“What is your dream?” a girl with long blonde hair that draped over her shoulders like a curtain drapes over the window to block out the sun; but her hair did the opposite and seemed to collect the sunlight.

The other girl didn’t have to think about the answer, “I want to be a model.”

They sat at the top of the stairs, and everything was silent. They were at a school, and no one was to be found while class was in session.

“Did you believe in your own dream? What about the others; what did they think?” she asked with a voice as sweet and gentle as honey.

“I thought I could… someday. The others didn’t think so.” She grimaced, “They said I was too fat.”


Her mind flashed back to her second hour class; teen choices, a.k.a, health class. She sat in the front of the room; closest to the teacher. She liked the front. It was true, she was fat; she had stopped caring in grade school, however. She was proud of her body and herself, and to her, that was all that mattered.

“Okay, Katie, your turn.” The teacher said with her gaze down at a clipboard.

Nervously Katie pulled herself out of the much too small desk and stood in front of the room. Everyone looked at her with devious, mocking smiles, and for a second she wanted to return to her desk; but she knew how to block them out.

“I want to be a model.” She said as a few people snickered, “I know I may not be skinny… but I think that when you are a model you are confident about the way you look.” She sucked in a deep breath of fresh air, and brought her gaze to the teacher who was smiling with approval. She forgot the rest of the students’ antipathy and let herself grow excited about the thought of her dream.

“And I think everyone should love the way they look… no matter what size, or what skin color. I want to show other girls that they are beautiful no matter what.” Katie finished.

A girl burst out laughing in the back of the room, and Katie immediately recognized her as Tallia, who was the coolest girl in their grade. She leaned over and whispered something to the guy next to her, and he chuckled quietly. Katie hung her head in shame. The teacher heard, and gave Tallia a disapproving look, “Tallia, to the principal’s office, now.” The teacher demanded. Tallia gave a WTF look, and stormed outside. Katie quickly took her seat.


“Do you think you’re too fat?” the blonde girl asked her.

Katie hesitated but then shook her head, “No, I think I am fine the way I am.”

“And that made the others mad?” she guessed.

Katie nodded.


She sat in the lunch room, now. She was alone, as usual. She didn’t have any real friends at this school; her best friend Shayla was homeschooled. She picked at her food and took a big bite of pizza. She had two slices on her plate- more than any other girl.

“Got enough food there, fatty?” Tallia asked with a raised eyebrow; her posse of Barbie dolls standing behind her.

Katie looked down and didn’t reply. She could ignore her. She took another bite of her pizza and remained quiet, and Tallia was fuming.

Tallia reached out and shoved Katie. She wasn’t strong enough to do much, but Katie was certainly surprised, “Look at me when I am talking to you, l**d.”

Katie was trembling as she met Tallia’s angry blue eyes, “Next time you get me in trouble you will pay. It’s not my fault the sight of you makes my eyes burn!”

Katie looked back at her food and prayed that Tallia would leave her alone. Thankfully she walked away and left Katie to her lunch.



“Yeah. They didn’t like me. She said if I got her in trouble again I would pay.” Katie said with fright in her voice.

“It wasn’t your fault.” The girl said sympathetically.

Katie nodded, “Yeah, well, they didn’t think so.”

“Did they get in trouble again?”

Katie bit her lip as the awful memories came back to her again, “Yeah, she got in trouble again.”



Katie was in world Geography and she at her desk. The teacher was pairing them off to draw out a map of the crossroads region.

“Katie and Tallia.” The teacher said.

“Mrs. Raline, you can’t do that!” Tallia immediately protested and stood up.

“I can do what I wish.” The teacher said, “And you are working with Katie.”

“That is so unfair! Why do I have to work with her?” Tallia whined again anyways.

“Your right, life is unfair. That is why you will be doing the problems on page 243 for homework, too.” The teacher said.

Tallia shot Katie a glare, and Katie immediately felt her stomach churn.


“I think it’s the teacher’s fault. So you and Talia were sent into the hallway to work?” The girl said with a melodic voice, and Katie just shrugged.

“She didn’t know how far Tallia would go.” Katie said faintly, pulling her knees up to her chest as she tried not to relive the moment again; once was plenty.



“Please, Tallia. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.” Katie rose her arm to block Tallia from taking another blow to her face. She could feel her cheekbone swelling, and she could feel the blood coming down from her nose. Her eyes were heavy with tears as the pain flew through her body.

“Well, then leave here and never come back.” Tallia whispered malignly as she swung again, this time hitting Katie her large stomach.

Katie didn’t like to fight or get in trouble. She took a few steps backwards, tears now rolling down her cheeks. She was unaware of how close to the staircase she had gotten.

“I will if you just stop!” Katie pleaded.

“No, you are going to pay!” Tallia said inches away from her face. Tallia then shoved Katie as hard as she could. Katie could not catch her balance before she fell backwards down the stairs.



“I-it hurt so badly.” Katie said as she cried into her knees.

“It’s fine. The pain will be gone forever.” The girl promised.

There was a pause, and then Katie began to quake.

“I-I feel it leaving! I feel my dreams going away. I don’t want to go. They never came true. I never got to show the world-“ Katie said with fright in her big, chocolate brown eyes.

The girl shushed her, “Don’t worry. You have to trust it. You are going to a better place.”

“My dreams! Will they ever come true?” Katie asked.

The girl shook her head, and then elaborated as she saw Katie’s grief struck face, “But don’t worry. You will get new dreams.”

Katie still didn’t look convinced, but nodded, “Will they come true?”

The girl shrugged, “That isn’t up to me. You just have to trust that they will… and go with it.”

Katie let out another whimper and sob, “I-I am slipping away.”

The girl smiled and touched Katie’s shoulder, “Let yourself go. You will like it much more.”

Suddenly there was a loud bell. Katie looked around frantically. As she realized it was the passing period bell, she relaxed and then smiled. With that she vanished before the girl’s eyes. Slowly, the girl got up and gripped the railing. She floated down the stairs. A girl lay motionless at the bottom of the stairs. The girl let out a sigh as she left to help another fragile soul that fell into the arms of fate.