Pressure

Author’s note: Anorexia is a disease that most girls my age deal with. In my story, Pressure, I depict a girl named Vivian, who is struggling with anorexia.

The pressure to be skinny plagues America, or rather, the entire world. Some people even go so far to not eat, or even make themselves throw up to stay skinny. Doing things like this regularly becomes a disease called Anorexia, or Bulimia. This is a life threatening disease, that can lead to depression, or worse. Some people let themselves get this disease, but they don’t know they have it. Some people can overcome the disease, and get healthy again.



I walk into my house, slamming the door behind me. “Hello?” I call out, not knowing if anyone is there.
“Hey baby!” Mom calls from the dining room.
I scrunch my nose slightly. The idea of food makes me sick. I carefully walk into the dining room, taking in my mom’s overweight form, sitting over a plate of food.
“Hey mom.” I say, crossing over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.
“How was practice?” She asks, looking at my pom poms I had secured in one hand.
“It was fine.” I reply, opening the water and taking a refreshing sip.
“When’s the next game?” She asks again, around a mouth full of chicken.
“This Friday.” I answer, sitting across from her.
“Do you want anything to eat?” She asks.
As always, I reply with “No.”
She nods, swallowing her chicken. My mom is at least 300 pounds, which means she’s overweight. I think she started to gain weight after my dad died when I was 6. She used to be beautiful, the prettiest person you could ever see. But I guess that she doesn’t want to be pretty any more.
For me, I’m considered to be underweight, but I need to be in order to stay head cheerleader. In order to stay thin, I don’t eat a lot, and I work out for at least 4 hours a day. The pressure to stay skinny and maintain my position on the team means a lot. It even means scholarships for cheerleading colleges.
I feel healthy, I look fine, so I’m ok.
Right?
“I have to work on some homework.” I say, and stand up from the table.
Truthfully, I didn’t have homework, I just didn’t want to be tempted by the food my mom was eating.
“Alright baby, ask me any questions that you need!” She says as I’m walking away to my room.
“Will do!” I reply, throwing a smile at her over my shoulder.
Once I get to my room, I close the door behind me with a click, and sit on my desk chair.
Ever since my dad died, nothing has been the same.
My older brother Cory, who’s 22 now, took an interest in drugs and is currently residing in Lakeside Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center.
I see him once a week.
See, he’s not a bad guy.
I love him to death.
He just didn’t have a dad around to tell  him that drugs were bad.
Apparently, he’s going to be out of rehab on my birthday, which is next month.
Hopefully by then, I’ll have a scholarship to my dream college. But, it all depends on if I stay in my position as head cheerleader. I slipped out of my cheerleading uniform and looked at my flat stomach. I could clearly see all my ribs, and I liked it like that. It showed that I was trying to look the part of the head cheerleader. I slipped on a tank top and shorts, and slid into my bed, clicking the switch on my lamp, I fell asleep in an instant.

~~~

“Hey Alice.” I smiled at my best friend and put my lunch tray in the spot next to her, sitting down with a sigh.
“Hey Viv.” She smiled back. I looked down at her tray and scrunched my nose. It was almost like she had taken one of everything the lunch room had to offer.
“Why do you have so much food?” I asked. Like  me, she wanted to be skinny to. She needed to be skinny because of track, and the more she ways, the slower she goes. It kinda relates to science, with drag and stuff.
“I found a trick to get rid of all of it. You don’t gain any weight when you eat this much. Try it, I’ll show you the trick after lunch.” She winked at me and opened up her Rice Krispy treat.
I raised an eyebrow, but nodded and went back to the lunch line, grabbing some more food. Coming back, I looked at how obnoxious she looked. Eating that much food made her seem like an overweight slob. And she knows it. I just don’t get it.
I slowly ate my food, and dumped my tray. The lunch bell rang, and Alice lead me to the bathroom.
“Why are we going to the bathroom? I kinda have to get to History...” I said, trailing off as I watched Alice go into the stall. After a minute or so, I heard the sound of vomiting. Scared, opened to door to the stall and held her hair back. “Alice! Are you ok?!” I squeaked, rubbing her back. She finished, and looked at me, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
“I’m fine Viv. Never been better.” She grinned, and flushed the toilet.
“I don’t understand... Vomiting typically means that your sick Alice.” I said, concern on my face.
“I’m not sick Viv. It’s the trick I was going to show you. You can eat all you want, and if you throw it all up, then you don’t get fat. It’s easy, try it.” Her blue eyes sparkled with excitment, as she said, “Try it! Just stick your finger down yo--” She began in a rush, but I abruptly cut her off.
“Alice. Making yourself throw up is just...” I shook my head, my brown curls flinging in my face, “Wrong.” I finished.
“Is it any different than you and your crazy workout schedule, and the dieting thing?” She said, her voice like ice.
“At least I’m trying to stay fit.” I managed, not being able to say anything else.
“Vivian, not eating anything, and then working out like crazy isn’t staying fit. It’s not healthy.” Alice said, taking my hands in hers.
I yanked my hands out of hers. “And neither is throwing up.” I said, my tone of voice quivering with anger. I stormed out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.

~~~~

“Corey! Your home!” I squealed, hugging my big brother.
“That I am Vivybear.” He laughed and hugged me back.
I pulled away from him and glared playfully. “Don’t call me Vivybear!” I said, pretending to be mad.
“But sis, Vivybear suits you so well!” He laughed.
“No it doesn’t!” I squealed and marched into the living room. “Mom, tell Corey to stop calling me Vivybear.” I pouted, acting like a little kid.
Her green eyes that matched mine widened, and she jumped up, “Corey’s home?!” She yelled.
“I’m right here Mom.” He smiled at her, and crossed over to her to give her a Corey hug, which is where he squeezes you until you can’t breath.
While this reunion was going on, I stood by the door, smiling. I felt like Demi Lavato. She went through an eating disorder to, and now she’s strong, and making awesome music. I’m stronger now that I stopped working out so much, and eating more. It’s my birthday, and I was going to have the best one ever.
Maybe I could be like Katniss Everdeen. She’s everything I would ever want to be. Strong, independent, and pretty. She’s strong enough to not let her insecurities consume her, while with me, I let myself get sad and mad. Hopefully, I can be Katniss Everdeen
~~~~~
“Happy Birthday Vivian!” My family cheered as a blew out the candles on my cake.
“What’d you wish for Vivi?” My little cousin Noah asked me, sitting in the chair next to mine.
“I can’t tell you, otherwise the wish won’t come true!” I smiled, messing up his hair.
He giggled a little boy giggle and swatted my hands away from his head, diving into the piece of cake that was set in front of him.
My wish...
My wish was to become strong again, to be the person I wanted to be, instead of what everyone else wanted me to be.
I really hope it all works out for me.
As I thought this, I took a big bite of my birthday cake, savoring the taste of the frosting on my lips. I knew how much calories this would cost me, but I didn’t care anymore.
My life matters more than being head cheerleader.
~~~Epilouge~~~

3 months later, Vivian received her a scholarship, and graduated high school weighing 120 pounds. She helped her mom lose weight, and her mom now weighs 165 pounds. Corey hasn’t used drugs since he came home, and he’s studying to become a lawyer. When Vivian went to college, her mom cried, and she cried in her mothers arms. At that moment, she realized that her life had changed so much in three months. She secretly thanked her friend Alice for showing her that it wasn’t right, even though she was doing it to. In reality, Alice changed her life around, she showed her that what she was doing was wrong.