chapter 7

Becky woke late one Saturday morning and stretched pleasantly. Her hands now routinely came to rest on her midriff after her waking stretch. She gave her tummy a gentle squeeze. Becky was nudging 175 pounds herself now and had simply stopped paying attention to her weight since starting at the research facility. Subsequently, she had rapidly traversed from being slim and toned, through to the 'curvy' stage, but was now flirting dangerously close with becoming chubby. Blessed with a quirk of her genetics, Becky's body was still tight, firm, and her skin was smooth and free from stretch marks. But it was now hard to argue that she wasn't quickly filling out. Most of her weight resided in her midsection, and to a lesser extent her butt. The rest of her body had grown a little rounder, but it wasn't too far detached from what it was a 4 months ago when she started at the house. Being close to the girls on the trials had really had an affect on Becky. Unconsciously she was eating more with the girls in the canteen and sometimes she would even eat some of the active gain meals designed for the women taking part on the trials without even realising. Obviously, she shouldn't have been doing this, but it was all to easy to be engrossed in something else and pick up, or be given, the wrong meal without even realising. Just in the first month she had spent in the her new position, the extra calories were starting to become apparent. The 20 pounds Becky had gained had gone mainly to her belly, and although still uneasy, Becky was starting to accept that she was beginning to find this appealing. She got up and looked at herself in the full length mirror. Becky had formed a habit where when she was feeling a little provocative she would wear the same underwear the participants were given for the photographs given the opportunity. She enjoyed looking at herself in the mirror and seeing how they looked on her body. The grey French knickers were beginning to dig in a little with Becky's increased weight. They were stretched tight against her skin and dug into her slightly, causing her belly and small love handles to become ever more accentuated. She turned sideways and looked at her rounding ass. It had softened a little and had become bigger and more shapely as a result of her gain. However it was still firm and well proportioned and she knew it looked better than ever. The knickers now sat higher up on her buttocks, exposing much more of her smooth round cheeks. She revelled at her body but knew she now had to get dressed. As Becky was now living permanently at the lab to be close to the girls, it wouldn't be long before she started her daily duties. She slipped into her work dress and put on a cardigan. Her work dress, which had a resemblance to a nurses uniform, was tight now across her middle and did little to hide her pot belly, with even a hint of a dimple showing through where her belly button resided. However, it wasn't too obvious and Becky honestly didn't really mind. She enjoyed its increasing tightness around her middle. Becky left her room and headed for the canteen, as she entered she spotted Iain and Tom sitting alone in one corner and smiled at them.

"Have you noticed Becky recently?", Tom smiled at Becky as she walked by. "Yes, I have", Iain looked up and smiled at Becky too as she headed towards the trays of food. "Is it me, or has she, urm, filled out a bit?", Tom said as he looked at Becky's tighter uniform. "Indeed. I overheard some of the participants talking the other day and they were commenting on how involved Becky seems to be with the girls. They said they felt very at ease with her around because she seemed so much... on their level". "You don't think she could be developing some form of attachment do you?", Tom asked. "No ...... no I don't think so, not exactly anyway. There may be, some kind of imprinting going on I suppose though. I think Becky may be feeling very empathetic towards the girls, without realising it fully", "How do you mean?". "Well I was talking to one of the behavioural psychologists the other day as she was starting to observe certain concerning behaviour in some of the participants. She has been surprised to find that some of the girls appear to be.... rather enjoying gaining weight". "Interesting, has she theorised as to why?", Tom asked with curiosity. "Well, if I understand her correctly, she was saying that this was because of a number of factors which appear to be quite unique to this research. The main reason as I understand it, is because in usual circumstances, i.e. out in society, what the girls are doing on the program goes against social normality. Here they are, getting rewarded for actually gaining weight. This goes against normative social conditioning, as they have been socialised to believe they must loose weight and fat is bad, so this is quite deviant behaviour. Then you have the act of overeating itself. I'm sure you know that other studies have shown that constant overeating stimulates the pleasure areas of the brain over time, so some of the girls maybe starting to enjoy the feeling and reward of eating and being full. Then, coupled to this, we have given them all a get out of jail free card if you will, in the fact that they get the drug afterwards and can loose all the weight. Its like it never happened". Tom looked at Iain with intrigue, Iain continued. "So the act of over eating, gaining weight, and getting rewards for doing so, plus the safety net of the drug at the end, has given these girls a sense of liberty not usually experienced. Being in the lab for such a long time away from family, friends and society, they are removed from any judgement, ridicule and of course, any forms of social embarrassment. They are all going through the same process together, so take comfort that they aren't alone. By the time the trial is over, they can go back to their family and friends as if none of this ever happened. All these factors together can manifest themselves as quite powerful feelings in some of the girls, which can be realised as having sexual connotations". Tom raised an eyebrow, "So basically what you are saying is that some of the girls .. are finding this process ... sexually arousing?", Tom asked. "Precisely. And while that doesn't negatively effect the research data, it's still a concern", Iain concluded. "But what does this have to do with Becky?", Tom asked. "Well apart from her apparent ... filling out, which I suppose could be coincidental, some have noticed, including myself, that Becky has become very close with some of the girls ... but especially one ... err .. Laura. Now, here is where we need to be careful, Laura is one of the participants that is apparently .. enjoying the weight gain", Iain noticed Tom grimace slightly, "Ahhh, Laura. Why don't I find that surprising, the girl is trouble Iain, I've said it before. So you think Becky has got a little drawn in to it because of her friendship with Laura?", "Yes, probably without realising, this is the concern. We don't want Becky getting drawn in to anything untoward, and remember the main term of her contract? Could you gently remind her of this for me? I thinking it may be time to tell her about Paul". "Yes, I will Iain, I'm inclined to agree. Especially now. I don't trust Laura, there is something about her".