Blob (6 page)
I'm having lunch on Friday with Denise and Carolyn when Zoe, Sarah and Mia sit at a nearby table. I hear Zoe say, “She's not just a blob, she's a total suck-up. My mother thinks she's
wonderful
. It's disgusting.”
Sarah looks stiff and uncomfortable. Mia says nothing. But they both listen to Zoe go on about me.
“What's Zoe ranting about? Since when did you suck up to her mother?” asks Carolyn.
I shrug. “I've never met her mother. She's in my mom's book club, but I've never even talked to her. I don't know what Zoe is talking about. She keeps insulting me, and I have no idea why.”
“Zoe and her mom don't get along. They scream at each other a lot,” says Denise.
“But what does that have to do with me?” I say. And then I remember how Zoe's mom complimented me at the book club meeting. What if Zoe hates me because her mom compares us? But even if it's true, what can I do about it?
After class, I hurry to my locker to put my books away. As I near it, I see something stuck to the front of my locker. I gasp. It's a picture of a fat lady from a circus. Beside it there's a small mirror taped to my locker door. There's a note under the picture. It says:
Does she look
familiar? Look in the mirror. She's YOU!
There's no signature, but I know who wrote it.
I rip the picture off my locker. I tear it into tiny pieces and dump it into the garbage.
I hear giggling from behind the lockers down the hall. I lift the mirror carefully off my locker and turn in the direction of the giggles.
“Thanks for the mirror. I needed one!” I say.
The giggles stop.
I walk down the hall to the mentoring meeting and open the door.
“No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.”
âEleanor Roosevelt
Stephanie is talking to Joan. I rush over.
“Great to see you,” I say.
“So, did you eat a ny cook ies on Wednesday?” she asks.
“Ask Joan. Ask Linda. Ask Denise, Helene, Carolyn or Nicole. Ask anyone and they'll tell you I didn't. Not a single cookie, and I even lost a pound.”
“A pound isn't a whole lot. Two pounds would be better.”
“Boy, you sure can crush a girl's ego,” I tell her. “I bet I'll lose another pound soon. Maybe tonight.”
We both laugh.
We banter like that for a while.
I wish I knew how to bring up what kept Stephanie out of school. I want to ask her if she went to school today, but I don't. She doesn't volunteer anything.
Joan calls the meeting to order and suggests that everyone plan to do something together outside of the meeting. “You could go bowling, take a walk or see a movie.”
Stephanie mentions a new film about a teen who turns into a witch and develops secret powers she has to hide from her family. We decide to go on Sunday for a matinee.
As we leave the meeting, we agree to confirm our plans on the phone tomorrow morning.
“I'm really glad you came today,” I tell her.
“And I'm really glad you didn't eat any cookies.”
“I didn't even want one. It's amazing. See how much your nagging helped me?”
“Yeah, right,” says Stephanie, grinning. For the first time I notice that she has dimples.
Early Saturday morning the phone rings. I answer before Mom. There's a woman's voice at the other end of the phone.
“I'm Mary McCall,” she says. “Stephanie's mom.”
“Is Stephanie okay?” I ask.
“She's fine. Well, not completely fine, but she's not sick. She doesn't know I'm calling you.”
My heart starts to pound. Have I said something to upset Stephanie? Is she going to back out of going to the movie?
“Stephanie's been crying for two days. Something happened at school, and for some reason she's convinced now that her dad and I split up because of her. It's only been a month since her father moved out. Of course, Stephanie has nothing to do with it. I was glad she went to the meeting with you, but now she's refusing to get out of bed.”
“Oh.” I don't know what to say.
“She likes you, Eve.”
Mrs. McCall is asking me for help. How can I help her? I don't know what to say to Stephanie.
“Can I talk to Stephanie?” I ask.
“Why don't you call her in an hour? She's still asleep. She hardly slept last night.”
“Okay. I'll call.”
“I really appreciate what a friend you've become to Stephanie. She used to have a lot of friends, but since she started middle school it's been tough.”
Mrs. McCall hangs up. I sit cross-legged on my bed and try to think of something to say to Stephanie. I reread the mentoring notes three times. Anything I think of sounds like I'm preaching. Saying everything will be fine isn't enough.
She must feel incredibly sad that her parents are splitting up. Feeling she's responsible is terrible. Being a few pounds overweight is nothing compared to that. But what can I do to make things easier for Stephanie? Are any words enough?
I check the clock. I have to call her in a few minutes, and my mind is a blank.
I dial her number. The phone rings and rings. Finally Mrs. McCall answers. “I'll get Stephanie for you,” she says. Then she whispers, “Good luck and thanks.”
My hands are shaking as I wait for Stephanie to come to the phone. I don't want to let her mom down.
“Hi, Eve,” says Stephanie. She sounds distant and hesitant. Not unfriendly, just far away.
“I wanted to set up the time we'll meet for the movie. Do you want me to pick you up at your house so we can go together?”
“Iâ¦Iâ¦don't know if I can go,” she stammers.
“Please go,” I say. “It's been a crazy week at school. This movie will cheer me up.” I'm almost begging.
“Wellâ¦okayâ¦but I'd rather my mom drove me,” she says.
