and puckers her lips in disgust

as if she’s bitten into

a sour lemon.

It doesn’t make sense

for another fat person to judge me,

but a Fat Girl Rule

gives her the power:

The fatter you are,

the lower you are

on the food chain.

Then she looks over at Javier

and grips her purse.

I don’t want her insulting

Catalina’s family,

so I say,

“I only eat purses when I’m hangry.”

“This custard’s the best, isn’t it?”

Catalina asks me, ignoring the lady.

“Looks like she loves it

a little too much,” the rude woman says.

“She needs to lose weight.”

“And you need to gain manners!”

Catalina hooks her arm around mine

and whisks me away.

ALIEN ENCOUNTER

Fat people have one superpower.

Their eyes are rulers, measuring spaces

to see if they’ll fit.

I activate mine when

Catalina’s family picks out a pink picnic table.

I’ll fit, but it’ll be tight.

I suck my stomach in as we sit.

Catalina scoots close to me

and whispers,

“Does that rude lady think I’m . . .

an alien?”

Huh? I give Catalina a blank look.

“Earth to Ellie.

Does she think I’m an alien?

You know. Like an illegal?”

“An illegal alien?”

“Duh?” She gives me a Spock salute.

“What did you think I meant, a Vulcan?”

We laugh so hard my belly jiggles,

drawing extra attention to it.

I break a Fat Girl Rule in public,

and I don’t care.

I want to laugh with my friend.

Then Catalina turns serious.

“Lots of people look at us

like that lady looked at Javier.

I mean, we’re Mexican Americans in Texas.

We’re the stereotype of illegals.”

“Stereotypes stink.

They give people an excuse to

hate people who are different

instead of taking the time

to get to know them.”

“Nicely said.

It’s almost like you’re a writer or something.”

She playfully elbows me.

Then Catalina hangs down her head.

“I hate the way people look at us

and how they treat us.”

Does everybody

make somebody

feel like a nobody?

SHATTERING STEREOTYPES

There’s a Fat Girl Rule

I’m going to have to rethink:

When eating out,

never finish first.

That’s a rule because

usually people expect you to wolf down food

as if you’re out of control.

But I eat my ice cream so slowly,

I end up sipping custard soup.

I also eat slowly because

I keep thinking about stereotypes.

People stereotype me

all the time, too.

They think fat people are dumb.

I’m at the top of my class.

They think we’re slobs.

My room is spotless.

They think we’re unhappy.

That’s true.

But they think I’m unhappy

because I’m fat.

The truth is,

I’m unhappy because

they bully me

about being fat.

LET IT RIP

This is what you’ll find in the dictionary