Chapter 1 Come On Let's Jog

Nova's

The mattress jolted as a heavy weight landed right on top of my stomach.

"Get up, sleepyhead! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and our fat cells are begging for mercy!"

I groaned, burying my face deeper into my pillow. "Maya, if you don't get off me in three seconds, I will use my formidable weight to suffocate you. And the police will call it an accident."

Maya laughed, pulling the blanket off my legs. "Oh, come on, Nova! It's 6:00 AM. Gym time. Jogging time. Let’s get those curves moving!"

I sat up, glaring at her through a nest of messy curls. "First of all, my curves are perfectly fine right where they are, under this duvet. Second of all, who jogs at six in the morning? Serial killers, Maya. Serial killers and people who hate joy."

"And us," Maya said, tossing a pair of black leggings at my face. "Come on. You promised me last night that we were starting the new routine today."

I caught the leggings, staring at them like they were toxic waste. "That was last night. Last night I was high on pizza crusts and false hope. This morning, I am a realist. And reality says that the gym is a terrible place full of mirrors and judgment."

"Nobody is judging you," Maya sighed, crossing her arms.

"Please," I snorted, sliding out of bed and crossing over to our tiny hostel mirror. I patted my stomach, which was definitely soft, definitely round, and definitely not fitting into the campus aesthetic. "Yesterday, I walked past the student center and heard three separate people make a clicking sound with their tongues. A clicking sound, Maya. Like I was a horse that needed to speed up."

"They were probably just clearing their throats."

"They were clearing their throats at my thighs," I countered, pulling my hair into a tight ponytail. "And don't get me started on the whispers. 'Oh, look, she has such a pretty face, if only she just lost some weight.' If I hear that one more time, I’m going to lose my mind instead of my fat."

"That's exactly why we go!" Maya encouraged, shoving my sneakers into my hands. "To prove them wrong. To get healthy. To make them eat their words."

"I'd rather make them eat dirt," I muttered, but I started pulling on my shoes anyway. "But fine. If I die of cardio-induced cardiac arrest on the trail, I am leaving you my entire collection of vintage romance novels. Except the spicy ones. Those get buried with me."

Ten minutes later, the crisp morning air hit my face, and I immediately regretted every life choice that had led me to this moment. The campus path was relatively quiet, but 'quiet' was a relative term at an elite academy where the rich kids seemingly lived to wake up early and look flawless.

My sneakers hit the dirt trail with heavy, uncoordinated thuds. Maya was jogging beside me, looking like a literal fitness model, while I felt like a malfunctioning steam engine.

"See? This isn't so bad!" Maya panted, smiling.

"I can't feel my toes," I wheezed, wiping sweat from my forehead. "And my lungs are currently staging a protest. I think they want to form a union."

"Just breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth."

"I am breathing in through my mouth because my nose has given up," I grumbled, slowing down to a brisk walk. "That’s it. I’m walking. If anyone doesn’t like it, they can eyes-right and look at the scenery."

Right on cue, the sound of loud, obnoxious laughter echoed from the path behind us. My stomach dropped. I knew that laugh. It was a high-pitched, manicured sound that usually preceded something terrible.

"Oh, look, girls," a drippingly sweet voice called out. "The campus wildlife is out early today. I didn't know the local zoo opened at six."

I stopped walking and turned around. Marching down the path was Chloe Vance, the undisputed queen bee of the academy, flanked by her two faithful shadows, Britney and Jessica. Chloe was wearing a matching designer activewear set that probably cost more than my monthly allowance, her blonde hair bouncing in a perfect ponytail without a single strand out of place.

"Keep walking, Chloe," Maya said, stepping slightly in front of me.

"I am walking, sweetie," Chloe purred, stopping right in front of us anyway. Her eyes raked down my body, lingering on my sweaty t-shirt with an expression of pure disgust. "I'm just surprised some people have the audacity to wear spandex in public. I mean, honey, there’s a limit to what material can hold together before it snaps."

Britney and Jessica snickered loudly behind her.

I felt the familiar, hot sting of humiliation creeping up my neck, but I refused to let her see it. I forced a bright, overly sweet smile onto my face and took a step forward, pushing past Maya.

"Oh, Chloe, thank goodness you're here," I said, my voice dripping with mock relief. "I was actually looking for you."

Chloe blinked, caught off guard by my tone. "For what? A diet plan?"

"No, actually," I chuckled, crossing my arms. "I wanted to ask you where you bought that outfit. Because I'm trying to do a study on how much fabric it takes to cover up a completely hollow personality. It looks like it stretches quite well."

Chloe’s jaw dropped. The snickering from her friends stopped instantly.

"What did you just say to me?" Chloe hissed, her face turning a violent shade of pink.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did the lip filler migrate to your ears?" I asked, tilting my head innocently. "I said your personality is hollow. Empty. Vacant. Like the space between your eyebrows. I’m just trying to understand how someone can look so expensive but act so incredibly cheap."

"You fat, pathetic freak," Chloe snarled, taking a threatening step into my personal space. "You think you can talk to me like that? Do you even know who my father is?"

"Why? Did your mother forget to tell you?" I shot back, not backing down an inch.

Maya let out a sharp gasp, covering her mouth to hide a laugh.

Chloe was shaking with pure rage now. Her perfect mask completely shattered, revealing the ugly, vicious mean girl underneath. "You are nothing at this school. You're a charity case. A giant, ugly blot on the landscape. You don't belong here, Nova. And I am going to make sure everyone knows it."

"Chloe, let's just go," Britney muttered, looking around nervously as a few other early-morning students started to slow down to watch the drama.

"No," Chloe snapped, her eyes locked onto mine with sheer venom. "She needs to learn her place."

"My place is wherever I want it to be, Chloe," I said, my voice dropping its sarcastic edge, turning cold and steady. "And right now, my place is right in front of you, entirely unimpressed by your little tantrum. Now, if you'll excuse us, we were actually trying to get some fresh air, and you're currently polluting the oxygen."

I turned my back on her, nodding to Maya. "Come on, Maya. Let's go before the garbage truck arrives to pick her up."

"You bitch!"

Before I could even register the movement, a pair of hands slammed violently into my shoulder blades from behind.

Because I was already exhausted from the jogging and caught completely off balance, I couldn't stop my momentum. My sneakers tripped over a exposed tree root on the edge of the dirt path.

Time seemed to slow down as I pitched forward. I hit the ground hard, my palms scraping against the sharp gravel of the trail. The impact knocked the wind right out of my chest, leaving me gasping for air on the dirty ground.

Above me, Chloe’s high-pitched, cruel laughter erupted again, louder and uglier than before.

"Oops," Chloe giggled, looking down at me as I struggled to push myself up onto my scraped hands. "Watch your step, Nova. Gravity is a lot harder on people of your... size."

"Nova!" May

a screamed, rushing to my side.

I sat on the dirt, staring at my bleeding palms, a dangerous, white-hot heat building up inside my chest.