Chapter two hundred and fifteen:
After spending a good fifteen minutes trying to decide on a movie
that all four of them were happy to see, Becky, Jenna, Luke and Zac found a
table with four chairs and sat down to wait for their theatre to open.
Zac glanced around and noticed a table-hockey game in the mini
arcade.
“Luke, how about a game of air-hockey?”
Luke laughed. “Sure, if you want me to wipe the floor with your
sorry ass.”
“Oh, you’re on!” Zac laughed, getting up from his seat and
striding confidently toward the game.
Luke smiled at Jen, “This won’t take long.”
Jen smiled. “Okay.”
Becky laughed. “They’re adorable, aren’t they? I mean, Zac is
totally just a big kid, and together they just get so competitive, it’s
adorable.”
Jen nodded. “I know.”
“I’d like to watch the game…”
“Me too. I should go to the bathroom
though. I’ll see if the theatre is open while I’m there.”
“Alright.” Becky stood and picked up her
purse as Jen set off towards the washrooms. Becky started walking towards the
arcade, but stopped mid-way. On impulse, she turned on her heel and walked off
toward the washrooms. She hoisted her purse on her shoulder and slipped through
the door to the women’s washroom.
She paused at the mirror and adjusted her hair. It was then she
heard the sound of someone gagging in one of the stalls. Becky furrowed her
brow and turned away from the mirror. She slowly began to walk down the long
row of stalls. Each door was open and each stall was empty, until she came to
the end. There was one stall occupied, it’s door closed.
Becky listened to the hacking inside the stall and finally glanced
underneath. The shoes were definitely Jen’s.
Becky stood up straight and moved closer to the door. “Jen? Honey? Are you okay in
there?”
“I’m fine.” She whispered weakly. Her throat was clearly hoarse.
“Can I get you anything? Water, um… something to settle your
stomach?”
“I’m fine.”
Becky stood nervously outside the door until the toilet flushed
and Jen slowly emerged.
“Are you okay? Jen, can I do anything? Honey-“
Jen slipped past Becky and went straight to the row of sinks. She
turned on the cold water and splashed some on her face and in her mouth.
Becky watched in confusion. Jen seemed completely unfazed; like
the fact that she had been throwing up seconds before hadn’t bothered her at
all.
“Jen! Are you okay? Are you sick?”
“I’m okay, I just…. I must have eaten something that didn’t agree
with me.”
“Have you been sick lately? I mean, is
this the first time you’ve been sick?”
“Becky, it’s okay. It’s just…” She trailed off, looking distant.
She swayed dangerously.
Becky quickly moved towards Jen, grabbing her arm. “Are you okay?
Let me get Luke-“
“No!” Jenna protested immediately.
Becky’s eyes widened in alarm.
“You have to promise not to tell Luke.” She placed her hands on Becky’s
shoulders, pleading.
“You… the weight loss, the hard core dieting… you… you’re making
yourself sick-“
“You have to promise not to tell Luke, please.”
“Jen, this is dangerous! Don’t you see how incredibly stupid this
is?!”
“I know. I know, believe me. But I’ve got to work it out on my
own. I’ll stop, I promise. You just can’t tell him. He’ll freak! He’ll kill me!
Please, you can’t tell him.” Jen was on the verge of tears.
“Ok, fine.” Becky swallowed hard. “I won’t tell him. But you’ve
got to promise me that you’ll stop all this.”
“I promise. I swear on my own grave!”
Becky studied her best friend for a moment. “And you have to gain
ten pounds. Because you look awful this skinny.”
“I will. I promise.”