Novels by Ebby Greene

“We can’t hate ourselves into a version of ourselves we can love.” –Lori Deschene.MY HEART WAS pounding. My palms were getting sweaty, and I was biting my lower lips. I didn't agree to this. I didn't want to do this but it seemed like my opinion didn't matter. For some reason, Avery was adamant about coming to the party and now, we're here, right outside Ray's house. Avery interlocked her hand with mine as we walked towards the house. I was still in my sweater and denim pants while Avery was dressed in black leather pants, ankle boots and brown leather jacket. It was way past 9 pm and I can think of way better things I could be doing than to be here. Not to mention that this was my very first high school party. I'd never been invited to things like this, and I wasn't invited to this one either. Avery was just dragging me along. "I don't think this is a good idea, Ave. Let's go back." I stopped walking, trying to dissuade her for the last time. "We are already here, Maiz. Let's hav

"So the question is, which boulder are you going to choose to roll? The 'must lose weight' boulder or the 'fuck you I will boldly, defiantly accept the body I've got and LIVE IN IT boulder.'" -- Kate Harding. "ARE YOU SURE you have the right address?" Mom asked for the second time, turning to look at me with a weird look on her face. It looked like a mixture of confusion and awe.My gaze moved from the view behind her to meet her eyes. I didn't answer the first time she asked and I still wasn't sure about the answer now. I looked at the address Avery texted me and back at the house -- no, mansion. "Yes, I think so. "I could totally understand why she was skeptical. Even I was skeptical about being at the right address. We were in some rich neighborhood and we were parked in front of a gated mansion. I knew they were rich, I mean, I could tell from the way they dressed and the car they drove, but I didn't think they were this rich. The house looked like one of those chaebol mansions

“And I said to my body softly, ‘I want to be your friend.’ It took a long breath and replied, ‘I have been waiting my whole life for this.’” -- Nayirrah Waheed.“YOU ARE GOING on a blind date.” My mom announced over breakfast the next day.The coffee that was going down my throat went through the wrong pipe and I started to cough.Mom passed me a glass of water and I took a sip in a bid to ease my cough. She stood up from her chair and came to pat my back softly to ease it.When it seemed I had recovered, she returned to her seat.“Sorry, what?” Was all I managed to say.Mom continued eating like she didn’t just detonate a bomb. “You heard me.”No, I didn’t think I did. Maybe my brain was still fuzzy since I woke up about an hour ago. “You’re going on a blind date?” I asked her. I hoped that was what she had said and not what my brain thought she said. She dropped her fork and stared at me. “No. You. You are the one going on a blind date. Not me.”“Me?” My right hand rested on my ch

“You can’t hate yourself happy. You can’t criticize yourself thin. You can’t shame yourself worthy. Real change begins with self-love and self-care.”— Jessica Ortner.“WHAT IS GOING ON here?” Alex’s voice was firm and strong as he spoke.Even though I wasn't happy that he had shown up, it was nice to witness the Bs' shocked expressions as they turned to see who it was.“Alex!” Betty gasped, exchanging questioning glances with her group.“Fancy seeing you here, Alex.” Brittany said flirtatiously.Alex merely waited, staring at them with an expressionless face. His expression revealed nothing to me, so I had no idea what he was thinking. A few beats of silence went by before he spoke once more. "I ask again: ‘What is going on here?’"“His accent is so hot. I can’t get over it.” Bianca whispered a little too loudly to Betty. I had to resist rolling my eyes.Then the Bs realised that until they gave him an answer, he probably wouldn’t have a conversation with them.“Oh, yeah, that.” Britt

“Your words have so much power. Everyday, if you tell yourself ‘I love you,’ if you give yourself one word of validation, it will change your mind.” - Ashley Graham.“I'M GETTING SICK and tired of her.” Someone said agitatedly as I heard people walk into the restroom.I froze in place, my hand still on the lock of the stall I was about to open. The voice sounded so familiar but it was taking my brain awhile to place it.“Me too.” I recognized the voices. It was Bianca and Betty – Brittany's minions. I wondered who they were talking about.“She's so infuriating. She acts like everybody's beneath her. We are supposed to be friends but–”“She treats us like we're her puppets.” Bianca cut in, completing her sentence. They both let out groans.Brittany. They were talking about Brittany.I could have bet that they were standing before the mirror, touching up their makeup as they talked about her. I wondered where their puppet master was, that they were here badmouthing her.Is it bad mouth

“People often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realising that you're the beholder.” - Salma Hayek.I WAS EXHAUSTED. Well, a little bit. I felt sweaty, hot and tired in my joggers and t-shirt. It made me wish I was wearing shorts and tank tops like most of the girls here. I hated gym class but it was mostly because it was the perfect place and opportunity for people to give me the stink eye and comment about how ridiculous I look doing sports. That was one of the reasons I stick to wearing T-shirts and joggers instead. I didn't want to give them more stuff to talk about. We’ve been asked to run laps around the gymnasium and now we were gonna play a game or something and I was already dreading it and hoping it wouldn’t be dodgeball; but as usual, luck was never on my side. “Listen up everyone! Gather around. It's time for some dodgeball. Divide yourselves into two teams.” Our gym teacher, Mr. Norman yelled. Some g

