Takes place just before "The End of Obesity." If you don't to be spoiled, turn back now!
I have long headcanoned that Shelly has had body image issues. Another headcanon of mine is that after the Lorde incident, her girl friends distanced themselves and Kevin remained her only friend. Last night's special officially contradicts those (though I still think that she has body image issues to an extent), so here's my attempt to bridge those two headcanons with canon.
Shelly was still getting used to having female friends again.
She had resigned herself to being alone after Kelly and Stacy drifted away. If her two closest girl friends couldn't handle the fact that her dad was Lorde, then how would anyone else? She had burned her bridges with the rest of her peers a long time ago.
She still had Kevin, of course. He was dependable and always tolerated her rants and raves over the years. But there were some things that she just couldn't do with him.
Shelly missed sleepovers. She missed talking about boys and watching chick flicks. She even missed trailing after her friends at the mall while they tried on outfits that she wouldn't be caught dead in.
Shelly had long embraced her loneliness when Melissa transferred in from Middle Park.
She had completely written the girl off at first. As far as she was concerned, she was just as vapid as the rest and yet another girl who was prettier than she was, with her flawless caramel skin, curly hair, and cute, trendy outfits. She already had more friends at school than Shelly had in her entire life.
Shelly had inwardly groaned when Melissa was assigned to be her partner for their history project. The last thing she needed was a reminder of how ugly and alone she truly was.
Despite everything, Shelly found herself liking Melissa. She was naturally friendly and unlike the rest of their grade, she was unaware of her reputation. Before long, they started texting and following each other on social media. Melissa even reintroduced her to Jamie and Mandy, two girls that she hadn't interacted with since the fifth grade. Like everyone else, they were terrified of her, but as the weeks dragged on, they started warming up. Before long, the foursome was eating lunch together and hanging out after school. Saturdays were spent at the mall or the movies.
Of course, there was one drawback...
Shelly felt a sense of deja vu as she boredly looked at the sales rack at Forever 16. She didn't enjoy watching Kelly and Stacy shopping for clothes that she would look disgusting in and she didn't enjoy watching her new friends doing the same.
"Shelly, this is so you!" Melissa exclaimed, as she held up a dusty rose crop top.
"Very funny," Shelly muttered. She knew that this friendship was too good to be true. Melissa and her goon squad were clearly setting her up for humiliation.
Confusion clouded Melissa's face. "That color would look amazing on you! What's your deal?"
"In case you haven't noticed, I don't exactly have the body to wear something like that!" Shelly spat.
Her friends exchanged incredulous glances.
"I've seen you in the locker room. You have an awesome stomach, Shelly!" Jamie exclaimed. "Not-not like I was looking or anything," she stammered, wilting under Shelly's death glare."
"Yeah, show it off!" Melissa encouraged.
"Shut up, one person already called me fat!" Shelly grumbled. "I'm not falling for it!"
"Who? Who called you fat?" Mandy questioned.
Shelly wasn't about to tell them that it was her dad. Even if the insult was inadvertent, it still hurt like hell. "Just some guy from North Park, okay! I fucked him up and now he has to eat through a straw," she lied.
Melissa patted her shoulder. "Fuck that guy. He doesn't know what he's talking about. You would look so hot in this too." She thrust a lacy white cropped tank into Shelly's hands.
Shelly narrowed her eyes at the girls, scanning for ridicule, but she found nothing but sincerity radiating from her new friends.
Melissa grinned devilishly. "And it would totally piss your dad off."
Shelly examined the top. It was kind of cute...
"Okay, I'll try it," she sighed.