Okay, if I'm gonna be honest here, I had no idea what was going on. Kurtis was fine, but then he wasn't, in the span of a few minutes. Everything was happening so fast, Kurtis sick, doctors talking about eating disorders, Kurtis' mom flashing me dirty looks from across the room. I look down at the floor. God, I just wanted Kurtis to be okay. I sigh loudly and lean my head back against the wall behind me. Why did this have to happen?
"What?' An agitated voice interrupts me. Man, what did I do?
"Sorry, I'm just overwhelmed." Kurtis looks at me, and then to their mother.
"It's fine." She says. Kurtis sighs in relief. They seemed better. They sat up in their bed, doodling in a sketchbook. They hum a faint tune. I watch as their silvery dyed hair blows in the wind from the air conditioner, positioned next to their bed. Kurtis' mom gets up to go to the bathroom. After she leaves, Kurtis turns to me and says,
"I guess I owe you an explanation."
"That'd be nice." I responded.
"So basically." They sit up looking right at me.
"It all started around 5 years ago when I was still in middle school and people weren't always the nicest, especially when they saw a plus sized person who looked different than everyone else. so I was bullied pretty badly and it was mostly about my weight, and it caused me to do unhealthy things to lose weight. To put it shortly, I've been struggling with an eating disorder for around 5 years."
"Oh. Wow. I'm so sorry that happened to you." I didn't know what to say. Kurtis used to be plus sized? Not that it mattered. But why would they be bullied for it? I always hated that people got bullied for small differences that, when you got down to it, made little difference. Rage swells up in my face, and I say, as calmly as possible, "Are you still being bullied? Do you need me to beat someone up?" They laugh.
"No, thank god. The people who bullied me got expelled for something else."
"Oh. Good, seems deserved." They laugh.
"Yeah." As their mom returns, she tells me that my mother is here and that it's time to go now. As I get up to leave, Kurtis waves at me.