I knew Mel told me not to, but I couldn’t help it. I was curious. I went into my bathroom and took off my clothes and stepped on the scale. Anxiety tightened my chest when I stepped on to see three blank zeros flashing on the screen before the numbers formed to 273.8. I sighed. I was disappointed. It didn’t seem like enough. I knew change didn’t happen overnight, but I wanted to make traction already. I felt gross looking at myself in the mirror without any clothes, seeing my stomach pour over my waist and my fat chest that Lewis called “man boobs” one time. I was sick of it all. I felt so insecure and change needed to come sooner than later, so I went into my room and started doing leg lifts, planks, sit-ups, and everything I could to work up a sweat. As I got to around thirty sit-ups. My stomach didn’t feel good at all — I was going to vomit. I rushed to the toilet and threw up everything. Well, technically only the protein bar. It hurt . . . a lot. I took deep breaths trying to calm myself down. I took a few moments to compose myself, then got off the floor and leaned against the sink to see my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t look too great. My eyes were watery from throwing up, but I did see the scale past my reflection, so I turned around, took off my clothes again, and stepped on. I closed my eyes when I saw the three zeros flashing into something new — I thought about being skinny, being fit, being happy.

When I opened my eyes again, the scale said 272 pounds. It was lower, and at that moment, I was closer to being skinny than I was before. I needed to keep the momentum going. Food was difficult for me, I knew I would overeat, but I had to pace myself. I had to make a sacrifice. So, I started eating in the mornings and shortly before kickboxing class. I did this for a few days. Everything felt a lot heavier, I was a lot more tired, but it worked.

Mel sat with me in the cafeteria the day Donny made his big return to school.

“Hey, hey,” Donny said as he pulled up a chair. “Did you get a bit smaller?”

I blushed a bit. Maybe I did get smaller. I had lost around ten pounds.

“Yeah, he did!” Mel said.

“Who are you?” Donny asked, confused. He looked a bit taken aback by the fact that I was sitting with a girl.

“I’m Mel. Adrian’s . . .” She wandered off in thought as she grinned at me. “I don’t quite know what to call us yet.”

I didn’t know either. I did know she made me smile back, causing both of us to blush.

“I can take a hint.” Donny laughed. “I never thought I’d be third-wheeling you, Adrian.”