go to bed.

Uh-oh. My Imma wants to come in to talk. I'll be back in a minute.

Okay, if what happened earlier wasn't bad enough, my Imma just told me that she made an appointment for me to see Doctor Bashir this afternoon and that it was good that I wasn't at Jenna's. She said that she's worried about me not eating, and that during lunch Mrs. O'brien called her and said that I didn't eat again.

What am I going to do? I can't go to the doctor. He'll find out about what Mr. Bronson does to me. What should I do? I told my mom that I was fine, that I had been looking forward to dinner tonight all day and wanted to save room for it. It's Shabbat, by the way. Oh, I haven't told you about Shabbat yet. Okay, so I'm Jewish, and every Friday night my family has a big meal. First my Abba makes Kiddush, where he blesses the grape juice, and then he and Imma go around to all of us kids and say a special prayer over each of us. After that we wash our hands with a special pitcher and then we can't talk until after we've eaten the Challah. Don't ask me why. I think it's just a ploy that parents made up because they wanted their kids to shut up for a little while.

Anyway, after we eat the Challah we can talk again and then my Imma brings out the soup. Tonight we're having a yummy vegetable soup, with mushrooms, carrots, peas, green beans, and onions… it's so yummy!

After we eat the soup I help my Imma bring out the rest of the food. Tonight we're having Kugal, Tortilla Casserole, Sweet and Sour Tofu, Stuffed Potatoes, and salad with yummy hearts of palm.

I decided when I started my diet that it was alright for me to eat more than usual on Shabbat. Of course, we also have a similar meal on Saturday afternoon, which means that I need to be extra careful on Sunday.

Anyway, my Imma told me that I still needed to go to the doctor and that I need to be ready to leave in an hour. I told her that nobody would be here to watch the boys, but she said that Abba was getting off of work early because of Shabbat and my appointment.

I'm so mad. I don't want to go to the doctor. I think that I need to run away… only until after Imma lights candles. After that I can come back and then we can't go to the doctor, unless it's an emergency, which of course it's not. My Imma has a lot of cooking to do too, so I don't know why she wants to do it today.

I'm going to go to the Promenade for awhile. I'll bring you, of course, and I'll bring my homework that Mrs. Obrien gave me so I can work on that.

I should get going soon, while Imma's giving Karmi his bath so she can't stop me. I'll be back soon.

-Cochava

Dear Rochelle,

Hi, again! I'm back!

So, I successfully evaded my Imma and am now sitting on the floor of Mr. Garak's tailoring shop. I told him that I needed to get my homework done before Shabbat but my brothers were being too loud at home. He said that he didn't mind. So here I am.

I'm so glad I didn't have to go to Jenna's house. I'm sure that she's going to tell her dad about what happened when we came home from school, but I'm also sure that he's not going to tell my parents. If my parents knew about what happened they would make me go to the doctor for sure. Shabbat or no. In that way, I feel that it's safe to tell these things to Jenna. But it's nicer to be able to tell them to you. Plus, I can tell you lots of other stuff today.

I can't think of anything to write at this moment so I'm just playing with the necklace that Abba and Imma got me for my tenth birthday. It was a few months ago. We had cake and ice cream and my Bubbie and Zeydie came. They're my Abba's Imma and Abba. They live on Earth, in Yerushaliym, or Jerusalem as most people know it as, but they come to visit a lot.

Homework is boring. I don't want to do it. I don't have to do it right now either. I can save it for Sunday. Jenna may want me to come over, but my Imma says that I can't go over on Sunday's unless my homework is done. Yeah, I'll save it for Sunday.

Oh no! Doctor Bashir just walked in. He's talking to Mr. Garak. I hope he doesn't find out that I'm here. It's probably almost time for my appointment. I think, after he leaves I'm going to leave too. I'll find somewhere else to hide out at. Maybe I'll go to Carissa's. No. I can't do that. When Imma looks for me it'll be the first place she'll check. Usually it would be Jenna's that she'd check first, but since she thinks that Jenna is sick she wont check there. But I'm not going over there. Definitely not.

He's gone. Now I'll leave. I don't know where I'll go, but I'm sure I'll find some place. I probably go to a non-Kosher restaurant where I can enjoy the smell but easily refuse the food.

-Cochava

Rochelle,

Alrighty, I'm here, sitting in a Bajoran restaurant and everything smells so good. I can just pretend that I'm eating it and I feel full. It's so nice in here. Everyone looks happy. A lot of them look fat too. There's a Bajoran man sitting across the aisle from me that has to be at least 175 pounds. Now, I know that men tend to be bigger than women, but that's just too big. He's sitting with a woman who can only be about 25 pounds smaller than him. I tried to watch them eat, but got nauseated at the site of the food. It's all greasy, plus it's meat. Dead animal is disgusting. I don't know how someone could eat it.

I asked a waitress for the time and she said that it was 1906 hours. Good. Imma will be lighting candles really soon. I can probably head back home in a couple of minutes. She and Abba will probably be mad at me, but I'll just say that I lost track of the time.

I can still stay for a few more minutes though. I really enjoy watching the people here. I wonder if they're really as happy as they look. I don't know how they could be so happy when they're as fat as they are. Could they be lying like I do? Is it normal to lie like I do? Great. Now I'm confused again. My head is hurting too. My stomach is yelling at me to eat, but it's just going to have to wait until I get home. I should leave now though.

I'll write more Saturday night, since I can't wrote during Shabbat. Bye!

Your Friend,

Cochava Pearlman

Okay, scratch that. I just tried to get up but got really dizzy. I fell back into my seat, luckily nobody noticed. Maybe I'm just dehydrated. I accidentally threw away my drink with my lunch and I forgot to drink anything at home. Maybe I'll ask for a seltzer or something. After I finish that I'll leave.

This is me, signing out. So, TTYL.

Your Friend,

Cochava Pearlman