Hi All! I'm writing this just as it closes in on the last hour of 2004. I am SO stoked about all the nice reviews I got. Thank you so much! I love you all!
I'm sorry for keeping you all in suspense for so long, but this is it. You will FINALLY find out what's wrong with Kyle. It required a bit of research on my half to make sure I flattened out any flaws in my path. I want this to be realistic, afterall. We aren't close to the end yet, so no worries. This chapter will be a bit longer than the other ones. Read on and Happy New Year!
Kyle's Secret-Stan's POV-
I woke up the next morning feeling happy. Kind of … free. The sun was actually shining through my window.
I lay in bed, knowing I had a few minutes before Mom would be yelling at me to get up. It's days like these that say, what could possibly go wrong today? Besides, I had so much shit happen in the past two days, I felt God owed me now. Give me something good. Please.
I rolled out of bed finally and booked it for the bathroom before Shelley got in there and started getting ready. She took hours. Goddamn, how could anybody find that much to do in a bathroom?
I finished up in there and practically pranced down the stairs.
Why am I in such a good mood?
"Morning, Mom!"
Mom turned around, eyes wide with surprise. She usually had to drag me out of bed.
"Well, good morning, Stanley! Nice to see you up so early … and ready!"
Nodding, I grinned at her and opened the fridge.
"Stanley, don't drink straight from the carton! I'll get you a glass. Oh, Kyle's Mother phoned this morning."
I froze. What good ever came from a phone call from Mrs. Broflovski?
I tried to sound casual. "Oh? What did she want?"
"She wanted to know if you knew anything about where Kyle was getting his 'junk food stash' from."
What the fuck?
"'Junk food stash'?"
If I seemed nervous, Mom didn't notice. She went on making Dad's breakfast. "Yes, it seems that she found a bunch of candy and assorted junk food wrappers hidden under his bed. She told me that she doesn't like Kyle eating too much sugar because it makes him irritable and she doesn't know how he got all the money to buy it. She thought maybe you or one of your little friends had something to do with it."
What the hell was going on? Mom was still staring at me waiting for my answer.
"I don't know, Mom. I didn't buy it for him."
"That's what I told Sheila. She's worried about him. He has been looking a little out of sorts lately. He looked awful pale last night."
So, I hadn't been the only one who noticed. Maybe, I'm not just paranoid. I had to get to the bottom of this.
"Uh, I'm sure it's nothing, Mom. I better get going. Don't want to be late." I laughed a bit nervously and raced out the front door and down the steps.
Reaching the bus stop, I ignored the usual greetings I got. Instead, I walked straight to Kyle.
"Kyle, you and I need to talk." I huffed.
"Oooh, could this be the big breakup of Stan and Kyle?"
Fucking Cartman!
Kyle ignored him. "About what, Dude?"
"I think you know."
He gave me a killer look that said; I thought we agreed to not discuss this. "We can talk at lunch. I have to finish some homework on the bus and I don't have time for chitchat."
He turned away harshly, ignoring me. Fine, then, Kyle. I'm getting to the bottom of this whether you want me to or not.
The ride to school was filled with an odd eerie silence that shattered my eardrums. For once, I didn't sit with Kyle. Kenny and I sat together. And Cartman took a seat to himself while Bebe, Wendy's annoying sidekick, took it upon herself to sit with Kyle. Didn't she know he had Madison? He ignored her anyways.
The day went by so slowly. I had to talk to Kyle. It was killing me. What the fuck was wrong with him?
When the lunch bell rang, it was like sweet music to my ears. I dived through the crowd of kids entering the cafeteria. I actually got food today. I was starving after barely eating anything for the past few days.
Taking a seat at our lunch table, I noticed that I wasn't the only one there. Kenny sat, tipping his chair back slightly.
"Something's wrong with Kyle." He said. Thank you, Captain Obvious.
"I know. I'm getting to the bottom of it as soon as he gets here."
Kenny set his chair back to the ground.
"Stan, don't pry too much. It may not seem like it right now, but Kyle is really messed up. He looks like a zombie. He walks around in a daze and he looks like he hasn't had a good sleep for nights. He doesn't listen to the teacher and I always see him asking for extra help after class. He's even pushing away from Madison. I don't know about you, but that's not the Kyle I know."
How come he was doing this?
God, I was sick. I actually felt happy when Kenny mentioned that part about Madison. I was glad he was pushing away from her. I loathed Madison. Kyle's my best friend. I should be beside him one hundred percent.
