Young Annabelle Read Online Free PDF Page B
Author: Sarah Tork
a
two-dollar tip.
*****
An hour later, I had wiped down the counters
and closed up shop. Shelby had come by shortly after I’d served the
elderly couple to inform me that I was closing early and to start
cleaning immediately.
Now what am I going to
do? I thought as I
grabbed my things and shut my locker.
I was two hours
early and that was two hours I did not plan on spending under the
careful eye of Mom and Dad. It was unfortunate that they worked
from home – they’d set up an office that took up the entire
basement. It was rare to get the house to myself these days. If I
went home, I’d be run over by a stampede of questions and demands
as soon as I crossed the threshold.
Why are you home early? What time did you
eat? Did you eat all of it? Show us your calorie watch! How come
it’s that low? Didn’t you bicycle to work?
Then Mom would have her moment in the
sun…
Did you like what I packed?
Doesn’t it feel great knowing you only had about 600 calories until
now? (Mom would be
beaming, proud of herself)
…before grilling me on exercise.
How come you aren’t sweating, didn’t you
ride your bike home? Don’t they have a gym at the club that you
could have used? Isn’t that part of the privileges you get when you
work there? Maybe you should go up and down the stairs five times;
you could burn an extra hundred calories! Your brother and sister
are out exercising now, learn from them!
Time for the food portion of the
questioning…
How come you aren’t asking me about
tomorrow’s meal plan? Show me your food diary!
I hope you realize school will
be starting in a few weeks … (this one was always left hanging).
Then attempt at sympathy…
We only want you to be healthy;
don’t you want to be healthy? You know, Anna Banana, boys can be
cruel. (Father knows
best on that one, right Mom?) Doesn’t it make you sad, wearing clothes that
size?
And the final dig:
Would you like a salad with the
dressing on the side for dinner tonight? (They’d already have the answer in their heads;
dressing on the side was a trick question, there was no
dressing!)
Going home early did not hold much incentive
for me.
Fucking hell, is there no safe haven for me
to go to?
I stared at my reflection in the locker room
mirror as I washed my hands. Their comments cut deeply. If I didn’t
have my emotional control to fall back on, I would have spent an
hour in the bathroom stall sobbing about how unfair life was. But I
couldn’t do that, crying would just make things worse. Besides. I’d
already come up with a top ten list for how my life sucked:
My ass was too big.
My parents and siblings thought my ass was
too big.
I hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks.
There was nowhere I could go where there
wasn’t a constant spiel about my ‘well-being’.
No one understood me. Except Jenna.
I didn’t have a boyfriend.
I had just fucked up with a cute guy.
I would never have another chance with a cute
guy like James again.
I didn’t get paid until Monday and I only had
$25 to last me until then.
Even if I wanted to catch the attention of
a certain guy , I had no
makeup and my clothes were disgustingly old. (Reminder: go shopping
next payday.)
I dried my hands and headed out. I took a
detour, forgoing the employee exit and heading straight to the
reception desk to have a word with Jenna.
“Hey you,” I whispered dramatically when I
reached reception.
The chair swiveled around and a giant grin
greeted me.
“What’re you doing here?” Jenna asked
playfully, her eyes shining brightly.
“It was slow, so Shelby cut my shift a half
hour ago,” I explained as my elbows rested on the counter.
“ It’s quiet up here too. Anything
interesting happen out on the course ?” she
asked, gently turning her chair from side to side.
The club’s reception area was expansive. It
had the space for three more pairs of hands to work, but Jenna was
alone.
“ Maybe ,” I teased.
“You need to tell me everything!”
two-dollar tip.
*****
An hour later, I had wiped down the counters
and closed up shop. Shelby had come by shortly after I’d served the
elderly couple to inform me that I was closing early and to start
cleaning immediately.
Now what am I going to
do? I thought as I
grabbed my things and shut my locker.
I was two hours
early and that was two hours I did not plan on spending under the
careful eye of Mom and Dad. It was unfortunate that they worked
from home – they’d set up an office that took up the entire
basement. It was rare to get the house to myself these days. If I
went home, I’d be run over by a stampede of questions and demands
as soon as I crossed the threshold.
Why are you home early? What time did you
eat? Did you eat all of it? Show us your calorie watch! How come
it’s that low? Didn’t you bicycle to work?
Then Mom would have her moment in the
sun…
Did you like what I packed?
Doesn’t it feel great knowing you only had about 600 calories until
now? (Mom would be
beaming, proud of herself)
…before grilling me on exercise.
How come you aren’t sweating, didn’t you
ride your bike home? Don’t they have a gym at the club that you
could have used? Isn’t that part of the privileges you get when you
work there? Maybe you should go up and down the stairs five times;
you could burn an extra hundred calories! Your brother and sister
are out exercising now, learn from them!
Time for the food portion of the
questioning…
How come you aren’t asking me about
tomorrow’s meal plan? Show me your food diary!
I hope you realize school will
be starting in a few weeks … (this one was always left hanging).
Then attempt at sympathy…
We only want you to be healthy;
don’t you want to be healthy? You know, Anna Banana, boys can be
cruel. (Father knows
best on that one, right Mom?) Doesn’t it make you sad, wearing clothes that
size?
And the final dig:
Would you like a salad with the
dressing on the side for dinner tonight? (They’d already have the answer in their heads;
dressing on the side was a trick question, there was no
dressing!)
Going home early did not hold much incentive
for me.
Fucking hell, is there no safe haven for me
to go to?
I stared at my reflection in the locker room
mirror as I washed my hands. Their comments cut deeply. If I didn’t
have my emotional control to fall back on, I would have spent an
hour in the bathroom stall sobbing about how unfair life was. But I
couldn’t do that, crying would just make things worse. Besides. I’d
already come up with a top ten list for how my life sucked:
My ass was too big.
My parents and siblings thought my ass was
too big.
I hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks.
There was nowhere I could go where there
wasn’t a constant spiel about my ‘well-being’.
No one understood me. Except Jenna.
I didn’t have a boyfriend.
I had just fucked up with a cute guy.
I would never have another chance with a cute
guy like James again.
I didn’t get paid until Monday and I only had
$25 to last me until then.
Even if I wanted to catch the attention of
a certain guy , I had no
makeup and my clothes were disgustingly old. (Reminder: go shopping
next payday.)
I dried my hands and headed out. I took a
detour, forgoing the employee exit and heading straight to the
reception desk to have a word with Jenna.
“Hey you,” I whispered dramatically when I
reached reception.
The chair swiveled around and a giant grin
greeted me.
“What’re you doing here?” Jenna asked
playfully, her eyes shining brightly.
“It was slow, so Shelby cut my shift a half
hour ago,” I explained as my elbows rested on the counter.
“ It’s quiet up here too. Anything
interesting happen out on the course ?” she
asked, gently turning her chair from side to side.
The club’s reception area was expansive. It
had the space for three more pairs of hands to work, but Jenna was
alone.
“ Maybe ,” I teased.
“You need to tell me everything!”