Template:Featured Article/01 2011

Ruth Cairns is a writer for a magazine on Fleet Street. Her editor, Gwen Cox, wants her to do a story about the "Think Thin" program taking place at the Chesterton Clinic. Ruth doesn't want to do the story and longs to one day get out of the women's section of the magazine. Regardless, she agrees to the task. She attends one of the clinic's weight loss seminars under the guise of being a member. The seminar instructor, a P.E. coach named Willis is a loud and cruel man, who tries to get people to lose weight through public humiliation and negative reinforcement. At the seminar, Ruth meets another member named Ben Faraday. The two hit it off and agree to go to lunch.

As they eat, they discuss the program and Ben tells Ruth that Willis prescribed a special dietary pill for him. They conclude their meal and agree to meet each other again. Ruth writes her telephone number down on Ben's hand.

Ben begins driving home, but a sudden illness quickly overtakes him. His vision becomes blurry and he begins driving erratically. He starts to hallucinate and sees a duplicate image of himself sitting in the seat next to him. Driving to drive the illusion away, Ben crashes his car into a tree and is killed.

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