Military training is hot, my girlfriend won't let me wear sunscreen

Summer was my ride-or-die bestie. After graduation, we both applied to the same college.

She'd always say, "Lia, you're such a goof. If I didn't have your back, you'd get eaten alive!"

But then Summer started "saving me money," making me eat her leftovers. During orientation, she wouldn't let me use sunscreen, telling me a tan was healthy and looked way better.

I just got uglier, while she was dieting and getting all dolled up, turning into the campus queen bee. Even Jake, the guy I had a huge crush on, ended up marrying her.

I blew up like a balloon, got kidney failure, and begged her for money to save my life. She shrugged me off, saying, "Girl, you gotta pull yourself up by your bootstraps! I've helped you for years; I'm done."

Now I'm back, reliving the day of orientation!

1

“Lia, what's with the fuss? You’re gonna use sunscreen during orientation?" my best friend, Summer, was giving me the stink eye.

She grabbed my pricey sunscreen, ready to chuck it in the trash, “Your folks work hard; you can’t be wasting money on this junk! Just toss it!”

Everyone in the dorm room was staring.

Last time, Summer threw away my sunscreen, and I got scorched, face full of zits. My skin peeled like crazy, red and raw.

Because of that, I missed the welcome dance and the chance to be the emcee.

Summer, though, she was the star of the dance, shining bright.

The whole dorm was whispering, calling me a vain, spoiled brat for buying expensive sunscreen when my family was “struggling.”

Summer would then tell me, “Don’t listen to them. You might be a bit on the chubby side, but it's what's on the inside that counts!” handing me the rest of her ice cream, "I'm on a diet, help me out!"

I just got heavier, slouching, never daring to wear a dress.

During a group project, I stayed up all night building a model, and Jake, the cutie, said, "Lia, you made this?" He actually asked me out for lunch.

But Summer was like, “Girl, you’re such a pushover; you can’t go alone!”

She came with, in a new dress, full makeup, flipping her hair, chatting non-stop with Jake. I hardly got a word in.

The next group project, Summer switched to Jake’s team. “Sorry, Lia, but Jake was saying he was impressed with my knowledge base and said I’d be a good teammate!”

Jake’s team took first place, and Summer and Jake started dating, going on to get their Masters together.

Meanwhile, I graduated with a crummy job and developed kidney problems. The doc sighed, “Your body fat's too high, and you’ve got insulin resistance…”

I saw Summer saying, “Lia, you’re cute when you’re chunky!”

I banged on the door of her McMansion.

She was married to Jake, but her maid shooed me away. “Look, Lia, you need to stand on your own two feet. I’ve been helping you for years; I've done enough.”

Unable to afford dialysis, I laid in a hospital bed, bloated and suffocating.

2

I snatched the sunscreen back, saying, “I bought this with my summer job money. It’s none of your business!”

Summer looked sh...