She keep a lot to herself
because it’s difficult to
find people who understand!
……
Kathleen stare at the full size mirror that reflected the perfect image of her full body. She was wearing a purple jersey knot dress that hung to her tiny hips revealing her hourglass body shape better. She looked pale, thinner than she was a six months ago but she had got curves that made her look hot.
“What are you wondering kath?”, enquired Janice slipping onto her red tie waist shirt dress.
“No I was just thinking…. ahmmm don’t you guys think I have lost weight?!”, she questioned them unsurely.
“Ahmm…. yeah I think the same…. but it really doesn’t show a lot of difference to me?!”, claimed Janice.
“But I don’t think I’m worse than Laura”, stated Kathleen with a giggle. She was right Laura was the slimmest one among the trio.
“Kath, you won’t believe this. But I was just seventy seven pounds during my high school days”, Laura announced making the other two gasp at her comment.
“Yes, I tried all that I could but I was a thin, gawky adolescent back then. First I figured out a breakfast that was the right amount of calories for my age, gender and activity level, I learned it through internet and I would eat the food that would keep me going until lunchtime, and would go on with or without a small mid-morning snack.
I changed my pattern of eating to put on some weight before my mom would take me to a psychiatrist. My mom and dad thought that I was suffering from some sort of eating disorders but no, I wasn’t.
I kept the rest of the day as normal until that became routine. Then I changed lunch, I tried to eat something with the right amount of calories,? with good nutrition too, one that kept me going until dinner time and even at certain times, I tried whey. I then kept everything else the same for a few weeks until the new breakfast and lunch were part of my routine.
Finally I changed dinner, and then all day long I had the right amount of calories and great nutrition, and all designed by me! It was what I wanted to eat, not some bizarre plan from some websites. I made it work, I finally put on extra thirty pounds in two months.
They say new routines take three weeks to set in, but no, it was just a week for me to adapt to the change of food pattern and changing my diet a meal at a time rather than changing so much at once worked really well. It was the best weight gain program I ever did because I simply kept my new routines unless it was a special occasion or Friday nights.
So, finally at the end of high school, I was hundred and five pounds and now, I have a lost some pounds I hope, I can feel that”, she signed finishing up her story. Janice and Kathleen shook their heads puffing out.
“But it is really good,… like you have increased from just 7 7 pounds to 105….. I think I should try something out before my father see me like this”, exhaled Kathleen.
“Yes, you have to eat up girl…. like lot, really a lot”, affirmed Laura.
“What do you think Jay?”, Laura questioned her who was silent that all this time.
“The thing about this body, or any body, is that it belongs to the brain within. Whatever you do to the body, you do to the brain. Feelings will come from the senses. When try to put on or lose weight, it’s the brain that takes the final call.
Yet here’s the thing. Whatever you do to the brain you do to the body. If the brain does not sense that the body is loved, it starts to shut down the body, lowering the immune system. Think before you do something Kath, your decisions will change your body and the brain.
So be careful in your deeds to this body, be kind in your words, be generous with your loving eyes… love your body the way it is. Don’t stress it out, be careful with your body”, explained Janice and the other two blinked at her.
“Kath, did you understand any of this, on what she said right now”, Laura stare at Kathleen for an answer.
“No, not all at”, whispered Kathleen making Janice frown.
“Okay enough is enough. Let’s stop this conversation and head towards our classes before it’s too late”, grunted Janice and the girls giggled walking out of the room.
……
“So, this is what you are talking about”, Noah mumbled scanning the papers in hand. She meet him in the hallway after her first class for the morning.
“Mm, yes! Sign here and how much are you funding exactly?”, she asked him scribbling something down. Janice asked her to note down the names of the people who were ready to fund the mission.
“Seriously do I have to??”, he asks with a scoff.
“Of course! You have to. Tell me now, is it a ten thousand dollars or five thousand dollars?!”, kathleen jokes making Noah roll his eyes.
“Come on, I’m scholar student. I’ll fund a five hundred dollars, kath”, he implied and a thin line forms his face.
He was learning in Howard’s through scholarship. His dad was single parent who was struggling to save both their lives from debts. Noah had a troubled past and that horrible history never changed the person who he was now. Despite the horrible past was filled with struggles, he chose to be a good person.
Noah was a gentle soul that he’ll never hurt anyone intentionally, as a man he must have his pride which he did, he never wanted others to pity him. He is courageous, astute and willing to think before he acts. He has balance, perseverance and intelligence. Some may think him as bias, and the people think that he can’t possibly be all those things he wanted to be, as he had no money and not wealthy enough like other kids, yet he did all that he could.
He really worked hard in high school to get into Howard’s. He scored the highest marks and the university decided to sponsor him with a scholarship. And as he continued to work hard, he was promoted faster than the other kids at college.
Noah strongly believed that The natural duty of “mother” and “father” is God’s given task. Both should have to love, both should protect each other and their kids, yet they tasks are split because of the vulnerabilities that motherhood brings. But, Noah’s mom was the right opposite to the definition he held. She had multiple affairs behind his father’s back. And Noah never knew that these men were screwing his mom.
Those men who accompany her to her house, would at times beat Noah up brutally and ask him to get out of the house while they were fulfilling each other’s sensual desire. He would fear on hearing the sound of boots, he would start shaking in the fear of getting beaten up.
That poor boy will follow their order and would roam around empty streets, parks and even on rainy days his mother showed no pity. Shivering in cold and wind, he became stronger and stronger very day. He hated his mother for all that she did that made his life a living nightmare and he hated his dad the most for not being there for the young boy and his father had no knowledge about what was happening to his son at home.
