Be Mine Read Free Page A

where it had been the worst. Even after all these years, she could still remember the horrible things they used to say to her — not only behind her back but to her face. She could still remember the jokes they used to play on her.
    All because she looked different.
    Some days she would run home and lock herself in her bedroom, crying her eyes out.
    As a little girl, she’d always been chubby. Her grandmother said she just had baby fat and said that she’d eventually outgrow it. But when she started junior high, the baby fat was still there. It seemed like all her other female classmates were tall and thin, like models, and she still looked like a blob. The girls started dressing differently, too, wearing tiny skirts, high heels, and cute tops, but Natalie wasn’t able to transform herself the way that they had. As a result, she looked even more different and everyone noticed, especially the guys, who started calling the other girls for dates.
    No one called her.
    But they did start calling her names.
    She couldn’t remember when it started, but suddenly, they were calling her Fatalie. Miss Big Bones. Flabtastica.
    One time they called the local pizzeria and had four pizzas delivered to her house. Minutes later, someone called and asked if she had enjoyed the “snack” they had sent over. Another time they sent her a year-long membership to the Pie of the Month Club. They mailed her gift certificates for all-you-can-eat buffets, as well as coupons for Slim-Fast and Lean Cuisine.
    She had never done anything to any of them, but for some reason, they decided that she deserved to be laughed at and made fun of. The one thing she never did was let them know how much their mean words and jokes hurt. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. And it wasn’t like she didn’t have any friends. She did, but the girls she hung out with were also considered outcasts. So if Natalie wasn’t being teased because of her weight, she was being teased along with her friends. There was never any escape.
    Until the end of eighth grade.
    That was when Natalie’s parents told her they were moving to another town.
    â€œI think you’re overreacting,” Eden said, cutting into Natalie’s thoughts.
    Claudia shook her head. “Trust me, she was lying. And I’m going to expose her.”
    â€œHow?” Natalie asked as she tossed her long blonde hair over one shoulder.
    â€œOn Saturday night. At my party. I’m sure she’s going to come alone, with some sort of lame story as to why her so-called boyfriend couldn’t make it. All it’s going to take is a couple of questions from me to show everyone what a liar she is.”
    â€œIs that all you’re eating for lunch?” Eden asked, pointing at Natalie’s strawberry yogurt, granola bar, and cup of fresh fruit.
    â€œI had a big breakfast,” Natalie said, remembering the blueberry pancakes and bacon she’d had. Yum!
    â€œI wish I had your willpower,” Eden said, opening a packet of ketchup and squeezing it over her cheeseburger and french fries.
    â€œI don’t think you have to worry about the way you look,” Natalie said, and it was true. Tall and willowy, with chocolate-brown skin and straight black hair that reached down her back, Eden was gorgeous. Natalie thought she was just as beautiful as some of the girls who competed on Eden’s favorite TV show, America’s Next Top Model . Okay, okay, so every so often a clunker model slipped in, but Eden really was a knockout and most of the guys at North Ridge High thought so.
    They thought the same thing about Natalie, too.
    And it all started the summer she moved to North Ridge.
    That summer, Natalie decided to do something about her weight. She wasn’t going to wait to “outgrow” her baby fat. If she wanted to lose those extra pounds, she needed to do something about it. So she started exercising, slowly at first, with