chapter 6 - year two part 2

Three months passed and Chloe found it increasingly difficult to squeeze into her clothes. Her hips overflowed from every pair of pants that she owned, causing her to perpetually display a prominent muffin top. She also had a number of button-down shirts that her growing gut constantly threatened to pop. Even her breasts, which had remained mostly unchanged for the past year, filled her now undersized B-cup bras. Chloe was certainly aware that her wardrobe was incompatible with her expanding form, but she refrained from making any changes for two reasons: 1) it was a pain to buy new clothes and 2) she simply didn't know how to dress her new shape. However, her decision only served to draw attention to appearance.

One day, Chloe was on lunch duty when she was approached Danielle, a student of hers. "Hey Mrs. Cuthbert." Danielle was a nice girl, but she wasn't exactly known for her brains; she was the jokester of her group of friends. Also, her impulsive control wasn't great and she frequently interrupted Chloe's classes by not sitting in her seat.

"I'm so happy for you! Would you mind if I touched it?"

Chloe, utterly confused, had no time to respond before Danielle had a hand on her belly.

"Oh wow, this feels pretty hard! How exciting!"

"Danielle, that is rude, please don't touch me! And what are you talking about?"

"I heard you were pregnant. Isn't that what I'm touching right now, the baby?" asked Danielle.

"Uh, no I am not pregnant. I...just ate a big lunch, that's all." said a mortified Chloe.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry Mrs. Cuthbert. I just figured, well, you know, because you have some weight on you now..."

"That's enough, Danielle! Now go back to your table before I decide to give you a detention" said a visibly angry Chloe. A fearful Danielle scurried back to her table where her friends sat. Chloe saw Danielle whisper to them and then watched as the group occasionally glanced back toward her with suspicious eyes. She was both furious and deeply embarrassed about Danielle's comments. "I can't believe she would say something like that...Where the heck did she get that idea?" she thought to herself. She then put two hands on her rounded stomach that now hung well over her ill-fitting pants. "Well, I suppose it isn't an insane notion these days. I guess something like this was inevitable. Maybe it is time for a wardrobe upgrade after all".

It was the end of the day and all the students had just left on their school buses. Chloe was in her classroom, bent over packing her school bag, which caused her shirt to ride up and reveal her fleshy love handles. Unknown to Chloe, Stacy walked through the door.

"Better be careful not to rip those pants; it looks like they can't take much more" said Stacy spitefully.

"Uh, excuse me?" said Chloe, bewildered by Stacy's unexpected visit. She stood up and turned around to face Stacy who stood in the doorway a few feet away.

"Here I was, so sure that you were pregnant. Turns out that thing is just a permanent food baby" she said, pointing to Chloe's midsection.

"Wait, did you...?" said Chloe before Stacy cut her off.

"My, my, I can see how doughy you are even from here. 'Doughy Chloe.' Hey that's not bad, don't you think? Well, I'll be seeing you around, dough-girl. After all, you're pretty hard to miss." And with that she left Chloe's classroom and sauntered down the hallway.

Chloe immediately burst into tears. She had never been so insulted nor felt so humiliated. As a child, she had never been bullied and she certainly didn't expect that she'd encounter it as an adult. Yet, Stacy had clearly set out to disparage her, first by planting the pregnancy rumor with Danielle and then by taunting her to her face. Chloe ran down to Lisa's classroom.

Still in a frenzy and with tears streaming down her face, Chloe said to Lisa: "We need to go shopping tonight".

~*~*~*~*~
"What the actual ***" shouted Lisa. "Is she some kind of psychopath or something? I knew she was stuck up, but evil? Damn her. This aggression will not stand, man! We've got to get her back for this."

"I have no idea what her problem is, but she is right that I need some new clothes. I've put this off for too long." replied Chloe. She was still in shock from her confrontation with Stacy, but she hoped that getting a new wardrobe would help to ease some of her discomfort. However, shopping also brought with it new challenges and anxieties. Chloe knew she had to come to terms with the fact that she was no longer a "small". Moreover, she needed to plan for how big she might become.

