Lily hated the locker room. She hated her skinny legs and arms, and the way the other girls grinned at her skinny flat-chested body. She hated the showers most of all. It was torture for her to walk naked into the steaming room, hearing the giggling of other girls when they saw her, knowing they thought she was hideous.
Whoever wanted teen girls to shower together at the same time was a fiend. A perverted fiend at that!
But she endured. Now, no one laughed. Now, she was the highest-paid fashion model in the world.
Just Writing! 
Well done tale of revenge. From what I know of a model’s life, I hope she didn’t go out of the frying pan into the fire.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some of them actually survive it. I hope she’s one of them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is true… anyone who was once a teenage girl winced! It is almost too painful to remember the horrors of “gym class.” Generations of girls carried the scars and horror with us. My own generation was in the early 1950s. The horrible blue gym suits and the constant hassle over showers…sneaking in with underpants, omg… It was all-important though. I know a girl who would have been class Valedictorian if her near-perfect record had not included a “D” in gym. The girl who actually made the honor….well, she didn’t have a “D in gym.” Her experience was in the 1980s.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Early 1960’s for me, with just the opposite problem from Lily’s. I wasn’t at all fat then, but I was curvy, ahead of most of the others. Gym class was agony. And I was so glad not to have to take it after my sophomore year. It was like being released from prison.
LikeLike
Gym class…like a bad memory that keeps popping up . Why was that form of torture acceptable for so long?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some of my friends truly loved gym, but none of them loved the showers.
LikeLike
Gym was ok, except that one of my most inept talents was sports…coordination great. I never could do those hand clapping routines without sticking a finger in my eye. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLike
I hated showering in school. I hated changing with other people present. No one made fun of me. I’ve just always been painfully shy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think “modest” is a more accurate word.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You found a happier (perhaps) ending than I did
LikeLiked by 1 person
One can hope. Some models do very well after the peak period of their careers.
LikeLike
Dear Linda,
You brought it all back. The nightmare of having to undress and shower with other girls. Not to mention the horror of getting my ironed hair wet. Well done and good for Lily. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wonder if they still make kids do that. It was so awful. I hated gym days.
LikeLike
It’s a strange thing, I remember boys too had communal showers in school and after football team games, and in hindsight it seems a cruel thing to make teenagers do! I’m glad it worked out for her.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You know, I think boys are just different than girls when it comes to being naked in what, to me, felt like a public place. I have three sons, and they were all in athletics. Don’t remember them complaining. But then, neither did I. I figured it was just something I had to endure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kids can be so judgemental… And with that description of herself, it does sound like she’d make a good high-fashion model. A little sweet revenge.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Remember Twiggy?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep. Since then most super models are like that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thin is in.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those girls who made fun of Lily wished they had her life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think most, if not all, schools in Australia have cubicles; dressing and showering are done in private. At least that’s how it was at my school and from what I heard about other schools.
You described a nightmare!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was. Just awful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve recaptured the horror of those days. Bringing a note from your mother to excuse yourself… 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
It would have to have been a doctor’s excuse, back in the 60s. Mom was not objective 🙂
LikeLike
I remember the embarrassment to this day – I was flat-chested until I was 15. Not much bigger now, TBH, but happy not to be over-burdened!
LikeLiked by 1 person
And it just doesn’t matter any more, does it? Thank goodness!
LikeLike
Communal showers, I’d forgotten how ghastly they were! She who laughs last ….!
LikeLike
Bad for you guys, too, huh?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds like a Taylor Swift song, lol. Peers are not a girl’s best friend.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sadly, not always.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A neatly worked tale, Linda. Oh, those showers! If you delayed to avoid the crush, the water ran cold…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yup. And I’ll never forget our gym teacher standing there watching us to make sure we were wet all over. Not allowed to wrap the towel until we passed her inspection. Pervert, if you ask me!
LikeLiked by 1 person
like they say, the best revenge is to be successful. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
hey at least it all worked out well for her
LikeLiked by 1 person
ah, the taste of sweet revenge… Great story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love your story! It reminds me of one of Toni Morrison’s last books, “God Help the Child,” that tells the story of Bride, a girl born very dark-skinned and rejected by her mother. Later she becomes a high-dollar fashion diva.
Ivana says, “Success is the best revenge.” 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve heard of the book. Haven’t read it yet. Sounds like one I need to read!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s shown them. I hope she survives the modelling life unscathed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me too. Many do.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sort of an ugly duckling story, eh Linda?
I find it justice that kids who were popular (cool) in school often face more challenges, and often find less success, in life than those who were considered nerds and outcasts. Perhaps the struggle, and dealing with adversity, builds perserverance and character that wins out in the long run.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed. As a teacher, I observed some of those “cool kids” who felt so entitled because of their high school standing that they really felt they didn’t have to work for a living. Sad.
LikeLike
A good ending. I hope she likes the life she has now. Screw those girls hey?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed! There was plenty of reason for the movie “Mean Girls” to have had such success.
LikeLike
The awkward years – so familiar, so formative, so frightening. Skinny girl, chubby girl, poor girl, poor little rich girl, mean girl – we should do better by our girls. Well done!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed. I watched it start in kindergarten when I was teaching in a small private school. Little bitty five-year-olds shunning the girl who didn’t have the clothes they did. It starts young. We need to teach them kindness. It doesn’t always come naturally.
LikeLike
No communal showers but let me tell you that in a boy’s boarding school there is no privacy 🙂
An ugly duckling story indeed and I’ve seen that transformation in a few (no international models unfortunately).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great story! I’m new here and was wondering if you guys could check out my page and give it a follow, like or even just some feedback! caleecreates.wordpress.com Have a great day 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Calee, best advice is just keep writing! And stay with this crazy group, because they will inspire you and keep you on your toes 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person