Chapter 2

Jordan couldn't think, her head was pounding so hard. She pressed her tiny hands against her face and closed her eyes to count to ten. Her roommate sat on her bed Indian style, snacking on a bag of cheetos and blasting Ke$ha loud enough to raise the dead.

"I'm trying to study Melanie", Jordan told her perky cheerleading roommate. Melanie looked up at Jordan from her computer with face book open and rolled her eyes.

"And what the hell does that have to do with me?" She asked with obvious distaste in her voice. "Study somewhere else."

Jordan resisted the urge to jump across the tiny space between them and slap her hand like she commonly did her six younger sibling's hands. "Um." she said slowly. "It's ten o clock at night, where will I possibly go?"

"How the fuck would I know that?" Jordan cringed at the use of language, but didn't bother correct her like she wanted to. "Go to MacDonald's, I bet you'd love to fatten your hips even more." Melanie smiled wickedly at her before turning back to her face book and cutting her music up louder.

Jordan let out an exasperated sigh and slapped her lamp off before climbing from her tiny twin bed and slipping on her flats. She pulled her loose black hair up into a high ponytail and grabbed her toothbrush before leaving the room. She walked slowly to the floor bathroom, a feeling of utter annoyance bouncing in her chest. She wasn't a violent person to the least, but Melanie brought something out of her that made her want to hit people and throw things.

I need to get the hell out of here, she thought as she pushed open the door and cut on the lights. She walked to the sink and brushed the grim from her teeth and washed her face with the clean towels kept in the bathroom. And even though she knew she should have ignored the comment, she felt herself checking out her hips in the mirror.

I'm not that big, she told herself as she twisted this and that way to check out her frame. She wasn't the smallest girl, but she was no where near big. She had thins legs and arms, nice c cupped breast, but a really wide middle section. Her hips did protrude more than most girls on their hall, but her stomach was firm and nicely toned from the constant sit ups she did when Melanie fell asleep. Only Melanie ever called her fat, well…Melanie and her cheerleading friends did.

"I don't care what they think", Jordan told her reflection. But even she didn't believe it. She had wanted to be part of them at one time. She tried out for cheerleading when they first held auditions, and she would have made the team if they hadn't insulted her in front of the thirty five other girls. Right in front of everyone they'd asked her what sized pants she wore. When she replied seven they mocked her and told her if she dropped to a three they'd consider letting the whale on the team.

She didn't break down and cry until she'd got back to her room and was sure Melanie wasn't coming back for hours.

I'm over that now though, she thinks before she clicks off the light and leaves the bathroom. When she walks back into the room Melanie has turned down the music and has turned off her lamp. Jordan stumbles in the dark to her bed before she collapses on it and lets out a tired yawn.

Just as her eyes are closed her phone vibrates. She looks at the screen with a groan, but sits up nevertheless to answer it.

"Yes?"

Kathy lets out a tiny giggle. "Hi Danny!" The three year old lets out another giggle that makes Jordan's heart warm. She smiles through her tiredness.

"Hi Kat, how are you?"

"I'm going to be a big girl in two days."

"I know princess", Jordan says with a laugh. Melanie's head pops up and she clicks on her lamp with an angry expression on her face.

"Will you shut the hell up", she growls. "Some on us are trying to sleep!"

"I'm sorry", Jordan replies, sliding down into her sheets and pulling the blanket over her face. The lamp clicks back off and she is met with darkness yet again.

"Why are you sorry?" Kathy asks in her innocent voice. "Did you do a bad thing?"

"Um, no Kathy", Jordan replies stiffly a yawn, "Where's Kourtney?"

"She right here. You want me to put her on the phone?"

Jordan nodded her head yes, and after realizing she couldn't have possibly saw that she says yes. There's scuffling on the other line before Kourtney says hello.

"Hey Kourt."

"Hi Jordan", her eldest younger sister of sixteen says. "How's life treating you on the west coast?"

"Um good", Jordan says. "But I thought I told you to keep track of what time the others call me."

Kourtney lets out a groan. "OH gosh, I'm sorry I forgot. We'll call you in the morning."

