Fat Chances

by J. S. Wilsoncroft

  I stared at Mr. Stiles’ bald head and black rimmed glasses as he continued to ramble on about how important education was. Don’t get me wrong, education was important to me, too. I’ve always achieved a grade point average of 3.5, but sitting here in the musky smelling auditorium with my throbbing knee, I really didn’t care about education or anything else except going home and sitting on the couch with an ice pack and maybe a bowl of ice cream. Ice cream sometimes made me feel better.

  “As you all know, next week is health and fitness week. We have a man educated in health and fitness here with us today to talk about how important it is to eat right and exercise.” I rolled my eyes when he emphasized the word educated. “So let’s give a warm welcome to Mr. Cory Shields.” Mr. Stiles clapped his hands as he turned toward the edge of the stage. The bright stage light turned to a tall dark man as he walked toward the center of the stage.

  “Uhh!” I heard two loud gasps, mine and Molly’s. Although hers was of sheer excitement, mine was of sheer terror. Oh dear, sweet Jesus, just take me now. I slid into my seat, hoping that he wouldn’t see me.

  “Good afternoon, guys and gals. My name is Cory Shields and I am the new fitness instructor down at the Civic Center. First, I would like to tell you folks a little about myself. I am 22 years old and originally from Florida. I graduated from Penn State University with a degree in nutritional science. When I first started college I wanted to major in journalism, but as you can see I changed my mind.” He laughed lightheartedly while the audience remained quiet. “I didn’t always used to have this body. It took a lot of hard work and dedication to create these bad boys,” he said, smiling as he flexed his biceps. Molly, along with a few other girls, began to giggle.

  My heart raced as I listened to his deep yet soft voice. I watched as he walked back and forth across the stage, in his light blue jeans and a navy blue sweater that fit him perfectly. His thick, dark hair feathered at the sides and his chocolate brown eyes squinting every time he smiled at the audience. My heart fluttered when I saw how close his lips were to the microphone as he spoke, reminding me of the kisses we had shared.

  I slid further into my seat as he walked across the stage, closer to where I was sitting. I suddenly wished now that I had gone to the nurse’s office instead of coming here. Oh God, could this day get any worse? I closed my eyes and silently prayed. Then my eyes shot open when an idea popped into my head. I can still slip out of here and go the nurse’s office. After all, I had a good excuse—a swollen knee.

  I waited until Cory faced the opposite direction of the stage to make my escape. I winced when I stood up on my feet. My knee was much worse than I thought.

  “Can I get a volunteer to come up here and be my sidekick?” Cory announced just as I started up the aisle.

  I heard Molly’s big mouth screaming, “ME! ME! PICK ME!” My knee throbbed like a bad toothache as I tried to walk as quickly as possible toward the exit. I was just a few feet from the door when I heard him holler.

  “You? The girl in the aisle! Would you care to join me?” I stopped dead cold as shivers went up spine. OH GOD! I realized then that he was talking to me and I could feel all eyes staring at me. I froze in the middle of the aisle. I wanted to run, but I was pretty sure that I would just look like an ass with a gimpy leg. A couple of girls snickered as I slowly turned around to face Cory.

  He was standing on the stage with a handsome smile on his face, waving for me to join him. “Come on up. I promise I won’t bite,” he chuckled lightheartedly as a few of the girls laughed at his remark. I glanced over at Molly and her mouth was hanging open, glaring.

  I wanted to die. I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me right then, but I didn’t have that kind of luck. The only luck that I was capable of having was a lifetime of humiliation.

  I slowly limped back down the carpeted aisle toward the wooden steps that were located on the side stage. Cory was standing on the second step waiting to help me.

  “Annie!” he said, surprised. I glared at him, slapping his hand away from me. Cory’s smile quickly faded as he looked at me confused. I could feel my face getting hot when I caught him staring at my knee.

  He gently grabbed my elbow and guides me up the steps, like I was an invalid. We both walked quietly to the center of the stage where there was a long table set up. I could feel his eyes staring at me as I kept mine trained on the floor. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead as the audience quietly watched. Sensing my nervousness, Cory chuckled then patted my shoulder and turned to the audience.

