Free Unpretty: An Unloved Ones Prequel by Kevin Richey Page A

Spandex around her ass. "How does it look?" she asks, turning around to let me see.
    "I think it's a little tight.”
    "But it fits. And I bet I can lose a few pounds before the beach next week."
    My stomach does that flip again. My smile is back. The fact that Sarah thinks that she needs to lose "a few pounds" is kind of cute, in an objective kind of way. But if
she
needs to lose a few pounds, what does that say about me?
    I look up past her, and see myself reflected back in the mirror of the changing booth.
    I look like a wall of flesh behind Sarah. I gasp. I thought these mirrors were supposed to make you look thin? I look even worse than I remembered. I've been avoiding mirrors, like I’ve been ignoring my growing weight. The only sign that I can't ignore is that I can't fit into my new dress that I bought for the beach two months ago.
    "I think you look great," I tell Sarah, and try to back away from the door.
    Sarah winks at me, and I swear her eye almost glues shut because of her fake lashes. "We are going to
rock
the beach this year. Even Chad Harlow will have to ask us out.” Chad Harlow is the best-looking boy in school, and therefore also the most popular. I doubt he knows we exist, but Sarah’s had a crush on him as long as I can remember.
    Sarah looks at me. “You told your mom we’re going, right?”
    She knows my mom can be weird about this sort of thing.
    "I have," I say cheerfully.
    I haven’t. I still plan on finding some convenient lie to excuse myself from going. I have to be careful though. Sarah won’t be happy about going alone.
    Sometimes I think the only reason we’re friends is because Sarah hates doing anything alone.
    She nods, and then puts her hand on the changing room door, letting me know she's ready to change back into her normal clothes.
    I step back, and see that the skinny attendant is busy elsewhere.
    After catching a glimpse of myself in Sarah's mirror, I have a sick desire to see myself. All of myself. How big have I gotten? The mirrors at home aren't big enough anymore. I tilt my head around the side of the row of booths to where three mirrors are hung for people to see themselves from every angle. I check again that the attendant isn't looking, and then race rather inelegantly to the mirrors.
    I look up the same moment I let out a deep sigh.
    The first thing I see is my neck.
    And then I feel sick.
    Even my neck is fatter. I've always had a little double-chin, but now it's gotten worse. I think I've upgraded to the triple, or somehow a quadruple. My shoulders are humped under my sweatshirt, which I want to blame for the bulky look of my body, but I know the truth is I've gotten so big that this XXXL is tight on me now. My stomach almost hangs out underneath it, I've gotten so large. And my legs—they're massive and—I don't even know how to describe it, but with the jeans being so tight, I can see all the bulges and rolls of my fat through the fabric. I swallow, dreading what I need to see but am afraid to know. I have to be quick. Sarah will be done in a moment, and I will die if she catches me.
    I turn to my side, so that in one of the tilted mirrors I can see my ass.
    I nearly vomit, it makes me so sick. It is huge. It is so huge it doesn't even look like an ass anymore. It's like I'm The Blob wearing a Katherine Halloween costume. I make Jabba the Hutt look sexy.
    I feel the tears forming in my eyes, and know that I have to look away, just look away, when I notice how big my head has gotten.
    My God. Even my head is fat. Not just my face. Not just my cheeks. But my entire skull is fat. How is that even possible?
    I race back to the changing rooms, absolutely disgusted by myself. My chest is heaving from rushing, even though it was barely four steps, and Sarah emerges from her changing room with the tiny little skirt on its hanger. She walks ahead of me and puts it back on the shelf.
    "You're lucky, Katherine," she says as we walk out. "At least you
know
what stores you can