The Whale - 6. Part I, chapter 6

- VI -

I couldn't believe it when by Thanksgiving, I lost almost sixty pounds. I could run for almost an hour now, and I did it every night. I wouldn't eat anything but salads, fruits, yogurts, and sometimes, a plain toast or two. I would never eat anything after six in the evening; I would only drink water. I haven't touched soda since September, and I would not even look at ice-cream even if it was fat-free. I was two hundred pounds now.

"Just eighty or so to go..." I muttered, staring at the weight scale.

I sighed and stepped off the scale. If I start running for longer period of times, I might lose all that weight sooner. It felt really weird how I didn't crave junk food anymore. I was really afraid that I would have awful withdrawals, but I never did.

School was different lately. Luke stopped caring about my existence it seemed, which only made me even more certain that he fell for Connor hard. But every time in class, she would act exactly the same as on her very first day. She was very cool, funny, and beyond sarcastic when Russell would make another one of his jokes. He would do or say something every single time we had math, and she would come right back at him with a remark as sarcastic and nasty as his. Somehow, it never seemed weird to anyone that Russell hadn't missed a single math class since September. And we had math three times a week! I mean, come on! He wouldn't come to history class sometimes for two weeks straight, but he was always there for math...

Since Luke didn't give a damn about me anymore, it seemed like everyone else stopped caring as well. I mean, there would be an occasional "Feed Me" note taped to my back, or some hamburger wrappers on my desk. Sometimes even garbage in my hair. But eventually, it stopped almost completely, and I couldn't figure out why it didn't make me feel as happy as I thought it would.

I even managed to make friends with one of the girls from our class -- Roxy Weiss. She was quiet and somewhat shy, and she always hung out by herself. So one of those days she sat next to me in the cafeteria and we started talking. I liked Roxy almost immediately. She was really cool. We started hanging out quite often, and soon enough, we became close friends. She would even go running with me three times a week. Roxy ran pretty well. She said that she used to work out regularly because it made her feel better, but then she got swamped at school, so she stopped. "I am really glad I get to run again," she said once. "It makes me feel energized, you know?"

By then, I knew exactly what she was talking about. First several weeks of running were pure hell for me. My body ached so badly that it felt like someone was regularly beating me up. My knees would shake every time after I ran, and my lungs were ready to explode. But after a month or so, I noticed that my muscles didn't ache anymore, and my breathing stayed normal while I ran. And by the middle of November, I realized that I actually enjoyed running now. It made me feel energized, just like Roxy said.

It was a week before Thanksgiving break, when Connor walked into the classroom with a very gloomy expression on her face.

"Hey, guys," she muttered and set her bag on the desk.

She scribbled something on the blackboard and while she was doing it, I glanced at Luke. He stared at her with a slight frown, his eyes puzzled. Finally, she sighed and turned around.

"Guys," she said. "I have to leave for a couple of weeks... I have to go to Minnesota. My Uncle is really sick, so..." she sighed again. "I'll be back after the holidays though."

"So there will be no math for a week?" Kelly Lynn asked with hope in her brown eyes, and Connor laughed.

"Sorry," she said. "There will be math. You will have a substitute for this week, okay?"

"Oh..." Kelly sighed with disappointment, and I stared at Luke.

He looked pissed off. He slammed his book shut and the sound was so loud and unexpected that almost everybody jumped.

"What's up with him?" Roxy muttered softly. She sat next to me now that we were friends.

Connor looked at him and bit her lower lip. Something flashed in her eyes, but she turned away so quickly, that I couldn't understand what it was.

"I need to talk to you about something," I murmured to Roxy and she nodded. "After this."

The rest of the class was boring. Connor seemed beyond distracted, and she didn't even call anyone to the board today. Finally, she glanced at the clock and said, "I am going to let you out ten minutes earlier today, okay? I need to get home and pack. I am leaving tonight."

"See you after the holidays," Kelly said cheerfully.

"Hope your Uncle is all right," someone else chimed in, and Connor nodded with an absent-minded smile.

Roxy gave me a puzzled look when I wasn't putting away my stuff.

"Come on, Amy," she said. "Let's go..."

I kept staring at Luke. He sat at his desk, staring at his book, as if he didn't even realize that everyone else left except for Roxy and me. I glanced at Connor, and she looked so tense that I winced.

"Did you have a question, Luke?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," he raised his head, and then suddenly noticed that Roxy and I were still there.

He glared at me, and I blinked when I saw pure hatred in his eyes. What the hell?

"Move it, fatso," he said quietly. "This is private."

I felt like crying again. I looked at Connor, but she kept fiddling with her papers and it seemed like she didn't even hear Russell's words. Roxy pulled my sleeve, and I grabbed my book and my backpack and followed her into the hallway. I managed to drop my book right before I walked out, and risked a quick glance behind me. Russell was standing up now, his back towards the door, hands shoved in his pockets, his shoulders tense. Connor sat on top of her desk, and she looked so sad that I couldn't believe it.

"Luke, I..." she started saying when she noticed me lingering in the doorway.

She immediately stopped talking and bit her lower lip. Luke turned his head, and half-restrained anger flashed in his eyes. He quickly walked to the door and shoved me out into the hallway. He slammed the door so hard that Roxy jumped, startled.

"What the hell was that?" she asked in bewilderment, and I squeezed my book.

"Roxy, I need to talk to you," I said in a low voice. "Because if I don't, I'll explode!"