TRAILER TRASH TEEN ch.1

On Saturday morning Tina Carlson was busy doing her
regular aerobics in front of the television. She wore
a pair of tight gray sweat-pants and a red tank top
that left her firm belly fully exposed. She’d been
working out for over an hour without a break.

She was beginning to feel woozy.

Tina exercised like this because she thought she was
fat. She wasn’t, of course (not even close) but like a
lot of girls her age she was so paranoid about looking
obese that she worked out regularly and ate as little
as possible. This was her nature: to obsess over
things.

She obsessed about her body the most. The result? Her
tiny body, though too small and skinny for some, was a
perfect example of teenage sexuality for others. Her
a-cup breasts, firm rounded butt, and skinny yet toned
form sometimes looked malnourished but at least, Tina
reasoned, she wasn’t chubby! She was proud of weighing
only ninety-one pounds, and freaked out if she gained
even one.

Tina was sixteen years old, and she looked it. Her
body was just finalizing its curves and her skin still
had that fresh, soft glow of youth to it. But since
she was sixteen, there was little chance the short,
5’4″ tall girl would grow much taller. But she didn’t
care that much. She thought she was a good height, and
besides, she had a cute face: a rounded jaw-line that
allowed her generous smiles and menacing scowls;
bright, wide blue eyes; and shoulder-length light
blonde hair which was thin and wispy. Her small
breasts bothered her more, and she still crossed her
fingers in the hope that a late “spurt” would push her
into at least a b-cup later on.

What she was currently wearing for her workout was
pretty much standard dress for the girl, except for
the sweatpants which she only wore during a workout.
She liked t-shirts and tank tops, denim jeans and
shorts, none of it ever designer or too expensive.
Generally, too, she preferred tight clothing:
flaunting her body excited her, although she told
herself she only did it because it was “funny” to mess
with the boys at school.

Her dad was still asleep. He’d drank too much the
night before, as usual, and would be unconscious until
two or three in the afternoon at the earliest. He was
a truck driver for a living and an alcoholic gambler
on the side. Tina didn’t like much thinking about him
and was glad that his job kept him away for long
periods of time.

Tina continued exercising before the TV until she
nearly collapsed. At that point, her head woozy and
sweat gleaming over her body, she stopped: she knew
the symptoms. She had to either take a break or pass
out.

Panting from the exertion, she grabbed the remote-
control and clicked the TV off, ending Jane Fonda and
her “Complete Workout” tape (Tina’s favorite). She
threw the remote to the floor next to her weights and
undid her pulled-back hair in one swift movement.

Crossing the small room to a nightstand-turned-table
she grabbed her smokes and stepped outside for some
fresh air. The screen door slammed close behind her.
She lit a cigarette once outside and began puffing
away as she thought about school, her body and her
father, in that order.

Just one more fuckin’ month until finals, she thought
bitterly.

Tina had been falling behind in her schoolwork at
Warren High. This marking period– her third as a
sophomore— had to end with a score of at least 3.0
or it’d be impossible for the semester to end with her
remaining on the honor roll. If she wasn’t on the
honor roll her chances of getting a scholarship would
plummet when she started applying for college the next
year when she became a junior.

For nearly three years Tina had been obsessed with
getting an out-of-state scholarship. She wanted to
leave South Carolina and go to a respectable
university, to become a professional of some kind.