  My legs shook as I glanced down at the table, avoiding the audience’s eyes. On the table were different kinds of fruits and vegetables displayed in perfect order, along with a pile of pamphlets. Cory waved his arm out toward the audience. “Guys and girls, this is Annie. She is my new assistant for the day,” Cory said my name with such pride that it made me blush. Light laughter came from the audience.

  “Annie, do you like to eat fruit?” Cory turned to me. I nearly choked when he asked me this.

  “SHE EATS ANYTHING!” A male voice hollered from the crowd, followed by a roar of laughter that echoed through the auditorium. Tears instantly sprang to my eyes as I turned away from them.

  “Who said that?” Cory yelled. I didn’t have to see the angry look on his face, I could tell by his voice that he was pissed. A few people pointed their fingers at one of the guys sitting in the third row back. I peeked over my shoulder to see who it was. Ugh! It was Chris Hurd. I didn’t care much for Chris. Personally, I always thought that he had identity issues. You know the type, white dude who wants to be a rapper, wearing baggy jeans that hung below the crack of his ass, walking around swinging his arms like an ape. He also considered himself the class clown and sadly, he held the title respectably since the third grade.

  The boy needed to grow up.

  “What’s your name?” Cory was still agitated. I turned my head to stare at the pamphlets that were scattered perfectly on the table. I didn’t want anyone to see my mortified face.

  “Name’s Chris, dude,” He laughed and so did a few of his friends.

  “Well Chris, you can be my other volunteer.” My head snapped in Cory’s direction. Was he serious? I wanted to walk off the stage right then, but I couldn’t. My feet felt like they were frozen to the floor. I was already humiliated enough, having Chris up here beside me was only going to make it worse.

  The crowd started roaring with laughter as Chris stood up and walked toward the stage, swaying his arms back and forth like a damned ape, hooting and hollering. “Yo, whass up?” He hollered at the audience and he knuckle punched a few younger classmates sitting in the front row.

  He came strutting up onto the stage with his pants hanging half way down his ass, exposing what I assumed were once white underwear. Now they were a gross grey color.

  I prayed silently, “Please let him trip on his pants. Please. Please.” Chris stood beside me, snickering. Cory let out a huff then put his arm around Chris’s shoulder.

  “Chris, my man. You da man, right?” Cory mocked.

  Chris leaned his head back and laugh, “Yeah, I da man! Bring. It. On,” he hollered, raising his hands in the air. The whole student body cheered him on like he was some kind of celebrity. It made me want to puke. Cory let out a short laugh.

  “Well, I have a job for you, then. Your job is to run around this auditorium fifteen times and then come up on stage and tell us how you feel,” Cory said, moving his hand in a circular motion. I looked up to see Cory smiling at me. A small smile spread across my face. I liked this idea very much.

  “What? Are you kidding me?” Chris asked. I chuckled quietly under my breath as I listened to him whine. Who was the tough guy now?

  “No, I’m not kidding. I want to demonstrate how a young, energetic man like yourself can handle strenuous exercise. Unless ... you’re not up for the challenge?” Cory asked. Even though my knee was aching terribly and I was embarrassed as hell standing up here in front of everyone, I
was enjoying the look on Chris’s face as Cory pressured him into running fifteen laps around the auditorium. I kept praying and hoping that he tripped and fell flat on his face. It would serve him right and make my day.

  “And if I pass this test with flying colors? What will I get?” Chris asked sarcastically. Cory tilted his head back and laughed. He had a cute laugh, not too loud and not too soft.

  “Well, if having the satisfaction of knowing that you did it isn’t enough for you, then you can have some of the fresh fruit and vegetables that’s here on the table,” Cory replied, then pointed to the table beside me. I felt my heart skip a beat when he glanced over and winked at me.

  “Deal,” Chris agreed. I wanted so badly to wipe that cocky grin off his face as he walked over to the far right corner of the stage, waving his arms about and acting all cool like he was the shit. The audience continued to laugh. Hell, even I couldn’t help but laugh as he stood in the far corner, stretching his arms and legs, even cracking his neck a few times. After a few seconds of warming up, he bent down on one knee, pressed his fingers to the floor, and waited for his cue. “Hey, is there a time limit?” Chris hollered.