The two friends scoured the mall, popping in and out of clothing stores to see what was available. Lisa provided some really great advice and encouragement throughout the process and Chloe was glad that she came along. Chloe started out by trying on size 8 jeans, the next size up. She grunted as she strained to pull the new pants up her pillowy thighs and over her ample rear.

"Ugh, these are tighter than I thought they'd be". She took the opportunity to model in front of the dressing room mirror. She noticed that her face was rounder; a noticeable layer of fat had begun to collect around her chin and cheeks, making her face look much fuller. She saw that her arms were also fleshier and they jiggled as she pretended to gesture. "I'm really filling out all over. It's almost like I'm becoming a different person" she thought to herself. She stepped out of the dressing room to show Lisa's the pants.

"Damn, girl. Looking good!" said Lisa.

"Thanks, but even these feel a little bit tight on me." said Chloe. She slid a finger in between her waist and pants to demonstrate how tightly they clung to her. "Maybe I'm a size 10?"

"It's better to get the bigger size. If you happen to slim down, you always have your old clothes. If you go the other way, well, then you're in trouble." suggested Lisa.

"Yeah, you're right. Grab some size 10s and tell the cashier I'll wear this pair out. Meet you at the register." replied Chloe. She stepped back into the dressing room to gather her old pants and looked again into the mirror. "I never thought I'd be this big. On one hand, it's scary; I still feel uncomfortable and I'm totally freaked out over Stacy. On the other hand, Jeremy still loves me and I'm having a blast with Lisa." she thought to herself. Chloe held up her old pants and remembered what Lisa had just said. "Will I ever be this size again?" she wondered.

By the end of the trip, Chloe had spent a small fortune on new clothes. Her new wardrobe included size 10 pants of every variety, several sets of C cup bras, an assortment of "large" shirts, and at Lisa's insistence, a few pairs of elastic-waist pants, athletic shorts, and sweat pants ("For those lazy weekends!"). Of course, the two friends had to stop for dinner at the food court. They each got a plate of Chinese food which they quickly devoured.

"Ugh, this is why I needed new clothes" said Chloe as she rubbed her bloated belly. "I'm a pig."

"Well if you're a pig then I must be a whale" answered Lisa.

"Oh, no I didn't mean it like that..." said Chloe sheepishly.

"Relax, it's fine. Did I tell you that a few weeks back I weighed in at 208? First time that I ever saw myself over 200 on the scale. You know I'm not shy when it comes to talking about or showing off my good looks" said Lisa with a wink.

"How do you do it? I mean, what makes you so self-confident?" asked Chloe.

"Well, you just need to realize that it doesn't matter what most other people think of you. You can be who you want to be and while people can judge you, they can't stop you. And to learn that, you need to put yourself out there and see what happens. It won't always be pretty, but you'll always have the satisfaction of knowing you were true to yourself. Try something a little different now and then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to run to the restroom" said Lisa.

Chloe thought about her friend's advice. It was true that she often refrained from doing some things in order to "fit in" better, but when she did that she usually felt worse about herself. Maybe it really was better to just endure any passing judgment than to be disappointed in herself. Just then, Chloe felt her belly rumble such that she needed to burp. Usually she would stifle such a response, but being inspired by Lisa's words, she decided to act differently. She let loose with a thunderous belch that caused a few of the passersby to turn their heads toward her. She felt her face flush reflexively and she sat with a feeling of embarrassment until it passed a few moments later. She noticed that she was invisible once more, that any passersby had resumed their businesses long ago.

"Well, that was certainly new" she thought to herself. Her belly felt more settled, as if it were thankful. She also recognized that her brief moment of embarrassment was replaced with an odd feeling of pride that she could actually produce such a sound. "Maybe Lisa was on to something after all".