Chapter 2
“LOL, the toad really wants to eat swan meat.”
“She’s 250 pounds and still dares to like Nicholas. Where does she get the courage?”
…
My classmates’ mocking did not stop.
Chloe Summers, the queen bee, laughed the loudest and deliberately picked up a plate piled high with cream cake.
Then she pressed the plate into my face.
Cream smeared all over my face.
“Serena, don’t be sad.”
“Eat more, just like a pig eating feed. Once you’re full, you won’t be sad anymore.”
Someone chimed in, “Serena, if you want a boyfriend, you might as well find a boar, haha!”
The prom exploded with laughter again.
Nicholas held a glass of champagne, the remnants of mockery still hanging at the corner of his mouth, as if none of this had anything to do with him.
Austin Walker, the star quarterback, frowned and glanced at him, but said nothing more.
Instead, Chloe Summers, who was standing beside Nicholas, leaned over and whispered something.
Nicholas gave a low laugh, as if he were sneering.
I wiped the cream from my face and stood up.
“I’m leaving first.”
Chloe immediately put on a caring expression. “Serena, don’t be mad, we were really just joking…”
I ignored her, got up, and walked out.
When I passed by Nicholas, he did not even lift his head and was still chatting with Chloe.
I stopped.
“Nicholas Reed.”
He finally looked up at me, with a trace of impatience in his eyes.
“What?”
I looked at him.
I remembered when we were six, when he moved next door to my house and scraped his knee on the very first day.
I was the one who carried him on my back and took him to the neighborhood clinic.
Back then, he smiled at me, even though I was already chubby.
That one smile stayed with me for twelve years.
“Every word you said today,” I said very softly, “one day, you’ll regret it.”
He raised an eyebrow and sneered without taking me seriously.
“Me, regret it? Fatass, in this life I…”
I did not listen to the rest and pushed the door open.
The hallway was very quiet.
My hands were shaking, but my tears did not fall.
It was not that it did not hurt.
It hurt too much, so much that I could not cry.
My best friend Nina chased after me and grabbed my wrist.
“Serena, I’ll go back right now and help you…”
“Nina,” I cut her off, my voice hoarse, “walk with me.”
The sunset stretched our shadows very long.
I walked a long way before I spoke.
“He’s right. I really am 250 pounds right now.”
“But he said I’ll never lose weight in this lifetime.”
“I’m going to lose it just to show him.”
Nina bit her lip and said nothing, only holding my hand even tighter.
When I got home that night, everyone was asleep.
I stood alone in front of the mirror.
My frame clearly was not small, but it was completely buried under fat.
My face was as round as a big ball of dough, and I had three full layers of chin.
But when I leaned closer, my eye shape was pretty.
My nose bridge was high.
The little mole at the corner of my eye looked like it had been drawn on.
Austin Walker’s words echoed in my ears.
“Serena Hayes, you’ll be beautiful once you lose weight.”
Was it true?
I did not know.
But tonight, I made two decisions.
First, lose weight, with a goal of 110 pounds.
Second, cancel my Harvard University application.
I opened my laptop and logged into the application system.
On the screen, Harvard University’s admission confirmation page glowed quietly.
The mouse hovered over Decline Offer.
Nicholas’s words seemed to ring in my ears again. “You disgusting fat pig, don’t touch me. Gross.”
I did not hesitate again.
I clicked decline.
Then I wrote another application email.
It was to Stanford University, more than a thousand miles away from Boston.
Because of Nicholas, I had never even looked at it before.
For him, I applied to law, a major I did not like.
Now, I chose the major I liked and clicked send.
Thanks to my excellent grades, the other side soon sent me an admission notice.
I clicked Accept and closed my laptop.
But my heart felt lighter than ever.
Starting today.
I would no longer live for Nicholas Reed.
I would live for myself.