"Shhh, shut up. Here he comes." I shushed him upon seeing Kyle and Cartman enter the cafeteria. Why did Kyle have so much food? It looked like he was eating for three. Well, maybe it'd help him look a bit healthier.
He sat down beside Kenny and Cartman took a seat beside me. Again, this wasn't right. It was usually switched.
I didn't get a chance to start speaking. Kyle plunged into his food immediately. Is he trying to delay me from talking? If he thinks that bullshit, 'I don't talk with my mouth full' bit was going to stop me, he had another thing coming. I could wait.
I ate my food as quickly as he ate his, both of us staring eachother down the whole time. Kenny and Cartman chattered on but could tell that something was definitely wrong.
It was a few minutes before Kyle finished eating completely. How did he eat that much so quickly?
"I've got to go in and take a test I missed yesterday." He got up and stalked out of the cafeteria before I had a chance to say something.
Kenny waited until he knew for sure Kyle was out of hearing distance before saying, "He's bullshitting. He didn't miss any fucking test yesterday. Go, Stan. Go find out what's wrong."
I nodded and ran out of the cafeteria to follow him. I kept a safe distance between the two of us. He turned a corner and I turned it right after, colliding with a teacher and knocking a stack of papers out of her arms. Fucking great. Smooth move, Stan.
"Uh, I'm sorry, Ma'am."
"It's alright. I can pick these up by myself. Go on."
Normally, I would've argued and helped her pick them up anyways. But nothing was normal right now. I ran on past her.
Fuck! I lost him.
I slid down against a row of lockers trying to catch my breath. I couldn't do this. My head was throbbing from running … not to mention the little collision with that teacher …
I sighed heavily and pushed myself back up. I was feeling like I might be sick. Running on a full stomach wasn't one of my brightest ideas. I walked to the nearest washroom and locked myself inside a stall. Kneeling down, I kept my head low, willing for the vomit to come up and spare my stomach the pain.
What was that?
I could hear someone gagging in the stall down a few from mine. I bent my head lower to the floor so I could see if someone was indeed in there.
Why did those shoes look so familiar … motherfucker!
I rushed angrily out of my stall and shoved the only other occupied stall in the bathroom open.
"Dude, what the FUCK do you think you're doing?!"
"Stan, I-I was just …"
"Shoving a finger down your throat? Oh, I understand. For someone who's a genius, you really are a dumbass."
Kyle was knelt in front of the toilet like I had been. Only, he had a finger shoved in his mouth and he was spilling out the contents of his lunch. It wasn't even digested.
He got up suddenly, angry. "Okay, fine! So you caught me. I make myself vomit. What the fuck do you care, anyways? You don't know the pressure I have on me right now. If your parents kept telling you which colleges to apply for, you'd be stressed too. Christ, I'm only fifteen."
"This is a serious problem. Kyle, you-you're bulimic."
"I am not, Stan! I don't have a problem. Maybe I just need a way to deal with the pressure that's on me. Maybe everyone should just leave me the fuck alone and let me figure this shit out by myself. It might help if I had a best friend to talk to but you've been so off in your own little world lately, you haven't even noticed."
Was he serious? I had gone as far as having dreams about him.
"What the fuck are you talking about, Dude? I have asked you …pleaded with you for the last week to tell me what was wrong. How can you say I haven't noticed?"
"Do you care, Stan?" His words were softer, but the anger was still present.
Care? Of course I cared. I love you, Kyle.
So the truth comes out. My god, I am a fag.
Instead, I replaced my true words with, "You know I fucking care. Are you trying to get yourself killed? The question is, do you care that you've been lying to me? You didn't have a test to do. And I suppose that all the candy your Mom found under your bed was part of your binging."
He raised his fist as if he were about to punch me, so I grabbed his arm first. I had never seen him look so angry. Greens eyes embedded in his pale face, blazing with fury.
"Oh, fuck off, Stan. If I needed your help, I'd tell you." He shook loose from my grip, turned on his heel and stomped out of the washroom.
Kyle, what the fuck have you done to yourself? Strangely enough, my second thought was, I wonder if Madison knows.
I didn't even have time to think about it because I heard a loud thump outside the washroom door, followed by the scream of a woman.
I ran out and just about tripped … over a body.
"Kyle?!"
Kyle laid on the floor, a teacher holding his hand and trying to help him regain consciousness.
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Alrighty, so, his secret's out! I tried to keep it as suspenseful as possible. I did a bit of research as I said earlier, and I realize that it's not a normal symptom to become thin with bulimia. I've got another trick up my sleeve, however. Could something else be wrong with Kyle? Stay tuned …
-J