  “Yeah, you got fifteen minutes. I’ll set my stop watch, starting ... right ... NOW!” Then Chris took off at full speed as the audience went wild, cheering him on. I just watched in awe. Not because of how stupid everybody was, but because Cory was staring at me. My face grew warm as did the rest of my body. Of course, the bright stage light beaming down on me like the sun didn’t make matters much, causing sweat to trickle down the middle of my back. UGH!

  It only took Cory two strides and he was standing directly in front of me as my heart thumped in my ears. For a second, I couldn’t move or breathe. I just stared at his new, white sneakers, trying to avoid eye contact. But I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to hold back for too long. I sucked in a deep breath, slowly moving my gaze from his sneakers, to his legs. A hard lump formed in my throat when I noticed the bulge in his pants. I quickly averted my eyes to his chest. He was breathing heavy … just as I was. I hesitated for a moment to stare at his Adam’s apple. I was afraid to look into his eyes, afraid that I would forget where I was and who he was. The only thing I could think about was how his lips felt on mine. How warm and moist they were. How he tenderly wrapped his arms around my waist.

  “Annie?” He breathed. His voice brought me out of my trance. “What?”

  “Here,” he laughed, then grabbed my wrist, turning it over then dropped his stop watch in the palm of my hand. “Keep an eye on the timer, because I’m pretty certain our bad boy isn’t getting any fruit.” He laughed lightly. His dark brown eyes gleamed as he smiled at me.

  “Okay,” I whispered as I gazed into his eyes. Once again, I could feel myself getting lost in them. He laughed again then turned toward the audience.

  While Cory continued to talk to the crowd about eating fresh fruits and raw vegetables, I kept my eye on the stop watch and Chris. Please, make him fall. Fall, damn it!

  “Can anyone here name one of the healthiest fruits there is to eat?” I knew the answer, but I wasn’t about to volunteer. I glanced at the audience. No one was raising their hands. Then Cory turned to me. “Do you know?” He smiled warmly showing his perfect white teeth. It nearly took my breath away.

  “Watermelon?”

  “Yes, that’s right, watermelon is healthy,” he repeated loudly to the audience and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, hugging me. The scent of his cologne wafted around me, making my head feel woozy.

  “Watermelon is very good for us and does anyone know why?” He didn’t even bother to look at the crowd. Instead, he turned to look at me, his face inches from mine. I swallowed another hard lump in my throat, “It contains 92% natural water?” I wasn’t sure if that was the right answer, but I remembered reading it in one of Molly’s health magazines that she just bought last week.

  “Yes, you’re right and we all know that water is the healthiest drink for you.” Cory gave me one quick squeeze against his chest before letting go. Then he grabbed a pamphlet and held it in the air. Just then the stop watch timer started beeping. Chris’s time was up. I was too busy ogling Cory that I had lost track of how many laps Chris had made.

  “Tsk Tsk Tsk. Chris ... my man. What happened to you?” Cory teased and the audience roared with laughter as Chris slowly walked up to the front of the stage. He bent over and placed his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath as the audience continued to laugh and so did I. It was nice seeing someone else being laughed at for a change.

  I stood back at the far edge of the stage as Cory invited everyone to take a pamphlet and try some fruit and vegetables. I watched as it was mostly the girls who came running onto the stage, Molly included. Now was the perfect time for me to sneak out and head to the nurse’s station while Cory was busy talking to a group of pretty, skinny girls.

  I slowly limped backward until I could feel the stage curtains against my back, then I quickly turned and walked toward the exit door that was located at the far end of the stage.

  “Where are you going?”

  I gasped when I heard Cory’s voice behind me. “To the nurse’s office,” I said bluntly, not bothering to turn around. I started to push the door open, but he blocked it with his arm.

  “Let me see,” he said in a stern voice. I turned around, glaring at him. Did he really think that I was going to let him look at me knee? But before I could open my mouth to speak, he was down on one knee, gently touching my leg.

