HUNGRY FOR REVENGE
By
Ron Shillingford
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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Hungry For Revenge
Copyright © 2011 by Ron Shillingford
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Joanna Turner felt suicidal and murderous all at once, the tormenting was taking its toll. Virtually every day for years, they were her most overwhelming emotions.
Fed up of the bullying, being obese shouldn’t be so painful, she reasoned. Getting called ‘Tubby Turner’ out of earshot was bad enough but the cruelest kids called her that to her face.
Comfort eating was the cause after her parents divorced at nine. Her mum Lola would pile up her plate, with plenty of naughty snacks in between, especially Mr. Kipling’s apple pies. A box of eight a day was Joanna’s grazing treat throughout childhood. She read George Orwell, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens munching Mr. Kipling’s apple pies in total bliss. Jackie Collins and Wilbur Smith novels drew her into fantasy worlds, helping her deal with the pain at school.
Katie Thompson was Joanna’s main tormentor at Redwood High, one of the cool girls who took a twisted pleasure in mocking anyone who didn’t quite fit in. Katie’s accomplices included five girls who also taunted Joanna. She dubbed them The Cronies.
Pretty, super-confident and popular, Katie was heading for a career in the City. Her dad would see to that as head of investment at his bank, World Finance. While junior staff needed to be 18 and have at least A-levels for entry into World Finance, Katie was going to join straight from school at 16 with the couple GCSEs she bothered to study for.
Joanna’s love of Mr. Kipling wares was a standing joke, so Tubby Turner was also taunted with the moniker ‘Apple Pie’ and ‘Mrs. Kipling’.
A bright child, Joanna immersed herself in books, determined to be a high flier and one day make the bullies envious. A brilliant all-rounder, she concentrated on science simply because they were the hardest subjects and most likely to propel her into a lucrative career.
“Mum always said that to get your own back on enemies you should be happy and successful,” Joanna told her friend Sandy.
“Well you’ve certainly done that girl. Chemistry degree from Cambridge, head of research development at the Ministry of Defence and nice apartment in the Docklands.”
“Suppose so Sandy, but it would be nice to have someone to share it with.”
“Men! Ha! Don’t get me started. Liars, drunks, sports mad and serial cheats. Louis hasn’t seen his dad for months. Poor boy is 13, an age he where he needs a man to show him how to be one. I can’t be both at the same time, although sometimes I don’t have a choice. Men are total losers.”
“Yes, but what do you really think of them?”
Sandy’s stern look lightened up into a smile. She knew her regular rants on her pet gripe were tiresome. Joanna had heard so many she could finish sentences for her.
“Nevertheless, it would be nice to have a beau just for Saturday. It’s the school reunion and that evil Katie Thompson will be there. No matter what I’ve done in life, it’s not good enough. She lives round here. Every time I bump into her she finds a way of putting me down. Never says anything specifically about my size but always gives me that look up and down, you know: ‘Still fat, I see.’”