Chapter 5

The friends walked through the crowded mall with Gabby leading the way. They were going to get new clothes for Chelsea - clothes that actually fit her. She knew she was going to be getting bigger clothes, and that was hard enough to accept, but she was caught off guard when she realized Gabby was leading her into a plus-size store. Chelsea stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed this.

“Hey, come on,” Gabby insisted once she realized her friend had stopped trailing her. “It’s not that big of a deal. Besides, this place is pretty upscale.”

Chelsea didn’t budge.

“Look,” said Gabby, pulling Chelsea aside and speaking low, “This is how it’s gonna be if you’re serious about staying fat and getting on with your life. Are you afraid that people are gonna see you in the plus-size store and wonder why you‘re in there? Because let’s be honest, Chelsea, that won’t happen. You are going to fit right in. You’ve got to realize that when people see you, they’re not gonna know you were skinny before. They’re just gonna see a fat girl. That’s what we are now. If it was fat girls on one side of the room, skinny chicks on the other, we’d be herded over with the other fatties. They are our peers now. And this is where girls like us get our clothes.”

Chelsea still looked none too pleased about going into the plus-size store. But she must have seen Gabby’s point because she begrudgingly walked passed her friend and into the store.

She looked around as she wandered through the racks of plus-sized clothes. She couldn’t believe it had come to this. Before long a saleswoman approached the two to see if they needed any help.

“Actually, yes,” said Gabby. “My friend here needs to get her measurements taken.”

“Sure, just wait over there in the fitting room and I’ll be right with you,” the saleswoman said, pointing to a room in the back of the store.

The friends started their walk to the back room, and once they were out of earshot of the saleswoman, Chelsea punched Gabby in the arm.

“Why did you say that? I don’t want to get fitted here.”

“Relax, Chelsea,” Gabby said reassuringly. “This will be good for you. You need to get clothes that fit you right for a change. And besides, now somebody other than the two of us will know how big you really are. You’ll see it’s not the end of the world for other people to know the truth. I thought you were going to accept your body now.”

“Ugh, fine,” Chelsea said. She didn’t want to do this, but it needed to be done.

The woman finally joined the two in the room after what seemed like forever. Chelsea noticed that she had the dreaded measuring tape in her hand.

“Okay, Miss,” the cheery woman said. “You don’t need to be naked but it’s recommended you get down to your undergarments for an accurate measurement.”

This was going to be a nightmare.