Fat Girl ✔️

The New Bella Begins

"No."

"Yes."

"Blake, we're not doing posters. They're a waste of time, money, and paper. A PowerPoint is not only eco-friendly but smart and resourceful."

Blake rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "Look, teachers love the homemade art thing. we slap together some construction paper and glitter, and they'll eat that stuff up. We might even get extra-credit points. But when you do an online presentation, it forces them to actually grade you on your work."

"Yeah," I said, typing things into my laptop aggressively, "That's like the whole point." I opened my mouth to continue my argument, but I was cut off by a girl arriving at our table.

She was a small redhead, one of the girls I'd seen with Ingrid the other day. She approached our desks, completely ignoring me and choosing to direct her gaze at Blake instead.

"Hey, Blake," She said, "Do you think you can help me and Macy with our project? we're having a little trouble-"

"- I wouldn't depend on Blake. He can't even get our project right. Maybe ask Mr.Pearson," I offered, cutting her off. 

She gave me a glare. 

"It's fine, El. I can just-"

"-Why are you even partners with her?" The girl asked. "We could ask Mr. Pearson to let you join our group if you want."

"I'm good, Jenny. What do you need help with?" 

I watched the two walk away, leaving me alone at our table. This was the fourth time in the past week that I'd been ditched. The good thing about working alone was that you never had to depend on anyone else. Now, it felt like I was constantly waiting on Blake. Without him, the project would've been done by now.

I typed down more information into my laptop angrily. The girl, Jenny, had been right. Why did Blake want to be partners with me? We were well into the project and he still hadn't tried to get me back yet. I was on the edge of my seat every minute, waiting for the moment he'd strike. Lately, he'd been acting weirdly. No rude comments or snarky replies. He was actually kind of... nice. The better half of me knew it was just a part of his act, but I couldn't help but feel good about it.

"...Sorry about that." Blake was back at our table, flipping through pages of his notebook. "Look, I know we haven't gotten much done, but if you want to work on the project this weekend I'm free. Let me give you my number."

As I typed my number into his phone, I had a sinking feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

***

The air in the cafeteria smelled strongly of cheese and bread. Pizza. 

I smiled at the thought of the delicious food. In comparison to what the lunch ladies normally served, Pizza Day was a gift from God. It was just what I needed to brighten up my day.

"Come on, let's get our seats and hop in line before it gets too crowded."

Sydney and her boyfriend Kyle trailed behind me, Kyle passionately explaining the mechanics of a new robot he was coding for the science fair. We found a small table in the corner of the cafeteria, and I set down my bags.

"...So we thought about doing a remote-controlled motor, but then Raúl had the great idea of an app that you can download onto your phone. That way you don't have to look for the controller every time. It's actually a pretty-"

"-Okay Kyle, enough with the nerd drama," I groaned, getting up from the table. "Are we getting pizza or not?"

"Wait, where's Bella? I thought she was meeting us for lunch." Sydney looked down at her phone, checking her messages. "Do you think she's at the library again?"

I shrugged, my mind drifting to more important things, like Italian inspired dishes.

Sydney stood up. "I know she doesn't want to miss out on pizza. Could you go check for her in the library? Me and Kyle will wait in line and save a spot for you guys."

I sighed inwardly, grabbing my bag. "Fine. But if I don't get pizza by 1, I swear..."

I headed off to the library before either of them could answer, eager to find Bella. Sydney was right, anyways. Bella would hate to miss out on Pizza Day, but she was the kind of person that wouldn't say anything about it. She'd just watch you eat your pizza pitifully, and when you ask her if she wanted some, she'd politely decline even though you knew she wanted a slice. 

But as I headed down the hall, something hit me.

You know that feeling, like a blanket of ice, when you know something really horrible is about to happen but you can't figure out what? When everything gets eerily quiet and you're suddenly...nervous?

I was feeling that exact feeling at that moment.

As I turned the corner, I saw the exact thing that had made my skin prickle and my sixth-sense tingle.

Bella was there. At the end of the hall.

Next to her, a tall blonde boy pulled her into an embrace. Weird. I had never seen her that close to a boy before. Or better yet, I'd never seen her within six feet of a boy.

I watched as they kissed, and she pulled away with a soft smile playing on her face. They shifted...

It was Shawn. Not just any Shawn. Sydney's Shawn.

I flipped back around, covering my mouth in surprise. In less than a second I had turned down the hall anxiously, praying they hadn't seen me. 

I backed away, my heart racing. How could she do this? I remembered seeing her in the bathroom with Ingrid. Had she been lying to me about who she was hanging out with? 

The "boy" she told Sydney and I about at the beach... This was him. It was Shawn. 

It hurt to think that she might hang out with Ingrid behind my back too. After all the pain that girl caused me, torturing me throughout high school... I couldn't imagine Bella to be that careless.

I headed back to the cafeteria, deep in my thoughts. All the lies. Bella wasn't normally like this. What was going on?

"Hey! You took so long we had to get your pizza for you. Where's Bella?" Sydney looked up at me when I arrived in the cafeteria, smiling in Kyle's embrace. I swallowed my anxiety.

"Yeah...I couldn't find her. Guess she's not coming." I forced a smile. "Who's hungry?"