Chapter 1 - prologue

Her heels clacked against the hardwood gymnasium floor as she passed a small sign with magnetic letters spelling out: "Overeaters Anonymous - Noon to 3p."


Her hips swayed past rows of chairs, peppered with attendees of varying size. Most were between chubby and fat, while a few were truly obese.


She approached the stage and ascended the steps. The podium almost seemed to come to her and her lips spread into a smile behind the microphone.


"Hello, Children of Abundance," her voice flowed over the crowd. "I am glad you are all ready to connect with your truest self. Before we can know our soul, we have to nourish it. And in this way, it will come to us instead of being frightened off by the extravagance of our zeal."


That's when she had them. She saw the flash in their eyes; the sign that their inner selves had awoken at the promise of shining forth. No longer hiding. Presenting themselves to the world.


That's how she baited them.


She motioned to the back of the room, and as if she had power over reality itself, the double doors swung open. Through each entryway marched a trail of waitresses and waiters; modelesque in appearance, pushing serving carts of meals. Burgers, pizzas, bowls of pastas, even grilled and fried veggies. Towards the end of each convoy were the pastries and cakes. Donuts, eclairs, balls of chocolate coated in hardened candy shells with dustings of powdered sugar.


Eyes shifted, waiting for someone else to take the lead. Chairs creaked as each body squirmed uncomfortably, fighting the urge to approach any of the serving carts.


The woman at the podium smiled, her arms open, gesturing to the feast. She could say no more. The fatties must decide on their own.


Maura Pounder's tongue slid over her plump lips as she eyed an entire roasted turkey. She wiggled her fingers as she fantasized about ripping a drumstick from the dome-shaped bird and sinking her teeth into its savory, juicy flesh, ripping it from the bone. She pursed her lips and shimmied in her seat a little before rising to her feet.


And that was that. The other attendees followed suit.


It was mesmerizing to see the sea of bulbous flesh shifting and rising like a suddenly turbulent ocean.


The last to rise was a man of at least 500 pounds that appeared like he may have graced magazine covers once upon a smaller size. He bounded towards the pizza cart, huffing with every step.


The woman at the podium lowered her arms and kept her gaze on her subjects as she descended the stairs of the stage. She made her way around the edge of the crowd which was now elbow deep in the most rich and filling foods imaginable, and sauntered towards the exit.


On her way out, she passed by a waitress standing by the door.


"No one leaves till it's gone, understand?" the woman ordered.


"Yes, Madame," the waitress replied, closing the door behind her boss.