Page 6
Story: He Called Me Fat
I thought about whether or not to inform her about the argument and chose to do so. She would find out eventually, and if she heard it from someone other than me, she would be very angry.
“Not much; I met some of Peter’s friends, danced, Peter got into a fight with someone who called me a name, and I had a drink for the first time…”
“Wait, he got into a fight for you? Oh my gosh, aren’t you two just the cutest?” she replied.
“It’s not like that. We’re just friends. If you were in my shoes, you’d try to protect me, too,” I added as I turned out the light in my bedroom and walked to my bed after putting on a huge vest and shorts.
“Just go away. I want to sleep, and I can’t handle the Dr. Phil teenage love special you want to hit me with right now.”
Chloe giggled and did as I requested. She also turned off her laptop, which made the room completely black.
We were both quiet, but I could see Chloe wanted to say something. Just as I was going to encourage her to speak it before we both fell asleep, she murmured,
“Do you remember that song from when you were a kid?”
I said, “What?” and I could hear the laughing in her voice, so I knew that whatever she was about to say was going to be silly.
“I think it went something like Ava and Peter sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First came a fight in a bar, second came lo…” I put my hand over her lips to stop her from talking in a sing-song way.
“Stop, you could be so annoying when you want to be,” I replied with a giggle. “Now, be quiet, and let’s go to sleep.”
The room got quiet, and I moved my pillow so it was more comfortable beneath my head. I was about to fall asleep when a buzzing sound from under my pillow woke me up. I got up and peered under my pillow to notice that my phone was flashing. I responded sleepily without bothering to see who it was.
“Hey?”
“Hey, it’s me,” I heard Peter say on the phone.
I said, “I can honestly say that I’m surprised by this call,” and then I looked at the clock on my bedside table. It was half past one in the morning.
He chuckled a little and continued, “I know I just saw you about an hour ago, but I couldn’t sleep, so my fingers just dialed your number. Sorry if I woke you up.”
“Okay, so what do you want me to do about you not being able to sleep?” I asked him.
“Talk to me until I fall asleep,”
“Okay, what do you want to talk about?” I said.
“Let’s talk about you. What color do you like best?” he said.
“Blue, but not any blue. I love the blue in the sky; it’s so pretty. What about you?” I questioned him back.
Peter said, “What’s your favorite book of all time?” He said, “I don’t have a favorite color. Any color looks fine to me. I won’t say it’s because I’m a boy and not into girly stuff.”
“Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book ever. I love Mr. Isaac, my fictional crush. I’ve read both the play script and the book,” I remarked.
“Honestly, I did think of you as a classical girl. I saw the movie and remembered a line about an unmarried girl of a certain age needing a husband,” he added.
“Yeah, something like that,” I smiled because I understood what he was talking about, but his words were a little off.
“Hmmm, have I ever told you how much I like your voice?” he murmured, sounding a lot more sleepy than before.
After that, I didn’t say anything. After a time, I could hear Peter’s soft breathing on the phone, which meant he had gone asleep.
“Peter?” I said, even though I knew he was asleep.
I smiled a little, and then I put down the phone. I nestled into my pillow even more, feeling even more at ease and comfortable than I had been before Peter phoned. I was getting back asleep when I heard a small voice sing softly in the dark.
“Ava and Peter are sitting on a tree and kissing…”
“I knew you were trouble when you walked in; shame on me now,” I sang as I moved towards the school door. It was Tuesday, the day following the party on Friday, and I was going to meet Peter outside by his vehicle for lunch, as I had been doing for the last month.
“Flew me to places I’d never been…” I stopped singing and got a bit tight as I felt a touch on my shoulder. I knew it was Peter without looking up.
He remarked to me, “Hey you, looking pretty today,” as he looked down at my white shirt with pink flowers on it, black slacks, and black flats.
