�Honey, you�ve hardly touched your plate. Are you still not feeling good?�
�Yeah.�
�Honey, you need to eat a little something. I don�t want you getting sick. You barely ate yesterday and Tuesday, too.�
�Okay.�
Then she�d taken about two bites of her salad, and by then her friend had turned to their other friends and started talking, so she�d secretly dumped some on the floor underneath the table.
She sighed. Not eating just wasn�t working. She was still has fat as ever. Her friends had noticed, so she wasn�t going to be able to keep it up much longer. She sighed again, fighting back tears. She wanted to tell them so bad. She wanted to tell them and have them hug her tight and tell her it was okay to feel the way she was feeling. She guessed she was afraid to. Afraid that they�d either think she was weird and push her away or that they�d tell her parents. She really didn�t want her parents finding out.
Her instinct took over, and she reached for the phone on her night stand. She picked it up and started dialing her absolute best friend�s number, but slammed the phone down before she finished. Then she picked it up again, but chickened out again, and lay the phone in it�s cradle. Just as she did so, it rang.
�Hello?� she said, picking it up.
�Hey, honey, it�s me.� It was her voice! The voice of her absolute best friend. The one she went to before the other three.
�Hey.�
�You left school so quickly this afternoon, I didn�t get a chance to talk to you. Are you okay?�
�Yeah.� Oh, how she wanted to say no. She wanted to break down and tell her, but another part of her screamed for her not to do it.
�I�m worried about you, honey. Is there something wrong?�
�I-I�m just really tired. I�ll see you tomorrow in school, okay?� she said, then quickly hung up.
She lay down on her bed, and started to cry. It wasn�t easy to tell her friends what she was doing. She knew deep down that it was a bad thing to do to herself, yet she just had to keep starving herself.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
�I am so, so, so glad it is Friday, and that awful Trig test is over!� Tara exclaimed, plopping her tray down at her and her friends� usual table.
�Me, too! Now there�s just two more classes and then we get to go to Maddi�s for a sleepover!� Alyson exclaimed.
�Yeah. Hey, Madison?� Kennedi asked, looking at her friend who was scouring the lunch line looking for someone.
�Where is Siobhan?� Madison asked, turning back to her friends.
�I don�t know, but maybe her teacher kept the class a few minutes more? That class is rowdy.� Alyson reminded her.
�Maybe. I�m really worried about her. I called her last night.� Madison said, her face showing concern.
�Really? What�d she say?� Tara asked, immediately concerned.
�She was so distant. I kept asking her if something was the matter, and she practically pushed me away and then quickly told me she was tired and hung up.� Madison said, worriedly.
�Do you think it has anything to do with the fact that she barely ate yesterday?� Kennedi asked.
�I think it�s worse than that. I think back now and I can�t remember her eating more than a few bites a day for like the past couple of weeks.� Madison said.
Alyson paled a little, �She hasn�t? What kind of friend am I, I didn�t even notice.�
�Honey, neither did I until yesterday. Was Siobhan in school this morning?� Madison asked her friends.
�I saw her at her locker before second period, but she hurried away before I got through the crowds to her.� Tara said.
Madison watched the entrance to the cafeteria, and then looked at her watch, �Okay, lunch period started almost ten minutes ago. She should have been in the lunch line by now.� she said, almost a little frantic.
�Okay, guys, we�re going to search the places she could be,� Alyson said, taking charge, as she could see Madison was about to cry, �Tara, you and Kenni go check the courtyard, Madison, the bathroom, and I�ll backtrack to Siobhan�s last class. We meet back here in 5 minutes.� she ordered, and everyone got up from the table and went their separate ways.
Madison ran to the bathroom. It was the exact same one that they�d met Siobhan in, and it was the place that through high school, someone would go when she was upset and her friends would know to look for her there.
As she opened the door, she could hear someone gagging, as if they were trying to throw up, but didn�t have the food in their stomach to do so. �Syvanni, sweetie?� Madison called out.
�Maddi?� the voice sounded small and weak. Madison could feel her heart breaking as she slipped open the unlocked stall door, and found her friend kneeling in front of the toilet.
Looking at the contents of the toilet bowl, Madison knew what had happened, �Come here, baby.� she said, quietly.
Siobhan was in tears as she slipped into Madison�s arms, �I-I need help, Maddi, I need help so bad. I missed Annie and I�m so fat I needed to lose weight, but I-I...� Siobhan trailed off.
�I know, honey, I know. Come on, lets get you down to the nurse�s office, okay?� she soothed. Siobhan nodded and let Madison help her off the floor. Madison noticed how light Siobhan was, almost skin and bones. She must have lost a few pounds in the past few weeks, and she was already underweight before that.
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