  “UGH!” I groaned, jerking my knee away from his hand. The pain was unbearable to the touch. I clenched my teeth to keep from groaning again.

  “I think you need to go to the emergency room and have it checked out. You might have cracked your knee cap. There may be fluid building around it. His eyebrows knit together as he looked up at me.

  “So, what? You’re a doctor now too? Let me guess, a nutritionist, a Zumba instructor and a doctor? Jack of all trades, master of none, right?” The sarcasm was thick in my voice.

  “You are absolutely right, but please don’t tell anyone,” Cory replied, laughing. His eyes gleamed when he put his fingers to his lips, swearing silence. I wanted to be mad at him for taking advantage of me, for stealing my first kiss without asking me, but his smoldering eyes and gorgeous smile was making it too damned hard.

  “What the hell is all this?” Molly hollered.

  And I couldn’t help but wonder, too.

  Chapter 3

  I could only imagine how it looked in Molly’s eyes when she saw Cory kneeled on the floor beside me with his hand on my leg.

  “Are you two deaf? What the hell is going on here?” She spoke through clenched teeth, glaring at the both of us with her piercing blue eyes. Cory looked at me, raising his thick dark eyebrows, then turned to Molly. I held my breath, waiting and wondering what he was going to say to her.

  “Uh … what’s your name … it’s Molly, right?” Cory asked sheepishly. Both of our mouth’s dropped. Molly was appalled that he didn’t remember her name. I, on the other hand was shocked. Although, I had to admit it was kind of funny. I had to force my lips together to keep from laughing.

  “Yessss! It’s Molly,” she hissed with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. Her cotton candy pink lips were curled back into a snarl. Cory stood up, so that they were face to face. He didn’t have to bend his neck as much to look at her like he did with me, Miss Shorty.

  Cory didn’t notice or seemed too bothered by the fact that she looked as if she was ready to punch him in the face. And I think that pissed her off even more. She tilted her head to glance past Cory, but I quickly turned my head and looked out the small glass window in the door. My mind was racing as quickly as my heart as I waited to hear what Cory was going to say to her.

  If she ever found out that he kissed me ... Oh my God! Our kiss! Please don’t tell her about our kiss. Please, or we’ll both be chopped liver. My heart thumped wildly within my chest as I tried to shift
my weight onto both feet. My good leg was starting to go numb. I gasped when my knee nearly gave out from under me. I quickly grabbed hold of the door for support. Cory turned to look at me, giving me another worried look. Then he turned back to face Molly. I could have sworn that I saw smoke rolling from her ears. She was livid. I could see that she didn’t like Cory looking at me or giving me any kind of attention at all.

  “Listen, your sister needs to go to the hospital. I think she may have fractured her knee cap.” He was genuinely concerned as he bent down and gently touched my knee again. I flinched. Not because of the pain, but from the wave of heat that rushed through my body as he kept his hand on my knee. My face was on fire. I was afraid to look at Molly for fear that she would suspect something.

  “Ohhh!” Her mouth formed a perfect ‘O’ when she spoke. “Well, then, I guess I should take her to the hospital,” she said with as much enthusiasm as I felt about going to the Zumba class. I shook my head in disbelief. Molly walked over to me and gently put her arm around my shoulder, doting on me like she was a loving, caring sister. But I knew better. It was all just an act to impress Cory. Yep, my twin sister Molly … she deserves the Sister of the Year award, I thought sarcastically. Someone, give that girl a medal or better yet a big, fat double chocolate chip cookie so that she would gain back the ‘ten’ pounds that she lost. I looked into Cory’s curious eyes and flushed when I saw that he was staring back at me. A tiny smile started to curl in one corner of his mouth when he saw my cheeks turning red.

  “I can take her ...” Cory volunteered, but Molly quickly interrupted him.

  “NO! I mean…we can both take her, can’t we?” she asked Cory in her sweet, innocent voice as she leaned toward him. I shot a quick glance at Molly. She kept glancing back and forth between the two of us and then at Cory’s hand that was still resting on my knee. I quickly snapped my leg away from Cory’s hand as he chuckled lightly.