I sighed and said, “Stop saying things like that. You don’t have to tell me what you think I want to hear. By the way, I was just on my way to meet you. You didn’t have to come inside to get me.”
Peter stopped walking and came to stand in front of me, putting both of his hands on my shoulders. He looked me in the eyes and said, “I don’t tell you you’re pretty because I think that’s what you want to hear. I tell you you’re pretty because I think you’re pretty, and I can’t help but tell you.”
I looked up at his face to see if he was simply lying to me, but the expression in his eyes was real. I shook my head and didn’t answer him. I didn’t know what to say because I wasn’t used to getting odd praises from guys. I said instead,
“Let’s go, I’m starving.”
“No, you know what, today we’re doing something a little different,” he remarked, turning me away from the school door and towards an unknown place.
When we got closer to the entrance that led to the school cafeteria, we found out where it was. I stopped suddenly and turned to look at him.
“I’m not going in there,” I responded, pointing at the door.
“Yes, you are. We’re having lunch here today,” he said.
“Look, you can’t make me go in there. I’m going to the library. If you want to join me for lunch, you know where to meet me,” I said back. How could I ever go in there with Peter? I couldn’t sit with his pals, who were well-known. I was sure they would make fun of me, and I also knew they would always be wondering what he was doing with someone like me. I was about to go to the library when he turned me around and said,
“Why are you such a coward? Why can’t you look at people and instead of your face saying, “Keep victimizing me,” make it say, “screw you, I don’t care what you think.”
I shoved my palm into his chest and yelled, “Screw you, Peter. You don’t know what it’s like to have people make fun of you all the time. Screw you!” I said it again and drove my finger into his chest.
“Look,” he said with a sigh, “I don’t want us to fight. I want to show you that it doesn’t matter what other people think of you; it’s if you have confidence in yourself. To do that, you need to stop hiding in the library and stop hiding with me when we go out to lunch. You need to go in there and face everyone with your head held high.”
Even though I was still a bit furious, I talked myself into it, and even though I didn’t want to acknowledge it, he was making some point. “Fine, but not until you say sorry for calling me a coward.”
“Not much; I met some of Peter’s friends, danced, Peter got into a fight with someone who called me a name, and I had a drink for the first time…”
“Wait, he got into a fight for you? Oh my gosh, aren’t you two just the cutest?” she replied.
“It’s not like that. We’re just friends. If you were in my shoes, you’d try to protect me, too,” I added as I turned out the light in my bedroom and walked to my bed after putting on a huge vest and shorts.
“Just go away. I want to sleep, and I can’t handle the Dr. Phil teenage love special you want to hit me with right now.”
Chloe giggled and did as I requested. She also turned off her laptop, which made the room completely black.
We were both quiet, but I could see Chloe wanted to say something. Just as I was going to encourage her to speak it before we both fell asleep, she murmured,
“Do you remember that song from when you were a kid?”
I said, “What?” and I could hear the laughing in her voice, so I knew that whatever she was about to say was going to be silly.
“I think it went something like Ava and Peter sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First came a fight in a bar, second came lo…” I put my hand over her lips to stop her from talking in a sing-song way.
“Stop, you could be so annoying when you want to be,” I replied with a giggle. “Now, be quiet, and let’s go to sleep.”
The room got quiet, and I moved my pillow so it was more comfortable beneath my head. I was about to fall asleep when a buzzing sound from under my pillow woke me up. I got up and peered under my pillow to notice that my phone was flashing. I responded sleepily without bothering to see who it was.
“Hey?”
“Hey, it’s me,” I heard Peter say on the phone.
I said, “I can honestly say that I’m surprised by this call,” and then I looked at the clock on my bedside table. It was half past one in the morning.
He chuckled a little and continued, “I know I just saw you about an hour ago, but I couldn’t sleep, so my fingers just dialed your number. Sorry if I woke you up.”
“Okay, so what do you want me to do about you not being able to sleep?” I asked him.
