You are fat.



Well, you’re not “fat” per se. You’re just not as thin as you used to be.



You want to be skinny. The word bounces around your mind at least twenty times a day.





When I’m skinny, I’ll go shopping.



If I get that gym membership, I’ll be skinny.

If I don’t eat dinner, I’ll get skinny.



I want to be as skinny as I was in this picture.



It becomes your obsession. Your meals get smaller, your workouts longer. Your stomach groans constantly, but to you, “hunger is just a state of mind”. You become so intent on getting skinny, your grades start to slip. Your friends stop calling. Your mom calls the doctor. You skip the appointment because you have to go to the gym. Your parents take your phone away, then your car. But you don’t mind. Now you can walk to the gym. You’ve gotten skinnier, but you’re still not skinny enough. People look at you at school. They whisper about you. You know it’s because you’re skinnier and they’re impressed. But that guy in your biology class still hasn’t noticed you. You promise yourself to get skinnier until he does. Your clothes become too big. All your pants need belts and you find yourself wearing just the tank tops that you used to wear under your shirts. You walk to the mall to buy new clothes. You begin having contests with yourself to see how long you can go without eating. The longer you go, the prouder you are of yourself. One night you go to a party with a girl you met at the gym. You drink a few beers, to make her like you. You haven’t gone out with friends in weeks. You’re dancing around, and you feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn around to see the guy in your biology class. He says you look great and you blush. He asks if you want to go talk where it’s not so loud.



You are skinny.





You smile and tell him it’s a great idea. He winks at you. Before you can even let out a smile, your body hits the ground.



You wake up in the ICU. The nurse explains that you’re there because you’re too skinny. You smile.