"Hey, Numbuh 3!" I could hear Numbuh 4 yell. "What??" I yelled back. I know we were gonna get someone mad at us for yelling at each other. "Come 'ere!" ugh… I slammed down my books and walked out of my room, kinda mad. I went up the stairs and walked into his room. "What!?" He sat there for a second. I know he was thinking, 'what the heck is her problem???' but he didn't say anything rude... "um ah was wondering, do you know where Numbuh 1 went..?" I crossed my arms. Was this all? He made me stop reading cuz of this stupid question!? "No." I said sternly. He blinked "Um okay then…thanks Numbuh 3." I walked out and slammed his door. 'Thanks Numbuh 3' Puh who does he think he is anyway!? Grr...I just wan-wait! What was I thinking??? He is my friend! I should stop thinking bad things about him. I knew I should go back and say I'm sorry for being mean and slamming his door, but I didn't. I just went back down to my room and pick my book back up and started to read, read, read, and read. Wow I never would have known reading could be this much fun! I could feel myself smiling. But I put the book down and fell backwards on my bed. I grabbed my bed time rainbow monkey and hugged it close. Then I closed my eyes, again remembering something of my past...
-Flashback-
Five years old. Gina and I are standing in my parents' kitchen, heads level with the countertops, searching for something to eat. Gina says, You guys don't have normal food. I say apologetically, I know. My parents and weird about food. She asks, Do you have any chips? No. Cookies? No. We stand together, staring into the refrigerator. I announce, We have peanut butter. She pulls it out, sticks a grimy finger into it, licks it off. It's weird, she says. I know, I say. It's unsalted. She makes a face, says, Ick. I agree. We stare into the abyss of food that falls into two categories: Healthy Things and Things We Are To Short To Cook-eggs, bread, nasty peanut butter, alfalfa sprouts, cucumbers, a six-pack of Diet Lipton Iced Tea in blue cans with little yellow lemon above the Tea. Tab in pink can. I offer, We could have toast. She peers at the bread and declares, It's brown. We put the bread back. I say, inspired, We have cereal! We go to the cupboard, the one by the floor. We stare at the information, run my finger down the side and authoritatively note, It only has five grams of sugar in it. I stick my chin up and brag, We don't even eat that. I wouldn't eat anything with more then two grams of sugar. I say, Me neither, put the cereal back, as if it's contaminated. I bounce up from the floor, stick my tongue out at Gina. 'I'm' on a diet, I say. Me too, she says, face screwing up in a scowl. Nuh-uh, I say. Uh-huh, she retorts. I turn my back and say, Well, I wasn't hungry anyway. Me neither, she says. I go to the fridge, make a show of taking out Diet Lipton Iced Tea with Little Yellow Lemon, pop it open, sip loudly, tttthhhpppttt. It tastes like sawdust, dries out my mouth. See? I say, pointing to the Diet, I'm gonna be as thin as my mommy when I grow up.
I think Gina's mommy, who I know for a fact buys sugar cereal. I know this because every time I sleep over there we have Froot Loops for breakfast, the artificial colors turning the milk red. Gina and I suck it up with straws, seeing who can be louder.
Your mom, I say out of pure spite, is fat.
Gina says, At least my mom knows how to cook.
At least my mom has a job, I shout.
At least my mom is nice, she sneers.
I glare at her then march away.
-End of flashback-
I sigh and put my rainbow monkey down, grab my pillow and put it over my face. I hate my past...it's stupid...can't we just put the past behind us and stop thinking of it??? "Hey the Numbuh 3, its time fo' lunch!" I heard Numbuh 5 yell. Eh…lunch…just the word made me kinda sick. "Okay!....Be right there.." I said. I got off my bed and looked at myself in the mirror. I frowned. Still not skinny...I walked out of my room and went up the stairs...again. And what I'll have to keep doing so on in my life…When I walked into the main room I saw pizza. Geez did these people ever eat real food???? "Come on Numbuh 3" Numbuh 4 said. "Have some pizza." I looked at the pizza for a minute, then shook my head no. He just stared at me, like what's my problem? "Why not..?" "Cuz, its fat-er...um I'm not in the mood for it right now..." I said and then turned to the fridge and started to look for grapes. "You're not in the mood...?" my leader said. Ugh this is starting to really tick me off..."YES! I'm not in the mood! Okay?! Geez!" I shouted, grabbed the grapes, shut the fridge door and started to walk out of the kitchen. "Hey! Where ya goin??" Numbuh 5 said. "To my room, so I can eat alone with out people staring at me and bugging me about what I'm in the 'mood' for!" When I got to my room I jumped down on my bed and started at my grapes. Every one very sweet, some what made me want to put them back, but they were waaay better the pizza...
For some reason I didn't want to tell my friends about the way I wanted to eat now, or the fact I have been throwing up one time a day. I don't do it after every meal, so that should be good right..? But just thinking of my telling them of what I have been doing...I think they would freak and say I'm weird or something. I pick at one grape. I mean, they don't know what its like to be me, they think they know everything about me...I wonder how many people out there think they know everything about their friends...but I would HATE to lose one of my friends from death...my mother always told me that 'death' is a part of life...you have to deal with it, it happens, and it WILL happen...I never want my friends to leave me, EVER! I care about them a lot, and I always will. I wonder if they care about me the same way...I know Numbuh 4 doesn't...I don't even think he likes me that much...he just needs me for him to know things I think...like, the time, help with his homework or school work...
I put my plate in the trash, laid down on my bed, and then went under the covers. It's getting colder and colder everyday. I hate being cold. I crawl up in a ball. And start thinking more about my past...about how I would eat normal...I shake that thought out of my head, normal is nothing...thin is everything…
Later that night I skip dinner, saying I don't 'feel' well. I watch TV for a short, and I mean short, time with the others then I say I'm going to bed. I walk past Numbuh 4's door, like I do every time I want to go in and out my room. I go down the stairs thinking about exercise. Stairs are good for ya...I say to myself. I jump the last 2 steps, Numbuh 4 can jump 5 steps...and go into my room, read for a short time and then lay down, turn off my light and go to sleep.