“Talk to me until I fall asleep,”
“Okay, what do you want to talk about?” I said.
“Let’s talk about you. What color do you like best?” he said.
“Blue, but not any blue. I love the blue in the sky; it’s so pretty. What about you?” I questioned him back.
Peter said, “What’s your favorite book of all time?” He said, “I don’t have a favorite color. Any color looks fine to me. I won’t say it’s because I’m a boy and not into girly stuff.”
“Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book ever. I love Mr. Isaac, my fictional crush. I’ve read both the play script and the book,” I remarked.
“Honestly, I did think of you as a classical girl. I saw the movie and remembered a line about an unmarried girl of a certain age needing a husband,” he added.
“Yeah, something like that,” I smiled because I understood what he was talking about, but his words were a little off.
“Hmmm, have I ever told you how much I like your voice?” he murmured, sounding a lot more sleepy than before.
After that, I didn’t say anything. After a time, I could hear Peter’s soft breathing on the phone, which meant he had gone asleep.
“Peter?” I said, even though I knew he was asleep.
I smiled a little, and then I put down the phone. I nestled into my pillow even more, feeling even more at ease and comfortable than I had been before Peter phoned. I was getting back asleep when I heard a small voice sing softly in the dark.
“Ava and Peter are sitting on a tree and kissing…”
“I knew you were trouble when you walked in; shame on me now,” I sang as I moved towards the school door. It was Tuesday, the day following the party on Friday, and I was going to meet Peter outside by his vehicle for lunch, as I had been doing for the last month.
“Flew me to places I’d never been…” I stopped singing and got a bit tight as I felt a touch on my shoulder. I knew it was Peter without looking up.
He remarked to me, “Hey you, looking pretty today,” as he looked down at my white shirt with pink flowers on it, black slacks, and black flats.
I sighed and said, “Stop saying things like that. You don’t have to tell me what you think I want to hear. By the way, I was just on my way to meet you. You didn’t have to come inside to get me.”
Peter stopped walking and came to stand in front of me, putting both of his hands on my shoulders. He looked me in the eyes and said, “I don’t tell you you’re pretty because I think that’s what you want to hear. I tell you you’re pretty because I think you’re pretty, and I can’t help but tell you.”
I looked up at his face to see if he was simply lying to me, but the expression in his eyes was real. I shook my head and didn’t answer him. I didn’t know what to say because I wasn’t used to getting odd praises from guys. I said instead,
“Let’s go, I’m starving.”
“No, you know what, today we’re doing something a little different,” he remarked, turning me away from the school door and towards an unknown place.
When we got closer to the entrance that led to the school cafeteria, we found out where it was. I stopped suddenly and turned to look at him.
“I’m not going in there,” I responded, pointing at the door.
“Yes, you are. We’re having lunch here today,” he said.
“Look, you can’t make me go in there. I’m going to the library. If you want to join me for lunch, you know where to meet me,” I said back. How could I ever go in there with Peter? I couldn’t sit with his pals, who were well-known. I was sure they would make fun of me, and I also knew they would always be wondering what he was doing with someone like me. I was about to go to the library when he turned me around and said,
“Why are you such a coward? Why can’t you look at people and instead of your face saying, “Keep victimizing me,” make it say, “screw you, I don’t care what you think.”
I shoved my palm into his chest and yelled, “Screw you, Peter. You don’t know what it’s like to have people make fun of you all the time. Screw you!” I said it again and drove my finger into his chest.
“Look,” he said with a sigh, “I don’t want us to fight. I want to show you that it doesn’t matter what other people think of you; it’s if you have confidence in yourself. To do that, you need to stop hiding in the library and stop hiding with me when we go out to lunch. You need to go in there and face everyone with your head held high.”
Even though I was still a bit furious, I talked myself into it, and even though I didn’t want to acknowledge it, he was making some point. “Fine, but not until you say sorry for calling me a coward.”