Rosie was delighted when Constance returned from the wedding, eager to keep overeating. She didn’t have any trouble pushing Constance over the 250-pound mark. At the same time, concentrating so much on plumping up her friend made Rosie lose some weight, getting her close to 200 pounds again.
For the first time, there was a visible weight difference between the two friends in favor of Rosie. It was a new experience for her to not be the fat friend anymore. She enjoyed how confident it made her to stand beside Constance and feel somewhat small. It was even more exciting when her friends let her participate in gossiping about Constance’s size. She felt like she was finally able to be one of the girls, all thanks to pushing Constance to fatten herself up.
Her newfound confidence made Rosie behave in ways she had never before. Her clothing choices became more stylish and revealing. Getting many compliments for those changes only made her crave more praise by posting pictures of herself on social media. As much fun as eating out with Constance was, Rosie found that her food cravings decreased as she climbed the social ladder.
All those events culminated in Rosie finally working up the courage to ask out her long-time crush. She felt better than ever when she approached him and asked for a date.
But it all came crashing down when he looked at her in disgust.
“Yeah, no thanks, I’ll pass. I know you’ve recently started believing that you are quite the catch. But only because there is someone fatter than you on campus doesn’t change the fact that you are still a fat pig. I wouldn’t be caught dead dating someone like you.”
Just like that, Rosie’s confidence was shattered again.
***
When Constance found Rosie in the corner of the cafeteria, she could tell that Rosie had been crying.
“Oh, Rosie. What happened?” Constance asked and sat beside her friend.
Rosie told her about her harsh rejection and broke out in tears again. Constance held her as another wave of sadness rolled over Rosie.
“I’m so sorry for what I have done to you,” Rosie said when she regained her composure and wiped the tears off her face.
“What do you mean? You haven’t done anything bad,” Constance said, confused about where the conversation was going.
“Yes, I did,” Rosie replied, “when I saw how much you enjoyed food, I pushed you to overeat and get fat. Seeing you destroy your figure felt good, and I wanted you to get bigger than me. All just because I wanted to finally feel like the skinny friend.”
“Rosie, it is not your fault that I got fat. I realized how much good food the world offers and indulged myself,” Constance reassured her friend.
“Really? Then what would you call my daily messages to push you to grab some snacks? Often I didn’t even eat the snacks myself. I just messaged you to get you to push more calories into your body. All while dreaming about how much wider you would get and how small I would look next to you. I used you to make myself feel better, and for that, I am sorry.”
Constance didn’t know how to respond.
She always thought Rosie wanted a partner in crime just as gluttonous as her. But hearing her confession, Constance realized that she indeed had been used. She felt a whirlwind of emotions but had to admit that it somehow didn’t feel as bad as one would expect. A part of her enjoyed the thought that she had just been a means for someone to improve their life. Taken advantage of and radically changed for someone else’s enjoyment. Treated like her life wasn’t worth anything and was only good to make others feel better.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Rosie looked at her with a determined look.
“But this all ends today. I will stop letting food run my life and not depend on dragging others down to feel better about myself. I’m joining a gym tomorrow and losing all that extra weight. You should join me! We’ll get you in shape and restore your social standing.”
Constance looked at her friend incredulously. “But Rosie, I don’t want to lose any weight! Even if you took advantage of me and pushed me to overeat, I love my life how it is now. I feel better than ever and want to continue eating whatever I want.”
“You really want this?” Rosie asked and looked disappointed when Constance nodded. “In this case, I think keeping our distance for a while is best. I can’t go out to eat with you anymore. There would be too many temptations.”
Rosie got on her feet and looked down at Constance, full of pity.
“I’m sorry, Constance.”
As Rosie left, Constance felt an emptiness she had hoped never to feel again.