Prologue: My Ass

"Lindsey, for God's sake get your ass down here!" My sister's voice echoed loudly up the stairs and down the hallway, practically shaking our house out of its foundation with its shrillness. It took most of my strength not have any other reaction than gritting my teeth. With my sister though, I wouldn't be surprised if I was toothless by the time I reached college.

"Lindsey!!" Obviously the two years on the planet she had over me hadn't made her any wiser: did she figure by yelling even louder I'd actually pay attention to her? Once again, I chose to ignore her not-so-subtle moodiness. It was hard thing to ignore though- my sister's snoody reputation often spun around and attacked me at school. Worst of all were the preconceived notions people formed of me simply because they knew her and since we were sisters, despite the difference in our ages, we had the exact same personalities. Other than the fact we share the same blood-type, I can assure you that's pretty much all we have in common. At least she was a senior- after Miss Popularity left, I was free to hide into the background of the Tulsa High School social scene.

"Fine," I sighed. I caught an unfriendly sight in the mirror that hung on my wall as I turned to go downstairs: my reflection. The most striking image, as usual, was my hair. To put it mildly, I hate it. It was pure friziness from my roots to the tips that sat limply on my shoulders, matching the red freckles that splattered across my pudgy cheeks, the part of my face that I despised most. I sucked in my breathe, imagining what it would be like to have beautifully defined cheekbones, absently tracing the area with my index finger. Almost as if on command, my glasses slid halfway down the bridge of my nose. I lifted my finger to slide them back into place, almost an unconscious movement.

"I'm not yelling up there again!" Heidi contradicted herself. I heard a thump as she pounded her fist against the wall, a habit she said I provoked in her. I was surprised she hadn't pounded a hole into the drywall yet.

"You just did," I muttered under my breath, quietly enough so the words were drowned out by the thundering of my feet as I came down the carpeted stairs. Upon reaching the base, I turned the corner quickly and nearly ran into her

"There you are," she snapped. If looks could kill, the one she gave me would've instantly sent me six feet under.

"What's the hurry?" I asked her, struggling in the front foyer to stuff my feet into my worn-out canvas shoes. It wouldn't have been so complicated if I had loosened the laces prior to putting them on, but I figured it'd save time. Well, I figured wrong.

"What's the hurry!? Lloyd's waiting for me. I'm five minutes late already, no thanks to you!"

Oh, that's right. I remembered.

Her boyfriend.. well, I'm sure anyone named Lloyd is surely worth the wait. I nearly laughed outloud at the thought. Her newest infactuation, my sister went through boys faster than I went through.. well, shoes.

"I'm sorry," I apologized although I knew the words meant nothing to her. I bent down to untie my laces.

"Just get going already," she slipped her new sunglasses over her blue eyes and opened the front door. The hallway was instantly flooded with bright sunlight, the warm promise of summer just around the corner. As I glanced up at her from my crouched position, a breeze tossed her long blond hair around her shoulders. Her spaghetti-strap shirt clung tightly to her tiny figure. I enviously wished, for what seemed like the hundreth time, I could've gotten her end of the gene pool- why couldn't I have anything other than orangish-red curls, dull auburn-colored eyes, and a couple of fat rolls?

I didn't have much time to react, for she nearly shut the door in my face. Sighing, I remembered the one thing that tied me to her that particular afternoon: my mode of transportation.

Only seven more weeks, I reminded myself. It will be one sweet sixteen the day I get my driver's license. I'd already passed the parent driving inspection in the last few months and was convinced the program the school offered would be a piece of cake.

"So where am I dropping you off?" Heidi asked after I slid into the passenger's seat of her car. I looked blankly at her, watching how much attention she devoted to applying yet another layer of lipstick to her full pink lips.

"Where are you meeting Lloyd? I can just walk from there."

"I don't think so," she sneered at me with an amused smile. "You think I'm going to have my baby sister tagging along?"

Last time I checked, being fifteen didn't constitute being a baby, I wanted to say. Instead, I replied:

"I'm sorry.. Umm, how about the Food Court?"

