A week
had passed.
Thus
far, Sandy had survived on television and music. Possibly her
greatest achievement was to finish reading one book, a children's
novel, the most interesting of the texts that her nice guardians had
brought for her.
Her diet
during her stay at the safe house had been mostly takeout. The pizza
and soft drinks for dinner that evening had been delicious.
Officer
Murphy had tried to cook once. It had taken a long time to prepare
the meal since many of the requirements had been missing - there had
been no ladle or kitchen knife, and there had been no gas. Cleaning
up after that had been a chore. Since then, no one bothered to cook
anymore. It had been easier to order takeout or microwave food and
dump the trash after that.
The
microwave oven had been a lifesaver. It provided all of Sandy's
nutritional needs. Right up until the moment it had died earlier that
afternoon.
R-I-P
microwave oven. Your services would be missed.
Sandy
had just finished her evening shower. She toweled herself dry and
stepped out of the shower stall. She heard the crack of thunder
outside.
Well,
she was not concerned about it. The house had held up during the
thunderstorm the previous day. She just had to close the bedroom
window or else the wooden floor would get wet... the bedroom window!
The girl
hurriedly hung her towel. Then she rushed out of the bathroom and
into her bedroom to close the window. It was very fortunate that one
of the bathroom doors opened directly into the bedroom. Or else she
would have given Officer Brown outside a pleasant surprise.
It was
also very fortunate that directly outside the window was a backyard
surrounded by a tall wooden fence. Or else she would have given the
neighbors a free show as she stood at the window, staring up at the
dark skies. Rain had
not started yet.
Lightning flashed once. Sandy retreated from the
window before the boom reached her ears.
On an
impulse, she pinched her waist. Huh? It was a lot thicker than she
had remembered it to be.
Sandy
switched on the desk lamp and stepped to the full-length mirror to
examine herself. Her bottom appeared larger than usual.
Was she
putting on weight? Why was she getting wider? (The reasons should be
obvious.)
Goodness,
was she going to be as fat as Momma Lois!?
With
concern about her weight on her mind, Sandy got dressed. She put on
the T-shirt that Selina had given her and was relieved that it still
fit. What would she do if she grew too wide for her clothes? She
would have to buy herself a new wardrobe. Well, money would not be a
problem once she was rich.
But she
was going to be huge. Her friends in school would not recognize her.
She would look like an Air Blimp next to Ariel. Maybe Ariel would be
friends again.
Look,
Ariel, I got fat just to be like you! (Really, Sandy had thought that
something like that would impress the blond.)
The
waistband of her sweatpants dug a little deeper into her sides than
she remembered. But there was not anything she could do about it. She
stepped out of her bedroom.
Officer
Brown at the front window blew an amused snort when he saw the target
symbol on Sandy's shirt. Then Officer Murphy on the sofa did the
same.
Sandy
joined Officer Murphy on the sofa.
"Whatever
possessed you to wear a shirt like that?" Officer Murphy asked
as she pushed a lock of black hair out of her eyes.
"Oh,
I like this shirt," Sandy said, "A friend gave it to me.
It's soft and comfortable."
"You've
weird friends," the female officer muttered.
On the
television at that moment was the news. There was mention of the
Independence Day parade and messages from the politicians - nothing
that Sandy found interesting. So she went to the kitchen for
something to eat, despite the fact that she had just eaten dinner.
The
microwave had not been fixed or replaced yet. Otherwise, she would
heat a frozen snack for herself - a warm sausage roll would have been
nice on that cold rainy night. Instead, Sandy poured herself a
bowlful of chips. She really liked the salty taste and was sure she
could squeeze in a little more food into her stomach.
(Is
there still any doubt to the reason why Sandy was gaining weight?)
No comments:
Post a Comment