Eight Year Old GIRL HAS A FEAR OF ALL FOOD

Eight-year-old Hannah Hemmings stood awkwardly at the doorway of her new classroom.

"Class, this is Hannah Hemmings," the teacher announced. "Are you sure she's in the right class? I mean, she's a little short for sixth grade, don't you think?"

A snicker rippled through the room. Hannah shrank further into herself.

The teacher, Ms. Garcia, shot a withering look at the source of the laughter, a boy named Tyler. "Tyler," she said sternly, "remember that we raise our hands in class. And Hannah happens to be a very bright student, so much so that she skipped the fourth and fifth grades."

"Still," a girl piped up, "my cousin's in kindergarten and she's about the same height."

Ms. Garcia cut her off. "That's enough. Regardless of her size, I expect each and every one of you to make her feel welcome. Hannah, why don't you go ahead and take a seat right next to Kristen? Welcome to book side. Don't mind Tyler, he's been an extra big jerk ever since we got our presentation assignments."

Hannah mumbled a thank you and shuffled to her seat. She envied Kristen, who seemed perfectly comfortable in her new surroundings.

"I think it's really cool that you skipped two grades, though," Kristen chirped. "You must be a total genius!"

Ms. Garcia beamed. "In addition to welcoming our new student, I have another very exciting announcement. As a reward for getting the highest standardized test scores in the county, I bought some jelly donuts. Here you go;"

Ms. Garcia passed out donuts to the students. She offered one to Hannah, who hesitated.

"I'm okay," Hannah mumbled. "I just don't feel like eating it because I didn't earn it like the rest of the class."

"Oh, no, nonsense! Consider it a welcome gift," Ms. Garcia said kindly.

"If you're not going to eat it, I will," Tyler said, reaching for Hannah's donut.

Lunchtime was even more challenging. Hannah sat alone, picking at her lunch.

"Is that seat taken?" a voice asked. It was Kristen.

"No," Hannah mumbled.

Kristen sat down. "That's quite a lunch you got there. They're serving shing sub today with turkey and tomato, and you don't like sandwiches?"

"I don't like lunch meat, and I don't like tomatoes," Hannah mumbled again. "And I hate seeds."

"I get that seeds can be pretty freaky, and lunch meat can be pretty nasty, especially those white dots in the salami. I mean, whatever is that?"

Hannah felt a wave of nausea rise in her throat.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Kristen asked, her voice laced with concern.

"I'm... I'm okay," Hannah stammered. "I just don't feel well."

"Getting sick again? So sorry, I didn't mean for you feel sick," Kristen apologized.

"It's not you," Hannah whispered. "I have ARFID. What's that, a stomach bug or something?"

"No, it stands for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. I'm scared of... I just don't like certain foods, a lot of food."

"So you're a picky eater?"

"No, it's not that. Certain foods kind of make me sick."

Kristen tilted her head. "Well, I guess you're just like anybody else. I imagine some food or other making somebody somewhere sick, right?"

"Yes, I guess," Hannah mumbled. "But do me a favor, please? Don't tell anyone because it's really hard to explain, and I don't like to talk about it."

"That's okay," Kristen said reassuringly. "We can talk about something else. Have you decided what you're doing for your science project?"

The weeks that followed were a blur of challenges for Hannah. Lunch was the hardest part. The cafeteria smells triggered her anxiety, and the sight of unfamiliar food made her stomach churn. She often ended up throwing away most of her lunch.

One day, during science class, Tyler forgot his presentation. Ms. Garcia, exasperated, turned to Hannah. "Hannah," she said, "would you like to go next? Your project is about surface tension of water, right?"

Hannah, surprised, stepped forward. She delivered a clear and concise presentation, explaining the concept with confidence.

Later, Ms. Garcia announced that for the final project