Fat Girls Are Not A Bet Chapter 03
Ethan and I had met in a competitive online game.
I was still in high school then, three hundred thirty pounds.
The boys in my class had a nickname for me: “land whale.”
The girls pretended not to join in, but whenever I walked past, they’d drop their voices and then burst out laughing together.
Once, in PE class, I came in dead last on our run and was so exhausted I nearly passed out.
A boy I used to have a crush on was standing at the finish line. He took two disgusted steps back.
“Don’t fall on me. Who’s gonna catch that?”
The whole class roared.
That night, the only way I could take the edge off was by playing video games.
That was when Ethan added me.
He’d heard my voice and kept asking, over and over,
“Your voice is so pretty—are you sure you’re not a voice actor?”
Later we started playing together.
When my teammates cursed me out, he’d flip his mic on and defend me.
“It’s just a game, why the hell are you screaming at a girl?”
When I was sad, he’d stay up and talk to me.
“Who says being heavy isn’t pretty? A little rounder is cute.”
“Olivia, no matter what you look like, I like you.”
I believed him.
Because of that line—*no matter what you look like*—I felt, for the first time, that maybe I was worth being liked.
Then, six months ago, I let slip my real name and the name of my high school.
After that, he cooled off. Obviously.
Where he used to send dozens of messages a day, he was down to *good morning* and *good night*.
I asked him what was wrong.
He said senior year was stressful, college apps were exhausting.
Looking back now, it wasn’t stress at all.
He’d looked up my photos.
But he didn’t break up with me right away.
Because I still played games with him, still helped him with application materials, still caught him whenever he was falling apart.
He wasn’t ready to give up such a useful emotional dumping ground.
So he dragged it out until the night before freshman orientation, and used a dice game to hand me off to someone else with plausible deniability.
The phone rang again.
This time I picked up.
Ethan’s tone was openly impatient.
“When did you and Adrian get so friendly? What was that in the chat, acting like you’re on the same side?”
“He said one thing on my behalf. That’s a problem?”
“You think a guy like that just randomly defends girls for no reason?”
Ethan sneered.
“Don’t think your pretty voice is gonna make him fall for you. Adrian’s got higher standards than I do. Show up and you’ll just humiliate yourself.”
I went quiet for two seconds.
“So. You think I’m not good enough for you.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then why did you bet ten grand that I wouldn’t dare come?”
He couldn’t answer.
After a moment, he snapped, agitated.
“Fine, you want the truth? Here it is.”
“Olivia, I already know what you look like.”
“Dating online was one thing. In real life, you’re not exactly presentable.”
“Don’t blame me. Liking pretty girls is human nature.”
“The fact that I haven’t blocked you outright—that’s me being generous.”
I gripped my phone. My chest ached in waves.
“Well. Thanks for being so *civilized*.”
Ethan didn’t catch the sarcasm; his voice actually softened.
“Just don’t come tomorrow. I’ll refund you the three thousand you bet.”
“Serena’s going to be there. She’s stunning. Standing next to her, you’ll just look worse.”
I asked slowly, “Are you close with her?”
The line went silent.
“Don’t get ideas. There’s nothing between me and her.”
I laughed.
Looked like tomorrow’s party was going to be even livelier than I’d thought.