Chapter Fifty-Two: Promise. As each minute passes by, it seems as if one more person is joining the party. It is easy for Stephanie to find Chris. She finds him in the living room, surrounded by his teammates and friends. She giggles to herself, "That's my boyfriend." As she watches proudly, three girls join the group and Steph's smile turns into a frown. She watches the scene for about a minute and all she could see was the girls flirting with the guys - Chris especially. Steph grits her teeth and begins to stomp her way over to them. She imagines herself as a giant with steam coming out of her ears on the way to crush those girls. Once there, she clears her throat loudly from behind the girls. They all divert their attention to her. "Hazel." Chris wiggles his eyebrows at her. That seems to annoy her even more. She pushes the girls aside with her hips, surprising Chris. She moves closer to him and touches his cheek. "Are you okay, babe?" "Of course I am. I should be asking you

Chapter Fifty-One: Barbie Girl Chris drives home with a smile on his face. He can't seem to wipe the smile off his face. He pulls into their driveway, parks, and exits the car. As soon as he steps into the house, Emily welcomes him. Their mum appears from the kitchen. "You are just in time for dinner." 'What are we having?" "Your favorite," their mum grins. "Yay!" Emily cheers and Chris grins at her. "I can already tell that your day was splendid with that grin on your face," their mum, Kate beams. Chris tries to stop himself from smiling but he can barely keep his lips straight for ten seconds before it curves back up. "It was. It really was." "It's because of Stephanie," Emily comments. Chris walks over to her and ruffles her hair. "Smart pants." Emily frowns and as usual, swats his hand away. "Come help me set the table for dinner." "Yes, Mum." They both help their mum and some minutes later, they're settled down at the table, ready to eat. "So, tell us about your day

Chapter Fifty: Yes "Oh my God! Are you okay?" Steph asks and Chris answers by groaning, which makes her burst into laughter. "I... I can't believe you fell," Steph begins in between laughter. "A professional like you landed on his butt. Isn't that just great?" Chris sighs. "The tables have turned and you're to be blamed for this." "How am I to be blamed? It's not like I pushed you," Steph retorts. "You shocked me with your question. Or did I hear wrong?" Chris asks as he stands up. "What did you hear?" "It sounds crazy but I think you asked me to be your Boyfriend," Chris says skeptically. The look she gives him makes him begin to believe he was hallucinating; he had somehow conjured up the image of her saying those words to him. Damn, I've just made things awkward, he thinks. So he forces himself to laugh dryly. "That was obviously not what you said." "It's exactly what I said," Steph deadpans. Honestly, how Chris is reacting to her question is more surprising to her than h

Chapter Forty-Nine: Boyfriend? "Where are we going?" Chris asks for the umpteenth time from the passenger's seat; it hasn't even been five minutes since they left. "I told you. You'll find out when we get there. Stop asking already." "Ugh... This is annoying," Chris grumbles. "You acting like a child is annoying," Steph retorts. They've only been driving for a few minutes and Chris seems to be running out of patience. Though Chris is acting like he doesn't like the situation one bit, he's very happy. Getting to see Hazel alone has made his day but getting to spend time with her on his birthday is on a whole new level. He doesn't think he has ever been this happy on his birthday. Albeit she doesn't seem to know it's his birthday, he doesn't mind. He can't expect her to remember it since it's been a while he told her. She probably even forgot it right after they spoke about it. So it's all good. "Can you give me a hint?" "No!" Chris sighs. " Can I at least turn on the radio?" "I

Chapter Forty-Eight: Happy Birthday Chris awakes to the sound of his phone ringing. He stirs on his bed and hopes the annoying sound stops. He sighs in relief when it does only for him to groan when it starts again. "Oh, God!" He mutters as he reaches over to get his phone from the nightstand. He stares at the screen and rolls his eyes when he sees that it's a FaceTime call from none other than Jason. He considers declining it but knowing Jason he would just keep calling. Jason's face appears after he answers it. He has always been the first one to wish him on his birthday among his friends. "Happy happy happy happy birthday. Happy happy happy birthday. Happy happy happy birthday. Chris, I wish you a happy--" "Do you have to sing?" Chris interrupts his singing. "Do you have to torture me with your awful singing voice this lovely morning?" Jason glares at him through the screen. "You're an asshole. You think everyone can sing like you, huh? You're a jackass, dude. I can't believe w

Chapter Forty-Seven: Anxious A MONTH LATER... Things have happened and things have changed in the last month. Steph can vividly remember how two weeks into senior year, Brooke had said it was boring and she had agreed. Well, these past two or three months have been anything but boring. And Senior year isn't even over. They're on winter break now and Steph can only imagine how crazy things would be when school's back on in the new year. They had winter formal after their finals and it was quite something. The thing is that both Luke and Chris asked her to go with them as 'friends.' Chris had asked first and she agreed. Then about two days later, Luke did. He kept emphasizing that they'll be going as friends and the look on his face was so pleading that she found herself saying yes, against her reasoning. It was only when Luke exhaled in relief that she realized she had already said yes to Chris; hence, finding herself in a sticky situation. She wished she could have gone with bot