“W-wow! Ha, yep, definitely not Leah! I sure feel stupid.” Tonya shouted, giving herself a goofy little knock on the head, and Leah an immense feeling of relief (in more ways than one). The others in the group either rolled their eyes, scoffed, or held their nose; none of them suspected a thing, only Tonya briefly saw through the disguise.
“Yeah, that was weird Tonya.” Emily droned before snickering, “I mean, could you imagine?”
“She does look like a toddler though, with that flat ass chest.” Another girl added with a laugh. Leah felt a burst of insecurity in her, subconsciously turning her chest out of view. It suddenly came to Leah’s mind to ask why Tonya was even with them. She never mentioned planing a trip to this park, despite it being a place they both were interested in going to—did Tonya lie to her? Or just never thought it worth mentioning, despite being there with others?
Leah hated the sense of betrayal she feels, despite knowing she really had no right. Leah had been keeping her distance from Tonya for the last few weeks, never getting over the humiliation she felt at her brother’s party. She was always too busy to hang out, having to get to class on time, or giving one word responses to texts. She could feel Tonya’s well hidden disappointment, and she even stopped texting as much as if picking up that fact. It made Leah feel shitty, but she was too terrified: What if Tonya saw her, and realized Leah was that pathetic kid who shit herself in front of the bathroom? Leah hates to mention it, but she’s always felt incredibly insecure around Tonya. The two had been friends since they were young, when they both looked the same age. However, while Leah barely grew, Tonya had matured into a beautiful young woman; while Leah still had a hard time making friends with her colleagues, Tonya blossomed, having joined far more social circles outside of the two. It honestly made Leah feel like she was holding the girl back, like a childhood toy a toddler refuses to let go of even if they out grew it; if they weren’t childhood friends, Tonya would have no reason to stick around.
“Hey, watch your mouth!” Leah was brought out of her pity party by Tonya’s fierce tone.
“Relax girl, it was just a joke. Jeez.” The girl from earlier responded. Tonya look pissed, but reigned it back in the next second. Leah won’t lie, Tonya defending her makes her feel a little better.
“Hey, you guys go on ahead, I’m gonna make sure the kid is alright.”
Leah froze. What?
“What?” Emily asked, verbalizing the same sentiment, “Why?”
“Hey, I, uh, clearly scared her. I babysit all the time, it only feels polite to help if I can.” Tonya’s response might sound the same to the other’s, but Leah knows the tone: she’s lying. Why is she lying?
“Okay, whatever. We’ll just be over at the food court when you’re ready.” The other teen responded, and with a wave they moved away. When Tonya faced her again, the look of concern and confusion was unmistakable—She was never fooled. Leah had made a fool of herself for nothing. Worse than nothing. She wanted the ground to swallow her up whole if only to avoid the confrontation. She ripped the thumb out of her mouth and turned to make a break for it. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be happening!
“W-wait, wait! Leah, please!” Tonya called out, now actively trying to keep her voice quiet. But Leah wasn’t sure she could listen. What happens next?