Chapter 3

The next day at lunch, Mom showed up as promised.

She parked her car near the school's side gate. When I climbed in, an insulated lunch bag was already waiting in the back seat.

She unzipped it, pulled out a Tupperware container, and opened it. Inside was boiled broccoli and a few slices of chicken breast.

No oil. No salt. Not even black pepper.

"Eat up," she handed me the fork. "Eat quickly so you can get back to class. Don't waste time."

I took the fork, looking at the boiled green heap, and my stomach turned.

"Mom, can I please have some salt?"

"Too much salt causes water retention, you know that."

She had already turned back to her phone, her voice impatient. "Just eat. Stop lingering."

I poked a piece of chicken and chewed.

Dry, bland, like cardboard.

The broccoli was practically raw, crunching loudly, releasing a bitter, grassy taste in my mouth.

Outside the car window, some of my classmates were walking back from the cafeteria, laughing and talking.

They held yogurt and fruit, the warm sunlight reflecting off their glowing skin.

I lowered my head and took another bite of the chicken.

"Oh, by the way," Mom suddenly said. "Is that girl Mia in your class also trying to lose weight?"

Mia was my desk mate. She was short, a bit chubby, with two cute dimples when she smiled. She told me last month she wanted to lose weight because the guy she liked said her face was too round.

"Yeah."

"How much has she lost?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask."

"You should ask," Mom kept her eyes on her phone. "If she's losing faster than you, you need to work harder. You can't lose to her, understand?"

I didn't answer.

The chicken in my mouth felt impossible to swallow.

This routine went on for two weeks, and my weight finally dropped back to a number that satisfied my mother.

She smiled as she inspected my body, but her next words were: "We need to keep this up."

A week later, Mom said she had an errand to run at noon and couldn't make it.

"Get some bread for lunch. Do not go to the cafeteria," she warned before leaving. "I put a slice of whole wheat bread in your backpack's side pocket. One slice is enough. Drink plenty of water."

I unzipped the side pocket of my backpack, and there it was—a Ziploc bag containing a single slice of whole wheat bread.

Brown, hard, with visible grains of bran.

During recess, I pulled out the bag, set it on my desk, and stared at the bread for a long time.

"Hey Chloe, going to the cafeteria?" Mia stood up, grabbing her lunch card. "They have steak bites and loaded fries today. I saw the menu yesterday."

Steak bites.

I remembered that taste.

Savory sauce coating the tender beef, biting into it, the juices bursting in your mouth...

Saliva flooded my mouth, but I shook my head anyway.

"Come on, let's go!"

Mia grabbed my arm, chatting away. "I am so done with dieting anyway. It's torture. Life is meant for delicious food!"

Delicious food. I hadn't tasted it in so long.

As if possessed, I nodded.