Chapter 2

It was a rather nice change of pace, to not have her mother breathing down her neck at all times, wondering if she was behaving, wanting to know details about her dates, or the worst—asking her what her weight was. Kara’s mother had been a model in her younger years, and had always hoped Kara would do the same. She wanted Kara to look her best when she was “discovered”, so the paranoia about size and appearance had been thick in the Michelson home. Kara was never discovered (“Who would go to Pleasant to discover modeling talent?” she used to ask her mother), but the behavior had stuck just the same.

Now, without her mother around to make her nervous, Kara felt she had a handle on her life. She was doing well in all her classes, and enjoying the partying lifestyle of the campus. The dormitory was always busy with someone having a party. Since Kara’s room was right in the middle of the floor, she was always answering knocks and invitations to join them. Andrew made appearances once in a while at these get-togethers, and Kara always felt a little angry when she saw him. It wasn’t that he did anything wrong that first day, but she hated anything that caught her off-guard, and Andrew certainly did that. She couldn’t explain it, but he made her nervous and excited all at once. None of the boys back home did that, they were all just happy to fawn over here. Kara decided that this was why she didn’t like Andrew. He didn’t give her the attention she knew she deserved.



Another little perk Kara was enjoying was the food. She never knew a college campus could have so many different kinds of food! Kara found that she had a bit of a secret fascination with the food. She would go to the cafeteria, grab as much as her long arms could carry, and rush back to her room in the dorm, praying no one would see her. Then she would spread the food out on her bed, lie down, and shovel it in. There was something about the overstuffed feeling she got that both aroused and repulsed her. Kara found herself wishing she could have the courage to let herself get fat, so she could just enjoy this behavior out in the open. Feelings inside her warred as her body digested the massive feast she had just fed it. She knew she wanted to be perfect, and that meant slim, but there was something in her that was so drawn to the idea of being fat.



Kara showed up to the Halloween party on her floor dressed as Sandy from Grease. She had the black spandex leggings, the tight top, the leather jacket zipped up, and the curly hair. It took more hairspray than she wanted to admit to get her hair correct, but Kara was a perfectionist, and would refuse to go if every last curl wasn’t in place. She had on the platform vinyl shoes, and walked gracefully into the party, a smile already in place on her ruby red lips.



She glanced around and caught sight of Andrew, dressed as—her heart started racing. He was dressed as Danny, the male lead from Grease! He looked up and saw her, and smiled that unnerving smile of his. How had he known? One of her friends must have told him what she would be wearing. Kara’s chin went up, her eyes shot momentary sparks at him, and she turned around to chat with the jock that had just entered the room. It wasn’t her fault that Andrew couldn’t come up with a costume idea of his own.



Her tactic of ignoring him only worked for a short time, however, as Andrew seemed determined to have a conversation with her. He followed Kara around the party, standing near enough that she knew he was there, but far enough so as to not intrude on her in-progress chats. Kara was more than slightly aware of his presence, and tried to keep her attention on others, until finally the mix of nerves and excitement got the better of her.



“Why are you following me around?” she rounded on him and spat out at one point.



“I have to talk to you,” Andrew replied in a low tone. Kara was startled to see that he looked completely serious. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, as though something bad were to happen. She simply nodded and followed Andrew from the room.

They walked down the hall in silence, Andrew leading the way to his room, the “Resident Advisor” sign on the door. Kara had never been inside his room, only seen it in passing as she was running to class. As they walked in, she was stunned to find that his furnishings were rather comfortable. He had two over-stuffed armchairs on one wall, a bookcase between them, and a computer desk with a high-end machine on it. His bed was quite large, and pushed into one corner so it stuck out into the room. He had posters all over his walls with funny sayings and adorable animals. Kara turned to find Andrew looking at her intently.

“What is it? You took me away from a perfectly good party, where I did have hopes of possibly letting off some of my midterm stress, to bring me here to your room--” she started, but Andrew cut her off by putting his hand up.

“I know, Kara. I know all about it,” he whispered softly, leaning in just a bit. Kara felt her stomach plunge into the icy depths of her feet. He knew. He had seen her, and now he was going to… what? Was he going to launch into her about being a hypocrite? Was he going to blackmail her with it? She could feel herself becoming more terrified with each passing moment. Then, suddenly, Andrew grabbed her around her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her. Kara struggled for a moment then got lost in the feel of his lips. Her arms went around him and she melted into the kiss.