Two months before:
“ ‘When we consistently suppress and distrust our intuitive knowledge, looking instead for authority, validation, and approval from others, we give our power away.’ Shawti Gawain,” lectured Mr. Bates, the high school Scripture teacher. “If we are constantly looking for people’s approval and care about our appearance, we will never be satisfied.”
“Hey, you should tell that to your parents once and awhile,” joked Ainsley.
“Haha Ains, whatever. This lecture is so totally boring. I mean, when will I ever use this in my life? My parents could learn from this maybe, but me? Nahh,” Isadora remarked.
Ainsley rolled her eyes at Isadora and sarcastically said, “Yeah okay. Now be quiet and listen. You never know, you might actually learn from this if your denseness and stubbornness didn’t get in the way.” Instead of replying, Isadora just rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Mr. Bates.
The reason Ainsley commented in the first place was because of the status that the Myers held. The Myers’s were an elegant bunch known for their wealthy marketing business and charming good looks. Mr. Myers was a polished, handsome man who enjoyed basking in his self-worth and recognition. Mrs. Myers was also an attention fanatic for that was her occupation. Prior to winning Ms. California, she started her own modeling business that preyed on the looks of young teenage girls. Not looking a day over thirty, Mrs. Myers made it her personal duty to have her blossoming daughter, Isadora, follow in her footsteps. Isadora, much like the rest of her family, was a flawless beauty with golden hair that cascaded down her back, a clear, radiant complexion, and a body as perfect as a Greek sculpture.
. . .
Isadora was examining herself in the store mirror and asked, “Ains, how do I look in this dress?”
“You look great, but why do you always ask me that? You always look fantastic,” Ainsley replied.
“Thanks, but I want to look good so that I won’t disappoint Munro. He likes my slim body. And plus, I want a dress that shows of my body for the Spring formal. Although, this does feels a bit tight. Should I get it?”
“C’mon, Munro isn’t that superficial; even if you gain a few pounds, he’ll still love you. Hmm, well now that I look at it, it does look a bit tight; why don’t you get a larger size? Maybe----------”
Completely ignoring Ainsley’s reassurance, Isadora confidently said,“You know what? I’m gonna get it. I’ll just lose a few pounds over the weekend. Then I’ll look absolutely fabulous in this dress.”
Concerned, Ainsley questioned, “Why don’t you just get a size medium? Is it your parents?”
Isadora furrowed her brows and annoyingly said, “No, ok. Not everything has to do with my mom. Can’t I just want to look good for people?”
Ainsley sighed and hesitantly said, “Ok, just don’t let this get out of hand. If it’s any consolation, I think you always look great. Who cares what anybody else thinks?”
Isadora scoffed, “I care. Ugh, I swear we are so different. It’s my social status. Never mind, you wouldn’t understand.”
Ainsley sighed in annoyance and rolled her eyes, “Whatever, hurry up and buy the dress so we can go.”
. . .
“I’m home mom!” Isadora screamed.
“Back already? Did you eat lunch yet?” asked Mrs. Myers with her pearly white, stage worthy smile.
Isadora forced a grin and said, “Yeah mom, I bought a sandwich at the mall.”
Mrs. Myers’s grin faltered just a bit, and she stared at her daughter not convinced, but she decided not to question Isa. Instead she said, “Have you gained a little weight?”
With wide eyes, Isa instantly ran to the hallway mirror and checked herself. Frowning, she noticed that she did look a bit chubbier than last week. While she was poking at her incredibly flat stomach, her mother walked up behind her so that now both their reflections were seen in the mirror.
“We Myers have an image to obtain. No daughter of mine will wear clothing greater than a size 4. Don’t you want to look at fit as me when you are older? It’s okay though, I’m sure that you can work off those few pounds before the ballet recital,” Ms. Myers encouraged giving her a hearty smile while rubbing Isa’s shoulders. Isa once again forced a smile.
Isadora shook her mother’s grasp off and straightened herself up,  “I’m gonna go up to my room, now. Call me when dinner's done.”
One month before:
Isadora stared angrily at the red blinking numbers before her. It read 116 pounds. She sighed and muttered to herself, “I need to lose weight; I need to get to 112 pounds by the end of the week before mom notices.”  She walked to the toilet and kneeled down. Slowly and nervously, she used one hand to grasp the base of the toilet and with the other, she forcefully shoved into her mouth to poke her throat, making hot vomit spew out. After a few seconds, the vomit stopped and Isadora was about to put her hand back in when…
“ISADORA!!! What in the world are you doing!!! We knew you were obsessed with your appearance, but we didn’t know that you would do something as dangerous as this!!!” Munro and Ainsley screamed.
