Read Online Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Randa Abdel-Fattah
Ads: Link
no questions asked. I could get away with telling them I’m going out with my girlfriends and meet up with my boyfriend without any problem. But it has nothing to do with them.”
“My parents would probably freak out if I told them I was going out with a guy,” Eileen says. “They can be pretty strict about things like that. I suppose, though, if he was a good Japanese boy with plenty of culture and the brains of a nuclear scientist they’d welcome him with open arms.”
“My mum would be happy if I went out with anyone, period,” Simone says. “She’s just dying for me to have a boyfriend and be normal , at least that’s how she puts it.”
“So, Amal, are you happy just being friends with Adam, then?” Eileen asks.
“Oh yeah! But this is the tricky part. See, I’m happy just being close friends and drooling over him without anything actually happening. But I want to be his best female friend. Do you get me? I want to know he confides in me and talks to me and looks out for my opinion more than any other girl. That would be the best. The physical stuff I’ll imagine!”
They giggle at me for being a nerd on the outside and a devil on the inside. Simone and I are discussing whether Josh should use less hair gel when Eileen hisses at us to shut up as Adam is approaching. Before Simone has time to push her carrots under her bag (she hates people knowing she’s on a diet), Adam is in front of us carrying three textbooks, as usual.
“Amal, what’s going on with this question about determining a molecular formula for a hydrocarbon?”
“Do you ever not study?” I say, as I get up off the ground and have a look at the page he’s referring to.
“Yeah, don’t you take a break?” Eileen adds. “Food? Sport? Fresh air? It’s extremely unhealthy to subject your mind and body to round-the-clock academia.”
“I don’t have time for breaks.”
“That’s the whole point of a break. When you’ve got no time, you need a break.”
He pauses and looks at her slowly. “You should do a chocolate commercial with that line.”
Eileen and Simone look at each other and let out startled laughs.
“So you do joke?” Simone says.
“No,” he answers, his mouth twitching as he turns to look at the page.
“Oof! This book is heavy! How about you sit down with us? At least we’ll be comfortable while you waste my lunch time on chem.” I hold my breath for his answer and avoid eye contact with Eileen and Simone.
“OK,” he says. “Just as long as Eileen stops with the counsellor advice and Simone offers me a carrot.”
“Ugh! I feel like a disgusting slob!” Tia groans, clutching her non-existent stomach and sneaking a look at Simone as we stand around class waiting for our Biology teacher to arrive. “I ate a whole sandwich. I feel so bloated. I could just kill myself from guilt!”
“You don’t look fat!” Claire reassures her.
“Yeah, you look gorgeous,” Rita gushes.
Tia flips her long, shiny jet-black hair to the side and flashes them a Colgate smile.
“No, honest, girls. Feel this pot. Look.” She lifts up her shirt to reveal a stomach as flat as a cutting board. “What do you think, Simone?”
Simone looks horrified and stands with her mouth gaping open, her eyes fixed on Tia’s stomach. The absence of even one millimetre of fat has taken the wind out of her.
“You’re right, Tia,” I say in a sickly-sweet tone. She darts a lethal look at me, her eyes narrowing as they scan me up and down.
“ Excuse me?”
“You’ve put on weight. You should watch your figure. Have you been eating a lot of salt lately? Your face is all puffed up. My pregnant aunt has a good water-retention remedy. Would you like me to get the name for you?”
She sneers at me and I turn away to take a seat.
Later in class, she gets me back.
“I just don’t know what I’d do without my long hair!” she says to Claire and Rita, loud enough for us to hear. “I mean, what’s a woman without
“My parents would probably freak out if I told them I was going out with a guy,” Eileen says. “They can be pretty strict about things like that. I suppose, though, if he was a good Japanese boy with plenty of culture and the brains of a nuclear scientist they’d welcome him with open arms.”
“My mum would be happy if I went out with anyone, period,” Simone says. “She’s just dying for me to have a boyfriend and be normal , at least that’s how she puts it.”
“So, Amal, are you happy just being friends with Adam, then?” Eileen asks.
“Oh yeah! But this is the tricky part. See, I’m happy just being close friends and drooling over him without anything actually happening. But I want to be his best female friend. Do you get me? I want to know he confides in me and talks to me and looks out for my opinion more than any other girl. That would be the best. The physical stuff I’ll imagine!”
They giggle at me for being a nerd on the outside and a devil on the inside. Simone and I are discussing whether Josh should use less hair gel when Eileen hisses at us to shut up as Adam is approaching. Before Simone has time to push her carrots under her bag (she hates people knowing she’s on a diet), Adam is in front of us carrying three textbooks, as usual.
“Amal, what’s going on with this question about determining a molecular formula for a hydrocarbon?”
“Do you ever not study?” I say, as I get up off the ground and have a look at the page he’s referring to.
“Yeah, don’t you take a break?” Eileen adds. “Food? Sport? Fresh air? It’s extremely unhealthy to subject your mind and body to round-the-clock academia.”
“I don’t have time for breaks.”
“That’s the whole point of a break. When you’ve got no time, you need a break.”
He pauses and looks at her slowly. “You should do a chocolate commercial with that line.”
Eileen and Simone look at each other and let out startled laughs.
“So you do joke?” Simone says.
“No,” he answers, his mouth twitching as he turns to look at the page.
“Oof! This book is heavy! How about you sit down with us? At least we’ll be comfortable while you waste my lunch time on chem.” I hold my breath for his answer and avoid eye contact with Eileen and Simone.
“OK,” he says. “Just as long as Eileen stops with the counsellor advice and Simone offers me a carrot.”
“Ugh! I feel like a disgusting slob!” Tia groans, clutching her non-existent stomach and sneaking a look at Simone as we stand around class waiting for our Biology teacher to arrive. “I ate a whole sandwich. I feel so bloated. I could just kill myself from guilt!”
“You don’t look fat!” Claire reassures her.
“Yeah, you look gorgeous,” Rita gushes.
Tia flips her long, shiny jet-black hair to the side and flashes them a Colgate smile.
“No, honest, girls. Feel this pot. Look.” She lifts up her shirt to reveal a stomach as flat as a cutting board. “What do you think, Simone?”
Simone looks horrified and stands with her mouth gaping open, her eyes fixed on Tia’s stomach. The absence of even one millimetre of fat has taken the wind out of her.
“You’re right, Tia,” I say in a sickly-sweet tone. She darts a lethal look at me, her eyes narrowing as they scan me up and down.
“ Excuse me?”
“You’ve put on weight. You should watch your figure. Have you been eating a lot of salt lately? Your face is all puffed up. My pregnant aunt has a good water-retention remedy. Would you like me to get the name for you?”
She sneers at me and I turn away to take a seat.
Later in class, she gets me back.
“I just don’t know what I’d do without my long hair!” she says to Claire and Rita, loud enough for us to hear. “I mean, what’s a woman without
Similar Books
