“I think there’s a group of girls who’re going to try and diet.” Sherry said. “So that more guys notice them.”

“Interesting thought.” Lizzy said, rolling her eyes. “If they’re all stick thin, then none of them are gonna be stand-out, right?”

“I dunno, they might have a point I think.” Sherry admitted. “If you find someone you love, you’d be willing to change yourself for them, right?”

“Not like that.” Lizzy snorted. “Maybe change for the better.”

“Changing your shape isn’t for the worse though, is it?”

“Well… ma told me that you gotta respect your body.”

“Wanting to get it into the shape that you want is respecting it though, right?”

“Is that really how it works?” Lizzy questioned.

“It’s just a little dieting.” Sherry shrugged. “Thousands of people do it all the time and it works out just fine.”

“Well… I guess you’re right…” Lizzy was finding it harder and harder to counter what Sherry was saying, even if she knew it was wrong.

“Come on Liz, you’ll never get a guy if you don’t change yourself a bit.” Sherry insisted.

“I don’t know…” Lizzy said, scratching her head. “I think both of my moms would kill me if they caught me trying to do that stuff.”

“They’ll never know! Besides, didn’t you say your mom used to do this stuff?”

“Well she-“

“Listen, you’ll be fine!”

“I gotta go.” Lizzy panicked. She wasn’t liking this conversation. “My mom’s picking me up and I can’t be late.”

“Which one?”

“The one that’ll leave me overnight if I don’t get to the drop off zone in time.”

Lizzy marched away. She wasn’t really being picked up yet, but her breathing was heavy and her heart was racing. She retreated to the gym to be alone with herself.

When she entered the gym, there were kids playing a game of basketball, too busy to notice her entrance. Quietly and covertly, she lifted the flap that covered the sides of the bleachers and slipped underneath the stands; it was a little hiding spot for her whenever she needed the world to herself.

The space left her unseen to everyone on the outside, but Lizzy could peek through the cracks in the seats and see glimpses of kids rushing around and jumping. The sounds of sneakers scraping on the ground pierced through the air. There wasn’t anything that could hurt her when she was in her own world. At least, she thought so.

She scooted to put her back against the wall and hugged her knees, heaving a great sigh. The truth is, she was never one to buckle from insecurities or peer pressure, but something changed recently. She all of a sudden cared way more about her body, and how other people saw her. She hated how insecure she was now. Lizzy wanted to make it all go away, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell Lisha about it, and certainly not Beatrice. She only mentioned them in passing jokes to laugh at.

All of a sudden her phone rang out, which she quickly silenced. After making sure that nobody noticed the sound, she checked who texted her. Turns out it was Lisha.

“Ur mom is picking you up today.”

Lizzy groaned. That meant that there was a real chance that she wouldn’t get to go home until nightfall if she missed the moment that Beatrice showed up.

“Why can't u pick me up?” she texted.

“I can’t leave right now. It’s just today baby, don’t worry.”

“Do we still have any nuggies at home?”

“In the freezer.”

“Thx. See u later.”

“Yee see u baby.”

Lizzy sighed and put her phone down. At least there was one bright side to getting home with Beatrice. She didn’t give a police interrogation on how her day went. 

After sneaking back out from under the bleachers she ran out of the gym, around the corner, and straight into someone.

“Was someone in their favorite hiding spot today?” 

Lizzy had bumped head first into Irelia, the school’s janitor. And she was a volunteer janitor, so Lizzy felt double bad that she chose this school of all places to volunteer at. Especially since she had to use a cane to get around sometimes; kids weren’t nice to physically impaired people.

She had the look of a fairly regular middle aged woman, with a slightly small gut and wide hips. Her hair was tied back into a bun today, with that one blonde streak, which Lizzy guess she dyed, standing out especially. Her janitor’s uniform seemed out of place on her though. Lizzy thought that she looked more suited to be in a t-shirt and sweatpants, reading in a library. That’s just the vibes she got though.

“Well, why were you in a restricted area this time?” Irelia asked, arms folded.

“What I’m doing every time you ask.” Lizzy said, trying to walk around her. “Just clearing my head.”

“We do have a quiet library.”