"You would want to socialize there," she replied, glancing at my figure. I slid my arms over my lap to hide my bulging abdomen from her scrutiny and chose to remain quiet. Although incredibly silent, fortunately the ride to the mall didn't last too long.

"Thanks for the ride." I said hurridly, scrambling to get out of her car as fast my stumpy little legs would let me. I couldn't wait to get away from her comments about my weight fast enough.

"There you are!" My best friend JoAnn cried out from her seat in the food table. She waved her arm excitedly at me. I grinned and returned the wave, quickening my pace towards her.

"How's it going?" I asked, sliding into the seat next to her at a small rounded table.

"Great," she said, her mouth half-full with one of the greasiest pieces of pizza I've ever seen. I noticed a plate full of french fries near her elbow and seized one of them.

"Hey! I'm still hungry," she grinned at me before taking a sip of her large chocolate shake.

"How on earth can you do that?" I stared at her.

"What?"

"Eat so much crappy food and way less than a toothpick." I tried to hide the bitterness I felt inside from escaping in my voice.

"Just luck I guess." She shrugged.

"Well, some of us aren't so lucky," I sighed, resting my elbows on the little table space that wasn't covered by her food.

"Oh, don't tell me you think you have a weight problem." JoAnn looked at me critically.

"Well, I-" I started to reply, when I was interrupted by a voice behind me.

"By the looks of your fat ass Lindsey, one would never know weight was something you cared about." A round of feminine giggles followed. I turned around, although I knew who it was before getting of glimpse of her.

"Samantha." The most popular girl in school.. who else? Unfortunately, one those elite few at our high school who considered it their duty to make the lives of us less fortunate mortals difficult. I noticed the group of her fellow cheerleader groupies surrounding her protectively, all wearing some form or another of her outfit: v-neck shirt and tight black flair pants.

"JoAnn, you're looking well today." She threw her a fake smile and brushed her shiny brown hair over her shoulder. I only knew it was fake because it almost looked like it hurt for her to do it. I watched with narrowed eyes through my bifocals as she took out a compact and examined her perfect complexion.

"Thanks," my best friend replied sarcastically, nearly spraying me a her mouthful of french fries. "I'd say you look nice, but that's not exactly possible."

"Watch it Jo," I teased her, grateful she wasn't buying Samantha's act. JoAnn was a rare individual at our high school: she was completely an individual, not giving a rat's ass about what anyone thought about her. Even better, her boyfriend (Greg) was also one of the most popular guys on the basketball team, although it didn't matter to her. With her hair dyed jet-black and eyes tinted violet under contacts, she made quite the statement with just her appearance. I could only wish I was so independent.

"Lindsey," Samantha ignored JoAnn's comment and turned on me in a nasty tone.

"What?" Retract those claws while you're at it.

"How's Zac doing?" She referred to my other best friend, Zac Hanson. For the longest period of time, she'd had an enormous crush on him. Fortunately, like any normal guy, he had no clue because she'd never confronted him about it. Little did I know her scheming mind, I'd found out sooner than I would ever want to that she planned on doing just that.

"He's fine." I replied smugly. We'd been best friends for a long time, before things like appearance became a major influence of one's social life.

"Is he still single?"

"Why on earth would I care?" I couldn't believe she'd have the nerve to ask me that. JoAnn was speechless too for once, although with one look on her face I could practically see the insults forming in her mind, her eyes gleaming mischieviously.

"Well, is he still your friend?" I noticed the over-casual nature of her voice. I also noticed her little wolf-pack wasn't saying much, just staring at me underneath layers of expensive eye shadow and liner.

"Of course."

"Well, then obviously he's single if he's still hanging around you." With a cast of her head and eruption of giggles from her mouth, she spun on her heel and headed in the direction of the Victoria's Secret store. As I watched their tiny figures dissappear, I couldn't hide the burning anger inside me.

"Let it go Linds," JoAnn warned me, noticing my fists clenched and mouth drawn up in a tip-lipped grimace.

"Let it go my ass," I replied bitterly. I didn't know whether I wanted to scream out loud or burst into tears.