Noah’s mother would threaten him not to spit a word about all that happens in his home. So Noah never spoke a word about it to his father. She never feed him properly and he would fall sick often but she never paid any attention to him.
Noah’s dad worked as a cop in Connecticut and he would be away from home most of the time and the eleven year old boy would witness his mother bringing various men home every single month. His father never visited home often, he would pay a visit only once in a month but that man loved his family a lot than he could express.
On fine day, Noah’s dad visited home without informing her prior. He opened his bedroom to find his horrible dream come true, his wife naked and kissing an another man in his own bed.
“What the fuck is happening here?”, he shouted making the other two flinch, they stopped it abruptly, whatever they were busy with.
“Oh, maxim you are home?!”, she sounded calm hiding her body with the sheets.
“WHAT THE FUCK FENNY? YOU CHEATED ON ME?! ON US?!”, he barked at her while she scoffed at him and that made him furious.
“Don’t over react, maxim”, she hissed.
“Now, you bitch and you manwhore get out of my house. Fucking leave before I shoot you both”, he grunted in anger. After few days, his dad came to know every single thing that has happened in the past few years. He felt sorry for his little boy. He quit his job to look after Noah. He wanted to make it up to Noah by being a great father from that day on.
When his mother skipped out of his life his father became his mom. As his father had no job, his family of only two, got into heavy debt.
As because his father didn’t have a proper job to pay him anymore, he spent all his saved salaries to pay off the rent for their house and to buy groceries. Sometimes noah would think about buying all the cool stuff that the other kids had, but he would scrub those memories from his brain within a second.
But he was a kid and that’s what kids do, they wish to own fancy things. If his dad hadn’t started cooking for him and doing all his laundry, helping him with homeworks, Noah don’t know what would have happened to him without his father.
Noah have heard about foster homes and other stories on about, when a family breaks it’s the child that suffers and he never wanted to end up there. All his fear was swiped away by his father’s love, attention care. He began loving his dad for all the sacrifices that he had made. He never remarried and lived his life only for Noah.
His father walked him to school, helped him learn spellings and told him to go to bed at eight thirty. He spend time in teaching him life lessons and noah began working hard to help his father. He started doing part times while he was just thirteen year old.
Sometimes his father would go in search of a job but they would reject him as he was forty five already and he can’t do certain jobs due to his age. Perhaps that’s why he doesn’t have want to marry again, maybe as it was tough for him to look after Noah, his father could never wanted to add one more burden on his shoulders and Noah was just enough for his father. When he turned sixteen he had to get out and find job, his father has spent a lot to look after him and now it was Noah’s turn. That’s how he worked hard in both studies and his part time jobs.
Kathleen knew this few days back and Noah really never had friends, he didn’t have the time to make one. He tried to concentrate only on the things that would help his living. Kathleen and Noah bonded through the statistics class and he shared about his life only after so many fucking months.
“Catch you up later man”, saying that Kathleen hurried towards another class, where Brenda said she would help her and she has informed the students from that respective class to sign the petition. Before entering the classroom, she bumped into the most handsome man on the campus.
“Whoa, so this is you again”, his bass voice uttered and he smiled, a cosmic smile indeed.
“Mm.. hmm”, she hummed and tried to walk past him but he pulled away the pad and paperwork that she was holding.
“Hey, what are you doing?”, a scowl set her face. She doesn’t like it when people intrude her work.
“Ahmm.. so the petition is about the Vance museum… mmm hmm, so I’m in. I can help you with this. I can sort this out”, he stated as his Saturn blue eyes scanned the sheet.
“Oh, come on. Whom do you think you are? The prince?!”, she smirked.
“You can call me that!”, he winked and took out his phone and dailed some random numbers. Kathleen watch him as her eyes narrowed to slits. The person on the other side of the call answered it immediately.
“Hey, dad!”, he greets with a smile and his eyes never left hers. Kathleen was wondering on what he was trying? to do exactly.
“Hey, son! Anything important, you don’t usually call me like this”, his father wondered if something was wrong.
“Ahmm no dad. I just wanted to know if you took a look at the messages that I left earlier”, he stated.
“Yes, yes! I have. And I have signed up already. I’m the donor for the project ‘save Vance’. My manager will take care of it. Don’t worry son, we will rescue the museum in piece”, his father assured and he grinned at his comment. His father never need words to understand what Nathaniel was trying to convey, his father would understand his silence too.
“Okay dad. Catch you up later”, he ended the call and looked at Kathleen with a sunny smile.
“Problem solved. The project has got a donor to fund and it’s my dad”, he looked at her, kathleen shook her head with her eyes closed. She couldn’t believe what he just said and did.
“You have to be kidding me”, she huffed but Nathaniel let out a chortle.
“Who are you?”, she asked him sounding surprised.
“Have you heard about the Emric groups?”, he question her for which she nodded like a kid.
“Who wouldn’t know, Emric groups own everything, they own hospitals, hotels, schools, colleges and construction units and I heard recently that they were about to launch a car it seems”, she beamed the details that she knew making him chuckle.
“Yes, we are”, he said between his laughs.
“I don’t get you”.
“I’m the only heir of the Emric groups”, he chuckled and Kathleen’s jaw dropped to the ground. Nathaniel chuckle at her and walk away like nothing happened.
“But why do you have to do this?”, she shouts as he continued to walk away while she was rooted to her place.
“Maybe to impress a girl wearing a purple jersey knot dress”, he winked at her walking backwards. A smile crept her lips and she turned away bumping into someone else, and this person was furious at kathleen and god knows why.
……
Read the next few chapters to know what was about to happen in Kathleen’s life.