chapter 3

                                                                CHAPTER THREE

          "You decided to join me." Madge looked up from the book in her hands. Molly didn't respond. Instead she walked straight past her mother and into the kitchen, where she opened the fridge and pulled out the milk. She reached up to take down the cereal box from inside the cabinets when she heard her mother's heavy footsteps coming closer.
          " Cereal isn't good for you." Molly turned around to see her mother standing in the doorway of
the kitchen. One foot on the white tiles of the kitchen, and one foot on the dark wood floors of the living room.
          "I always eat cereal." Molly turned back around and took out a bowl from another cabinet, then pulled a spoon out of the drawer.
          "Your going to have to stop eating it then." Madge walked over to Molly and gently tucked the cereal box under her arm and placed the milk back in the fridge. She opened the trash can and tossed in the box of cereal.
          "I've already made you a healthy breakfast." Madge smiled and walked through the kitchen and into the dining room, Molly following close behind. Molly was lead to the long wooden table underneath a large silver chandelier hanging above it. Old paintings were spread out along the walls and a sleek china cabinet stood in the corner facing the door. Molly didn't understand why only this one room in the house was decorated with paintings and expensive carpeting and cushioned chairs while the rest of the house was worn out and used. Molly had barely ever been in the dining room though. Madge rarely let anyone in unless it was for a special occasion. She didn't want Molly to brake anything, or so she said.
          On the table, Molly saw a large plate full of toast, eggs, bacon, fruit, and sausages, placed on a deep red table cloth. Beside the plate was the largest cup they had, filled to the rim with bright orange juice.
          "Sit down." Madge took the seat on the far side of the table, and Molly slowly sat down in the chair behind the breakfast fit for a king.
          "Mom. I can't-" Molly started, but Madge held up her hand.
          "Molly. I told you last night that things were going to change." Madge positioned herself more comfortably in her chair before she continued. "Instead of starving yourself with a tiny bowl of sugary cereal every morning, your going to sit down with me and eat a big healthy breakfast."
          "But mom. I can't eat all this." Molly stared down at the mountain of eggs and oily bacon and sausage.
          "Why not?" Madge asked as if it were the stupidest question in all of time and space.
          "Because, i'll get full." Molly lied. She knew she could eat whatever her heart desired, but ever since she heard Julie Crawford whisper to her, 'It's not a mystery why Margaret eats lunch alone. She doesn't want anyone to find out she's a fat pig, but just hides it with all those big sweaters. Doesn't she know she's not fooling anyone.' Molly felt like she had to always keep track of her weight. Since then, she hid a scale underneath her bed and weighed herself every day after school. If she found that she was over 110 pounds, she would have to start another diet. Deep down, she knew that it wasn't healthy, but she couldn't help but fall into peer pressure. Nowadays, skinny girls have the most friends, or so she has seen at school. If your fat, your thrown in the corner and abandoned.
          "Oh. You'll get full. That's a load of garbage and you know it. I've seen you eat a tray full of cupcakes in less then an hour."
          "That doesn't mean anything." Thank god Julie wasn't here to hear this.
          "What? Are you watching your weight?" Madge laughed and scratched her neck with her long pointed fingernails, leaving thick, white lines. Molly forced out a fake laugh, picked up the shiny fork, and began eating.
          "Mom. Aren't you going to eat anything?" Molly looked up, her mouth full of bacon and melon.
          "I already ate." Madge said. The two stared at each other for a few moments, Molly trying to hide the fact that she really was grateful for a full breakfast for a change, before Madge began explaining how the rest of Molly's life would go, in detail.
          "Your not going to be getting up at 7 or 8 anymore to go to school Molly." Molly swallowed the eggs in her mouth and looked up at her mother.
          "Don't stop eating. You need the weight. You look like a one of those models." Madge shuddered before she continued with, "I'm letting you wake up-"
          "I look like a model?" Molly exclaimed.
          When Madge saw the smile grow on Molly's face, she added, " Dont' be happy about that. Models these days are terribly skinny. I don't know who choses them, but when I was younger, Models didn't make young girls go on diets and feel bad about being a size 1 and a half." Madge cleared her throat and began again, ignoring the blush forming on Molly's cheeks.
          "I don't think children can learn anything if they're tired the whole day. I'm not sure what schools are thinking starting so early in the morning." At this. Molly thought, that maybe her mother wasn't so bad after all. From what she was hearing, it sounded as though Madge had an actual reason for ruining her life. Molly was no fan of early mornings either.
          "You might think that homeschool is going to be a breeze, but i'm not letting you off that easy. No."Madge shook her head. "I was worried that you would just end up sitting on your butt all day, but  now that i've taken away your computer and phone, I won't have to worry about that. Your going to learn whatever it is you have to learn on the computer, in my room." Madge saw Molly stop chewing and look up at her. "I know I said i'm contradiction myself because your going to be sitting at a computer learning, but I found the easiest, quickest, homeschooling site I could, so it shouldn't take you more than 4 hours to finish one days worth of work. And after that, i'm going to teach you my own lessons."
          Molly dropped her fork with a clatter and sat back in her chair. The plate was finally clear and she almost felt like throwing up. Almost.
          "Your done." Madge looked across the table at the empty plate set in front of Molly. "I knew you'd finish." Madge stood up and walked away from the table and out the door, back into the living room. "Wash your plate."
          Molly wasn't sure how to feel about the events that just took place