Stress-induced picnic

Chapter 3 - midterms - round 2 (part 1)

Quinn was one of the fortunate few that had more than one midterm for the same class, and in what felt like only days after the first round of midterms, the next one hit. The campus was much less crowded, but it was still busy, and what population was left was just as stressed and annoying as the last one. She had learned from experience not to bother trying to find peace in the library or "study rooms", and in fact, depending on the time of day, the best places to work were either in one of the "cafeterias" or in an empty classroom. It was a late Saturday night, and most of the classrooms that were still unlocked were being used by clubs for events or by other students, so Quinn set herself up in the most remote "cafeteria" that still had a coffee shop open.
She worked quietly, feeling very productive and in the flow of things, and in that spirit, she decided to reward herself with a coffee. The first thing in her line of sight as she looked from her books was none other than Sable sitting alone a few tables away from her. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she saw a clear, thick pale line between his black jeans and blue shirt. In the last three weeks, he must have gained another 15-20 lbs, and every pound showed. What is he eating?, she thought, suddenly unable to get up from her chair.
His face was noticeably rounded, but it suited him much more. His thighs were softer, and clearly had finally caught up to his belly in his old pants, as these ones looked roomier and new; she tried to suppress it, but she was sad that they no longer needed to be held up by his belt, and that he would need to keep gaining quite a bit of fat to make them dig into his rolls. Despite that, he seemed to be wearing the same size shirt as he did at orientation week. With one hand holding his book open, his other hand was fixed permanently to the hem of shirt, both hanging just above his belly button. Every time he flipped the page, his hand would reflexively splayed over his belly, trying to hold it from jiggling, but not really succeeding. Almost leaving her books and laptop behind, she hurried out of the cafeteria once he moved slightly, revealing a half-eaten large pizza.