chapter 6

At this point things began to change for both boys. PB got a job at the ice cream parlor, as feeding Joseph was taking a toll on his wallet, and Joseph had a talk with Coach Grant.

Joseph had been eating as much as he could at lunch with PB for two weeks. It was the beginning of October and the football season was in full-swing. Joseph stood in the locker room changing for practice with the rest of the guys. At 6'2" he wasn't the tallest, but with the extra fat and muscle Joseph seemed all the more imposing.

"Man, you might need to leave PB alone," Johnny Davis said as Joseph pulled off his jeans. The pants had been relatively loose, but he knew he'd soon need to tell his mom he was going to go up a few sizes. Today's practice didn't require pads. It was going to be full of running and weight training.

"What're you talking about?" Joseph said. He stood momentarily in his briefs and undershirt. His thighs were large and thick, leading into sculpted calves. His undershirt rode up on his belly and he tugged at the hem before it rode up again. "I'm eating like a king."

"More like a pig," Vick Harrison chimed in. "Don't you think you've put on a few?"

"Well, yeah, that's what men do," Joseph replied. "And you've seen how much stronger I've gotten. Look at how massive my arms are." He flexed for show as his friends gazed upon him.

"Lee, my office, now," Coach Grant said, mentally bringing the trio back into the locker room. "The rest of you ladies need to get changed. Move. Move. Move." Joseph strode from the locker room to Coach Grant's office and stood before the man. "Are you going to explain yourself?" Coach Grant asked in an authoritative way. It made Joseph feel small.

"What--what do you mean, Sir?"

"Step on that scale." Coach grant motioned towards the scale in the corner of the room. "Tell me what it says, and you'd better not ***ing lie, boy." Joseph turned slowly and gingerly made his way to the corner of the small office. He stood on the scale and moved the weights around. He hadn't weighed himself since the first week of summer training. "And?" Coach Grant asked expectantly.

"It says I weigh 267 pounds."

"Jesus H. Christ, Lee." Coach Grant wasn't expecting that. "That's nearly seventy pounds in three months." Joseph was just as surprised. He felt blood rushing to his penis and tried to fight getting an erection. Nobody really said too much about his weight to him. His mother had to let out his church pants every few weeks, sure. And maybe he had to retire majority of his jeans. But Joseph couldn't believe he had gained nearly seventy pounds.

It had been taco day in the cafeteria and he had eaten nearly ten tacos, not to mention an entire plate of Mexican rice. He thought about how he had planned out his meals with PB the lunch period before the next. Tomorrow he'd get three of the fried chicken lunch specials.

"Is--is that all, Coach?" he asked.

"Lee, you're one of the biggest guys on the team. I'm going to have to restructure things."

"I'm sorry, Sir," Joseph said, aware of the fact that he stood in nothing but his underclothes. "I guess I've been eating a little more." He thought about how he ate the lunches his mom made and the ones from PB.

"A little?" Coach Grant asked sarcastically. "You must single-handedly be keeping the cafeteria in business. You must have your mother working day and night keeping that gut you've got growing fed." Joseph thought about how PB belonged on that list. He thought about PB more than he should have. He recalled how angry he had been about being extorted, but was glad that PB had been bold enough to keep him around. "Get ready for practice," Coach Grant said finally, still in shock over the revelation. "You're lucky to still have a spot on the team."