Chapter 3

3

Back then, I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I ate it all. My appetite grew, and so did my waistline.

Summer would usually only take two bites before giving the rest to me.

By the time I graduated high school, I had gained thirty pounds. I was a total butterball.

At the restaurant, Summer piled a plate high with greasy pork belly in front of me. There wasn't a single vegetable in sight.

"Eat up, Daisy! It's no good when it gets cold!"

In the past, I would have forced myself to finish it. Then I wouldn't have had any room for anything healthy.

This time, I didn't touch the mountain of grease. I reached for a piece of grilled lettuce instead.

"I think I'll stick to what I actually like today."

Summer's smile faltered. She tried to act playful.

"Are you dieting? That's great! I need to lose some weight too."

She pinched her waist. She was wearing a crop top, and her waist was tiny.

She was easily half my size back then.

In the past, every time I mentioned dieting, Summer would discourage me.

"Don't diet! You're like a cute little piggy. I love my little piggy!"

If I got upset, she'd say, "It's just a joke, Daisy! Why are you so sensitive?"

It destroyed my self-esteem and kept me in a cycle of binge eating.

But this time, I wasn't moved. I stopped eating the moment I was full.

Summer seemed to take it as a personal challenge.

She bought a scale for the dorm and weighed herself every night.

She'd announce her weight loudly. "Ugh, ninety-two pounds? I'm still not down to eighty!"

I ignored her. I ate balanced meals and went for a run every evening.

After two months, the change was visible.

My roommate remarked, "Daisy, you actually have a really nice jawline hiding under there!"

Summer couldn't take it. she started a brutal crash diet.

She stopped eating carbs entirely, survival only on a few pieces of boiled cabbage.

When people asked, she'd just give a weak smile.

"I have a bird's appetite. I'm actually stuffed!"

Then came the physical fitness test. We had to run the 800-meter dash. Summer fainted.

She was so afraid of gaining leg muscle that she never exercised.

Our coach had just announced that these results would count toward our GPA and scholarships.

Summer tried to push herself, but she was moving like a snail.

I was in the group before her. Thanks to my two months of training, I finished with a perfect score.

Seeing me succeed must have tipped her over the edge. She collapsed on the track.

When she woke up in the infirmary, she cried to the advisor.

"I don't know what happened. I've had terrible diarrhea since this morning."

"That's the only reason I failed the test!"

The campus clinic ran some tests. The results were shocking: Summer had ingested a high dose of laxatives.

Summer immediately started wailing.

"How did laxatives get into my food? Is someone trying to hurt me?"

The school administration got involved immediately. A potential poisoning in a freshman dorm was a huge scandal.

They called everyone from our room in for questioning.

One roommate said, "Daisy and Summer are best friends, but things have been tense lately."

Summer chimed in, wiping her eyes.

"Daisy has always been very competitive, but I refuse to believe she'd do this to me!"

The administrators decided to search the dorm.

They found a packet of industrial-strength laxatives hidden right under my pillow.

Summer burst into tears on the spot.

"Daisy, we grew up together! Why would you do this?"

"I know you were jealous because I was thinner, but this is too far!"

Poisoning or tampering was a massive deal. I could be expelled or even face charges.

Everyone was staring at me with disgust. I stayed perfectly calm.

"Since the deans are here, if I have proof that those pills belong to someone else, what happens?"

the advisor looked at me skeptically.

"What kind of proof could you possibly have?"

I looked straight at Summer.

"The rumors about this are already destroying my reputation. I've been called a criminal."

"I want a public apology and a formal punishment for the person who actually did this."

The Dean nodded. "That is only fair."

I climbed up to my top bunk and pulled a tiny, camouflaged security camera from the headboard.

"I installed a small nanny cam to watch my own bed. Let's see what really happened."