Chapter 6

"WHY did you come home late?" my older brother asked me. He was waiting at the entrance door.

"I'm from church," I replied.

"I know!" he said, frowning.

What's wrong with my older brother, Tristan? In my mind.

I touched his neck. "You don't have a fever?" I said and raised my eyebrow. "What happened to you and you suddenly became a caring brother? Back then, even if I came home at ten o'clock in the evening, it was okay with you. You didn't care."

He patted my forehead.

"Ouch!" Annoyed, I wiped his hand that was on my forehead.

"I saw you with Kier," he rubbed his hand over my face. "What did you do after your coffee, huh?"

"Duh! What do you think we will do after we have coffee? Of course, go home!"

"Fatima, don't be a philosopher!"

"What do you expect us to do after coffee?"

Tristan was stunned. He looked at me from head to toe.

"Turn around," Tristan said.

"Why?" I wondered. But I did what he said.

"Sideways."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine!"

"Turn around."

"Tristan, I haven't lost any fat in my body yet," I said while scratching my neck. But my eyes widened when I read what was running through his mind. "Oh, my gosh! You think your friend and I did something miraculous?"

Tristan folded his arms. I burst out laughing.

"Please get rid of the dirt in your mind, brother. You're dirty-minded!" I said laughing. "Do you think Kier will be interested in me? I really want to curse him to stop bullying me. His insults are not funny anymore. Now, look at me carefully, Tristan."

He looked at me from head to toe. "You're beautiful."

I was glad to hear that. "Then?"

Tristan seemed to think deeply as he rubbed his chin.

"Just," he said and squeezed my chunky cheek. "You're beautiful."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Ogre, fat, and whale. We hate each other. If I were you, I would get rid of that dirt out of your mind."

"You hate each other but you went on a date with him."

"Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me," I replied quickly. "We're not dating!"

"I saw you two at the coffee shop. What do you think I should think?" His face looked like crumpled paper. "All right. If you're not dating, what's it called?"

"Nothing!" I answer emphatically. I was so annoyed that I scratched my head. "Tristan, stop those doubts. I don't feel any attraction to Kier."

"Yes, you are. But Kie–"

"Enough!" I blocked my hand to his face. "You know, it's better if we go to the dining room now. Our parents must be waiting for us at the table for dinner."

I turned my back on him and marched towards the dining room. I entered the dining room.

"Fatima!" Tristan shouted. He followed his sister.

"GOOD evening, our dear loving parents!" I greeted them warmly when I met them in the dining room. I kissed them on the cheek, then pulled out a chair and sat down.

"You're late for dinner." My mom.

"Thank you," I said to the maid after filling my glass with water. She just nodded. I looked at mom. "The mass ended around seven in the evening, Mom."

There was a hand that suddenly landed on my head and messed up my hair. I knew it was my older brother. I wiped his hand.

"Mom, she's with Kier," Tristan said before sitting down next to me.

"Tristan!" I scolded him and widened my eyes.

Tristan ignored me. He looked at mom. "I saw them in a coffee shop."

"That's good then," our mother seemed excited. "Every time you two face each other, it's like you're broken plaques."

"Mom, we just had coffee. That doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean that we're together, we're going to get along well with each other. Kier always makes a way to make me angry."

"And until now you're still affected. You're still not used to him," Dad said.

I turned my gaze to my dad. His face was serious while eating.

"I was trying to avoid him, but he was like a mushroom that suddenly popped up wherever I was. Someday, I will get revenge on him. He always bullies me because of my obesity which seems to give him pleasure when I am disgusted. His happiness is so superficial!" Annoyed, I picked up the dessert that was on the table.

"Kier is only criticizing you for one thing," Tristan said and poked my puffy cheek.

I bit the fork that was inside my mouth. "I know. Being fat. It is my body. He doesn't care if my body is the size of a closet. And one more thing, I'm not doing anything bad to him."

"Haven't you been challenged by his sarcasm toward you?" my dad asked.

My dear family sided with Kier again. As usual!

"Challenging to lose weight? No way! I'm not going to give up my favorite sweets just because of him."

"You know my dear sister, you're a lady. Don't you think, this is the right time for you to reduce. It's like you're gaining weight every day. Your body is now like four people in one body. What is the use of a whole-body mirror in your room if you can't see how big your body's? You look like a walking closet. Maybe in the next few days, our maid will be confused and she will think you are a closet."

"Your brother is right," mom said.

"Mom..."

"Fatima, maybe Kier is always teasing you to make you conscious. We're only thinking about your welfare. Maybe it's time for you to lose weight. You're so fat, hija."

"Listen to what your mother says," my dad said. "You need to reduce. Your beauty will be wasted if no one tries to woo you because of your obesity."

"I don't need a man, dad." I picked up my glass and poured orange juice.

"You're not funny, Fatima."

"I'm not kidding, mom. I’m serious about saying I don’t need a man in my life."

"I can't let you be an old maiden," I turned my gaze to my dad. "Who will take care of you when we're gone?"

I could not answer.

"Hija, I can't say your body is healthy," said my mom. "You're obese."

"Mom, I'm healthy. I don't care if my body is like a closet. I also don't care what other people say about me."

"You don’t care what other people say, but when Kier teases you, you’re affected. You came home furious." Dad shook his head.