My Fat Childhood Friend

On body shaming, friendship and comedy

When I was in fourth grade, living in Maryland, I rode the bus to school and back every weekday. The school bus would first drive through the all-black neighborhood across the highway from the all-white neighborhood. It would pick up all the black elementary school kids then drive across the highway to the all-white neighborhood where it picked up the white kids.

My parents and I’m sure a lot of white parents told us white kids that we must never, ever step foot in that all-black neighborhood across the highway. We could get killed! I learned that a lot of black parents told their children the very same thing about the all-white neighborhood.

But the black kids and the white kids rode the very same bus to school together each day. We went to school together and learned together and sat together in class and we played together on the playground. We were just kids! What the hell was wrong with those stupid adults?

I always looked forward to getting on the bus each morning because I wanted to sit next to my friend Felicia. Luckily, the seat next to Felicia was always empty. No one wanted to sit next to Felicia. Except me.

Felicia was black. And she was overweight. Very overweight. She was the most overweight kid in fourth grade.