Weight Gain Murder Chapter 02
Author: Fido
The doctor ignored me as I tried to explain and called toward the door. “Next, please!”
“Doctor, I really didn’t eat any snacks! I only ate the diet meals Mom made!” I said.
Jenny dragged me out of the exam room and jabbed a finger against my forehead several times in anger. “Shannon Moore, drop the act already! The doctor already said you’ve been eating extra! Why are you still denying it?!”
The back of my head struck the wall, and the pain left me dizzy. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mom watching me with disappointment. “Shannon, you have to stop eating those snacks. If you keep gaining weight this fast, you’ll be dead in six months.”
I wanted to defend myself, but I didn’t know how. I had to find out what was happening.
After we got home, I searched online for anything that might help me lose weight.
An ad for a weight-loss camp caught my eye: [Extreme obesity? Lose fifty pounds in one month!]
My heart raced in excitement. The camp was probably my last hope.
But… Would Mom agree to let me go?
I still suspected something was wrong with the meals she made. She and Jenny seemed to be hiding something. But if I were to go to the camp, it could get me away from them for a while.
I quietly carried my luggage to the door, but a sharp shout stopped me. “Shannon, where are you going?”
Jenny saw the flyer in my hand, and all the color drained from her face. “You can’t leave this house!”
Mom came out of her bedroom when she heard the commotion. Her expression turned dark, too. “Shannon, are you really going to a weight-loss camp?”
Cold sweat broke out across my back as I nodded stiffly.
A cold look flashed in my mom’s eyes as she slipped her hand into her pocket. It looked as though she was reaching for something.
I was about to bolt when she pulled out her wallet. “Shannon, I’ll pay for the camp.”
Guilt washed over me in that instant, and my suspicions vanished.
Maybe my body was simply different from Jenny’s. Maybe that was why losing weight was so hard for me. I promised myself that I would work hard at camp and never make my mom worry again.
–
At the camp, the coach looked at my horizontally challenged physique and smiled. “People your size often lose weight fastest. Work hard.”
My confidence soared. I got up before dawn every day to exercise. First, I ran a little over six miles. Then, I jumped rope three hundred times. After every scheduled class, I swam for another hour. Even the coach said I was the hardest-working student he had ever seen and that I was bound to succeed.
I did not go to the dining hall for my first meal until that evening.
But… Why did the food taste a little like Mom’s cooking?
I smiled to myself. I had to be imagining it.
After seven days of nonstop training, I finally dared to weigh myself. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped onto the scale, shifting my weight until the numbers settled.
Several students gathered around to watch.
“Shannon, you’ve worked so hard. You’ll be fine!”
“You must have lost at least ten pounds this week!”
I slowly opened my eyes.
Two hundred and fifty pounds.
Everyone who was there was shocked.
“Is the scale broken? How did she gain thirty pounds?!”
I stood frozen as nameless fear spread through me. What was happening? I fled to the dorm as the coach chased after me, shouting.
“Shannon, a barbecue place opened next to the camp. Have you been sneaking over there to eat? Or did you hide snacks in your bag? Hand them over right now!”
Once again, everyone accused me of sneaking out to eat.
I had no choice but to withdraw from the camp, get my money back, and leave with my luggage.
