Escape Velocity

Chapter Seventeen

Christina waved me into the library.

"Where is everybody?" I asked.

"In their rooms, waiting for dinner. Except I don't guess Kate is coming. She's sick."

"What's wrong with her? I hope it's not contagious."

"Guess it could be. I know that when I was in our room a few minutes ago, she was in the bathroom throwing up."

"That's too bad," I said, hoping I sounded sincere.

"It was gross. I had to leave." Christina's nose wrinkled with distaste.

"What was gross?" Melisse stood in the doorway.

"It's Kate. She's sick," Christina repeated.

Melisse said, "I hope it wasn't the brownie. We both had one this afternoon."

No one else had made the connection or even seemed suspicious. I asked, "You feel okay, right? How long ago did you eat it?"

"Right after class. But I'm fine." Melisse shrugged. "It was yummy."

"Let's go back to our room," I said as I moved into the hallway. Melisse hesitated. I tugged her arm until she turned to follow me.

Melisse asked, "Should we let Ms. Robbins know that Kate's sick?"

I shook my head. "She's not really sick, not in the way you mean." I leaned toward her and whispered, "I avoided saying this in front of Christina, but I'm pretty positive Kate's bingeing and purging."

"You mean she's making herself throw up?"

"That's exactly what I mean. The other day she had a cupcake and a milkshake right before dinner. That was the night we had pizza. I was suspicious and noticed she took a few slices to her room after saying how she couldn't eat another bite. It's not good."

Melisse stopped as we reached our room. "I hope this won't make you mad but aren't you a bit too focused on Kate? I know it was hard losing your best friend to her, but you were a kid. You should let go. You can't let her live rent-free in your head. Especially since she probably doesn't know the effect she had."

I supposed Melisse could be right. Kate hadn't known Lucy was my closest friend, basically my only friend. Lucy had known though how hard it was for me to make friends. No. No, I didn't buy it for a minute. Kate knew perfectly well what she was doing, what she had done.

I should've kept Lucy a secret.

When I didn't speak, Melisse said, "I doubt if she did it on purpose. She's stressed out by the competition. I know I am, and you are too. Besides, I've eaten too many desserts once or twice in my life." With a sheepish grin, she said, "But no more than three times."

The door next to us opened, and Kate stood still for a moment before entering the hallway. Not a hair was out of place, and she had on a lavender dress and white sandals. She was dressed for a garden party. She said, "Where are you all going? Isn't it time for dinner? I'm starving."

A switch flipped inside me. For the first time since sixth grade, I felt sorry for Kate instead of myself. Those videos in health class had stuck with me. The anorexic girls were walking skeletons with their sunken eyes, but the girls with bulimia seemed healthy. Then the teacher told us what happened to teeth and the esophagus. I should tell somebody, not to cause her trouble, but so someone would help her.

I steadied myself as it hit me. Perfect Kate didn't exist anymore. Perfect Kate had never existed.

~~~