“Great. Witches with magic powers always cheer me up. They make me wish I had magic powers.”
“What kind of magic powers would you want?” she asks.
“The power to turn nasty people into toads or ants or cockroaches. I'd love to do that to Zoe.”
“Who's Zoe?” Stephanie asks.
“A girl who left a picture of a fat lady at the circus on my locker on Friday,” I said. “There was a horrible note too, about how fat I am.”
“What did you do?”
“I ripped the note up and kept the mirror. I knew she was hiding behind the lockers so she could see my reaction. I thanked her for her mirror.”
“You're kidding. That's awesome.”
“It felt good. I can't always think of the right thing to say, but I did then. See you at one forty-five. I'll buy the tickets early so we can go in as soon as you get there. It's my treat.”
“Thanks.”
“I'm glad we're going together. I can't wait to see how that witch uses her powers!”
“Feeling good is better than a hot-fudge sundae.”
âEve Richards
I arrive at the movie theater at 1:15 pm. There's already a line. I see some kids from my school and some middle-school kids. I bet some of them are from Stephanie's school. I hope there are no kids who've been tormenting her here. I hope going to the movies is not going to be a disaster.
I wave to one of the girls from my art class as she hurries into the theater. I buy our tickets and wait for Stephanie. She's not there at 1:45. She's not there at 1:50. Then 1:55 passes, and still there's no Stephanie. I'm starting to think she's not coming. I wonder if she panicked about going out at the last minute. And then a car drives up. Stephanie jumps out.
“I'll pick you up after the movie,” says her mom before she drives away.
Stephanie and I dash into the packed theater. We sit in the second row from the back.
Stephanie sinks into her seat.
“I guess there's no time for popcorn,” I whisper as the theater darkens.
“Do you know how many calories there are in a bag of movie popcorn?” she says.
“You sound like my mother. I wasn't going to have any popcorn. I wanted to know if you wanted some.”
“Nah. I always get those little kernels stuck between my teeth. Then I spend the rest of the movie trying to get them out with my tongue.”
“Me too, or I get bits stuck in my throat and I feel like I'm going to gag. I keep clearing my throat and guzzling down water.”
We stop talking when the movie starts.
It's a silly movie, but it's fun. I love how Ellie, the girl who's a witch, uses her powers to get revenge on Cleo, the popular girl at school who belittles her. Cleo has a perfect body, a perky nose, long straight blond hair and blue eyes. Ellie gives Cleo a humpback.
When Cleo complains, Ellie says, “If you wear the right outfit, it won't show much.”
That cracks Stephanie up. She laughs so hard that she holds her stomach. I'm laughing too, and before we know it, the movie is over.
“That was so good,” says Stephanie as the lights go back on.
We walk out of the theater talking about the movie. As we reach the outside door, someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn. It's Zoe. Mia and Sarah are with her.
“Hi, Eve,” says Zoe. “It's too bad you can't find anyone your own age to go to the movies with.”
I glance at Sarah. She cringes but says nothing.
“Stephanie meet Zoe. Zoe is the girl I told you about. Zoe likes to leave nasty notes for people on their lockers.”
Zoe looks like I've smacked her in the face but she recovers quickly.
“You think you're so smart, Eve? But you're not. My mom said you baked the cookies for her book club. You probably made them so you could stuff your face with them. No wonder you have a weight issue.”
“It's true. I make amazing cookies. You should try some. Chocolate cookies make people smile. You could use a smile,” I say.
I see Sarah stifling a laugh. “Did you like the movie?” Sarah asks me.
“Yes. Some of the characters reminded me of people I know. Cleo reminded me a little of you, Zoe.”
Zoe glares at me.
“I have to go, Eve,” says Stephanie. “My mom's waiting.”
“I'll come with you. See you, Sarah. See you, Zoe and Mia.”
“See you,” says Sarah, and for the first time since school began Sarah gives me a real smile. It's almost a “Let's be friends again” smile. I smile back, but I don't know if I can ever be friends with her again.
Stephanie and I look for her mom's car in the parking lot.
“Do you want to come over to my house for supper?” Stephanie asks as her mom drives up.
“Sure.”
“Great,” says Stephanie. “I haven't had a friend over sinceâ¦my dad left.”
“I'm sorry to hear about your dad,” I say.
“It's okay. I still see him. He called last night, and he's taking me out for supper next weekend.”
“That's terrific,” I say. “By the way, I'm glad we went to the movies.”
“Me too. And I really think you've lost weight, Eve. You don't need to lose all that much anyway. But I bet you've lost more than two pounds.”
I laugh. “Maybe I haveâbut even if I haven't, I feel good and that's better than losing weight. It's even better than eating a hot-fudge sundae. And take it from me, that's saying a lot.”
Frieda Wishinsky takes her inspiration for
Blob
from the summer she worked as a counselor. She worked with some tough teens and cheered herself up by visiting the local Dairy Queenâoften. Frieda is the award-winning author of over forty books for young people, including
Queen of the
Toilet Bowl
in the Orca Currents series. Frieda lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Orca Currents
The following is an excerpt from
another exciting Orca Currents novel,
Struck
by Deb Loughead.
978-1-55469-211-8 $9.95 pb
978-1-55469-212-5 $16.95 lib