“I wanted to be alone, alright?” Lizzy wanted her to drop it. She didn’t know how Irelia found her every time she went under those bleachers. It’s like she just knew.

“Elizabeth I know-“ 

“I don’t have time for this today, Ms. Irelia.” Lizzy said, walking briskly away from her. “My mom’s picking me up and I can’t be late.

When Lizzy got to the front of the school where kids were being picked up, she kept a keen eye out for Beatrice. She knew that she wouldn’t have to look very hard though. Beatrice didn’t exactly wear the most discreet outfits. Right as Beatrice appeared and Lizzy went over to her, a teacher talked to Bea.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Hawthorne,” the teacher said, in a tone that clearly said this wasn’t the first time. “Do I have to remind you that you have to dress decently on school campus?”

“My sense of fashion is far more decent than yours, hun.”

“Keep your body covered next time or you’re not allowed back at the school.”

“Got eyes hun? I am covered.” Beatrice snapped.

“We require your body to be at least 85% covered.”

“So?”

“You barely cover 58%.”

“I-”

“Mom.” Lizzy interrupted. “Can we just go home?” Beatrice looked at the teacher and turned away.

“Fine.” she said with disdain, turning away.

Beatrice and Lizzy walked down the street, not saying a word to each other, while Beatrice scrolled through her phone. Lizzy always hated those days because of it. She knew Beatrice was just looking at pictures of models on the internet. When Lizzy was younger she would ask how her day was or offer to take her somewhere, but not anymore.

When they turned down the alleyway, Beatrice held out her hand emotionlessly to Lizzy. She didn’t even bother looking away from her phone. Lizzy sighed and grabbed her hand, making them both teleport away. In an instant, they were both in the doorway of the castle.

“I’m home!” Lizzy shouted, tossing her backpack on the couch and walking to the kitchen. She knew it’s probably where Lisha was, and she was right. When Lisha was ‘doing something important’ it was usually food related.

“Welcome back, baby!” Lisha greeted, putting a lasagna into the oven. Lizzy walked towards the fridge and started browsing for a snack. “How was your day?”

“Eh, it was alright.” she shrugged, taking out a stick of string cheese and opening it.

“Oh yeah? What made it alright?”

“I dunno. Just was.”

Beatrice walked through the door, clearly not in a good mood. Her head was low and her teeth were clenched. She walked by the kitchen and looked at the two of them.

“Stop eating all that cheese.” she grumbled. “You’re gonna get fat.”

“Curvy.” Lisha corrected. She put her hands on Lizzy and traced her body’s outline with it. “Our baby’s already got the best shape there is.”

“Debatable.” Beatrice walked down to her room and slammed the door.

“Don’t mind her.” Lisha apologized.

“Yeah, I know. Mom’s probably just having a bad day.” Sausage, who was hiding under Lizzy’s shirt, slithered out and wrapped herself around Lizzy’s arm. She rubbed her chin affectionately.  “I just wish she wouldn’t say those things…”

“I’ll talk to her about it tonight… again.”

“Ma, what’s wrong with mom?” Lizzy asked in a low voice. “And I mean, what’s really wrong in her head?” Lisha sighed and looked uncomfortable.

“Baby, you may be 16,” Lisha said sadly. “But there are still some things you’re not old enough to understand yet. Your mother is one of them.”

“What mental illness even is she?” Lizzy begged. “I want to know.”

“It’s not my place to say it.”

“No, you’re afraid of what mom will do if you do say it.” Lizzy pouted.

“I’m not afraid of anything.” Lisha countered. “I literally rule this place. There’s nothing that can keep me down!”

“Except when you eat too much cheese.” Lizzy pointed out.

“Shhhhh.” Lisha said, grabbing another stick of string cheese and putting it in Lizzy’s mouth. “Don’t worry about any of that, baby. Go do your homework and I’ll talk with your mom about… her attitude.”

“It doesn’t matter, ma.” Lizzy said, dejected. “She’s gonna say that she’ll change, and she might even for a couple days. But then she’ll go back to her usual self.”

“You gotta have faith, sweetie.” Lisha encouraged. She kissed Lizzy on the forehead and ruffled her hair. “Now go on to your room and do that homework.”