Fitting In | Teen Ink

Fitting In MAG

By MonicaMS BRONZE, Providence, Rhode Island
MonicaMS BRONZE, Providence, Rhode Island
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

I wouldn't ask for a dressing room. My mom always asked for me.
The evening before I had repeatedly risen from my seat and piled on excess noodles suffocated in meat sauce. Then I licked my bowl with the buttered garlic bread, leaving no evidence of the four servings I had inhaled. In the morning I would be forced to lie on my bed and suck in my stomach just to button my jeans. I dreaded school shopping. The sale rack, with its slender size markers, knew my number continued to bloat.

I learned how to eat from my dad: fast and without thinking. In our house, the dinner table involved battle, with the children on defense. One false move and our dinner would be snatched off our plates without warning and gobbled up by our father faster than we could blink. We soon learned to keep a hand up while devouring our chicken strips, and if Mom decided to cook that night we needed to hurry and get seconds before it was gone.

Only one pair of jeans I tried on fit. I lied and told my mother I could button every pair but only needed the jeans that lay guarded in my hands. We walked to the checkout.

I kept my head down as we passed a group of girls. They whispered. I glanced up only long enough to know my place. Their eyes cut at me, hands cupped over their mouths in secrecy.

***

The recess bell rang and I followed two girls in my third grade class out past the monkey bars to the fenced grassy area. We all wore the same clothes that year: khaki pants and polo shirts. Everyone was the same, or that was the idea.

“I like your pants. Where did you get them?” Marcy asked Alicia. I nodded in agreement, thankful they had removed their cupped hands and I could hear the conversation.

“Really? I like yours better,” Alicia replied.

“We should trade. What size are you?” Marcy asked.

“I don't know …” Alicia said, finding the tag in the back of her pants. “Seven.”

“Me too,” Marcy said.

***

I hid in line as I held the jeans, tag folded in so nobody could see the number inscribed on it was 12. I am not a size seven.



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 349 comments.


Tushar BRONZE said...
on May. 8 2010 at 6:48 am
Tushar BRONZE, Navi Mumbai, Other
1 article 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on. - Robert Bloch

cool article and awesome title! well written

on May. 2 2010 at 2:58 pm
CreativeScript PLATINUM, Port Hardy, Other
26 articles 0 photos 13 comments

CHECK OUT MY STORIES PLEASE! ON MY PAGE..

1. Driving Drunk

2. Leanna's First Day

 

 


on May. 1 2010 at 8:29 am
Sketched97 PLATINUM, Silver Spring, Maryland
31 articles 4 photos 167 comments
This is really good. And I agree, the title is brilliant!!

on Apr. 27 2010 at 10:03 am
effortlesslove BRONZE, Westminster, Maryland
3 articles 0 photos 53 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A friend is someone who can sing the song in your heart when you have forgotten the words"i

this is so good and im sure people can relate to this story.

SandyC SILVER said...
on Apr. 25 2010 at 3:44 pm
SandyC SILVER, Concord, Other
5 articles 0 photos 78 comments

Favorite Quote:
"In the end it won't matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away"

i rly like this!!!LUV the ending:):)..keep writing.....if yu dont mind, culd you read nd give me feedback on my story William's Dream part 1, i would luv yur opinion

on Apr. 24 2010 at 9:00 pm
westwardcircle BRONZE, East Falmouth, Massachusetts
4 articles 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I like clothes because they make me not naked."

I know exactly how you feel. I have no trouble finding clothes that fit, but finding clothes I like that not only fit but look good on my body. I'm 5'3 and weigh over 180 lbs. most days, but I wouldn't say that I'm fat. Hell, Marilyn Monroe was a size 16 and she was a pop culture icon.

on Apr. 20 2010 at 3:05 am
mcpanicfanic SILVER, Cincinnati, Ohio
8 articles 0 photos 65 comments
So.Totally.Amazing. This is so well written. I rarely come across a piece I like this much. Good Job.

Kayla N said...
on Apr. 19 2010 at 5:53 pm
Kayla N, Las Vegas, Nevada
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
I can completely relate. I kno this isnt about guys or anything but..I always worry about meeting new guys cause I feel like they are gonna think im fat or something.. but i recently realized... the guys i have met.. always ask me on a second date. or ask me to hang out again. I don't kno why I worry about it.. cause obviously if i were fat or ugly..they wouldnt bother. I say don't worry so much about what other people think.Especially random people in public..or online.. chances are you wont see them again. So who cares what they think. Just as long as you're happy.(:

on Apr. 17 2010 at 3:13 pm
PaintTheRoses, Stony Brook, New York
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
Your story is told in a beautifully personal way, and it takes real courage for a writer to so prominently display her insecurities. I'm sure you already knew that though. What you need to know is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a size 12. Did you know that the average woman in America is 5'4" and wears a size 14? There are tons of people (myself included) who wish they could be your size, so embrace yourself and your beauty! :)

on Apr. 17 2010 at 12:26 am
SomewhereHere, Candy Cane, California
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;It&#039;s funny how the world changes sometimes, how the streets you walked your entire life seem darker, colder. How the silence isn&#039;t so quiet anymore. How eyes you&#039;ve barely even noticed now look at nothing but you. How the walk home every night is no longer routine, but a victory. And then you begin to wonder... maybe it&#039;s not the world that&#039;s changed. Maybe it&#039;s just you. And then, suddenly... you begin to wonder all over again.&quot;<br /> -Shiri Appleby

I love this story, I can relate but in a different way, please write more! 

on Apr. 16 2010 at 8:57 pm
SerraAngel GOLD, Buchanan, Michigan
12 articles 0 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;we have nothing to fear but fear itself&quot;.

I wear 0 too.

on Apr. 16 2010 at 8:55 pm
SerraAngel GOLD, Buchanan, Michigan
12 articles 0 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;we have nothing to fear but fear itself&quot;.

so it's not because someone is fat or skinny some people just think everyone has to be just like them. My best friend and I got in a fight today because she doesn't want to be seen talking to me.

on Apr. 16 2010 at 8:52 pm
SerraAngel GOLD, Buchanan, Michigan
12 articles 0 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;we have nothing to fear but fear itself&quot;.

I'm very thin and I hate it people called me 'twig' althrought sixth and seventh grade.

on Apr. 16 2010 at 6:06 pm
ashleyt PLATINUM, Midland, Texas
22 articles 65 photos 53 comments
agreed  ggg

Terry said...
on Apr. 8 2010 at 9:27 pm
You make us so sad since your writing becomes our Cloze Test and we've all been confused!

chellypan said...
on Apr. 8 2010 at 2:57 am
just want to solve the cultural problems

yang yang said...
on Apr. 7 2010 at 9:41 am
i like it too.since i am a chinese student ,i came across this article in my papers.what a shame

on Apr. 6 2010 at 10:24 am
 hey i wear a size 11/12 two and everyone makes funn of me becausssse im fat but really im not aand i just ignore it all because the people who make funn of you arent your friends so dont worry bout im one of the biggest kids in my class its not a big deal so just ignore them girls

Nala96 BRONZE said...
on Apr. 4 2010 at 12:13 pm
Nala96 BRONZE, Ceres, California
2 articles 1 photo 30 comments
i agree....feeling left out is the WORST!

Nala96 BRONZE said...
on Apr. 4 2010 at 12:12 pm
Nala96 BRONZE, Ceres, California
2 articles 1 photo 30 comments
I love your story....or is it an essay? well, whatever it was it was great. Keep wrting! :-)