'Hey, Mom the dinner is great.' I said.
I had just had my second helping of steak, mashed potatoes, and fried okra.

'Can I have more mashed potatoes?' I asked.
My mother looked warily at me, but grabbed my plate and slapped on more potatoes.
When I finished eating, I went to my room to grab my pajamas then walked to the bathroom to take a shower. I stared at my body in the full length. I was 200 pounds of random jelly. I had enough rolls to feed an army, hideous love handles, and the fattest and ugliest thighs known to man. And I continue to grow. Eating is like a habit to me now. I don't know how it happened, but these days I barely notice what I eat anymore. I just grab it, eat it, and keep eating until my pant's button threatens to pop. I was fat. I sighed and jiggled my way into the shower.

I woke up the next morning to the smell of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. I looked at my alarm clock and it was 7:01 a.m.! I jumped out of my bed and ran to the bathroom. I speed-brushed my teeth and washed my face and just threw my hair into a ponytail then I dashed down the stairs.

'Mornin' mom.' I said.

'Good morning, Honey.' My mother replied.

I grabbed 3 pancakes from the stack my mom made, 4 pieces of bacon, and I piled on the eggs. I then proceeded to sit and scarf down my food. Afterwards, I ran back to my room. When I got there, I threw on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. I put on some sandals, grabbed my stuff and sprinted out the door.

'Bye, Mom!' I yelled.

I didn't wait for a reply; I just kept running to my bus stop. It was around 8:15 a.m. when I got there.

'Hey, Miranda.' My best friend Katie greeted me.

'Hey, do you have your algebra homework?' I asked her.

'Yeah, here.'
She started to dig through her backpack. While she did that, I grabbed a snickers 'mini' bar out of my purse.

While I was munching on the snickers, I copied her homework.

'Hey, Fat Chick.' A voice said behind me.
Suddenly a shadow appeared over me. I didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.

'That isn't my name Fat head' I said to the voice.

'That isn't my name either.' The voice said.
I turned around.

'OK, Jake.' I started. 'Let's make a deal. You don't call me Fat chick, and I don't call you Fat head. How about that?'

'Fine, Big Butt.' He cackled.
I just sighed and finished copying answers.

When the bus pulled up in front of the school, I got my stuff together. Katie and I got off of the bus and walked into school together.
Katie and I always walked to our lockers together, which were right next to each other, and we walked to first period together. We didn't have our first four classes together, but the classes we had for first period were right next to each other.

I was on my way into my classroom, when Katie came and tapped me on the shoulder.

'Hey, Katie, what's up?' I asked.

'You don't deserve to be called names.' she said. 'And you shouldn't try to make a deal with that jerk to stop calling you names. You deserve much more than that.'

She quickly turned away and walked to class. I didn't even say anything. I just stood there with a surprised look on my face.

Through all of my classes, I thought about what Katie had said. I didn't see her again until lunch. I didn't bring up what she said or what happened, so we didn't talk about it. We just talked like nothing happened.

'Did you hear about the musical that's coming up?' I prompted Katie.

'Yeah.' She smiled. 'Are you thinking of trying out?'

'Big Butt shouldn't be thinking of trying out for anything other than an eating contest.'

'Jake, shut up.' Katie told him.

'It's okay, Kate. I got it.' I said angrily.

'Uh-oh. Fat chick's angry.' Jake smirked.

'What are you gonna do? Sit on me?' he laughed out loud.
I felt like crying and running away, but then I remembered what Katie told me earlier.

'SHUT UP, JAKE!' I yelled.
He stopped laughing, and just about everyone in the cafeteria shut up, too.

I turned to Katie.

'You're right. I don't deserve this.'
Then I turned back to Jake, looked him in his eyes, and spoke loud enough for the entire cafeteria to hear.

'I don't deserve to be called 'Fat chick' because that isn't my name and it isn't a representation of my character.' I was nervous, but I just spoke my mind.

'You don't even know me like that. You're just making fun of me because I don't look like 'normal' people do.' I poked him in the chest and he stumbled back a step. 'So what if I have different eating habits than you and I'm a little thicker?'

'What I eat, and how I look to you has NOTHING to do with who I really am. I may not eat as healthily as I should, but at least I have sense enough to look at someone for who they are and not what they eat.' I continued. 'Besides, you aren't so hot yourself.'

I sat back in my chair and confidently grabbed my muffin. Jake stood there for a second with an embarrassed look on his face, then turned and left the cafeteria.

I heard a few people applauding around the cafeteria and it made me feel good; like I was finally heard.

'You were awesome.' Katie whispered to me.
Then that's when I felt great. I sat up straight and said to Katie, 'Thanks, and I think I will try out for the musical because I believe that everyone and anyone should be able to do what they like to do without being constantly criticized by others.'

So I got up and walked, with my head held high, and I wrote my name on the try-out sheet on the information board, then I walked back to my seat like I was Queen of The World. I was finally heard.