Jordan let out a tiny laugh before she felt another yawn coming on. "Ok love you, talk to you later."

"Love you too", Kourtney replies before they both hang up.

Jordan hangs up her phone and closes her eyes to go to sleep.

"About fucking time", she hears Melanie say before she's dragged into oblivion.

"I saw Philip at the commissary today", Chloe says into Jordan's ear as she grabs her medium orange juice and chicken breakfast biscuit from the cafeteria line. She mutters an oh to her friend as she grabs the last two grape jellies from the basket.

"He had the audacity to ask me on a date, after what he did last time!" Chloe let out a tiny shriek that almost makes Jordan drop the phone.

"I'm sorry", Jordan says as she swipes her student card and smiles at the annoyed cafeteria women. She grabs her tray and walks away trying to balance her phone and her food. "What happen on the last date, I don't remember."

"Oh my gosh Jordan", Chloe whined as Jordan sat at an empty and reasonable clean table. "Do you never listen to me or what?"

"Of course I listen to you." Jordan replied as she slathered jelly on her biscuit. Hmm…Maybe this is why everyone thought her hips were wide. "But I loose track of all the names you give me. Is he the one that made you pay for your own meal?"

"No, he's the one that talked about his cats for an hour and a half them took me to see them when we were done with dinner."

Jordan let out a tiny laugh. "I like cats."

"Well I'll give him your number and we can see how much you like him."

Jordan bit into her biscuit and wiped her mouth with a napkin. She felt like her eyes were going to roll into the back of her head, her food was so good. If she could get away without looking like an idiot she would go personally thank the cook for making such delicious breakfast.

"Considering I'm on the other side of the country it would never work." She replied before stuffing more food in her eagerly awaiting mouth.

"I love long distant relationships." Chloe said. "I get to have phone sex without feeling guilty about flirting with some cute guy that comes through my line."

Jordan wrinkled her nose. "Can we keep the conversation pg, I'm eating."

Chloe laughed, sending the phone falling from Jordan's ear. She scrambled to pick it up and end up rubbing jelly on the back of it.

"God Danny, you're such a prude."

Jordan didn't mind her friend calling her a prude; she'd been calling her that since tenth grade when she'd refused to loose her first kiss to any random guy.

"And you're such a skank", she replied with a laugh.

"I like men", Chloe said with a laugh. "Not a problem at all."

"I have to finish eating and get to class", Jordan said with a laugh. "I'll call you later."

"Bye Danny." Chloe hung up before Jordan could reply. Jordan shrugged before dropping her phone and digging into the rest of her food. She was on the last two bites before Jacob, her lab partner for biology sat down across from her and stuck his spoon inside his honey nut cheerios.

"Hi Jacob", Jordan said as she picked up her glass of orange juice.

"Hi beautiful." he replied, making a blush grace her face. She looked down at the table and sat her cup down until she was sure she wasn't blushing like an idiot anymore then grabbed her juice and drank the last of it.

"I have yet to do the lab report from last Friday." Jordan said as she packed her things up on her tray.

"I could totally help you with that", Jacob said as he reached over and grabbed her phone from the table. He made a face at her and put it back down on the table. "Gross, why is your phone sticky?"

Jordan mentally slapped herself for being a pig. "Oh my gosh", she reached over and wiped her phone on her napkin. "I dropped it on the table when there was spilled juice, it must have got on the phone." She put a fake panicky face. "I hope it didn't water damage my phone."

Jacob took the phone back from her and inspected it before popping out the battery. He blew on the back a few times before handing it back over to her with a smile.

"Good as new. But for safety measures put in your password and hand it back."

Jordan unlocked her phone and handed it back to him. He punched in a few things before standing up and handing her the phone back. He picked up his tray and cast one of those dazzling pearly white smiles at her that he was known for. "Call me later so I can know if my technique worked."

Jordan nodded, feeling like she was in a daze as she watched him walk away. She looked down at her phone and noticed he'd typed his name and number with a smiley face.

She felt herself glowing as she dumped her tray off and headed to class.