Fiction-Striving for Skinny

   The lunch bell sounds and the hallways become crowded with restless students rushing towards the front of the line. I however, quickly search for a way out, desperately trying to avoid the questions as to why I am not eating....again. How could I? My fear of food and gaining weight had finally surfaced as a result of my insecurities. I've struggled with my body image since I was fifteen, always noticing the skinnier girls that would pass me in the hallway; despising myself for not being that pretty. Little did I know how quickly my obsession with body image would become an eating disorder that consumed my life.
  It was like a drug to me, just one time and I was hooked. Just one time, and I was purging at every opportunity I had. Overeating and always excusing myself after dinner, it's normal to believe my parents would question the odd habits I had quickly developed but, they didn't. My deadly actions were going unnoticed at my house and I was relieved. Weeks went by and I was excessively dropping jean sizes, and my shirts became less fitted. Sadly though, I had viewed this as an accomplishment in my life. My problems were never about my body or the size of my thighs. My issues were much deeper and they continued to grow until they reached the surface, making it much more difficult to conceal with a smile. I was changing my outside in hopes of becoming the happy girl I used to be on the inside.
   I was finally able to look in the mirror and sustain from shattering the image that stood before me. I was pretty and for the first time in my life, I could say that with confidence. Although soon, having the figure I had always wanted, silenced my words, as I struggled to keep my addiction below the surface.
   I told myself I would stop as soon as I hit the weight I wanted and the figure I could stand to look at but, I didn't. I continued binging and purging, becoming powerless and weak in the arms of this deadly addiction.