“I’M NOT COMING OUT!!!”

“Come on, I’m sure it can't be that bad,” Jim said, trying to comfort Connie. Half an hour ago, she had taken the bikini offered to her by Paige and went to the bathroom to put it on. When Jim and Paige went to check on her, they found her locked in the bathroom. She wouldn’t say what was wrong, only kept repeating the words ‘fat’ and ‘ugly’. So far, nothing ether one said could make her come out of the bathroom.

“Connie, if you don’t come out, then we’ll leave you behind,” Paige threatened, as she tapped her foot impatiently.

“Not until I get a more conservative bathing suit,” she sniffed from behind the door. Jim rolled his eyes and wondered what was the deal with her. She was only supposed to wear a two-piece bikini, nothing too sleazy.

“Millie’s old bikini is all we have. Now come out, no one is going to laugh at you.” Paige had taken over the discussion, she was much better at dealing with Connie’s panic attacks then Jim and he had no problem letting her handle it. Jim was good at dealing with computers and machinery, not hysterical pre-teens.

“Alright, but don’t say anything mean.” Te door creaked open and Connie stepped out. Jim expected something horrible to be wrong with her, there had to be after that huge fight they had to get her out. Maybe it was a nasty scar she wanted to hide or a deformity that had been hidden under her clothes? However, Jim was puzzled to see nothing the matters. Connie was just wearing the bikini that Paige had handed her half an hour ago, no scars or other appendages were hanging out.

“I look ugly,” Connie sniffed as her self-image plummeted under Jim’s eyes. Her mother always told her what was wrong with her. If it wasn’t her weight, it was her clothes or her attitude. Over time, she had come to believe all the cruel things her mother said about her body. It was the fear of being put down by Jim that had kept her from coming out. What was he going to say when he saw her chubby belly poking out, or her stretch marks? Nothing nice she imagined.

“What’s wrong Connie, you look fine?” Jim asked, scratching the back of his head as he tried to figure out what all the hubbub was about.
“I look hideous,” Connie said. She stared at her feat, unable to look Jim in the eyes.

“Nonsense Connie, you look great in that bathing suit, actually I’d have to say that you look positively cute in it.” Jim said with a wag of his finger. Jim was trying to make Connie feel better and he was doing it by dipping into Gene’s guidebook to picking up women. One of the first things Jim’s learned after watching Gene try and fail to pick up a girl, was that when you throw in a flattering remark, and they will be eating out of your hand. Connie was no different.

“Really?” she squealed. She had gone starry eyed at Jim’s remark. No one had ever called her cute before and it felt good to hear it. Meanwhile, Paige was rolling her eyes, having grown tired with this whole drama.

“Okay Romeo and Juliet, lets hit the lake before it gets dark.” Grabbing Connie’s hand, she dragged the girl away, while she stared back at Jim with affection.