Chapter 1

Al was the first to arrive at Golden Joe's Restaurant. He headed for the usual table he shared with his friends on their monthly night out at the all-you-can-eat buffet. He slipped into the seat with his back to the wall, anxiously watching for someone he knew to come in the door. He blushed when a waitress brought him a glass of water, ducking his head and mumbling something that might have been thank you.

It was weird, thought Al. He talked to strangers all day at his job at the call centre, but outside of work it was as if he didn't didn't have enough talking-to-strangers points left to use. He had always been shy, but lately it was getting ridiculous.

Al pushed these unpleasant thoughts away and brightened when his friend Sean walked in the door. Sean had quit his job as a gym trainer a few months back. Al hadn't seen him since the last buffet night and he was surprised by the change in his friend. Sean had a pudgey belly, and his whole body was getting soft and chubby. Al looked down at his own tiny roll of flab, sighing. Some men might have envied Sean his buff body, but Al was secretly jealous of the way his friend looked now. And of how easily he gained weight.

Al had always dreamed of being fat. As early as he could remember, cartoons with a weight gain plot had caught his full attention, leaving him feeling confused and fascinated and tingly in ways he didn't quite understand. He'd stuffed pillows under his t-shirt as a young teen, jerking off in the bathroom as he pretended that ample swell of belly was really him. He'd dreamed of girls who would entice him to eat and eat, a whole banquet that replenished itself continually, until he was as fat as a hog. He fantasized about having to eat his way out of a prison made of food, each delicious mouthful making him bigger and bigger until he could scarcely waddle his way to freedom.

When he'd left home, he'd set out to make that dream happen. But he was cursed. He had a fast metabolism, that burned off calories nearly as fast as he could shovel them in. He'd waited for the freshman fifteen to pile on, but it hadn't. He'd remained the 125 pounds he'd been in high school. At 5'5" this was fairly average. Only since graduating from university had Al managed to gain ten pounds, thanks to a sedentary job and plenty of vending machine snacks. But it wasn't anything close to what he wanted.

"Hello," he greeted Sean. "How are things?"

"Great!" Sean replied, grinning. He proceeded to pour out a whole story about how much he loved his new job at an art supply store, sprinkled with liberal mentions of his girlfriend, Kiyana. Al smiled and nodded along, but inside he was a little jealous of his friend's happiness. Not that Sean didn't deserve it, but- when would it be his turn?

Sean's praise of his new ladyfriend ended when Damien arrived at the table, his shaggy hair falling over his forehead in a sculpted-to-look-unsculpted way. He threw himself down in a chair.

"I just got off the phone with Petey," he said.

"Yeah?" said Sean.

"Yeah, he can't make it tonight. Something to do with getting ready for a big presentation tomorrow. Let's eat. I'm starved."

The three young men filled heaping plates with the steaming hot food laid out at the buffet. At least seventy-five per cent of the dishes were deep-fried, Al estimated, as he stocked up on spring rolls. Damien and Sean kept the conversation going as they ate, but Al didn't have much to add. The truth was, he hadn't done much that was interesting since the last night they'd met. Gone to work. Watched movies. When did my life get so boring? he asked himself.

Sighing, he followed Sean up to the buffet for a third plate of food.

"Hey," said Sean quietly when they got there. "Are you okay?"

Al stared at him.

"It's just, you seem a little down," Sean continued.

Al felt ashamed. Here he'd been busy feeling jealous of his friend, while Sean had been paying enough attention to be concerned for him.

"I am, a little," he confessed. "Just the winter blues, I guess. "

"Okay."

Al felt stuffed when he reached home. Trying to keep pace with Sean while eating was a tall order these days. Al hoped some of this bloated belly would stick around.