Jack's Story
English

Jack's Story

by

fiction
health
creativity

Lina always had an affection towards her classmate in senior high school, Jack, because he is extremely determined and succeeds in nearly everything he has made up his mind to. When she first met him in tenth grade, he flattered all of the girls with his handsome looks and muscular body. Rumors had it that he had spent two hours a day in the gym the preceding summer. Shortly, it turned out that they both were interested in playing volleyball. With his talents, Jack was soon selected the captain of the volleyball team and also helped Lina get into the girls' team. Jack was also a very hard-working student and always maintained to stay in the top three of their class. In short, he was the well-rounded Prince Charming in everyone's views.

Starting 12th grade, everyone put even more effort into studying, hoping to get the best results in the college entrance exam. Jack was of course no exception. He even gave up playing for the volleyball team to save more time for studying. His dream was to enroll in medical school. Diligent as he was, everyone had faith on him.

One or two months later, his classmates started to notice that Jack's lines started to disappear, that he had become somewhat chubby. Soon, girls started to giggle behind his back. Lina was, however, always there to defend him. Honestly, everyone has put on some weight during exam preparation.

It was one evening that really shocked Lina. That day, she had forgotten her glasses at school. She knew that Jack always stayed in the classroom to study, so she hurried back to fetch her glasses. The sight upon entering the classroom rooted her to the doorframe. Jack had ordered fast food for at least three people and was indulging in it! Lina could still remember him telling her six moths ago that she could never get abs like his if she didn't say goodbye to french fries. Wearily, she asked him quietly if he was alright. He turned in shock to her and for one moment, she saw in his eyes that he wanted to lie to her, to conceal everything. He lowered his head and said nothing. Lina sat down beside him and told him that she used to have eating disorders in junior high school, an experience she had never revealed to any of her friends. Then, she took her glasses and left.

One week before the exam, Jack was found lying unconscious in front of their classroom. Rushed to the hospital, the doctors diagnosed malnutrition. To their disturbance, he wouldn't open up on how it could happen until Lina arrived. Once everything was cleared up, the doctor advised him to go to a psychologist and Lina already had a recommendation. Jack was still weakened at the exam and didn't perform very well, but after this experience, his goal wasn't to study medicine anymore. Instead, he chose to major in psychology and is now helping young people to overcome eating disorders.

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