Life as a Fat Girl

It was the X grade and ongoing was the fave subject of most pig tailed girls and some geeky guys - Biology. Our Bio mam was discussing the various illnesses caused due to deficiency or abundance of various vitamins, minerals and growth hormones. You know the list… Scurvy….. bow legs….. anaemia….. night blindness…. thyroid…. Elephantiasis…. At this point all the eyes turned towards me….

Didn’t I introduce myself?? Now you know anyway.

I’m the fat girl. There are many fat girls in every class. But I was The Fat Girl. I was very lucky to have been tall too, so it added to the general largeness. (I was dominating too – how scary!!! And to top that I have some shrill voice. I can actually crack china.)

Of course our beloved Bio mam went on to explain how I was no where near being considered for the elephantiasis case. But that didn’t seem to convince my classmates. I used to turn heads in class even for obesity u know. Once there was some blood donation drive in our school and they turned and looked at me for that too. Dumbasses think I’m fat because I’ve too much blood!! And to top it all I faint every time I’m pricked for a blood test. So I was some fat girl with too much blood who was selfish about giving away even a drop.

And once in X grade it so happened that I was trying to catch a friend, and we were running around the unused benches in the last. We used to have solid welded iron benches. And as my luck would have it I lost my balance and fell back on a bench….. And…. And it had to collapsed flat on the floor!!!! (we cant disappoint the class, can we??) It was one of the most humiliating momnets of my life. How was I to explain that!! I used to sit everyday on a bench of its kind, it never collapsed. After a couple of hours,only after a couple of hours of humiliation and wondering on my part, did a couple of guys tell me that the bench was already broken and that’s why it was propped back up and put in the last. Now that was a relief for me. But my class refused to believe it. And to this date, it seems to be the most memorable moment of X grade for all my classmates. When ever I meet some classmate after a long time, they still remind me of it.

You must be pitying me. Feeling sorry for me. You might see me as a fat girl sitting in a corner all by myself, shy, no friends….. Let me tell you, you couldn’t be more mistaken. I was in fact one of the most popular girls in my class. To this date I don’t think there’s even one student who doesn’t remember me. Because I was not just The Fat Girl, I was also The Girl. ( Not The Girl who captures hearts, I was fat remember. That was my friend Priyanka ) I was The Girl who took initiative. I was talented. Smart. Orator. Always the leader, prefect, etc(not by choice I swear. I swear on my cholestrol infested heart). I was everywhere. Sports. Arts. Debates. Quizes. Drama. Recitation!!! I had no inhibition. I participated in just simply everything and won in most. So how could i not be popular? And of course, i was fat.

But as I grew older, I also tucked in a bit. And then in XI grade I went trekking with my friend Priyanka and our guides teacher to the himalayas. ( This is material for another post ). Anyway, the rarefied air and in my case the rare concept of exercise helped lose a lot of weight. In fact I was looking almost normal.

So when I returned and walked towards my friends group, I was really hurt when no one waved and welcomed me after an absence of 20 days. The reason? They never recognized me. I was really very thrilled when I heard that!!! It was like the ultimate fat-girl revenge.

But of course I cudnt disappoint them for long. I gradually put on some of the kilos, but I never went back to the Fat Girl status. Wonder why? First of all because I didn’t put on all the weight I lost. But mainly because, all round me, my classmates were growing taller and filling out (some were even overflowing). So I was no longer The Fat Girl (when considered relatively to those around me). I comfortably settled into the overweight or plump girl status. But even then, I was the only one teased about the weight. I guess they got used to it. I used to feel bad initially.

At one point I was almost anorexic. I used to barely eat a meal once in 3 days, that too no carbohydrate, only fibre and protein. I eventually went down to slim, but then the sudden weight loss brought about typhoid fever and that was the end of dieting.

Even during my slim stage, I was teased about my weight!!! Its then that I realized, it's as natural for them as calling me by my name.

I’m fat again. Oops…. I mean plump. And I’m in one of my anorexic stages. When I’ve lost some weight, I shall post a photo. Until then, its Fat Girl signing off. (Oops again.... Plump Girl signing off).