Chapter 5 - 4-1 - where there

After leaving Sarah's apartment in embarrassment Ben reached campus early for his lab class. He hoped to get in a few more minutes to study and to grab a quick bite beforehand. He hadn't had lunch yet, and decided that today was the day. Today he would be able to ignore his mysterious affliction and eat normal portions of healthy food. Ben realized while Sarah had seemed accepting of his newfound softness, he knew she was probably only trying to make him feel better. Her tone when she told him his gain shouldn't go much further was clearly one of warning, and Ben grew anxious knowing what would happen if he didn't stem the tide. If he got any fatter, the thought made him shudder, there was a real chance he could lose Sarah. He couldn't let that happen. He didn't care how much his belly demanded, he would just need to deal with it. To get things started off well Ben bought a simple Caesar Salad and yogurt, once he reached campus, and sat down in the sprawling mess hall lounge with his notes.

After finding a corner booth and after sinking into it's deep cushions Ben practically inhaled his healthy food, his hunger barely allowing him to breath between bites. Before he knew it his spoon was scraping bottom, and a distinct lack of fulfillment lingered. He tried to sit and focus, but Ben soon realized that wouldn't be happening. Only a few minutes after eating the meal his stomach informed him that he was starving yet again. He tried to ignore it, pushing in on his belly to try and ease the pain, but no matter what he tried he couldn't focus on his work. Every action, every thought seemed strained when he felt like he was about to succumb to starvation. Ben slammed his pencil down and rubbed his temples. Frustration was setting in, Ben had gotten nowhere with his notes, and his visible anguish was probably attracting attention. Suddenly a heavenly aroma filled Ben's nose. A couple walked past with an outrageous portion of fried chicken and mashed potatoes, the wafting smell instantly commanded Ben's attention, making him forget there was even a textbook in front of him. Ben started sliding towards the cafeteria, but caught himself before he tried to stand. 'Stop.' Ben told himself, snapping his attention back to his text book. 'You don't need it, you just ate.'

Ben looked at a sample problem in his chemistry book. "If 1 mole of carbon and one of helium were combined, how much chicken could the output sustain-" Ben shook his head, incredulous that food had so quickly taken over his thoughts. He gritted his teeth and tried looking at the problem again, beads of sweat forming on his brow. "If one burger and one slice of cake are eaten, how good will they taste?" Ben slammed the book and clutched his stomach, hunger pains suddenly wracking through his body. "This is nuts!!" he thought in a panic, "it's like I didn't eat anything at all!" Ben cradled his middle enduring the pangs, after they eased he mentally had had enough. Ben reluctantly decided to get something else to eat, and hoped that some hearty protein would last him a bit longer. He loaded up a plate with chicken tenders and some mashed potatoes from the buffet. The smell better than he ever remembered the food at the cafeteria smelling, Ben could hardly wait to pay for it before digging in. As he shuffled towards the checkout, the woman in charge of the dining hall came out with what looked like a bag of desserts.

Ben was frozen in place as the corpulent manager with curly blonde locks strode towards him. Ben recognized her as his old boss, when he used to work the cafeteria freshman and sophomore year. She approached him slowly with a wide toothy grin. "Hey Ben! Want some day-olds! We got doughnuts, bagels, croissants... We're just going to throw them away..." Ben swallowed anxiously. He could feel himself start to drool. "I really shouldn't-" He tried to say, but his stomach cut him off, growling loudly. The manager smiled wider. "Nonsense!" She chortled. "I can hear you're hungry from a mile away! Take the whole bag! Your meal is on me." Ben's jaw remained slack as the large woman waddled towards the counter. Try as he might he could not loosen his grip on the bag of treats. Ben took his bounty towards the booths in the back, hardly aware of what he was doing.

Ben plopped down onto the cushion with a thud, greedily tearing open the dark plastic bag without a thought. Inside the bag were more pastries than the fat woman had let on. It wasn't just the standard fare; crullers, cream puffs, and his favorite, cheese danishes were all accounted for along with the bagels and doughnuts, and Ben salivated wildly. He grasped a danish and held it to his lips, nearly taking a bite before his mind fought back. "Stop!" He pleaded with himself. "You're going to get fat in no time if you eat like this. Sarah's going to dump you you idiot! She's the only reason you got this close to graduating!" The last part of his mental plea struck a chord, and allowed Ben to momentarily lower the treat. He put it back into the bag, sighing with relief. "Ok," he thought, "I did it, I can totally keep this going." Ben closed the black bag and nearly had it on the ground, but his stomach had other plans.

Ben began seeing spots and felt incredibly light headed as the hunger struck once again, this time more intense than ever. The pain coursed through his whole body, causing him to assume the fetal position in agony. Without another second Ben's hand shot into the dark bag and shoved the danish into his mouth, the flavor and texture quickly replacing his agony with pure pleasure. Unable to think or reason Ben mowed through the pastries, hardly stopping to drink, and only ending with the consumption of everything on the table. Ben couldn't really keep track in his ravenous state, but he knew he ate at least 2 bagels, 2 doughnuts, a chocolate stick, 4 danishes (2 cheese 2 raspberry), along with his fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Once the last bite of potato was forced into his stuffed form, Ben's head cleared from the frenzy and he leaned back gingerly. 'Oof' was all he could manage, belches surfacing one after another. He rubbed his belly in bewilderment, horrified at what he had just done. 'How many freaking calories was in that...' Ben thought with dread, 'it was easily over 2000, maybe even double that.. I need to get to a gym to try and burn some of this off...' But before Ben got too down he realized something wonderful, he was actually full. 'Finally', he thought, sighing deeply, 'I can think again, I can finally go over-'.

A harsh digital beeping sound interrupted Ben's stupor. "Shit! I'm 5 minutes late!" he grunted in a panic, jumping to his feet to get ready to run to chemistry. Or rather he tried to get to his feet. Ben was momentarily halted by the large mass of food he had eaten, it's weight throwing off his balance and sending him back onto the soft cushions. Ben let out a massive belch and straightened himself out, farting loudly before adjusting his pants. Ben noted that his jeans were really digging into him, but addressing that would need to wait. He braced himself and started jogging laboriously toward lab, feeling the fatty food slosh inside of him, making each step that much more uncomfortable.