chapter 16

Months passed, and calories were packed. I returned home for Christmas and New Year's after a grueling week of finals, and with each passing day I ate more food than the last cause of Mom's delicious cooking. And no only that, once I returned back to UMichigan, each day could not elapse without me having consumed at least a box of doughnuts, or two or sometimes even three.

By the start of the new year, I was a whopping 265 pounds. But I wasn't content with my size just yet. Perhaps I was done forcing myself to consume as much food as humanly possible for the remainder of college, but I wasn't done with gaining period. I wanted my belly to reach exponential growth, my thighs to be bulky heaps of fat, my chin to have a couple of friends. I wanted more of me as strange as it sounds. I never thought that this little weight gain could lead to something so much bigger. I's fuckin' weird man, I dunno.

***

Devon was right. I went by his side immediately when school reopened, and I explained to him my thought process, how I'd like to gain more weight after I finish focusing on college. But curtaling this impromptu journey would be just a waste, honestly, which is why I wanted to end it off on a bang.
"Devon," I started. "You know about the 10k calorie challenge, right?"
"Yea, what of it? You saying you wanna tackle it?" he asked.
"Nah, I feel like it won't push me to my limits."
He laughed. "You're something else, man."
"So I'm thinking how bout we try the 25k calorie challenge."
Without a moment to spare, Devon agreed, and we shook on it. I was to come to his frat house by the end of the week to tackle it. When I stepped into the house Saturday morning, I was greeted with five boxes of doughnuts, a dozen burgers, and four XXL pizzas. Sam and Devon were both there, burgers and doughnuts in had, awaiting for me to partake in my final banquet for a while. And I consumed most of the food, ignoring the pain that it induced, for the end result that it would yield was all I cared for.
I was in a state of pure joy, stuffing myself to my limit. And once I couldn't lift my hand to eat more, Sam was the one who aided me. He was the one who helped me out.
And there marked the end of an era, one to be continued years later. But for now, instead of focusing on eating 24/7, I think I'll spend time with Sonia, Evan, and Lola like a normal friend, and I'll spend time with Sam like a normal boyfriend.

The End