Isadora narrowed her eyes at them and retaliated, “I can’t help it!!! I’m not good enough! Do you know what it’s like to be constantly reminded by your mom to stay skinny!!?? Or how about the pressure from the student body to keep a perfect image??! NO! NEITHER OF YOU UNDERSTAND!”
They flinched at her sharp tone. Ainsley softly replied while stroking Isadora’s arm, “Well maybe we can help you with this. Listen to me, you are good enough! You are so skinny and so very beautiful. You don’t have to do this. There are other options like working out or eating healthier.”
Isadora yanked her arm away and howled,“I DON’T NEED YOUR HELP! I WILL NOT STOP!! Don’t you understand? I’M NOT SKINNY ENOUGH!!, she paused and angrily shook her head. “Forget it! You don’t understand because you aren’t as pretty or popular as me. Now go away, BOTH OF YOU!!!”
Infuriated, Ains hissed, “Fine, but don’t come crawling back to me when you realize what you are doing to your body! Have fun destroying yourself!” She grabbed Munro’s arm, “C’mon let’s go.”
Munro begged, “Wait, Isa please stop, I lov----”
Ainsley jerked him away and sadisticly mocked, “Forget it, didn’t you hear her? She’s not good enough!”
. . .
The month:
It was a clear, sunny day at the beach where Ainsley and Munro were chilling under umbrellas while listening to the roar of the waves. They were happy with their lives now that Isadora was out of the picture. They thought that today was the day when they would forget about her entirely, when…
RING RING. “Ains, your phone’s ringing”, Munro noticed. She picked it up and asked, “Hello?”
“Ainsley?! Is this you?! Come to the hospital quick! Isadora fainted and fell down the stairs!” shrieked Ms. Myers. Then she hung up.
Frantically, both of them began to pack their things and dashed to the hospital. Once they got to the dark and gloomy place, they saw Mrs. Myers bawling her eyes out and clinging to Mr. Myers who was trying to keep his composure during this grave situation. When Munro and Ainsley got there, a doctor with a distressing expression came out and hesitantly said, “I’m afraid, I have bad news…..”
Ainsley didn’t have to hear the rest, for she already knew from his face what he was going to say. Ainsley cautiously gazed towards the Myers. Mrs. Myers was now crying even harder, and Mr. Myers’s once cool, calm demeanor was gone and he started to break down. Ms. Myers bewailed, “I can’t believe this happened! She was such a healthy child and we were such great, understanding parents! Why didn’t she tell us any of this? Why?” Mr. Myers constantly opened his mouth to answer but closed it each time, for he was too in shock to utter any form of reassurance or comfort to his wife.
Not being able to take any more of this, Ainsley rushed out of the hospital avoiding the questioning looks people were giving. She found a vacant bench and collapsed onto it. There, she stared up at the sunny and  warm sky replaying in her mind the events that just happened.
“Mind if I join you?” Munro, with red, bulgy eyes sore from crying, quietly asked. Without a word, Ainsley scooted over and he sat down. “Crazy, huh? Just forty-five minutes ago, we were happy and hanging at the beach. Now, I- I can’t even comprehend what just happened. I feel so guilty for leaving her that day, Ains. If we didn’t leave, then maybe, this wouldn’t have happened to her. I wish that we---------”
Ainsley snapped, “What are you doing here, Munro! If you are trying to make me feel guilty about leaving her, then you can go away. SHE refused our help!!! Every time I tried helping her, she never listened and made me feel like complete crap! If anything, THIS WHOLE THING IS HER FAULT!!! SHE DESERVED IT!! She was so obsessed with herself, OK?!  She was so crazed about her appearance and the approval of complete strangers.We couldn’t do anything to help her. This is her fault, not mine.”
Munro stared with wide eyes and replied, “Yes, I know, b-but we could have---------”
“JUST GO!!!” roared Ainsley.
“What?” Munro asked.
“LEAVE!!” bellowed Ainsley. Munro shot her a dirty look and angrily stormed off, leaving Ainsley to fume on the bench alone. She took out her phone and scrolled through her photos stopping at a photo of Isadora. She let out an irritated exhale and whispered, “I told you so.”